:: THANK YOU
Before I share our personal update, I wanted to share a huge thank you for the prayers and kind words that were sent in response to my prayer request over the Colorado shooting. We did not know any of the individuals personally, but it still hit our team very hard as we mourned with our fellow YWAM workers. And the love sent out by all of you in response to this tragedy was a reminder that compassion and empathy is so much more powerful than the darkness it combats. Again, thank you.
:: SETTLING IN
As for us, it’s hard to believe that we’ve been here for just over a month. As we continue to build into the relationships of those we live with here at Holmsted, it feels like we’ve been here for years. But as we continue to get settled and figure out life in the UK, it feels like we just got here! In a month, Sean has managed to brave the roads to nearby villages (which is necessary for any sort of shopping to be done), we have opened a UK bank account, and we now have cell phones! But as we drive around these tiny little roads and as we shop for groceries, the reality is that it doesn’t feel routine yet. I still feel like I’m on vacation. And it still catches me off guard when I hear people say, “I hear you have an accent. Where are you from?” Oh yeah..I’M the one who sounds funny now! And it’s not just the way we talk that makes me feel like we stand out sometimes, it’s even the way we dress! Since we aren’t used to the cold, we tend to wear lots of layers. There are days when I have so many layers on that I feel like I can barely move my arms; sort of like the kid from A Christmas Story. But the locals are walking around in light jackets that may or may not be zipped up. It will just take awhile for this thin desert blood to thicken up a bit.
Another part of settling in is finding a church. This is a bit of a new concept for us because we had been at Canyon Ridge for so long. We have visited a few and have felt a great connection at The Point – the church that worship leader Matt Redman attends. It is so different from Canyon Ridge as far as structure, but it seems to be similar in passion and mission. And I have to admit it is pretty exciting to be able to attend the church where one of my favorite worship leaders goes. In fact, he led worship the first weekend we attended and he is a great example of a servant leader. Not only did worship time consist of kids songs because they do a family service, but he was also around helping to stack chairs at the end of service. Sean and I are going to meet with the church’s senior pastor to learn more about the church and to see how we might get plugged in.
:: EVENTS
One of the first events we were able to be a part of was a Thanksgiving dinner. It was a beautiful blend of two cultures. Some American friends that run a YWAM base in Brighton invited us as well as all of their English friends – both Christian and non-Christian. There was about 30 of us all together. We had a TON of food and we even went around the table and shared what we were thankful for. Turkey, sweet potato pie, mashed potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, and a spirit of unity - what more could you ask for?
One of the first projects we worked on was a youth event for a few different local youth groups. We helped program a weekend retreat for both middle school and high school. We themed the weekend “Connecting to God and Connecting to Others.” At first, we didn’t feel well received but as the weekend went on the kids seemed to really warm up to us. After the weekend was done, we received a lot of positive feedback from the leaders. We hope to do more of this type of work with local youth groups.
Every year around Christmas, Holmsted Manor hosts an event called “Carols at the Manor.” They invite the community for drinks, snacks, and then we host a carols program. It is a way to serve the community during the holidays and also lets the community know what we are about. We had around 60 people show up. It was a lovely evening and many shared how they enjoyed the event.
We also hosted a Christmas lunch for the elderly. We served them a full course meal and had a bit of entertainment. It is a way to connect to the community and serve the older generations. I was in charge of coordinating this event. We transformed our dining hall into an elegant banquet for around 100 guests. By the end of the event, we heard nothing but praises. This generation that can often be forgotten left feeling honored.
Last but not least, Sean was in charge of what we like to call Cleaning Day. The September DTS that has been living at the manor is responsible for a full day of cleaning to get ready for the next school to come in January. Each school has this same responsibility before they leave for outreach. The students did a great job and if you know Sean, then you know they had a leader fit for the task.
:: BASE TRANSITION
Surprisingly, when Sean and I first arrived to Holmsted Manor, we learned of a major transition taking place. The current base leader – responsible for overseeing the entirety of the base – was stepping down from leadership. As we’ve been processing together as a staff, everyone agrees that this is a healthy transition. As this chapter closes for Charlie (the current base leader) a new chapter is opening for the remaining staff as we look at restructuring leadership. We are in the process of praying through who our next base leader should be. Sean and I are also looking at how our gifts and experiences in leadership can benefit this transition. Unexpected, but exciting times!
:: JANUARY DTS
The school Sean and I will be leading begins January 19. So far, we have 6 leaders and 23 students. Our school director is named Paul (whom we worked with when we were in Poland) and he has asked Sean to co-lead with him. The rest of the leaders (including myself) will help facilitate. We prayed together and came up with a theme for our school based on 1 Peter 2:9 which says “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” We want the students to understand that they were Chosen for Royalty – to be led by their King Jesus Christ. As the students understand their identity through the lens that Christ sees them through, then it should empower and encourage them to act out their faith with confidence. We are so excited to have our students arrive. So far we have students coming from England, America, Holland, Canada, Norway, and Denmark. We look forward to sharing how God begins to mold and refine both us and the students through this next 6 months.
:: SPECIAL VISITORS
A few weeks ago, we were excited to see Sean’s dad and stepmom in our new homeland. They spent the night with us at Holmsted Manor and then we spent the day in Brighton before they headed to London for the remainder of their stay. Our adventures in Brighton started off a bit damp (typical English weather), but fortunately the skies cleared and we were able to show them around a bit.
We also have some friends from Canyon Ridge that will be visiting in January. As England and Holmsted become our new home, we look forward to all the future visits from both family and friends.
Such a short time and yet so much has already happened. As time continues to pass and we become more settled here, we are getting more and more excited to see what God has planned for us; what our roles will begin to look like over this next year. We will continue to move forward in anticipation, believing that we are following a life calling that God has placed on our hearts. We hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and an exciting year to come. A chance to reflect on your blessings and look for ways to use your life to bless others and make a difference in this world. So we say with confidence, "2008, here we come!"
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Journey Begins
Well, first and foremost, we are here and we’re safe! Our travels were uneventful, but very long. We left Vegas around 10am on Tuesday and arrived in England around 12:30pm on Wednesday…three flights later! We flew from Vegas to Chicago, Chicago to Dublin, and Dublin to London. We received a very warm welcome as several of the staff members shared that they were anxious for our return. We even had several of the students from the current school say “Oh, you must be Sean and Sarah. We’ve heard a lot about you.” The staff weren’t the only ones to welcome us though…we were also welcomed by the English cold. It’s not unbearable, but it is a lot different than being able to wear a t-shirt and jeans and flip flops in Vegas. Right now the temperature ranges from high 20’s to mid 40’s.
Sean and I haven’t fully unpacked yet, but we are excited to have our room. It actually has it’s own bathroom. We’ve already been eyeing the room to see how we can best utilize the space. We are looking forward to making our room our home. Fortunately, all of the belongings we held on to shipped right as we were leaving, but unfortunately they won’t arrive for 2-3 months. We’ll do the best we can in the meantime.
I think Sean and I might be suffering from a little bit of jet lag. We took about an hour nap on Wednesday when we first got in, and we were able to go to bed at a reasonable hour…around 11pm. However, when we got up on Thursday (today) we didn’t wake until 3pm! We slept for 16 hours straight! But technically when we woke, it was 7am Vegas time. I know our bodies and minds will adjust. It just takes a little time…no pun intended.
So with all of this transition, how are we doing and what has been on our minds? Well, let me see if I can make sense of the chaos!
:: WE’VE FELT LOVED
We had a send off party that we called “The Journey Begins” because we wanted people to celebrate our next step in life and we wanted people to actively engage with us in our calling to England. So, we had a night mostly of prayer and worship. We started late due to a few technical difficulties, but we were overwhelmed by the response of those that came. I think we probably had around 70 people show up, including my dad from northern California! It was so special to see our friends and family walking around to different prayer stations and interceding both with us and for us!
We also had some great last visits. We spent some time in Pennsylvania visiting fellow friends and missionaries and we were able to spend a week in Arizona. Getting to Arizona was a nightmare (I’ll get to that in a second), but once we were there, it was so memorable. We had lots of laughs, we shared lots of meals, and we had meaningful conversations. We were able to see Sean’s dad and stepmom, his sister and her family, my mom, my sisters, and a few friends that are very dear to us.
:: WE’VE FELT FRUSTRATED
All along the journey, we’ve hit bumps and minor setbacks. From getting sick, to high shipping costs, to credit card fraud, to not being able to prove or disprove our residency in Las Vegas. Talk about being in limbo! I have to share this story because it is so ridiculous but I’ll keep it brief. We had decided to rent a car to Arizona because it was cheaper than flying, so Sean booked a reservation online. The day that we were going to rent our car, Sean realized that they probably wouldn’t rent to us because we were having our bank send us a new credit card because of the fraudulent charges. We had money in our account, so we thought maybe they’d let us use our Visa/Debit card. We were wrong. And they said they needed a physical credit card to swipe…it didn’t matter that the bank was sending us a new card. So Sean found another rental car company that would let us pay with our Visa/Debit (they were a bit more money of course) but we had to prove we were a Las Vegas resident. Unfortunately, a driver’s license wasn’t enough. You needed a bill statement or even car insurance card. Well, seeing that we are staying with friends and that we had just sold our car and canceled our insurance, we were unable to prove our residency. But if we were able to prove we weren’t a resident (by providing a plane ticket showing we had flown in from out of town) we could still rent the car. Well, since we LIVED in Las Vegas and we were planning on DRIVING to Arizona to visit family, we didn’t have a plane ticket and couldn’t prove we weren’t residence either. So, do we still need to pay taxes? Despite the hassle, we were finally able to rent the car through a friend. And as we’ve been hitting frustrating situations, we’ve really had to lean into our calling. If God has called us to England, then it doesn’t matter what sort of setbacks may appear to be in the way. And God has been with us through every step of the process. And what were yesterday’s worries are no longer even an issue because here we are in England. The Bible promises that God’s mercies are made new every morning. Praise God!
:: WE’VE FELT READY
The last year has been a lot of releasing and letting go. From our home, to our stuff, to our jobs, to our pets, to relationships, to ministries…we’ve had to say goodbye to a lot in order to step into this next season that God has called us to. So, now that all is said and done and we are here in England, we are ready to begin building and establishing again. Establishing new ministries, new friendships, our new home! We both know it won’t be easy and it has honestly been very strange to be back at Holmsted with a sense of familiarity under a completely different circumstance. Where Holmsted was our home away from home before, it now IS home. It doesn’t feel that way yet, but we know that will come with time…and your prayers.
Before we left, I had shared with some friends about my experience on a ride at Disneyland. It was a ride similar to the Bigshot in Vegas. You sit down and get strapped in, and then the ride shoots you straight up at around 45 MPH and then freefalls to give you that gut wrenching feeling. After the initial ascent and descent, the ride isn’t so bad. It sort of gradually lowers down and while it does you get to see how high up you are and you get a great view of the park. Well, I had described our journey a bit like convincing myself to get on the ride. All the way through the line, I kept telling myself, “I can do this. It’s not so bad.” And then I actually sit down and get strapped in. It’s right about that time that I’m thinking, “Why am I doing this? Is there time to get off. I think I want off.” And before I can convince myself to get off the ride, it shoots me up and I scream in fear. But then I realize that I’m no longer screaming in fear…I’m screaming in excitement. I’m enjoying the ride, and I’m glad that I didn’t turn back.
We are so thrilled and nervous, all at the same time, to be on this ride. And we are thrilled that you are on it with us. We know that God has a lot in store for our time here. And we know that he doesn’t promise that there won’t be struggle, but He does promise that we can get through it and that he can build our character and our faith in the process. The journey has begun, and we can’t wait!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Sean and I haven’t fully unpacked yet, but we are excited to have our room. It actually has it’s own bathroom. We’ve already been eyeing the room to see how we can best utilize the space. We are looking forward to making our room our home. Fortunately, all of the belongings we held on to shipped right as we were leaving, but unfortunately they won’t arrive for 2-3 months. We’ll do the best we can in the meantime.
I think Sean and I might be suffering from a little bit of jet lag. We took about an hour nap on Wednesday when we first got in, and we were able to go to bed at a reasonable hour…around 11pm. However, when we got up on Thursday (today) we didn’t wake until 3pm! We slept for 16 hours straight! But technically when we woke, it was 7am Vegas time. I know our bodies and minds will adjust. It just takes a little time…no pun intended.
So with all of this transition, how are we doing and what has been on our minds? Well, let me see if I can make sense of the chaos!
:: WE’VE FELT LOVED
We had a send off party that we called “The Journey Begins” because we wanted people to celebrate our next step in life and we wanted people to actively engage with us in our calling to England. So, we had a night mostly of prayer and worship. We started late due to a few technical difficulties, but we were overwhelmed by the response of those that came. I think we probably had around 70 people show up, including my dad from northern California! It was so special to see our friends and family walking around to different prayer stations and interceding both with us and for us!
We also had some great last visits. We spent some time in Pennsylvania visiting fellow friends and missionaries and we were able to spend a week in Arizona. Getting to Arizona was a nightmare (I’ll get to that in a second), but once we were there, it was so memorable. We had lots of laughs, we shared lots of meals, and we had meaningful conversations. We were able to see Sean’s dad and stepmom, his sister and her family, my mom, my sisters, and a few friends that are very dear to us.
:: WE’VE FELT FRUSTRATED
All along the journey, we’ve hit bumps and minor setbacks. From getting sick, to high shipping costs, to credit card fraud, to not being able to prove or disprove our residency in Las Vegas. Talk about being in limbo! I have to share this story because it is so ridiculous but I’ll keep it brief. We had decided to rent a car to Arizona because it was cheaper than flying, so Sean booked a reservation online. The day that we were going to rent our car, Sean realized that they probably wouldn’t rent to us because we were having our bank send us a new credit card because of the fraudulent charges. We had money in our account, so we thought maybe they’d let us use our Visa/Debit card. We were wrong. And they said they needed a physical credit card to swipe…it didn’t matter that the bank was sending us a new card. So Sean found another rental car company that would let us pay with our Visa/Debit (they were a bit more money of course) but we had to prove we were a Las Vegas resident. Unfortunately, a driver’s license wasn’t enough. You needed a bill statement or even car insurance card. Well, seeing that we are staying with friends and that we had just sold our car and canceled our insurance, we were unable to prove our residency. But if we were able to prove we weren’t a resident (by providing a plane ticket showing we had flown in from out of town) we could still rent the car. Well, since we LIVED in Las Vegas and we were planning on DRIVING to Arizona to visit family, we didn’t have a plane ticket and couldn’t prove we weren’t residence either. So, do we still need to pay taxes? Despite the hassle, we were finally able to rent the car through a friend. And as we’ve been hitting frustrating situations, we’ve really had to lean into our calling. If God has called us to England, then it doesn’t matter what sort of setbacks may appear to be in the way. And God has been with us through every step of the process. And what were yesterday’s worries are no longer even an issue because here we are in England. The Bible promises that God’s mercies are made new every morning. Praise God!
:: WE’VE FELT READY
The last year has been a lot of releasing and letting go. From our home, to our stuff, to our jobs, to our pets, to relationships, to ministries…we’ve had to say goodbye to a lot in order to step into this next season that God has called us to. So, now that all is said and done and we are here in England, we are ready to begin building and establishing again. Establishing new ministries, new friendships, our new home! We both know it won’t be easy and it has honestly been very strange to be back at Holmsted with a sense of familiarity under a completely different circumstance. Where Holmsted was our home away from home before, it now IS home. It doesn’t feel that way yet, but we know that will come with time…and your prayers.
Before we left, I had shared with some friends about my experience on a ride at Disneyland. It was a ride similar to the Bigshot in Vegas. You sit down and get strapped in, and then the ride shoots you straight up at around 45 MPH and then freefalls to give you that gut wrenching feeling. After the initial ascent and descent, the ride isn’t so bad. It sort of gradually lowers down and while it does you get to see how high up you are and you get a great view of the park. Well, I had described our journey a bit like convincing myself to get on the ride. All the way through the line, I kept telling myself, “I can do this. It’s not so bad.” And then I actually sit down and get strapped in. It’s right about that time that I’m thinking, “Why am I doing this? Is there time to get off. I think I want off.” And before I can convince myself to get off the ride, it shoots me up and I scream in fear. But then I realize that I’m no longer screaming in fear…I’m screaming in excitement. I’m enjoying the ride, and I’m glad that I didn’t turn back.
We are so thrilled and nervous, all at the same time, to be on this ride. And we are thrilled that you are on it with us. We know that God has a lot in store for our time here. And we know that he doesn’t promise that there won’t be struggle, but He does promise that we can get through it and that he can build our character and our faith in the process. The journey has begun, and we can’t wait!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Learning To Dance
We recently talked with a friend and pastor at our church named Steve who challenged us to learn how to dance. Of course with as much as Sean likes dancing, it is safe to assume that the dance is metaphoric. The dance is between our emotions and our intellect. Through conversations with us, he's learned that we have an "intellectual" slant on life, our marriage, and even our relationship with God. We had no problem agreeing with him because we find value in that view. Emotions get in the way. They skew reality. They can hold us back. He didn't disagree that it is healthy to keep a realistic view, but he also felt like we won't have a wholistic view on life without our emotions. They can bring life to living. As Steve shared, Sean had a bit of an epiphany that if we are all intellect and no emotions, we become legalistic. We act how we're supposed to. But if we're all emotions and no intellect, we become too zealous with a lack of boundaries and guidance. Steve also said that the longer we keep pushing our emotions down, the harder it can be to deal with them when they pop up unexpectedly. Thus, the dance is needed. And thus begins our struggle.
I think for a while now, Sean and I have learned how to survive by suppressing our feelings. Because if we let our feelings take over, then we won't be the people we want to become. We won't be the spouse that God has called us to be to each other. We won't follow through with our commitment to move to England because it hurts too much to leave the life that has been rooting itself in Vegas over the past 8 years. If we had let our emotions get in the way, then we wouldn't have been able to sell our home or our two vehicles or get rid of our pets. We wouldn't be able to look at the 30 or so boxes in our room and realize that that is what our home has been widdled down to. We wouldn't be able to watch our families grow up from a distance. But like Steve said...it's only a matter of time before those emotions begin to surface.
It's kind of like watching a clogged toilet slowly start to rise and then overflow. You stand there watching it, hoping to God that it will start to subside. And before you know it, you have a sopping wet mess to clean up. Recently, our "life toilets" have been rising and rising and have just started overflowing. There has been so much going on. We've had to begin processing the deep grief we have in leaving. We've been grieving hurt and conflict that we've seen in the people and ministries we care about. And to add insult to injury, we were on our way home from church tonight and we hit and killed a cat. Sean pulled off to the side of the road and we just hugged each other and cried. We cried for the cat. We cried for our hurting friends. We cried for the loss we're experiencing as we give up our life and identity in America. Our intellect is telling us that we have a life and a calling waiting for us in England, but our emotions are telling us that it hurts to leave because of the love we have here. I guess we're learning how to dance after all. Please pray for us as we continue to dance.
Sarah and Sean
I think for a while now, Sean and I have learned how to survive by suppressing our feelings. Because if we let our feelings take over, then we won't be the people we want to become. We won't be the spouse that God has called us to be to each other. We won't follow through with our commitment to move to England because it hurts too much to leave the life that has been rooting itself in Vegas over the past 8 years. If we had let our emotions get in the way, then we wouldn't have been able to sell our home or our two vehicles or get rid of our pets. We wouldn't be able to look at the 30 or so boxes in our room and realize that that is what our home has been widdled down to. We wouldn't be able to watch our families grow up from a distance. But like Steve said...it's only a matter of time before those emotions begin to surface.
It's kind of like watching a clogged toilet slowly start to rise and then overflow. You stand there watching it, hoping to God that it will start to subside. And before you know it, you have a sopping wet mess to clean up. Recently, our "life toilets" have been rising and rising and have just started overflowing. There has been so much going on. We've had to begin processing the deep grief we have in leaving. We've been grieving hurt and conflict that we've seen in the people and ministries we care about. And to add insult to injury, we were on our way home from church tonight and we hit and killed a cat. Sean pulled off to the side of the road and we just hugged each other and cried. We cried for the cat. We cried for our hurting friends. We cried for the loss we're experiencing as we give up our life and identity in America. Our intellect is telling us that we have a life and a calling waiting for us in England, but our emotions are telling us that it hurts to leave because of the love we have here. I guess we're learning how to dance after all. Please pray for us as we continue to dance.
Sarah and Sean
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Transition Can Be Filled With Paradox
When we first returned from England, Sean and I had about 4 months before we would return. As we were re-adjusting to life back in Vegas we found ourselves saying, “What are we going to do for 4 months?” Now here we are just 6 weeks away from our final transition and we’re thinking, “Where has all the time gone?” Well, since our last update, a lot has happened and we’ve experienced the roller coaster ride we like to call “transition.” We have had times of rest and times of restlessness. Time to be poured into and time to pour out. Times of being ruled by our human nature and times of being led by the Holy Spirit. Times of feeling defeated and times of feeling victorious. Times of complacency and times of urgency. Times of reminiscing and times of looking forward. Here is a bit of what our roller coaster ride has looked like.
:: JULY
As I mentioned in our previous blog, our first official road trip was to California for my brother Gabriel’s wedding, and two weeks later we returned to spend a long weekend with Sean’s mom and step dad in Mission Viejo, CA. It was a great chance to catch up on our trip from England and to hear about their recent trip to Italy.
And as always when we go to visit mom, Sean had to pay a visit to the local Guitar Center. Usually he is only given the privilege of window shopping, but to Sean’s surprise I had agreed to an acoustic and amp upgrade. With music being a vital part of our ministry, with the help of our tax return, and with the condition that he sell his current amp and acoustic, Sean was able to walk out with a great deal on a Martin acoustic and a Line 6 amp. And he was able to sell both pieces of his old gear to one of the students in the youth group who was thrilled to receive them!
Another upgrade we were able to make was with our laptop. We were so blessed to be given our 12 inch Power Book from the church, but as technology has progressed they have begin phasing out the parts for this particular computer. So we agreed that a laptop upgrade was necessary. We were able to get a great deal on a computer that we feel has all the bells and whistles to last us a long time.
Both purchases were a huge blessing and weight off our shoulders because both have been put on the back burner for a while. With electronic purchases and musical gear being so expensive to purchase in England, we felt it was wise to move forward with both purchases.
:: AUGUST
August was a little less busy because we were in town the whole time. While in town, we tried to make it a priority to meet with as many current and potential supporters as possible. We had over 15 appointments that we were able to confirm.
We also had the responsibility of clearing out our 10x15 foot storage unit filled with the “bear essentials” that we thought we were going to be able to take with us to England. With the help and strength of our girthy friend Mitch and some students from the youth group, we were able to sort what we REALLY are able to take (about 25 boxes, a few pieces of small furniture and our mattresses). We sold the rest at a 2-day yard sale that our friends Adam and Laura hosted at their home. By the end of the yard sale, we were blessed with about $800! The rest of what we’re keeping but can’t take, my mom had agreed to pick-up and store at her home in Tucson. (We’ll tell of that “adventure” when we get to September.)
In August, Sean was also able to enjoy a chance serving with our weekend band and vocal team.
:: SEPTEMBER
Here is where things got a little hectic. Before we had even entered the month, September was already about 90% accounted for with out of town trips, visitors, and dinner appointments.
I was excited to have a chickBAND reunion. I was asked to partner with them to record one more song on their new album, and I was also able to play drums at an event to support an organization that helps with crisis pregnancies.
And as I mentioned, my mom was able to come to Vegas to pick up our belongings to store, but not without a wrench being thrown into the plans. My mom and her friend Robert were to come to Vegas with his truck and trailer, but the night before they were supposed to leave he was carjacked at gunpoint. Fortunately, he was not injured and they were still able to come and visit and pick-up our stuff, but we ended up paying for an unexpected $400 for a rental truck. But God is good and he was working through the hearts of those who care about us because my mom pitched in to help alleviate the cost along with our friends Adam and Laura. And Sean’s brother-in-law who works for Penske was able to get us a great rate on a rental. Once we were able to get past the stress of the situation, we were reminded that no matter what happens, God is able to take care of all of our needs…and he did!
Following my mom’s visit, Sean and I were scheduled to help lead worship at our weekend services. It was great to serve together.
The next thing on the calendar was a visit from 2 friends that we made during our Discipleship Training in England. Our friend Jake is from Colorado and Lis is from England. We had a blast taking them to Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, taking them to church, and of course showing them the Strip.
They were even able to share in the baptism of one of the students from the youth group.
After visiting for 5 days, we parted ways with Jake and headed BACK to California with Lis for a business and pleasure trip. We spent 2 days with Lis at Disneyland and California adventure using gift cards that were given to us as a parting gift from my job at Canyon Ridge last year. We had so much fun! We then parted ways with Lis and spent another 4 days with Sean’s mom. Sean’s sister also happened to be in town the same weekend, so we spent a little time with her as well. It was a good visit but a bit of a reality check kicked in as we realized that it would be the last time we see mom her for a while.
After leaving mom’s house, it was time for the business part of the trip…getting our visas at the UK embassy in Los Angeles. Praise God that everything went more smoothly than we could have hoped for. The process was as simple as turning in our applications in the morning and returning later on that afternoon to pick them up. While we waited for the apps to be processed, we were able to have lunch with my eldest brother Isaac. I don’t get to see him often so we treasured that time. The only thing that caught us off guard was the cost of the visas. The visa website didn’t have a cost breakdown, but said you could pay around a few hundred dollars per visa. When the charges rang up, it totaled about $420…for ONE! We paid $840 for our 2-year visas. And as we are learning, when wrenches get thrown into our plans, God is our provider and He has called us to this mission. We are learning more and more to put our trust in him through ALL circumstances.
Upon returning from this trip to California, we had about a day and a half before we returned for our last visit to California to spend some one-on-one time with my dad. We had a great time playing cards, checking out his new neck of the woods in Northern California, visiting the beach in Monterey, visiting San Francisco, and we even got to go to an air show!
In between each of the trips, we also kept busy with dinner and lunch appointments, rehearsals, and a going away party. One of the students from the youth group has decided to do a Discipleship Training School at the same location Sean and I did...Holmsted Manor in England! We have talked to him since his arrival to England and he is doing well. It is so exciting to have someone we know experiencing the same type of growth through the same program at the same location!
:: THANKSGIVING IN ENGLAND?
A huge task that Sean was able to accomplish during this time has been purchasing our tickets back to England. We were able to get a great rate of $337 per ticket. So our official departure date back across the pond is November 13…about 6 weeks away! This will be the first time we spend both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday away from family and friends and in another country. It’s time to say goodbye to old traditions, but this is an opportunity to create new ones.
:: BUDGET UPDATE
We wanted to celebrate that to date, we are almost 55% of our budget with almost a dozen families that have committed to giving but are still praying about a monthly amount. In addition, we have about another dozen families that we’ve asked to join our support team and they are in the process of praying through their decision. We are so thankful for our current partnerships and look forward to the new ones to come.
Whew! I think that is everything. Despite the craziness and the "bumps" we've hit, God has been faithful. We have our visas. We have our plane tickets. We have a growing support team. But we also still have a busy schedule ahead of us. We have a lot more follow up conversations to have, we have to finalize shipping the remainder of our belongings overseas, and we have three more out of town trips on the calendar: one to Colorado Springs, one to Philadelphia, and another to Arizona. Please pray that our momentum would continue to grow as we get closer to leaving. As always, thank you for taking an interest in our lives. We look forward to sharing the blessings that God will bring us through the month of October. Until next month…
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
:: JULYAs I mentioned in our previous blog, our first official road trip was to California for my brother Gabriel’s wedding, and two weeks later we returned to spend a long weekend with Sean’s mom and step dad in Mission Viejo, CA. It was a great chance to catch up on our trip from England and to hear about their recent trip to Italy.
And as always when we go to visit mom, Sean had to pay a visit to the local Guitar Center. Usually he is only given the privilege of window shopping, but to Sean’s surprise I had agreed to an acoustic and amp upgrade. With music being a vital part of our ministry, with the help of our tax return, and with the condition that he sell his current amp and acoustic, Sean was able to walk out with a great deal on a Martin acoustic and a Line 6 amp. And he was able to sell both pieces of his old gear to one of the students in the youth group who was thrilled to receive them!Another upgrade we were able to make was with our laptop. We were so blessed to be given our 12 inch Power Book from the church, but as technology has progressed they have begin phasing out the parts for this particular computer. So we agreed that a laptop upgrade was necessary. We were able to get a great deal on a computer that we feel has all the bells and whistles to last us a long time.
Both purchases were a huge blessing and weight off our shoulders because both have been put on the back burner for a while. With electronic purchases and musical gear being so expensive to purchase in England, we felt it was wise to move forward with both purchases.
:: AUGUST
August was a little less busy because we were in town the whole time. While in town, we tried to make it a priority to meet with as many current and potential supporters as possible. We had over 15 appointments that we were able to confirm.
We also had the responsibility of clearing out our 10x15 foot storage unit filled with the “bear essentials” that we thought we were going to be able to take with us to England. With the help and strength of our girthy friend Mitch and some students from the youth group, we were able to sort what we REALLY are able to take (about 25 boxes, a few pieces of small furniture and our mattresses). We sold the rest at a 2-day yard sale that our friends Adam and Laura hosted at their home. By the end of the yard sale, we were blessed with about $800! The rest of what we’re keeping but can’t take, my mom had agreed to pick-up and store at her home in Tucson. (We’ll tell of that “adventure” when we get to September.)
In August, Sean was also able to enjoy a chance serving with our weekend band and vocal team.
:: SEPTEMBER
Here is where things got a little hectic. Before we had even entered the month, September was already about 90% accounted for with out of town trips, visitors, and dinner appointments.
I was excited to have a chickBAND reunion. I was asked to partner with them to record one more song on their new album, and I was also able to play drums at an event to support an organization that helps with crisis pregnancies.
And as I mentioned, my mom was able to come to Vegas to pick up our belongings to store, but not without a wrench being thrown into the plans. My mom and her friend Robert were to come to Vegas with his truck and trailer, but the night before they were supposed to leave he was carjacked at gunpoint. Fortunately, he was not injured and they were still able to come and visit and pick-up our stuff, but we ended up paying for an unexpected $400 for a rental truck. But God is good and he was working through the hearts of those who care about us because my mom pitched in to help alleviate the cost along with our friends Adam and Laura. And Sean’s brother-in-law who works for Penske was able to get us a great rate on a rental. Once we were able to get past the stress of the situation, we were reminded that no matter what happens, God is able to take care of all of our needs…and he did!
Following my mom’s visit, Sean and I were scheduled to help lead worship at our weekend services. It was great to serve together.
The next thing on the calendar was a visit from 2 friends that we made during our Discipleship Training in England. Our friend Jake is from Colorado and Lis is from England. We had a blast taking them to Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, taking them to church, and of course showing them the Strip.They were even able to share in the baptism of one of the students from the youth group.
After visiting for 5 days, we parted ways with Jake and headed BACK to California with Lis for a business and pleasure trip. We spent 2 days with Lis at Disneyland and California adventure using gift cards that were given to us as a parting gift from my job at Canyon Ridge last year. We had so much fun! We then parted ways with Lis and spent another 4 days with Sean’s mom. Sean’s sister also happened to be in town the same weekend, so we spent a little time with her as well. It was a good visit but a bit of a reality check kicked in as we realized that it would be the last time we see mom her for a while.
After leaving mom’s house, it was time for the business part of the trip…getting our visas at the UK embassy in Los Angeles. Praise God that everything went more smoothly than we could have hoped for. The process was as simple as turning in our applications in the morning and returning later on that afternoon to pick them up. While we waited for the apps to be processed, we were able to have lunch with my eldest brother Isaac. I don’t get to see him often so we treasured that time. The only thing that caught us off guard was the cost of the visas. The visa website didn’t have a cost breakdown, but said you could pay around a few hundred dollars per visa. When the charges rang up, it totaled about $420…for ONE! We paid $840 for our 2-year visas. And as we are learning, when wrenches get thrown into our plans, God is our provider and He has called us to this mission. We are learning more and more to put our trust in him through ALL circumstances.
Upon returning from this trip to California, we had about a day and a half before we returned for our last visit to California to spend some one-on-one time with my dad. We had a great time playing cards, checking out his new neck of the woods in Northern California, visiting the beach in Monterey, visiting San Francisco, and we even got to go to an air show!
In between each of the trips, we also kept busy with dinner and lunch appointments, rehearsals, and a going away party. One of the students from the youth group has decided to do a Discipleship Training School at the same location Sean and I did...Holmsted Manor in England! We have talked to him since his arrival to England and he is doing well. It is so exciting to have someone we know experiencing the same type of growth through the same program at the same location!
:: THANKSGIVING IN ENGLAND?
A huge task that Sean was able to accomplish during this time has been purchasing our tickets back to England. We were able to get a great rate of $337 per ticket. So our official departure date back across the pond is November 13…about 6 weeks away! This will be the first time we spend both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday away from family and friends and in another country. It’s time to say goodbye to old traditions, but this is an opportunity to create new ones.
:: BUDGET UPDATE
We wanted to celebrate that to date, we are almost 55% of our budget with almost a dozen families that have committed to giving but are still praying about a monthly amount. In addition, we have about another dozen families that we’ve asked to join our support team and they are in the process of praying through their decision. We are so thankful for our current partnerships and look forward to the new ones to come.
Whew! I think that is everything. Despite the craziness and the "bumps" we've hit, God has been faithful. We have our visas. We have our plane tickets. We have a growing support team. But we also still have a busy schedule ahead of us. We have a lot more follow up conversations to have, we have to finalize shipping the remainder of our belongings overseas, and we have three more out of town trips on the calendar: one to Colorado Springs, one to Philadelphia, and another to Arizona. Please pray that our momentum would continue to grow as we get closer to leaving. As always, thank you for taking an interest in our lives. We look forward to sharing the blessings that God will bring us through the month of October. Until next month…
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Monday, July 23, 2007
Welcome BACK to Fabulous Las Vegas!
It's hard to believe that we've been back for almost 3 weeks already. Time sure does fly when you're catching up from a 6 month absence! We flew home from England on the Fourth of July and were welcomed home with a BANG. The flight took a total of about 16 hours, and from the time we woke up to the time we went to bed we were probably up about 25 hours. Needless to say it was a long day. We were also welcomed with that famous Las Vegas dry heat. When we left England, temperatures were in the low 70's and when we arrived in Vegas it was around 116F...almost a 50 degree difference! We had several people that met us at the airport to welcome us home, including my dad who was able to meet us at the gate because he purchased a ticket to Vegas giving him terminal access. We felt so loved by everyone.
So since our arrival, here is what we have been up to...
:: A WAILING GUITAR & A WELCOME HOME PARTY (July 7-8)
There's nothing like the reuniting of a former metal-head and his beloved electric guitar. Since Sean had gone 6 months without playing his electric, he jumped at the opportunity to play guitar at our weekend church services - even though it was just days after our arrival. He played a total of 5 services and loved every moment of it! A few people had no idea that we had returned until they saw Sean on stage that weekend. It was fun to begin the catch-up process with everyone!
That weekend we also were thrown a welcome home party by our host family, the Edwards. We were overwhelmed by the amount of support that was shown to us that day. There were between 50-60 people that showed up to share a meal and hear our stories. We spent most of the evening trying to play catch up with individuals, but then Sean and I played a video we had put together giving a glimpse of what our lives have looked like the past 6 months. We shared about our lives in England and our lives in Poland. We shared personal testimony of how God has grown us through challenge with people and circumstances. And we shared how God has been faithful to confirm our calling to England. We ended the night with our friends praying for Sean and I. After the party was over, we were convinced by our friends the Turners to watch a late showing of Transformers. A group of about 15 of us went. Since Sean and I were still recovering from jet lag, we had a hard time staying awake towards the end, but we thoroughly enjoyed the film.
:: FAMILY REUNIONS (July 12-17)
The weekend following, we took our first road trip since being Stateside and drove to California for my brother Gabriel's wedding. That was the first time in almost a few years that ALL 6 of my siblings and my parents were together. The wedding was simple and beautiful, and it was a great chance to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in years! The rest of the time in Cali was spent chillin. We went and saw Transformers again, we had a BBQ, we went swimming, we went shopping, and we told stories.
(July 27-August 1)
This coming weekend we will be heading to Cali again to spend some time with Sean's mom and stepdad. She has a 4-day weekend so it will be good to spend some quality time catching up.
Although we don't know dates yet, we also plan on taking a trip down to Arizona to visit friends and family there. We are so glad we weren't able to sell our car before we left...it's nice to have our own vehicle for roadtrips!
:: SHARING STORIES WHILE SHARING MEALS
In between events we've been able to meet with several people over breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee...it has been WONDERFUL to have some one-one-one catch-up time. Not only have we been excited to share, but we've been excited to hear what has been going on in your lives! We plan on meeting with people during the remainder of our stay in Vegas. If we don't get to you first, please feel free to e-mail or call us if you'd like to meet.
:: THE BIG QUESTION...
Probably the question we have heard most is: "How long are you here for?" We are tentatively back in Vegas until November. After completing our Discipleship Training School (DTS) we felt that God had confirmed our calling to work in England but not in Liverpool like initially planned. We will be going back to Holmsted Manor (the place of our schooling) to help lead a DTS in January 2008. To be a part of the planning for this school, we should be back at least a few months prior to the school starting, hence the November target date. We have made a two-year commitment to Holmsted and as of right now, we believe that God has called us to England indefinitely.
Another question being asked is: "What will you be doing between now and then?" Between now and November we have to research and apply for visas, we have to sell the remainder of what we aren't bringing overseas, we have to research overseas shipping, and we have to raise additional support. While we are in town, we both feel it is important to stay actively involved doing Kingdom work, so we are both pursuing volunteer opportunities through our home church Canyon Ridge and through the local Youth With A Mission group.
We hope this update has been able to answer a few of your questions. We know we haven't covered all the details in this blog, so if you have more questions please feel free to contact us via e-mail sean.stepleton@gmail.com or by phone at (702) 378-7775. It is so good to be back. In some ways, it feels like we never left. In other ways, it feels like so much has changed. Regardless, it is a privilege to be on this exciting journey with all of you. Thank you for taking an interest in our lives and thank you for taking an interest in what God is doing around the globe. We love you all!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
So since our arrival, here is what we have been up to...
:: A WAILING GUITAR & A WELCOME HOME PARTY (July 7-8)
There's nothing like the reuniting of a former metal-head and his beloved electric guitar. Since Sean had gone 6 months without playing his electric, he jumped at the opportunity to play guitar at our weekend church services - even though it was just days after our arrival. He played a total of 5 services and loved every moment of it! A few people had no idea that we had returned until they saw Sean on stage that weekend. It was fun to begin the catch-up process with everyone!
That weekend we also were thrown a welcome home party by our host family, the Edwards. We were overwhelmed by the amount of support that was shown to us that day. There were between 50-60 people that showed up to share a meal and hear our stories. We spent most of the evening trying to play catch up with individuals, but then Sean and I played a video we had put together giving a glimpse of what our lives have looked like the past 6 months. We shared about our lives in England and our lives in Poland. We shared personal testimony of how God has grown us through challenge with people and circumstances. And we shared how God has been faithful to confirm our calling to England. We ended the night with our friends praying for Sean and I. After the party was over, we were convinced by our friends the Turners to watch a late showing of Transformers. A group of about 15 of us went. Since Sean and I were still recovering from jet lag, we had a hard time staying awake towards the end, but we thoroughly enjoyed the film.
:: FAMILY REUNIONS (July 12-17)
The weekend following, we took our first road trip since being Stateside and drove to California for my brother Gabriel's wedding. That was the first time in almost a few years that ALL 6 of my siblings and my parents were together. The wedding was simple and beautiful, and it was a great chance to catch up with aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in years! The rest of the time in Cali was spent chillin. We went and saw Transformers again, we had a BBQ, we went swimming, we went shopping, and we told stories.
(July 27-August 1)
This coming weekend we will be heading to Cali again to spend some time with Sean's mom and stepdad. She has a 4-day weekend so it will be good to spend some quality time catching up.
Although we don't know dates yet, we also plan on taking a trip down to Arizona to visit friends and family there. We are so glad we weren't able to sell our car before we left...it's nice to have our own vehicle for roadtrips!
:: SHARING STORIES WHILE SHARING MEALS
In between events we've been able to meet with several people over breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee...it has been WONDERFUL to have some one-one-one catch-up time. Not only have we been excited to share, but we've been excited to hear what has been going on in your lives! We plan on meeting with people during the remainder of our stay in Vegas. If we don't get to you first, please feel free to e-mail or call us if you'd like to meet.
:: THE BIG QUESTION...
Probably the question we have heard most is: "How long are you here for?" We are tentatively back in Vegas until November. After completing our Discipleship Training School (DTS) we felt that God had confirmed our calling to work in England but not in Liverpool like initially planned. We will be going back to Holmsted Manor (the place of our schooling) to help lead a DTS in January 2008. To be a part of the planning for this school, we should be back at least a few months prior to the school starting, hence the November target date. We have made a two-year commitment to Holmsted and as of right now, we believe that God has called us to England indefinitely.
Another question being asked is: "What will you be doing between now and then?" Between now and November we have to research and apply for visas, we have to sell the remainder of what we aren't bringing overseas, we have to research overseas shipping, and we have to raise additional support. While we are in town, we both feel it is important to stay actively involved doing Kingdom work, so we are both pursuing volunteer opportunities through our home church Canyon Ridge and through the local Youth With A Mission group.
We hope this update has been able to answer a few of your questions. We know we haven't covered all the details in this blog, so if you have more questions please feel free to contact us via e-mail sean.stepleton@gmail.com or by phone at (702) 378-7775. It is so good to be back. In some ways, it feels like we never left. In other ways, it feels like so much has changed. Regardless, it is a privilege to be on this exciting journey with all of you. Thank you for taking an interest in our lives and thank you for taking an interest in what God is doing around the globe. We love you all!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Saturday, June 23, 2007
We've Graduated!
Well, there was no Pomp and Circumstance played, but we have officially graduated our Discipleship Training School. The past 6 months has been emotional but rewarding...challenging but growing...sacrificial but well worth it! Let me bring you up to speed on this last leg of our journey.
:: PROCESSING POLAND
If I could summarize our time in Poland with one word, it would have to be perseverance. We persevered through a lot. We persevered through a busy schedule, through a difficult language barrier, through lack of privacy, through intense hayfever (allergies), through team conflict, and through unmet expectations. But when you persevere for the sake of God's glory, He leaves you with no regrets. As a team, we had to learn to trust God's promises in a new way. We had to ask ourselves if we trusted God to still be faithful even if we didn't see fruit from our labor or his promises fulfilled in our lifetime. We needed to trust that we were doing the work that He called us to and that was all He was asking of us...our obedience. God is responsible for bringing forth the fruit. It was very humbling to remember that God has a plan for the entirety of the world that is so much bigger than me, and the fact that He uses us to partner with him is such a privilege. Our team read through Hebrews 11, the "faith" chapter. It lists through a ton of heroes from the bible and what they stepped out to do in faith. And after everyone is commended for their faith, we hit verse 39 which says "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." They all used their lives to commit to something bigger than themselves and trusted God's promises to be true because He said they were true and not because of what could be seen. That is the kind of faith Sean and I want to continue to strive for.
We ended our time in Poland in a cute town called Pszczyna. We spent a few days processing as a team and simply relaxing. Sean and I also spent an anniversary here. We celebrated 9 years with steak and a glass of wine. It was lovely. I feel like we had a God moment over dinner because we were both reflecting on the ups and downs our marriage has had and we were talking about how good God has been to us and then we recognized the song that was playing. In this little Polish restaurant in this little town Pszczyna, they started playing a worship song called "More Than Enough." The song talks about how God can satisfy our every need and that He is more than enough. We both were teary-eyed as we felt God in our conversation through that song.
I believe we left Poland feeling stronger in our relationship with God, stronger in our relationship with each other, and with an appreciation for the beauty in the Polish culture. Polish people are so lovely and a great example of what it means to truly value people. They are great listeners, talkers, and are always willing to go the extra TWO miles for you! I will miss this country and the friendships we made there.
:: HOLMSTED SWEET HOLMSTED
After returning from Poland, we had a week left of school at Holmsted Manor. This last week is intended to process our experience, talk through unresolved relational conflicts (if any), talk through unmet expectations, and process what it will be like to return home. It was good to be reminded that over the last 6 months, we have changed, and our family and friends have probably changed a bit as well. We were challenged to be careful on how we share our learnings and experiences. Just as much as we want to be good at sharing the things that God has done in our lives, we need to be good listeners to hear what God has been doing in the lives of our loved ones.
On one of the last days that we were debriefing, our school leader Daniel said that he had a surprise for us. At first we all thought it was food, but then he said it was a special guest. We thought it might have been one of the students in our class that left the school early or Sean thought it might be a famous worship leader named Matt Redman who lives in the area. But we were shocked and emotionally unprepared for this surprise...it was our leader Kateen who had lost her leg a few months ago. She was determined to make it back for our graduation and flew all the way back to England from Washington State by herself. WE CRIED! She has been such an inspiration to our class. She has shown us what it means to trust God in every circumstance in life. And she looks amazing! She looks so healthy and she is currently getting around on crutches. She was hoping to have a prosthetic by now but it has taken a little longer than she planned. She is also hoping to come back and lead another school! After the shock had settled, Sean leaned over to me and said "Real life is so much cooler than any movie."
::WHAT'S NEXT?
Well, most of our class has already headed home so we have had a few teary goodbyes. On Wednesday, Sean and I will be heading up to Liverpool to spend time with the base leader up there. It sounds like it will be a good time! We will get to stay on a boat for a few days and off of Strawberry Fields...yes, we'll be in Beatle's Country for 5 days. We were praying that God would have better clarity for us on what our next step should be following the completion of our DTS. And we both feel we have a clear next step...Sean and I will be staffing the next January DTS which means we will be returning to England in the fall. We are really looking forward to this next season of ministry!
I hope this update finds you all well, and I hope you are preparing to update us with the life stories that have been molding you over the past 6 months. We can't express enough gratitude for the support that each of you has been to us. We have been encouraged by e-mails, through phone calls, care packages, finances, letters, and prayers. We hope that God will continue to bless each of you abundantly as you have abundantly blessed us. We'll see you very soon!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
:: PROCESSING POLAND
If I could summarize our time in Poland with one word, it would have to be perseverance. We persevered through a lot. We persevered through a busy schedule, through a difficult language barrier, through lack of privacy, through intense hayfever (allergies), through team conflict, and through unmet expectations. But when you persevere for the sake of God's glory, He leaves you with no regrets. As a team, we had to learn to trust God's promises in a new way. We had to ask ourselves if we trusted God to still be faithful even if we didn't see fruit from our labor or his promises fulfilled in our lifetime. We needed to trust that we were doing the work that He called us to and that was all He was asking of us...our obedience. God is responsible for bringing forth the fruit. It was very humbling to remember that God has a plan for the entirety of the world that is so much bigger than me, and the fact that He uses us to partner with him is such a privilege. Our team read through Hebrews 11, the "faith" chapter. It lists through a ton of heroes from the bible and what they stepped out to do in faith. And after everyone is commended for their faith, we hit verse 39 which says "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." They all used their lives to commit to something bigger than themselves and trusted God's promises to be true because He said they were true and not because of what could be seen. That is the kind of faith Sean and I want to continue to strive for.
We ended our time in Poland in a cute town called Pszczyna. We spent a few days processing as a team and simply relaxing. Sean and I also spent an anniversary here. We celebrated 9 years with steak and a glass of wine. It was lovely. I feel like we had a God moment over dinner because we were both reflecting on the ups and downs our marriage has had and we were talking about how good God has been to us and then we recognized the song that was playing. In this little Polish restaurant in this little town Pszczyna, they started playing a worship song called "More Than Enough." The song talks about how God can satisfy our every need and that He is more than enough. We both were teary-eyed as we felt God in our conversation through that song.
I believe we left Poland feeling stronger in our relationship with God, stronger in our relationship with each other, and with an appreciation for the beauty in the Polish culture. Polish people are so lovely and a great example of what it means to truly value people. They are great listeners, talkers, and are always willing to go the extra TWO miles for you! I will miss this country and the friendships we made there.
:: HOLMSTED SWEET HOLMSTED
After returning from Poland, we had a week left of school at Holmsted Manor. This last week is intended to process our experience, talk through unresolved relational conflicts (if any), talk through unmet expectations, and process what it will be like to return home. It was good to be reminded that over the last 6 months, we have changed, and our family and friends have probably changed a bit as well. We were challenged to be careful on how we share our learnings and experiences. Just as much as we want to be good at sharing the things that God has done in our lives, we need to be good listeners to hear what God has been doing in the lives of our loved ones.
On one of the last days that we were debriefing, our school leader Daniel said that he had a surprise for us. At first we all thought it was food, but then he said it was a special guest. We thought it might have been one of the students in our class that left the school early or Sean thought it might be a famous worship leader named Matt Redman who lives in the area. But we were shocked and emotionally unprepared for this surprise...it was our leader Kateen who had lost her leg a few months ago. She was determined to make it back for our graduation and flew all the way back to England from Washington State by herself. WE CRIED! She has been such an inspiration to our class. She has shown us what it means to trust God in every circumstance in life. And she looks amazing! She looks so healthy and she is currently getting around on crutches. She was hoping to have a prosthetic by now but it has taken a little longer than she planned. She is also hoping to come back and lead another school! After the shock had settled, Sean leaned over to me and said "Real life is so much cooler than any movie."
::WHAT'S NEXT?
Well, most of our class has already headed home so we have had a few teary goodbyes. On Wednesday, Sean and I will be heading up to Liverpool to spend time with the base leader up there. It sounds like it will be a good time! We will get to stay on a boat for a few days and off of Strawberry Fields...yes, we'll be in Beatle's Country for 5 days. We were praying that God would have better clarity for us on what our next step should be following the completion of our DTS. And we both feel we have a clear next step...Sean and I will be staffing the next January DTS which means we will be returning to England in the fall. We are really looking forward to this next season of ministry!
I hope this update finds you all well, and I hope you are preparing to update us with the life stories that have been molding you over the past 6 months. We can't express enough gratitude for the support that each of you has been to us. We have been encouraged by e-mails, through phone calls, care packages, finances, letters, and prayers. We hope that God will continue to bless each of you abundantly as you have abundantly blessed us. We'll see you very soon!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Monday, May 7, 2007
We're In Poland!
Hi everyone. We are so sorry that our updates have been few and far between. We are currently in Poland and have been for the past 3 weeks. There is so much to catch up on, but I am limited on time because I am using internet on a public computer. I will try to give you a snapshot of what has been happening.
We got into Poland 3 Sundays ago. We are living in a small church that we have also been serving with. We are so blessed because we have a kitchen with a fridge, stove, sink, and tons of dishes to use. We have 2 toilets and even shower. Sean and I even have our own room! We have a male student that sleeps literally right outside our door, and the female students and our leader Jodi sleep in the sanctuary. The lack of privacy has been difficult and living in small quarters with 7 other people is difficult, but we are appreciative for what we have.
Our first day, we had to go grocery shopping and experienced culture shock right off the bat! Polish is so different than other languages I have heard. It took us a while to get our shopping done and it was so hard to order food that first day, but we did it! We were even able to figure out the bus system enough to make it home. It has only been 3 weeks since that first experience and we are already holding small conversations with the locals. It's amazing how quickly you can adapt when you are immersed in a new culture!
So far, we have been involved in the following ministries: we teach English to adults, we've been to a prison, we've been to 2 nursing homes, we lead worship at the church we are staying at, we help with a YWAM program that works with local youth called King's Kids, we've worked with a single mom's home, and we have served the homeless. We even got to lead a church service in a church in Katovice. We did a drama, we lead worship, we gave testimonies, and Sean got to preach! (We're learning what it is like to work with an interpretter!) It was amazing. Our message was on letting Jesus and Jesus alone be the one that guides you to salvation. Too many times people say it is Jesus and...generosity, good works, going to church, etc. The holy Spirit was working through us because we asked if we could pray for the congregation (about 30-40 people) and several people came forward. Many were even in tears. And the cool thing was that we had a few people that prayed with an interpretter, but most everyone else we prayed for had no idea what we were saying and they still showed how appreciative they were to have been prayed for. We had lots of hugs and even a few kisses from people!
While here, we have also had a chance to visit Auschwitz. It was very surreal walking through a concentration camp. The strange thing is that we were walking through a place responsible for executing around 1.5 million people and you would never know it had carried so much death. The place almost looks like a school or factory or something. It was a lot to take in as they had pictures up everywhere, showing the history of events. I had no idea of the animosity that Germany once felt towards not only the Jewish people, but Poland as a whole country. There goal was to literally remove the identity of the Polish people by taking away their dignity and there country. When we get a chance, we will post pictures.
We also had a chance today to see Spiderman 3. We felt "normal" being able to watch a film. I think we have both had reality kick in that we are very far from home in a culture that we are not familiar with, with a language that is very hard to understand. We know God has us here and we see how he is using us, but that doesn't mean that the feelings of being homesick don't exist. We've been missing our own home, our pets, our families, our friends, our church, our favorite restaurants, our privacy, our church...please keep this in prayer. We know it is okay to have these feelings, but we also understand the need for daily surrender. It can be easy to give in to negativity when things are uncomfortable and we want to choose to walk with Christ daily. We also understand that we are here fighting a spiritual battle as we serve the people of Poland, and this nation has a lot of depression that lingers (both from WW2 and from Communism which finally ended in the 80's). It also fights a lot of complacency as many people struggle with alcohol. This nation has a HUGE unemployment rate. But one thing about this culture that is so beautiful is there sense of servitude and giving. Because they had nothing but each other for so long while under communism rule, they value people. They listen intently, they want to know about who you are, they want you to feel welcome and serve you at every opportunity. There is a gentleman that comes to church who has recently overcome an addiction to alcohol (since Dec 06). He is homeless and lives at a shelter, but not only does he come to church, he faithfully serves doing maintenance around the place and he refuses to be paid. One morning, he even bought our team a cheesecake to share. How humbling is that!? A man with nothing still willing to give what he can. And that is what God wants from each of us...to offer what we have. And that is what has us here in Poland. We are offering God our lives of service to him.
I hope that this update allows you a glimpse at what has been going on in our lives recently. Hopefully the next time we write, we'll be able to be more detailed on our God stories. Just pressed for time.
Thank you so very much for making it possible for us to be here. Thank you for remembering us even though we are not in your weekly routines. Thank you for praying for us. The joy of the Lord is our strength! We miss you all so much and we love you dearly!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
We got into Poland 3 Sundays ago. We are living in a small church that we have also been serving with. We are so blessed because we have a kitchen with a fridge, stove, sink, and tons of dishes to use. We have 2 toilets and even shower. Sean and I even have our own room! We have a male student that sleeps literally right outside our door, and the female students and our leader Jodi sleep in the sanctuary. The lack of privacy has been difficult and living in small quarters with 7 other people is difficult, but we are appreciative for what we have.
Our first day, we had to go grocery shopping and experienced culture shock right off the bat! Polish is so different than other languages I have heard. It took us a while to get our shopping done and it was so hard to order food that first day, but we did it! We were even able to figure out the bus system enough to make it home. It has only been 3 weeks since that first experience and we are already holding small conversations with the locals. It's amazing how quickly you can adapt when you are immersed in a new culture!
So far, we have been involved in the following ministries: we teach English to adults, we've been to a prison, we've been to 2 nursing homes, we lead worship at the church we are staying at, we help with a YWAM program that works with local youth called King's Kids, we've worked with a single mom's home, and we have served the homeless. We even got to lead a church service in a church in Katovice. We did a drama, we lead worship, we gave testimonies, and Sean got to preach! (We're learning what it is like to work with an interpretter!) It was amazing. Our message was on letting Jesus and Jesus alone be the one that guides you to salvation. Too many times people say it is Jesus and...generosity, good works, going to church, etc. The holy Spirit was working through us because we asked if we could pray for the congregation (about 30-40 people) and several people came forward. Many were even in tears. And the cool thing was that we had a few people that prayed with an interpretter, but most everyone else we prayed for had no idea what we were saying and they still showed how appreciative they were to have been prayed for. We had lots of hugs and even a few kisses from people!
While here, we have also had a chance to visit Auschwitz. It was very surreal walking through a concentration camp. The strange thing is that we were walking through a place responsible for executing around 1.5 million people and you would never know it had carried so much death. The place almost looks like a school or factory or something. It was a lot to take in as they had pictures up everywhere, showing the history of events. I had no idea of the animosity that Germany once felt towards not only the Jewish people, but Poland as a whole country. There goal was to literally remove the identity of the Polish people by taking away their dignity and there country. When we get a chance, we will post pictures.
We also had a chance today to see Spiderman 3. We felt "normal" being able to watch a film. I think we have both had reality kick in that we are very far from home in a culture that we are not familiar with, with a language that is very hard to understand. We know God has us here and we see how he is using us, but that doesn't mean that the feelings of being homesick don't exist. We've been missing our own home, our pets, our families, our friends, our church, our favorite restaurants, our privacy, our church...please keep this in prayer. We know it is okay to have these feelings, but we also understand the need for daily surrender. It can be easy to give in to negativity when things are uncomfortable and we want to choose to walk with Christ daily. We also understand that we are here fighting a spiritual battle as we serve the people of Poland, and this nation has a lot of depression that lingers (both from WW2 and from Communism which finally ended in the 80's). It also fights a lot of complacency as many people struggle with alcohol. This nation has a HUGE unemployment rate. But one thing about this culture that is so beautiful is there sense of servitude and giving. Because they had nothing but each other for so long while under communism rule, they value people. They listen intently, they want to know about who you are, they want you to feel welcome and serve you at every opportunity. There is a gentleman that comes to church who has recently overcome an addiction to alcohol (since Dec 06). He is homeless and lives at a shelter, but not only does he come to church, he faithfully serves doing maintenance around the place and he refuses to be paid. One morning, he even bought our team a cheesecake to share. How humbling is that!? A man with nothing still willing to give what he can. And that is what God wants from each of us...to offer what we have. And that is what has us here in Poland. We are offering God our lives of service to him.
I hope that this update allows you a glimpse at what has been going on in our lives recently. Hopefully the next time we write, we'll be able to be more detailed on our God stories. Just pressed for time.
Thank you so very much for making it possible for us to be here. Thank you for remembering us even though we are not in your weekly routines. Thank you for praying for us. The joy of the Lord is our strength! We miss you all so much and we love you dearly!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Monday, April 9, 2007
So Much to Process, So Little Time!
It is hard to believe that there is only one week before we enter the Outreach Portion of our training and go to live in Poland for 2 months! It feels like there is always so much to process each week. Let me try and unpack what has been going on.
:: KATEEN
First, we would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all of the prayer support that has been extended on behalf of our friend and leader Kateen. She is finally back in America and has been going through reconstructive surgery. God provided the full funds and then some to get her home, but before she left, we were able to have one last worship service with Kateen at the hospital chapel. It was special. She allowed us to ask questions and I feel it brought a bit of closure to the whole situation. However, we know that she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her. To learn more about Kateen’s story and hear her latest prayer needs, you can visit a website dedicated to her story. www.kateensolberg.com.
:: OUTREACH SIMULATION AND TEAM BUILDING
To help prepare our teams for outreach, we participated in an “Outreach Simulation.” The point of the simulation was to prepare us for “the unknown.” We simulated going through getting visas, having to change flights, going through customs, and we practiced a LOT of waiting. Our leadership tried to make us as uncomfortable as possible to see how we would react to pressure. It was a good exercise that lasted the whole day. I feel our team had a mixture of flexibility and frustration. The next day, we did a bunch of team building exercises including creating our own obstacle course. Unfortunately, I was sick for this day but Sean said our team did very well at problem solving. Through these two days, we learned that our team works very well when we have a specific task that needs to get done, but that we could use a bit more work on flexibility. I’m sure God will give us plenty of opportunities for that!
:: THE HOLY SPIRIT, INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY, AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE
The past few weeks have been incredible. We had a YWAMer named Fiona Gifford come and speak and to be honest…I can’t remember her specific topic. She was very Holy Spirit led. The best way that I can describe her teaching was that she had a journey she wanted to take us all on, but not everyone was ready for the journey. So she would go on these “spiritual tangents” to help challenge and encourage each of us where we were at. In the end, we did end up talking through steps of reconciliation. I think the biggest challenge Fiona left us with was the fact that God is always speaking to us…we just need to choose to listen to what He is saying. If we all have the Holy Spirit, then we also have the power to be led by the Spirit.
This past week was an overview of the Bible and a teaching on the importance of inductive Bible study with another YWAMer from Germany named Regine. The overview was so helpful, because it was given like a history lesson with historical background on who different leaders were and what the culture was like. And as the history lesson unfolded, you could also see that events in history and through the Bible were not random events…they are all a part of God’s greater plan to teach his people how to be in relationship with Him and with each other. During our inductive Bible study, we studied the book of Philemon. We were shown how to study the Bible with our pre-conceived notions aside so that we wouldn’t take anything out of context. We were taught that it’s important to look at the type of literature being written (is it a letter, is it poetry, etc.) and to also consider the audience being addressed. After reading through the book of Philemon with our new study habits, we were able to observe the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation at the depth Paul was trying to convey. After this week, it was encouraging to see that you can develop a hunger for God’s word and that you don’t have to operate out of guilt.
Next week Regine’s husband Sean will be speaking on spiritual warfare. Should be good!
:: LOCAL OUTREACH UPDATE
Many of you know that Sean and I have been playing weekly at a pub in Brighton for “Open Mic Night.” It’s been a great time to befriend some of the locals that come every week. Most of our conversations have been light until this past week. Just about every week we have sat and chatted with a local named Chloe. Mostly we talk about music, but this past week God opened a door. Chloe had performed a song that talked about death and what happens when you die and one of our teammates Jeff saw that as a God-given green light to share our faith. He shared his testimony a bit and his struggle with depression and how God has been faithful. We weren’t sure how she’d respond but she was very open to talking about God. She said that she thinks about the idea of God a lot but that she does not believe in him because of all the terrible things that happen in this world. We tried sharing that the bad things of this world are not of God but because of our free will. She agreed to an extent but still has her doubts. We left her with the idea that we believe God has called us to do two things: love him and love others. She felt that non-Christians still have the capacity to love like Christians do, but she seemed encouraged by our sentiment. We told her that we would be gone for 2 months so we exchanged e-mails and she looks forward to meeting with us again when we are back from Poland. God is so good! We are praying that God will continue to make himself clear to Chloe and that she will see his love for her by the way we love her. Please keep her lifted up!
Well, I hope this catches you up to speed. God has been so faithful to us. We have gone through some stressful and uncomfortable times both with our class and even in our marriage, but God has proven faithful and to be such a good God through each circumstance. I pray that during this Easter weekend that God will reveal himself to you all in a new and very real way.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 1 John 3:16
Remember his commands. Love God. Leach each other.
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
:: KATEEN
First, we would like to extend a HUGE thank you to all of the prayer support that has been extended on behalf of our friend and leader Kateen. She is finally back in America and has been going through reconstructive surgery. God provided the full funds and then some to get her home, but before she left, we were able to have one last worship service with Kateen at the hospital chapel. It was special. She allowed us to ask questions and I feel it brought a bit of closure to the whole situation. However, we know that she still has a long road of recovery ahead of her. To learn more about Kateen’s story and hear her latest prayer needs, you can visit a website dedicated to her story. www.kateensolberg.com.
:: OUTREACH SIMULATION AND TEAM BUILDING
To help prepare our teams for outreach, we participated in an “Outreach Simulation.” The point of the simulation was to prepare us for “the unknown.” We simulated going through getting visas, having to change flights, going through customs, and we practiced a LOT of waiting. Our leadership tried to make us as uncomfortable as possible to see how we would react to pressure. It was a good exercise that lasted the whole day. I feel our team had a mixture of flexibility and frustration. The next day, we did a bunch of team building exercises including creating our own obstacle course. Unfortunately, I was sick for this day but Sean said our team did very well at problem solving. Through these two days, we learned that our team works very well when we have a specific task that needs to get done, but that we could use a bit more work on flexibility. I’m sure God will give us plenty of opportunities for that!
:: THE HOLY SPIRIT, INDUCTIVE BIBLE STUDY, AND SPIRITUAL WARFARE
The past few weeks have been incredible. We had a YWAMer named Fiona Gifford come and speak and to be honest…I can’t remember her specific topic. She was very Holy Spirit led. The best way that I can describe her teaching was that she had a journey she wanted to take us all on, but not everyone was ready for the journey. So she would go on these “spiritual tangents” to help challenge and encourage each of us where we were at. In the end, we did end up talking through steps of reconciliation. I think the biggest challenge Fiona left us with was the fact that God is always speaking to us…we just need to choose to listen to what He is saying. If we all have the Holy Spirit, then we also have the power to be led by the Spirit.
This past week was an overview of the Bible and a teaching on the importance of inductive Bible study with another YWAMer from Germany named Regine. The overview was so helpful, because it was given like a history lesson with historical background on who different leaders were and what the culture was like. And as the history lesson unfolded, you could also see that events in history and through the Bible were not random events…they are all a part of God’s greater plan to teach his people how to be in relationship with Him and with each other. During our inductive Bible study, we studied the book of Philemon. We were shown how to study the Bible with our pre-conceived notions aside so that we wouldn’t take anything out of context. We were taught that it’s important to look at the type of literature being written (is it a letter, is it poetry, etc.) and to also consider the audience being addressed. After reading through the book of Philemon with our new study habits, we were able to observe the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation at the depth Paul was trying to convey. After this week, it was encouraging to see that you can develop a hunger for God’s word and that you don’t have to operate out of guilt.
Next week Regine’s husband Sean will be speaking on spiritual warfare. Should be good!
:: LOCAL OUTREACH UPDATE
Many of you know that Sean and I have been playing weekly at a pub in Brighton for “Open Mic Night.” It’s been a great time to befriend some of the locals that come every week. Most of our conversations have been light until this past week. Just about every week we have sat and chatted with a local named Chloe. Mostly we talk about music, but this past week God opened a door. Chloe had performed a song that talked about death and what happens when you die and one of our teammates Jeff saw that as a God-given green light to share our faith. He shared his testimony a bit and his struggle with depression and how God has been faithful. We weren’t sure how she’d respond but she was very open to talking about God. She said that she thinks about the idea of God a lot but that she does not believe in him because of all the terrible things that happen in this world. We tried sharing that the bad things of this world are not of God but because of our free will. She agreed to an extent but still has her doubts. We left her with the idea that we believe God has called us to do two things: love him and love others. She felt that non-Christians still have the capacity to love like Christians do, but she seemed encouraged by our sentiment. We told her that we would be gone for 2 months so we exchanged e-mails and she looks forward to meeting with us again when we are back from Poland. God is so good! We are praying that God will continue to make himself clear to Chloe and that she will see his love for her by the way we love her. Please keep her lifted up!
Well, I hope this catches you up to speed. God has been so faithful to us. We have gone through some stressful and uncomfortable times both with our class and even in our marriage, but God has proven faithful and to be such a good God through each circumstance. I pray that during this Easter weekend that God will reveal himself to you all in a new and very real way.
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” 1 John 3:16
Remember his commands. Love God. Leach each other.
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Friday, March 16, 2007
Journeys With God, Journeys With Friends
These past few weeks, God has really been taking us on a wild ride of faith. We hope our experiences will encourage you, challenge you, and lead you to keep us in prayer.
:: JOURNEYS WITH GOD
Many of you heard that we had a leader on our team (Kateen) fall deathly ill. She was initially fighting the flu and pneumonia and caught another virus that began aggressively attacking her body. Long story short, the doctors said that in order to save her life they were going to need to amputate her leg (the area that the virus began spreading from). As you can imagine, this was a huge shock to our team…especially since we had spent hours praying for God to save her leg. And we all stepped out in faith because not only did we pray for healing; we believed God would do it!
Since the initial news and shock of the amputation, our team has been on a wild ride of holding to God’s truths even in the midst of tragedy. God’s word says he is faithful, he is merciful, he is loving, and he hears the cries of his people. It says that he is good and worthy to be praised. Can all of this still be true when it seems that God doesn’t answer our prayers? When we have an unmet expectation of how God should care for his children? Yes! God’s word also says that his ways are higher than ours. We will probably never know why God did not intervene to save Kateen’s leg, but we have already been able to see how he can make beauty from ashes.
First of all, Kateen has seen a work in her family that she could have only hoped for. She has seen not only unification (her parents are divorced) but she has also seen them lean into God in ways they have never done. Another miracle has come in healing. God did spare her life! And not only that, doctors had anticipated it could be months before she would be well enough to fly back to America, but they are currently trying to arrange a flight home for her.
Finances have also been a miracle. Kateen is not covered in England for medical care, but through some research it was found that because of her missionary status she would be covered. The one thing we are waiting for right now is a medical flight back for her. This will cost 30,000 GBP. That is around $60,000! YWAM has put the word out to different bases and raised around 15,000 GBP. Not only did England respond, but we had bases from Hong Kong and Germany raise a total of 8,000 GBP. How exciting to see the body of Christ come together to care for Kateen and her family. Just today, our base at Holmsted prayed and asked for God to bring in the remainder of the money and through pledges made from staff and students, we raised an additional 6,000 GBP.
And God has shown himself through Kateen’s strength as well because there has been a news contact that wanted to run her story to help raise support, but after praying Kateen felt that that would be man’s quick solution instead of trusting God. So she said no to the offer and is trusting that God will provide in other ways. She does eventually hope to share her story with people, but not just for money’s sake…she wants to point people to God’s goodness.
Some other areas that God has been growing Sean and I in is through our understanding of the Holy Spirit. We’ve always understood that the Holy Spirit is the third part of the trinity and that it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction to live a righteous life. And these things are true, but it is also just a snapshot of the role of the Holy Spirit whom we’ll lovingly call HS. Something that I had never thought of was that the HS was not just an influence but a person…giving it a personality and character. It’s not just our conscience. (ie The HS brings comfort therefore he is comforting.) We also talked through “controversial” topics such as being baptized in the Spirit (different then baptism by water) and what comes with this baptism. In many cases in Acts, when people are filled with the Spirit, it also mentions them speaking in tongues (a spiritual language). This was a huge challenge for Sean and I. First of all, why is a separate baptism needed? And secondly, we had never understood that anyone could receive the gift of tongues. So after wrestling with these concepts, this is what we walked away with…
First of all, we can’t put God in a box for doctrinal sake. There are times when God has given the gift of tongues after being filled with the Spirit and there are times when tongues were not received. At the same time, we understand God to be a good God who wants his children to receive all that he has for them, and that very well could include speaking in a spiritual prayer language. And we walked away understanding that being baptized by the HS doesn’t make you any more or less saved…it is simply asking for a deeper awareness of the HS which will help bring forth a deeper understanding of the will of God and should produce more fruit in our life. It says the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By the end of the session on the HS, I think we both felt that we had our own “God” moments where he revealed a little more of himself to us.
:: JOURNEYS WITH FRIENDS
Scheduled into our schooling is the ever-so anticipated “Long Weekend.” We’re given 4 days to explore Europe and relax. Sean and I decided to stay in England and explore. There were five of us total: Liz, Simon, Lacie, Sean and I. Liz and Simon are locals from the London area and Lacie is from Atlanta. We rented a car (Liz drove so we wouldn’t have to adjust to driving on the wrong side of the road!) and we headed towards our destination of Swanage…a lovely seaside village on the southern coast of England. We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast and had a traditional English breakfast each morning…beans and toast, sausage, eggs, and tea.
One of our first destinations was Corfe Castle. The castle had undergone attack so it was not fully in tact. It was mostly ruins, but you still get the idea of how majestic it must have been. We had so much fun running around pretending to “storm the castle!” When you are surrounded by so much history, it is easy to envision what this little village could have looked like in it’s glory. The castle as the icon, protected by castle walls. The village and the church just outside of the castle walls where all the common folk resided.
We also visited Jurassic Cliffs. They are cliffs off of the ocean where fossils of millions of years old have been found. We had fun hiking and enjoying the view. Our next stop was Stonehenge. It was so strange because you are on a motorway and as you look up you realize….Oh, there is Stonehenge! We chose not to take the audio tour, but we took a ton of pictures. It was hard to believe that we were looking at a monument that was thousands of years old. I felt like I was walking through an episode of National Geographic. (Cue National Geographic theme music.)
On our way home, we stopped in a town called Salisbury which reminded Sean and I of steak. Mmmmmm…steak. And although we didn’t find juicy slabs of meat, we did come across Salisbury Cathedral which is absolutely gorgeous. The craftsmanship that went into this building is amazing. As we were walking around, we entered a room that has the story of Genesis and Exodus carved in the walls. In that same room also happened to be one of the 5 remaining copies of the Magna Carta. Wow! We just happened to come across one of the most important documents that set up English law. I couldn’t believe that there was nothing but glass separating us from a document written in 1215…it is almost 1,000 years old and VERY well preserved. In fact it was the most preserved of all the copies that remain. My favorite thing about England is that you are surrounded by history. You come across it even when you’re not looking for it!
So that is the ride we have been on. Could you feel the crazy dips? Could you feel the excitement? We hope the pictures help you enjoy some of what we shared.
Cheers!
Sean & Sarah
:: JOURNEYS WITH GOD
Many of you heard that we had a leader on our team (Kateen) fall deathly ill. She was initially fighting the flu and pneumonia and caught another virus that began aggressively attacking her body. Long story short, the doctors said that in order to save her life they were going to need to amputate her leg (the area that the virus began spreading from). As you can imagine, this was a huge shock to our team…especially since we had spent hours praying for God to save her leg. And we all stepped out in faith because not only did we pray for healing; we believed God would do it!
Since the initial news and shock of the amputation, our team has been on a wild ride of holding to God’s truths even in the midst of tragedy. God’s word says he is faithful, he is merciful, he is loving, and he hears the cries of his people. It says that he is good and worthy to be praised. Can all of this still be true when it seems that God doesn’t answer our prayers? When we have an unmet expectation of how God should care for his children? Yes! God’s word also says that his ways are higher than ours. We will probably never know why God did not intervene to save Kateen’s leg, but we have already been able to see how he can make beauty from ashes.
First of all, Kateen has seen a work in her family that she could have only hoped for. She has seen not only unification (her parents are divorced) but she has also seen them lean into God in ways they have never done. Another miracle has come in healing. God did spare her life! And not only that, doctors had anticipated it could be months before she would be well enough to fly back to America, but they are currently trying to arrange a flight home for her.
Finances have also been a miracle. Kateen is not covered in England for medical care, but through some research it was found that because of her missionary status she would be covered. The one thing we are waiting for right now is a medical flight back for her. This will cost 30,000 GBP. That is around $60,000! YWAM has put the word out to different bases and raised around 15,000 GBP. Not only did England respond, but we had bases from Hong Kong and Germany raise a total of 8,000 GBP. How exciting to see the body of Christ come together to care for Kateen and her family. Just today, our base at Holmsted prayed and asked for God to bring in the remainder of the money and through pledges made from staff and students, we raised an additional 6,000 GBP.
And God has shown himself through Kateen’s strength as well because there has been a news contact that wanted to run her story to help raise support, but after praying Kateen felt that that would be man’s quick solution instead of trusting God. So she said no to the offer and is trusting that God will provide in other ways. She does eventually hope to share her story with people, but not just for money’s sake…she wants to point people to God’s goodness.
Some other areas that God has been growing Sean and I in is through our understanding of the Holy Spirit. We’ve always understood that the Holy Spirit is the third part of the trinity and that it is the Holy Spirit that brings conviction to live a righteous life. And these things are true, but it is also just a snapshot of the role of the Holy Spirit whom we’ll lovingly call HS. Something that I had never thought of was that the HS was not just an influence but a person…giving it a personality and character. It’s not just our conscience. (ie The HS brings comfort therefore he is comforting.) We also talked through “controversial” topics such as being baptized in the Spirit (different then baptism by water) and what comes with this baptism. In many cases in Acts, when people are filled with the Spirit, it also mentions them speaking in tongues (a spiritual language). This was a huge challenge for Sean and I. First of all, why is a separate baptism needed? And secondly, we had never understood that anyone could receive the gift of tongues. So after wrestling with these concepts, this is what we walked away with…
First of all, we can’t put God in a box for doctrinal sake. There are times when God has given the gift of tongues after being filled with the Spirit and there are times when tongues were not received. At the same time, we understand God to be a good God who wants his children to receive all that he has for them, and that very well could include speaking in a spiritual prayer language. And we walked away understanding that being baptized by the HS doesn’t make you any more or less saved…it is simply asking for a deeper awareness of the HS which will help bring forth a deeper understanding of the will of God and should produce more fruit in our life. It says the fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. By the end of the session on the HS, I think we both felt that we had our own “God” moments where he revealed a little more of himself to us.
:: JOURNEYS WITH FRIENDS
Scheduled into our schooling is the ever-so anticipated “Long Weekend.” We’re given 4 days to explore Europe and relax. Sean and I decided to stay in England and explore. There were five of us total: Liz, Simon, Lacie, Sean and I. Liz and Simon are locals from the London area and Lacie is from Atlanta. We rented a car (Liz drove so we wouldn’t have to adjust to driving on the wrong side of the road!) and we headed towards our destination of Swanage…a lovely seaside village on the southern coast of England. We stayed at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast and had a traditional English breakfast each morning…beans and toast, sausage, eggs, and tea.
One of our first destinations was Corfe Castle. The castle had undergone attack so it was not fully in tact. It was mostly ruins, but you still get the idea of how majestic it must have been. We had so much fun running around pretending to “storm the castle!” When you are surrounded by so much history, it is easy to envision what this little village could have looked like in it’s glory. The castle as the icon, protected by castle walls. The village and the church just outside of the castle walls where all the common folk resided.
We also visited Jurassic Cliffs. They are cliffs off of the ocean where fossils of millions of years old have been found. We had fun hiking and enjoying the view. Our next stop was Stonehenge. It was so strange because you are on a motorway and as you look up you realize….Oh, there is Stonehenge! We chose not to take the audio tour, but we took a ton of pictures. It was hard to believe that we were looking at a monument that was thousands of years old. I felt like I was walking through an episode of National Geographic. (Cue National Geographic theme music.)
On our way home, we stopped in a town called Salisbury which reminded Sean and I of steak. Mmmmmm…steak. And although we didn’t find juicy slabs of meat, we did come across Salisbury Cathedral which is absolutely gorgeous. The craftsmanship that went into this building is amazing. As we were walking around, we entered a room that has the story of Genesis and Exodus carved in the walls. In that same room also happened to be one of the 5 remaining copies of the Magna Carta. Wow! We just happened to come across one of the most important documents that set up English law. I couldn’t believe that there was nothing but glass separating us from a document written in 1215…it is almost 1,000 years old and VERY well preserved. In fact it was the most preserved of all the copies that remain. My favorite thing about England is that you are surrounded by history. You come across it even when you’re not looking for it!
So that is the ride we have been on. Could you feel the crazy dips? Could you feel the excitement? We hope the pictures help you enjoy some of what we shared.
Cheers!
Sean & Sarah
Thursday, March 1, 2007
A Day in the New Life of the Stepletons
Hi family and friends. We would like to apologize on the delay of this update. Our internet has been down for a few weeks and when it is working, it is extremely slow. Through some feedback, we have also come to the conclusion that an update once a month is too long of a wait. We will try to update our blog weekly with a mass e-mail update going out monthly. This allows those with a bit more curiosity to stay updated with details and others the chance to get the highlights each month. With that said, here is what we’ve been up to!
WORSHIP :: WASH-UP :: LECTURES :: LEISURE
We run on pretty tight schedules. A typical day can run from 7:15am – 8:00pm. And although there is a lot to do, Sean and I have both agreed that we still feel like this has been a season of rest where we get to soak in God’s goodness.
Every Monday morning, we start the week with an hour of worship. Sean has had the privilege several times now to do what he loves…lead with his musical gifting! And I have enjoyed partnering with some back-up percussion. It’s always great to start the week praising God.
We also have weekly speakers that come in and share on specific topics. Our topics have been Grace, Relationships, The Father Heart of God, Discipleship, and Evangelism. It’s amazing how much you think you know something and then God comes along and smacks you with a spiritual 2x4! We both were overwhelmed during Grace Week at how deep God’s love for us really is. A simple epiphany we had was that there is NOTHING we can do to make God love us any more or any less. He loves us…period. There is nothing we can do that will change us positionally with God. However, our relationship with Him can experience tension when there is sin in our life. The more that we are coming to understand God’s love, the less fear we have of losing it because the reality is that we CAN’T lose it! And as we begin to understand His love for us, it is our love in return that drives us to live righteous lives…not because we have to earn anything. And I think for the first time, we were able to see how beautifully God’s grace and discipleship go hand in hand. This past week on Evangelism, we stayed at a YWAM base in Brighton, which is a coastal city. It was nice being near the ocean but it can be very cold! It was an extremely challenging week on many different levels. Because of limited space, Sean and I were placed in a local pastor’s home. They were wonderful accommodations, but it was also a 20 minute walk uphill everyday…even in rainy conditions! Sean had a hard time connecting with our speaker but he did his best to engage. I appreciated what our speaker had to share and I thought he brought a lot of enthusiasm, but I thought that he came across a bit abrasive at times. When Sean and I have opposite experiences with a speaker or topic, it sometimes makes it difficult to process together. But that is a part of our growth together…learning to communicate better! And this week also forced us to try to learn during a time of tragedy. One of our leaders fell ill to a virus that would normally just cause a cold, but ended up attacking her body in such a way that she has literally been fighting for her life. We have been in constant prayer for her and we have done some wrestling with God on why this has all happened. Our leader’s name is Kateen. Please keep her in your prayers. She is not out of the woods yet. The doctor’s have given her a 50/50 chance of survival.
Included in our weekly routine is work duties and shopping trips. Monday – Friday, from 2p-4p, we have work duties around the house. Sean is a part of the kitchen clean-up crew and I help clean a bathroom/kitchenette/meeting room. A part of my work duty also includes helping one of the staff members who leads a Design School. I’ve had a chance to work on the base’s newsletter. Yeah! On the weekends is our chance to go shopping. The town we are in is small (I think our class helped double its size) so we get dropped off in surrounding towns that have grocery stores, malls, restaurants, etc. We also have the opportunity to sign up to go to church. So far we’ve visited a semi-charismatic and an Anglican church. Very opposite! One was similar to our home church but on a much smaller scale and the other was VERY traditional. We’ll let you figure which was which.
PUBS AND POLAND
Another part of our weekly routine is to do weekly outreach. There are some groups that feed the homeless, some work at a detention center, others work with youth groups, and Sean and I get to visit the Black Horse…a pub! Our outreach is Open Mic Night. We get to choose two songs to perform and then we hang with the locals. So far, Sean has been able to play about 6 or 7 of his originals and I jam with him. We’ve also started befriending some of the regulars. It is a very unique opportunity and we have a blast doing it…minus the smoky environment.
In April, we’ll be doing our “big” outreach which will take us to Poland for 8 weeks. We are hoping to pioneer a YWAM base. Right now we are doing research on the country so that we can better understand the culture and hopefully identify some areas of need. We’ll keep you posted as we learn specifics on this trip.
BOWLS AND BIRTHDAYS
Something that was such a treat was the fact that we were able to celebrate the Superbowl! To kick off Superbowl Sunday, we played a game of American Football (we have to distinguish because the locals call soccer football) and my team kicked some tail! Don’t get your hopes up…only one Stepleton played! It was great…I made a few catches, took a few hits, made some blocks, and got muddy! We then watched the game at like 10pm…we only saw a bit of it but some people stayed for the whole game and didn’t go to bed until 3am. Those are some hardcore fans! And on February 24, we celebrated Sean’s 32nd birthday. A group of about 20 of us went to an Indian food buffet. It was yummy and I think Sean felt the love. We’ll post pictures from the night.
Well, that is probably all you can stand to read right now and that is about all I can write! I hope this update catches you up to speed on what we’ve been up to. We are so grateful for your interest in our lives and for your support. If you get a chance, let us know how you are doing too. We like knowing what’s going on in your neck of the woods too! We love you all so very much and feel so privileged to have this time to nurture our relationship with each other and with God.
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
WORSHIP :: WASH-UP :: LECTURES :: LEISURE
We run on pretty tight schedules. A typical day can run from 7:15am – 8:00pm. And although there is a lot to do, Sean and I have both agreed that we still feel like this has been a season of rest where we get to soak in God’s goodness.
Every Monday morning, we start the week with an hour of worship. Sean has had the privilege several times now to do what he loves…lead with his musical gifting! And I have enjoyed partnering with some back-up percussion. It’s always great to start the week praising God.
We also have weekly speakers that come in and share on specific topics. Our topics have been Grace, Relationships, The Father Heart of God, Discipleship, and Evangelism. It’s amazing how much you think you know something and then God comes along and smacks you with a spiritual 2x4! We both were overwhelmed during Grace Week at how deep God’s love for us really is. A simple epiphany we had was that there is NOTHING we can do to make God love us any more or any less. He loves us…period. There is nothing we can do that will change us positionally with God. However, our relationship with Him can experience tension when there is sin in our life. The more that we are coming to understand God’s love, the less fear we have of losing it because the reality is that we CAN’T lose it! And as we begin to understand His love for us, it is our love in return that drives us to live righteous lives…not because we have to earn anything. And I think for the first time, we were able to see how beautifully God’s grace and discipleship go hand in hand. This past week on Evangelism, we stayed at a YWAM base in Brighton, which is a coastal city. It was nice being near the ocean but it can be very cold! It was an extremely challenging week on many different levels. Because of limited space, Sean and I were placed in a local pastor’s home. They were wonderful accommodations, but it was also a 20 minute walk uphill everyday…even in rainy conditions! Sean had a hard time connecting with our speaker but he did his best to engage. I appreciated what our speaker had to share and I thought he brought a lot of enthusiasm, but I thought that he came across a bit abrasive at times. When Sean and I have opposite experiences with a speaker or topic, it sometimes makes it difficult to process together. But that is a part of our growth together…learning to communicate better! And this week also forced us to try to learn during a time of tragedy. One of our leaders fell ill to a virus that would normally just cause a cold, but ended up attacking her body in such a way that she has literally been fighting for her life. We have been in constant prayer for her and we have done some wrestling with God on why this has all happened. Our leader’s name is Kateen. Please keep her in your prayers. She is not out of the woods yet. The doctor’s have given her a 50/50 chance of survival.
Included in our weekly routine is work duties and shopping trips. Monday – Friday, from 2p-4p, we have work duties around the house. Sean is a part of the kitchen clean-up crew and I help clean a bathroom/kitchenette/meeting room. A part of my work duty also includes helping one of the staff members who leads a Design School. I’ve had a chance to work on the base’s newsletter. Yeah! On the weekends is our chance to go shopping. The town we are in is small (I think our class helped double its size) so we get dropped off in surrounding towns that have grocery stores, malls, restaurants, etc. We also have the opportunity to sign up to go to church. So far we’ve visited a semi-charismatic and an Anglican church. Very opposite! One was similar to our home church but on a much smaller scale and the other was VERY traditional. We’ll let you figure which was which.
PUBS AND POLAND
Another part of our weekly routine is to do weekly outreach. There are some groups that feed the homeless, some work at a detention center, others work with youth groups, and Sean and I get to visit the Black Horse…a pub! Our outreach is Open Mic Night. We get to choose two songs to perform and then we hang with the locals. So far, Sean has been able to play about 6 or 7 of his originals and I jam with him. We’ve also started befriending some of the regulars. It is a very unique opportunity and we have a blast doing it…minus the smoky environment.
In April, we’ll be doing our “big” outreach which will take us to Poland for 8 weeks. We are hoping to pioneer a YWAM base. Right now we are doing research on the country so that we can better understand the culture and hopefully identify some areas of need. We’ll keep you posted as we learn specifics on this trip.
BOWLS AND BIRTHDAYS
Something that was such a treat was the fact that we were able to celebrate the Superbowl! To kick off Superbowl Sunday, we played a game of American Football (we have to distinguish because the locals call soccer football) and my team kicked some tail! Don’t get your hopes up…only one Stepleton played! It was great…I made a few catches, took a few hits, made some blocks, and got muddy! We then watched the game at like 10pm…we only saw a bit of it but some people stayed for the whole game and didn’t go to bed until 3am. Those are some hardcore fans! And on February 24, we celebrated Sean’s 32nd birthday. A group of about 20 of us went to an Indian food buffet. It was yummy and I think Sean felt the love. We’ll post pictures from the night.
Well, that is probably all you can stand to read right now and that is about all I can write! I hope this update catches you up to speed on what we’ve been up to. We are so grateful for your interest in our lives and for your support. If you get a chance, let us know how you are doing too. We like knowing what’s going on in your neck of the woods too! We love you all so very much and feel so privileged to have this time to nurture our relationship with each other and with God.
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
Thursday, January 18, 2007
You Say Goodbye And I Say Hello!
First and foremost, we are here and we are safe. But let me share what we’ve been up to leading to our arrival in England.
HEALTHY GOODBYES
I had a friend of mine leave for the mission field in November with her family. Knowing that Sean and I would be leaving for England in January, she left me a bit of advice…make sure you have healthy goodbyes so that you can have healthy hellos. So the past few months have been spent doing just that!
November 13-20 :: We spent Thanksgiving in Glendale, AZ with Sean’s sister, brother in-law, niece, mom, and stepdad. We did a lot of shopping, eating, and I even taught our niece how to crochet!
December 18-26 :: We also spent Christmas in Arizona. First we made a stop-off in Chandler to visit Sean’s dad and stepmom. Our visit was short but sweet. We did an early Christmas with them before we shot down to Tucson. Aside from having the stomach flu for three days, it was fun. I was able to spend time with my mom and her boyfriend, all three of my sisters and their children, my dad, and my brothers daughter. We also sought out a few close friends that we wanted to say goodbye to. Tears were shed, but we gained some closure.
December 30-31 :: Our senior pastor invited us on stage after each service to share that we were leaving soon and to pray for our journey. It was a nice way for our church to “send us off.”
January 4-8 :: After ringing in the New Year in Vegas with some close friends, we had just a few days before more traveling and more goodbyes. We spent a few days in Simi Valley, CA saying goodbye to my three brothers. The last few days of our time in California was spent in Mission Viejo saying our final goodbye to Sean’s mom and stepdad. On this trip I once again survived the stomach flu. By the time we left, we had shed more tears, and gained more closure.
January 12 :: This was a great night! This was our official going away party. We had around 50 people show up to support us. It was a night to do what we do best…we socialized, we ate, and we led worship! We felt so loved and supported. I even had 2 of my sisters drive up from Arizona!
January 14 :: This was our last official Sunday service at Canyon Ridge. We were able to say a few more final goodbyes. Sean even had the privilege of saying goodbye to his beloved Oscar (our former Italian Greyhound).
A lot of good closure has also come from many of you who have invited us out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, sushi, and even asked us to lead worship at a few events. Those times have been precious to us!
ALMOST THERE
Our last couple of days were a bit hectic. We had to take care of details with our car, with our cell phones (our service is currently suspended), and we had to get our bags packed. After packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking and packing again, we were able to fit everything we needed. We’ve both learned that a part of this trip will teach us the importance of living simply!
January 17 was our departure date, so after surviving a few more goodbyes from our friends that dropped us off at the airport, we were on our way. Our flight left Vegas at 11:45am and had a short layover in Cincinnati. We had just enough time to down some skyline chili before our 7 hour flight to London. The flight was good and we were accommodated well. Our in-flight movie was The Queen…how appropriate!
TODO - WE'RE NOT IN VEGAS ANYMORE!
When we arrived at the airport (on January 18 at 9:00am) we were welcomed by good English weather: cloudy, windy, and raining. The temperature here is not any colder than Vegas but right now there are gusts of wind blowing at 60-70 MPH! We called our school and they sent staff members to pick us up. On our ride to Holmsted Manor (the name of our school) we learned that there are 28 students in our class, all from the UK, Canada, and the USA. Our official schooling begins January 20. We also learned that the outreach portion of our schooling will be done in Brighton (UK), Tanzania, and Poland. How exciting! We’ll keep you posted with our outreach details as we learn them.
The property that we are staying on is absolutely gorgeous! It is a huge manor from the late 1800’s that sits on 17 acres. Because of the rain (and our jet lag!) we haven’t had much time to explore but we plan on posting pictures. Please keep checking back for photo updates!
Well, we hope you feel caught up on the beginning of this adventure, and we look forward to taking you on this journey with us! Thank you for your continued support and prayers!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
HEALTHY GOODBYES
I had a friend of mine leave for the mission field in November with her family. Knowing that Sean and I would be leaving for England in January, she left me a bit of advice…make sure you have healthy goodbyes so that you can have healthy hellos. So the past few months have been spent doing just that!
November 13-20 :: We spent Thanksgiving in Glendale, AZ with Sean’s sister, brother in-law, niece, mom, and stepdad. We did a lot of shopping, eating, and I even taught our niece how to crochet!
December 18-26 :: We also spent Christmas in Arizona. First we made a stop-off in Chandler to visit Sean’s dad and stepmom. Our visit was short but sweet. We did an early Christmas with them before we shot down to Tucson. Aside from having the stomach flu for three days, it was fun. I was able to spend time with my mom and her boyfriend, all three of my sisters and their children, my dad, and my brothers daughter. We also sought out a few close friends that we wanted to say goodbye to. Tears were shed, but we gained some closure.
December 30-31 :: Our senior pastor invited us on stage after each service to share that we were leaving soon and to pray for our journey. It was a nice way for our church to “send us off.”
January 4-8 :: After ringing in the New Year in Vegas with some close friends, we had just a few days before more traveling and more goodbyes. We spent a few days in Simi Valley, CA saying goodbye to my three brothers. The last few days of our time in California was spent in Mission Viejo saying our final goodbye to Sean’s mom and stepdad. On this trip I once again survived the stomach flu. By the time we left, we had shed more tears, and gained more closure.
January 12 :: This was a great night! This was our official going away party. We had around 50 people show up to support us. It was a night to do what we do best…we socialized, we ate, and we led worship! We felt so loved and supported. I even had 2 of my sisters drive up from Arizona!
January 14 :: This was our last official Sunday service at Canyon Ridge. We were able to say a few more final goodbyes. Sean even had the privilege of saying goodbye to his beloved Oscar (our former Italian Greyhound).
A lot of good closure has also come from many of you who have invited us out for breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee, sushi, and even asked us to lead worship at a few events. Those times have been precious to us!
ALMOST THERE
Our last couple of days were a bit hectic. We had to take care of details with our car, with our cell phones (our service is currently suspended), and we had to get our bags packed. After packing and unpacking and packing and unpacking and packing again, we were able to fit everything we needed. We’ve both learned that a part of this trip will teach us the importance of living simply!
January 17 was our departure date, so after surviving a few more goodbyes from our friends that dropped us off at the airport, we were on our way. Our flight left Vegas at 11:45am and had a short layover in Cincinnati. We had just enough time to down some skyline chili before our 7 hour flight to London. The flight was good and we were accommodated well. Our in-flight movie was The Queen…how appropriate!
TODO - WE'RE NOT IN VEGAS ANYMORE!
When we arrived at the airport (on January 18 at 9:00am) we were welcomed by good English weather: cloudy, windy, and raining. The temperature here is not any colder than Vegas but right now there are gusts of wind blowing at 60-70 MPH! We called our school and they sent staff members to pick us up. On our ride to Holmsted Manor (the name of our school) we learned that there are 28 students in our class, all from the UK, Canada, and the USA. Our official schooling begins January 20. We also learned that the outreach portion of our schooling will be done in Brighton (UK), Tanzania, and Poland. How exciting! We’ll keep you posted with our outreach details as we learn them.
The property that we are staying on is absolutely gorgeous! It is a huge manor from the late 1800’s that sits on 17 acres. Because of the rain (and our jet lag!) we haven’t had much time to explore but we plan on posting pictures. Please keep checking back for photo updates!
Well, we hope you feel caught up on the beginning of this adventure, and we look forward to taking you on this journey with us! Thank you for your continued support and prayers!
Cheers!
Sarah and Sean
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