Mahalo for your prayers. I have crutches already :)

Ripe days in Kailua Kona Hawaii

For the past few days here, I have been sticking close to my old duty with crown media. Why would I want to leave them, they are the best bunch of co-workers! That is, right next to Creative Child Learning Center friends :)

I have been working on a website for Reunion Island, which is right next to Madagascar. A French man came to the office recently, and he was telling us about what he wants us to do for his YWAM base in Reunion. He speaks mostly French. So I sat there while Joel and Alain spoke in French and would wait until Joel translated back to me what this man wanted for his website. I love it. I cant give you the url for the site yet because it is not done. You would laugh ;)

A group of us went down to the water for a for a paddle boarding day. Paddle boarding. Not paddle boating. Paddle boarding is like surfing. I ended up sitting on my board the whole time while we went out into the bay....it was easiest on my feet. Then we found dolphins... I surfed right next to them! About half way through paddling out there I got terrible motion sickness like always. We were at least a mile out there. I laid on my board while my very kind friends pulled me and my board back. Because of their kindness I didnt throw up.

We got pizza too...well, they did. I got a little restless and instead went to find Naauao. I wanted to be able to speak with him again before I left the island and see how he was doing. I ended up not finding him, but I did find Daniel, our friend who was healed on the spot. I brought him back to where my friends were eating pizza. He was hungry so I told him to order...he did...and when it was time to go, my check never came! I asked the waiter for the check and he said Nathan took care of it. GOOD FRIENDS! Thats what Jesus character looks like. I go to buy our local street-kid-friend some food but before I can pay, someone else does. Its like a 'fight' to be the next one to help. I love it.

I have a simple prayer request for crutches. Its not as easy as it would seem to get them and the Tally doctor says to be on them right away. Please pray some will be available to me here before I come home.

Mele Kalikimaki ohana

A little project I did at the Crown media Christmas party. Everyone on this team is so great. God is using them all in such marvelous ways and I am so thankful I got to be a part of the job

Letting God direct my steps...

Its raining here in Kona, and all of my roommates just went out the door for the Jericho walk. Thats when they carry all the luggage they plan to take on outreach around the campus to see if they packed too heavy or not. Im not packed yet, and here is why:


As many of you know, I have had foot trouble for about ten years and had surgery a while back. Before I came on this trip, I saw the doctor and he suggested a surgery again when I came home from this trip. However I will be coming back to Tallahassee sooner than that for surgery which will be in January. On Saturday I sprained the same foot while running. Yes, barefoot. But on my defense I was on the beach this time. I twisted it on a rock. The doctor here told me it was unwise to trek around the amazon without getting surgery first on the previous problem I have had with the bones. At first I thought this was an attack of the enemy, and so did others. Many faithful stewards prayed healing over me this past week here on campus. I believe 100% that the Lord heals...in His timing. My foot is still in a lot of pain and it hurts to walk. But sometimes it is a lot more than just the physical that He wants to heal. I have learned He can use things like this to close doors and open new ones. I got a second opinion today from the doctor back in Tallahassee over the phone. I described the pain to her and she said that the sprain that I got when I twisted it could take a lot longer to heal than I think. Apparently it is best to get the already-needed surgery soon. So the sprain can take time to heal too. This is not 'manditory' but I believe the Lord is telling me that this is what is needed for the time being.

So what happens now with the outreach money that has been raised? It still goes to outreach. I will be home long enough for the surgery and some healing and will then head right back out. I believe the Lord wants me to stay on board with YWAM to complete the DTS by going on outreach, which they allow people to do who have to go home for one reason or another. You just jump on board with another DTS crew. If the Lord wills it, I hope to join with the base in the middle east actually. One of our speakers this month runs one of the schools over there and we have been discussing some of the wonderful things we know God wants to do in the middle east. YES!

Please do not be discouraged. God has been showing me that sometimes He has a different path than you thought, even though it may have been a good one. He is the Potter and I am the clay. Does the clay tell the potter how to mold it? My calling remains, surgery should not stop one who is called ; ) Please please PLEASE pray for my heart in this. The spiritual aspect means much more to me (and to God) than the physical. Pray that my heart will press even more into God during this time and that I will be sensitive to what He asks me to do even before I recover. My hope is that I would treasure Him more than anything else and obey His directions for my life.

Hope all is well. I will continue to keep you updated. Supporters, THANK YOU. God has put you on my heart. You will be receiving more direct news by mail soon.

The Flame Goes Forward!

Climbing the mountain. Bone marrow stew afterward!

cant really tell that they are on the edge of a huge cliff

Here's the News

The biggest news of the past couple weeks would be the 50th Anniversary of YWAM coming into being. It is incredible to me the effects that can happen when one person listens to the heart of God and takes action. Loren's vision was huge and not normal...at least thats what others told him 50 years ago. But now he is seeing the fruit of his ministry, and several people from all over the world stood up in the crowd to say that they are the fruit to his ministry. These people havnt just been blessed, but they are blessing others around the world. Many of them go back to where they are from, say Afghanistan, and shine as a light for those in the darkness. Nothing more beautiful.

I had a wide variety of jobs this week for the my media team: finding coolers, finding ice, grocery shopping, money handling, lunch pickup, AV tent cleaning, trash, flyer making, sign building, daily program posting, duct taping, covering the tent when it rained, babysitting (yea), and filming. It sounds like a lot but I enjoyed doing it all. It made the week quite interesting. God is also showing me that little jobs like this are fruitful and should be done with a good attitude and a smile.

Whats Next?

One week of class left and then we head to Bogota Colombia South America on tuesday. We will be helping with flood relief most likely. They were flooded this week. We will stay at the YWAM base there for a month and then we will trek on to Peru. Things we will do along the way will include administering medical care, teaching basic health tips, spending time with the people, teaching children, building tents, and simple cleaning. We are learning some spanish now which is highly important/respectful when spending time in other cultures. It is by our service that these people will see the unique character of God and will be introduced to His love and grace. I am PUMPED! :)

All I am taking is my lovely red backpack.

Sarah's Mission Life Chapter 9

My favorite bird. Right by the church

Peter praying for Brandon

Katie, Jessica, and Luke pose with David. He is Loren's son, founder of YWAM. The Mauka theatre was built on the campus to show films that David C has been working on. His hollywood films are meant to reach the film world and aware people of what is going on in the world. The show we saw that night was on 9/11

The 50th Jubilee Celebration

Crown media where I helped throughout the week

I filmed the morning show for Livestream once 

Ian on work duty

Tying the rope to steel posts to hold up the screen

The kids contributed 

We placed stones around at the Plaza of the Nations to rep each country

God LOVES this country 

Praying for the nations

Tiko. He is from the YWAM base in Jamaica where I did my first mission trip

Arlin Katie Nathan Nico

Lunch line the last day was very long. But they did a great job serving so many people. 

Good to be thankful

Fun after Celebration Week 

(which for my work duty was full time work)

Yea ARLIN!

we found a resort

Watch the 50th party with us LIVE

We have been setting up for the past couple of days preparing for the 3,000 people that will be joining us this week from around the world. One of the things we did today was set up thousands of plastic chairs in the Jubilee Gathering area (main meeting area for everyone everyday). The ground is dirt which is totally ghetto, but its the YWAM way and I love it. We also use duct tape to hold together vents that blow up the big screens. But hey, it works.

Please feel free to join us: there will be livestreams up on the website so you can watch whats happening and while its happening. I will be singing with my work duty manager in his band opening night (tonight. sorry for late notice) and you can watch online Live if you want me to make you go deaf ;) Nah, Im sure I'll do ok. The Lord my God goes with me up on stage (Duet 31:6).

Livestream starts 11:30 Tallahassee time:

http://www.uofnkona.edu/

GO FSU! WE ARE BACK!

Gators, now you're wack

Happy Thanksgiving! Jesus Day, no Turkey Day

So it is thanksgiving and I am getting to know my Dutch friend Vincent. I asked him "how do you say 'i like to eat turkey' in dutch?" And Vincent said..."what is a turkey?" And I said..."really? or are you joking." He was serious. So I decided to make it fun:

I gave him four options of what a turkey might be...

A) a tool
B) a vehicle
C) a bird
D) a friendship

I guess he forgot about the kind of question I asked him because he said B) a vehicle.

I googled 'turkey' for him and we laughed a while haha

Thanksgiving was good by the way. We ate together as a class and it was all set up really nice. We spent a couple hours expressing what and who were were thankful for. Lots of wonderful prayers to the Lord. We like turkey, but we LOVE Jesus.

Happy Thanksgiving!

(if you cannot click this video on, just move your curser around slowly until 

the curser turns into a little hand. It is kind of messed up)

                        Oh MAN! Theese iss good!

P.S. Be sure to scroll down to check for new pictures to old posts ;)

Today we did something very significant:

When I say the word 'class,' I'm sure something similar to a regular class comes to your mind. It would come to my mind too, because that is really all I have ever known. I would visualize desks and a white board and a teacher's desk and the students would be wearing shoes. Well, we do have a white board but no desks, and I dont wear shoes. You dont have to sit in a chair either. I lie on the floor in the isle sometimes to get a better view.

I would like to tell you everything that takes place during class, but I am afraid that if I did tell you it might weird you out. It is like nothing I have ever seen or done. But I will tell you that it is amazing, and doing a DTS is the 2nd best decision I have ever made in my life. I say that without doubt. I cannot thank my supporters enough ;)

Today we did something very significant: we made personal proclamations in front of the class. These proclamations were toward the Lord, agreeing with the steps that it takes to live a non-wasted life. It was VERY hard for the students to do and many decided to lay down treasures they have stored up on earth and run after their One True Treasure, Jesus Christ. Our class has a special thing with the significance of a door, and we laid a door flat on the ground for this part of class. It had to do with closing the door to the old and putting on the new. We 'slammed it shut to our old ways.'

Class ends at noon every day. Today we didn't finish until 2:00. Our classroom is right near the lunch-line and the rest of the campus came and went, getting their lunch right outside our class. They probably heard us yelling a lot. They were good yells, please understand.

My yelling was pretty exciting. It'll take time for more details to arise from the Lord, but I part of my declaration has to do with going wherever He wants me to. To the ends of the earth for the lost, if He leads me to. There is nothing I can do without Him. He's my strength and He's my rock. I want to be closer to Him...

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Rainy night

It never rains here during the day, but today it did. My work duty was a little different and today: There has been a man named Charlie working in media on new signs for the campus before the 50th celebration that starts next week. I was to saw down the old sign for the Global Outreach Center so we could upgrade it to Charlie's. We put up them up in the pouring rain. There are a lot of other things we have to do to prepare for 5,000 additional people to join us on monday.

But now that class and work is done for the day, I get to edit some of the photos I have recently taken. I love photography : )

30 new flags were added to the Plaza of Flags for the 50th celebration next week. Representing all the countries of the world.

Give me some sun to set on this island!

People use white rocks to write out stuff on the hills by the road. This hill says Samantha. No significance to that really

                                                Off of Ali'i Drive on the way to the pier

Baptisms by the pier in the morning before class

Healed on the spot, Glory to God!

Our outreach is Treasure Hunting, and I've mentioned a little bit about it before. It is the same kind of mission as when I got the fish vision and was led to Naa'uao. This time I went with my friend Nathan and a European family from the Crossroads DTS. They had two little boys, Ben and Chris. As we walk down toward Coconut Grove where the frozen yogurt is near the water, we run into Daniel. Daniel is a friend that I met through Katie, who is in my DTS. Daniel is a local and he rides his bike everywhere. Apparently he became a follower of Jesus Christ just this past week.

Well, last night he had his arm bent by his side and we found out that he sprained it in a bicycle crash. Nathan asked if we could pray for him before we took him to see the campus nurse. Daniel said yes. So I called Ben and Chris over and their mother stayed nearby. I had Ben put his hand on Daniel's upper arm and Chris on his elbow, and we prayed healing over him. I had my hand on his shoulder. We all prayed. As the younger boys prayed I could feel Dan's shoulder shake violently. When we were done praying Daniel told us: something happened, I feel better! "On a scale of 1 to 10, how does it feel?" I asked him. "It went from a 5 to an 8!" he said. So we prayed again until he said it was almost a 10. "9.5!" He said. He could now bend his arm out almost perfectly straight.

I was a little discouraged that it didn't end up a 10, but Nathan reassured me that it wasn't necessarily his arm that God wanted to heal. The Lord wants healing for everyone, but what matters more is spiritual healing in a person. God wants His children to trust that His love is sufficient. Good point, I thought. It is amazing that Jesus cares enough about this guy... that he would give him a bike accident only bad enough to have a slightly painful sprain... only to be healed of it later that day. He just wanted to show Daniel He cared about the small things in his life!

Ben and Chris played a huge role. With faith like a child, I thought.  Glory to God!

Daniel hangs out with us the next day while we watch the FSU game. 

(Fresno State University, not Florida State ;)

Happy Happy Birthday y-WAM!

So YWAM is turning 50. Good thing it is and organization and not a person, so it cant get offended.

Check out this video! I'm in it...

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1423679239380

Talent night explodes

Our DTS had talent night tonight in the classroom. I decided that I might make an okay rapper. So my brother Javier and I covered Joyful Noise by Lacrae. He beat boxed while I rapped. It took off.

Angels surrounding His throne and

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain

The whole earth is full of His glory

All nations bow to His name

His majesty fills the Heavens

Our hearts give thunderous praise

Declare the Lord is forever

Make a joyful noise in this place

Inner Peek

My dad is wanting more of a visual of where I am and what I do. So I put together these little satellites. With detail galore of my schedule. You probably wont get as much of a kick out of this as my dad.  

Quite often a group of us will take the red route. The red route ultimately leads to the pier where baptisms are done. But this route is also taken for many other things. Such as wednesday night outreaches (where He led me to Naa'auo), small group outings, one-on-one-fun, personal Jesus hangouts, and fro-yo (frozen yogurt). Also at the pier is where I met my friend Gille. Gille is an older man who has special needs. He sits in the sun a lot in his mobile chair that is decorated to the max in hawaiian gear. Gille is an amazing artist and he paints. With his nose. He has a brilliant smile and he smiles even bigger when I say so. His wife is a sweet dedicated women and reminds me of Jesus in a way. Might be how she saw Gille and took to him, caring for his every need. Such a love. Definition of unconditional. 

Its rare that I take the blue route. But every once in a while I need to walk there with a group so I can stock up on grape juice and shampoo.

Typical schedule includes waking around 6ish, rushing to get some oatmeal at the food line, then heading to the Flags of the Nations to sit with Jesus and watch His sun rise. Then a quick stop at my room for a swig of grape juice and to grab class notebook. Then to class at 8:00. Either worship, book of James study, intercession, or announcements until 9:00. Then the speaker goes till 10:30. Then we have a coffee break. I normally go back to the room for another sip of juice. Then class again till 12ish. Drop off books in room, grab shoes (required for food line), then head to lunch. Always sit outside. Its lovely and breezy. After lunch sometimes we have free time or we have DTS meetings. Today we met with our outreach teams at the Banyan Cafe. If there are no meetings, you might find me eating mangos with friends, watching John Piper, or going down to the water with Jesus to look into tide pools. At 3:00 p.m. I head to Work Duty. Right now I am finishing up a logo for an organization birthed from YWAM. Its a lot of fun, and the other workers are brilliant servants for the Lord. At 5:00 p.m. I am done and I go back to the room to grab my shoes. Yea I'm always barefoot. Then food line. Chill with food and persons at the tables till about 6, then head on. If there isnt intercession in the prayer room, worship at Ohana Court (we really have amazing worship experiences. Nothing I have ever seen/done before), or outreach down the red or blue arrows, its free time again. This is when Katie, Jonas, Brandon, Seth, and I typically find something to do. Around 9:00 or 10:00, I will hit the prayer room on my own. Then crash. Im typically one of the last to go to sleep out of 8 girls. Climbing to the top bunk with the lower bunk occupant asleep is not easy.

Sundays are quite special: Go to food line early then head to church with Katie and Seth. We go to Living Stones now. Last Sunday we had three breakthroughs while we prayed together with some other new friends at the church. I sit in a tree during this service. Barefoot. Then we catch the shuttle back. Often we go do something fun now. Like cliff jumping at the End of the World. This last sunday in particular is when we reconnected with Naa'auo and played piano, ate sushi, and talked about Jesus. At 3:00 is when I play soccer and get huge bruises. After soccer we head straight to the food line for dinner. By this time each week we are all half asleep and can only watch Lord of the Rings at this point. 

Now you have tasted a YWAM DTS student's schedule. I would recommend this schedule to anyone, too. If interested in seeing whether or not the Lord has you doing a DTS, investigate www.uofnkona.edu. 

Off Ali'i Street on the way to the pier

The Vision of the Fish, and Our New Brother

One of our 'jobs' here is called Treasure Hunting. Every tuesday some of us on campus meet up, intercede with God, and set out down to the streets to meet new people and share with them something extraordinary. We split into groups. Mine consisted of Faith, Jonas, and Brandon. Three of us got word from the Lord to go down Kuakini Highway. Two of us, Faith and Brandon, got the word 'fish.'

So we are walking, looking for some sort of fish when we stop and pray again. At a sushi restaurant. This time I saw a fish in my mind. I thought- well I probably just got it because they said they got that. But this image I had gotten was quite detailed, and I felt it was significant. It was swimming to the right too. One in the group said that didn't matter which way it was swimming, but I felt God nudge me that it did matter.

We keep walking toward the sea wall and start to get discouraged; all the pictures of fish we see are swimming to the left. Then Jonas says- "I just saw a fish that looked like what Sarah described around the corner." I got curious and went down the alley (it was safe and lit, mom). All of a sudden I see another sushi restaurant and outside, a sign. The sign had a fish on it, the same in my mind, and swimming to the right. And there was a freakin arrow pointing to the right too! I smiled and said Lord, let's do this. I slowly walk up, and a dinner host about my age walked out and asked if I wanted to buy sushi. I said, "no, but what's your name?" "Naa'uao," he said. [pronounced nu-uh]. It went from there.

I told him how the Lord led me to him with a fish in my head, and that He cared about him that much that He would do so. He responded saying, "man, dat so cool cause other YWAMers have said dat too man.'' W began talking more and I found out he knew of Jesus but not about grace. "I try to do pretty good things I guess," he said. I started to explain how we are saved by grace when his manager pulled him away to do work. Determined, we stuck around and we eventually got his phone number...he seemed anxious to know more!

So last night, Jonas and Katie and I went back. We had arranged a hangout with this guy. He had just gotten a new keyboard, so we played away. I learned a few beats myself. Then his mom, who worked at the sushi place, brought us California Roll and a huge bowl of soup. Fo' free. So we played piano, ate sushi, and talked about Jesus and grace. In the end, we had a new brother. Praise God, yes?? He loved this boy so much that He kept sending YWAMers his way. Naa'uao also mentioned he wanted to do something radical- wanted to change the world. No knowing what kind of plans our God has in store for this young Hawaiian.

Me with Naa'uao and his mom

Sarah's Life Chapter 6

Ezra and me working at Candyland: a Jesus-honoring

 way to have fun on Halloween. Kids dig it

A baptism of our friend at the pier

Blue as His eyes, pure as His heart

A project I was working on for Crown Media Ministry

Do YOU like YWAM Kona Facebook?

My small group

Jonas and Brandon kickin it up

Try this sometime ;)