Itinerary

I finally have my complete itinerary. I was waiting for the missionaries to buy my ticket from Lima to Trujillo, because they can get a better rate by buying in-country.

Here is my itinerary (I will depart on September 1st):

Leave Chicago O'Hare at 5:25pm
arrive in Miami at 9:25pm

Leave Miami at 7:35am (Sept 2nd)
arrive in Bogota, Colombia at 10:00am

Leave Bogota at 1:40pm
arrive in Lima, Peru at 4:35pm

Leave Lima at 8:35pm
arrive in Trujillo at 9:45 (Sept 2nd)

The only thing that I am a little reserved about is that I have such a long layover at the airport in Miami.
I am excited that none of my flights are longer than 4 hours. Sitting on an airplane is not very fun or exciting. So several short flights are better than one or two really long flights.

Please be in prayer with me as I travel. It's always a little nerve-racking to travel alone to another country. And seeing as how I always manage to get lost while I'm driving, I always get nervous that I'm going to get lost in an aiport. That really would not be fun (especially in another country). But I am blonde, so these things do happen.

Let the Countdown Begin

I bought my plane tickets yesterday! It's official- I am leaving on September 1 and returning on October 22. My departure is just 11 days away. I can't believe how soon this is.
All of this is happening so fast that it is making my head spin a little bit. It's almost like it's not real. I have been so blessed with how quickly it all came together.
To be completely honest, I really wanted to go back to Kenya. I even emailed the missionaries there before I ever even considered going to Peru. I just felt like I never got to finish what I had gone there for. But I never heard back from them. And then, when I was just about to throw in the towel, I couldn't stop thinking about Peru and the missionaries there. So I just emailed them. And in less than 2 weeks everything came together so perfectly. Thank you Lord, for this Blessing!

I'm really not entirely sure what I will do once I'm there. I know it has something to do with community development. But that is such a broad category. The last time I was there they worked a lot in the different barrios by sharing the gospel, doing feeding programs for the kids, getting the children sponsored so they could go to school, started churches and different house groups, etc. I wonder if it will be relatively similar to that.
In any case, I'm just extremely excited about going back to Trujillo.

I'll keep this updated throughout the trip. And as it gets closer to my departure, I'll put up my itinerary. Please pray with me as I prepare for this.

Sarah

Sarah the Missionary

What a crazy few days it's been! It's hard to wrap my mind around it at times, and sometimes I wonder if maybe I'm dreaming. Well here's the scoop:

After I wrote my last blog, I was beginning to think that maybe God really was wanting me to stay in Lincoln. I'm sure that I could find something in Lincoln that I love and that I'm good at. I just really wanted to go back to Kenya, but I hadn't heard anything from the missionaries there. So Friday morning I was just pouring my heart out to God. I figure he knows what I'm thinking and feeling anyway, so I might as well just share it with him. I told him that I really wanted to just go and do something- I just want Him to use me. That's my hearts desire, but if I'm supposed to stay in Lincoln then I will do that (i really didn't want to stay in Lincoln, but God knows best).

But I was tired of waiting and searching for someplace to go. So I just said that if nothing came up by Monday then I was going to fill out the stack of applications I have and get a job in Lincoln. I was certain that I could find something in Lincoln that I loved.

And all day I just kept thinking about Peru. I had been there 3 years ago, for a summer internship. It was a great experience and the missionaries there were awesome. All day long I just kept thinking about it. Finally I sent them an email, explaining that I would like to maybe come back for a little bit and asked if they would be willing to accomodate me.

Saturday I got an email back saying to call them. And I did just that. I talked to Mike and he said that I should come and that they would figure out something for me to do. I told him that I graduated from College and that my degree was in Missions. He asked if I knew anything about developing communities. I said "Well... my Focus was in Community Development, so...". And he said that was amazing because that's exactly what they were doing now.

So... I'm leaving as soon as I get the money to go. I've already been blessed with $2000, so I only need to raise about $500 more. I will be gone for almost 2 months.

I just can't explain how truly blessed I am. I am so thankful for everything that has happened. This year has been really hard for me and I've just felt so broken and lost and abandoned. I felt like God wasn't hearing my cries or that he just didn't care. But I was so wrong. He does care, it was just that I was not listening to what He was saying.

Wake up Call

The last time I wrote a blog I talked about losing my passion. It's been quite awhile since I've written and I guess a lot has happened since then. I guess, right now, it's not so much that I am losing my passion. It's more so that I'm just not utilizing my passions and my gifts. I often feel stuck and that I'm just drifting through life with no purpose. It's hard to find a place where I fit. Sometimes I just feel like I don't belong here.

A couple of weeks ago I was talking with my Grandma Gladys (a wise woman she is) and she just put a lot of things into perspective for me. She just shared her own life story and talked about her relationship with God. Her words were just what I needed at that moment and they really pierced my heart- in a good way. It just really got me thinking about what I truly want out of life.

I told her that I don't want a job. I want to work- I want to do what I went to school for and I want to do what I'm truly passionate about it. I just don't want to get any ol job.

Before I left she told me that I need to do what I love- that I need to do missions. I left feeling refreshed and optimistic. In a way, I left feeling more whole than I have felt in such a long time.

On the drive home I told my mom that Grandma told me I should go on a missions trip. She said that she knew that and that Grandma told her she could sense that I was struggling. She said that Grandma told her she could see that I was waiting for God to move first, but God was waiting for me to move first. And that God can wait a lot longer than I can. That part made me laugh a little, because I'm certain that God can out-wait me anytime. But her words cut deep. They were so true and so perfect. I guess I never really realized it myself, but that's exactly what I have been doing. I've been waiting for God to move, to do something, to show me what to do. I guess, in part, I just felt like God wasn't really concerned with me and whats been going on in my life. I sort of felt abandoned. But when I heard those words, I knew that God had not forgotten me, but had been there all along- just wanting me to keep moving instead of being so scared to even move at all.

With that said, I'm currently praying about where to go and what to do. I'm ready to move and I'm in the process of doing just that. I want to follow where God is leading me, no matter where that may be (I suppose, even if that means being in Lincoln).