Big Smiles

I HAVE MY PLANE TICKET!!!!

I am so beyond excited!! :) Thank you sooo much for your prayers, love, encouraging emails, hosting me, eating dessert with me, and listening to my powerpoint. Each gift has been such a surprise and blessing to me. I love reading my support statements and being amazed over and over again at the people who've chosen to invest in me and in this ministry at Black Forest Academy. How can I say thank you?

Well, I realized I can’t. It’s very humbling to know that there is nothing I can do to say thank you to each one of you in a way that “repays” in any way. It’s humbling to know that it’s JESUS who will repay you… I pray that you feel my joy and God’s joy as He continues to take me step by step closer to Germany. Thank you for being part of this ministry.

I leave on August 8^th from Dayton, OH and arrive on August 9^th in Basel, Switzerland. And I get to fly from Chicago to London with another TeachBeyond missionary, so that will be fun! :)

I'll also be gone to Nicaragua from July 27-August 2 to visit my boyfriend and his family. I am so grateful that I don’t need to worry about support or buying my plane ticket while I’m in Nicaragua. Please pray for a relaxing time, and good mental and emotional preparation for Germany.

And…once again… THANK YOU!! Whether you gave financially, prayed, encouraged, or read my blog…Thank you! The journey is just starting. I can’t wait to see what God is up to!

*Note: Not only do I have the 90% support needed to buy my plane ticket, but I think I am nearing or have possibly reached 100% of my support for my two year ministry in Germany. This is not the official word from TeachBeyond, but from my Excel spreadsheet. :) It actually isn’t bad to be over-supported (something I never imagined), because things do happen. So if God puts it on your heart to support me, I’m not gonna say no (haha!). Stay tuned for the official word on my support level! :)

One Month Away

Exactly one month from TODAY I hope to be getting on an airplane to fly to Germany! :) It seems so close, and yet there is so much to do to prepare. Please pray for me! Here are some things to pray/be aware of as you think of me.

1. I have 80% of my support! :) I am so thankful by God's blessing and provision in this journey of support raising. I only need $350/month more!!

To reach full support I need:
3 1/2 people at $100/month,
7 people at $50/month,
14 people at $25/month, or
17 people at $20/month.

What's crucial right now is that I can get the next 10% (which is $175/month) really soon so that I can buy my plane ticket. If you've been thinking about supporting me, I would absolutely love it. :) Here is the link to fill out the form and mail to TeachBeyond at PO Box 6248/Bloomingdale, IL 60108.

Thank you SO much to everyone who's already joined my support team through prayer and financial gifts/commitments. I really am so thankful for each of you. God has been giving me gentle assurance that He really does want me in Germany, and so I don't know why I'm so surprised every time someone supports me, but I continue to be amazed. Thank you so much.

2. I need to find a new home for my beloved "Walter." Please let me know if you would like to take a '96 Pontiac Bonneville home. :)

Hannah (L) an RA and Johanna (R) a music teacher

3. I spent June 23-29 in Wheaton, IL attending TeachBeyond's orientation. It was so fun to meet other people headed all around the world to serve Jesus by serving kids through education. The best part was meeting other women also headed to BFA! It's so good to know that I already have friends at BFA now. We got to meet previous RAs and dorm parents and learn from their successes and mistakes.

Honestly, the biggest take away from the week is that it's ME that's going to be doing most of the learning and growing... not the students! Even though I want to serve them, I have a feeling that God is taking me to Germany to teach me to trust Him more and to refine me. I learned that the RA job may look a little more like a maid than a mentor. I know God will teach me a lot about being a servant and releasing control and independence. I'm going to learn so much. So, it's hard to ask for support so that God can work on me, but... that's the reality, I guess! :)

We had a lot of fun, too! We had deep dish Chicago style pizza one night...

I love these ladies so much already!!

Hanna (Spanish teacher), Larisa (RA), and Julie (Health teacher)

Yummy!!!

We also learned that 50-70% of missionary kids end up in some sort of ministry when they grow up. The week made me even more excited to serve the precious kids at BFA because I know that they will be influential on the world some day.

4. I am going to Nicaragua the last week of July to see my boyfriend's family. It's the last chance that we'll have to visit for a very long time, so we just decided to go! :)

5. So that means I have just three weeks left (plus a few days) to pack, shop, and finish raising raising support before Germany.

Please pray for me!! Thank you so much.

Back in Town

After graduation, I had an amazing three weeks with my parents and Erkai in Iowa!

Making pizza with my mom

It was so fun to meet some of Erkai's friends from Nicaragua.

My parents also hosted a dessert reception so that I could share more about my ministry with friends and family. I felt so blessed by all of the people that attended and helped out.

Now, I'm back in Cedarville and working to get unpacked and settled in my house for the summer with some sweet MK girls. Next week I start my summer job working at the agency where I did my internship this past school year. I'm thankful to have this job and am looking forward to working with teenagers this summer--good preparation for being an RA! :)

Support raising update: I'm at about 65% of my monthly support pledged! YAY! :) If you want to be a part of God's provision for the next 35% please click here and mail to the TeachBeyond address on the form. I'm hoping to buy my plane ticket in about 3 weeks, and I need 90% of my support to make that possible. God has been SO FAITHFUL. Thanks for your prayers! :)

Love, Sarah

New Things

One step closer to Germany!!

Last Saturday I GRADUATED from Cedarville University. So excited. :D

With my roommie Brandi...lol :)

Katie! She held a million things and took a million pictures for me! :)

Best friends.

With my boyfriend Erkai

My parents and I traveled back to Iowa, where we're spending time together, I'm working on support raising things, and packing/repacking for Germany. I'm looking forward to visiting my brother David in Kansas City, and seeing both of my cousins graduate from high school. I'm also looking forward to Erkai coming in a week and a half to spend time with me and my parents.

My crazy awesome family who came hundreds and thousands of miles for my graduation!

Support raising... God has surprised and blessed me so much!!! He's brought in 52% of my monthly support needed!!!!!!! Yes, that's right. The last blog post was 23%. Crazy!

I'm so thankful! However, I know there's still far to go. Please continue to pray for the next 48%, and as always, you can get involved if God puts it on your heart. :) Click here and mail the form to the TeachBeyond address at PO Box 6248/Bloomingdale, IL 60108. Thank you to everyone who has prayed, encouraged, or joined my support team. :)

Thankful

Graduation is May 4...which is in less than one week!

I have so many mixed feelings about that! We've finished our last chapel (I was ecstatic to discover that our class song is Be Thou My Vision...my favorite song and prayer for Germany), last Saturday brunches, last coffee dates...

Overall, I'm mostly thankful for:

• Dear friends... I'm pretty sure no one else has friends this amazing. ;o)
• Finished my senior social work internship
• House for the summer and fantastic girls to live with! Also, I hopefully will have a job!
• My parents are here! And my extended family's coming all the way to Ohio for my graduation
• My car worked this entire year, and I never missed a day of internship
• That I can look forward to BFA and get excited about the ministry God has for me there. It makes it easier to leave when I'm excited for the next step
• God has brought in 23% of my monthly support needs!! I can hardly believe it. BFA seems more and more real.

I'm so so excited and grateful for all of the friends who have joined my support team! If you would like to join my support team, please click here and fill out the form and mail it to:

TeachBeyond

PO Box 6248

Bloomingdale, IL 60108

I've been blessed by so many encouraging emails! Thanks to everyone for your prayers. :)

Still making new fun memories to close out the year:

Dressing up as Dutch Blitz cards for Elliv

Senior Reception at our president Dr. Brown's house

Double date with our friends Katie and Byamba at John Bryan State Park

Junior Senior Banquet

Faith

When I was in 7th grade, I told God I wanted a life of faith--seeing Him provide when I had no other option. When I was in 12th grade, He asked me if I was sure. I said "yes." He told me I would regret that decision sometimes. :) But would know Him better in the process.

I might be regretting it a little this week... I feel like I'm at the bottom of a mountain looking UP and wondering how in the world God is going to find enough support to get me to Germany. And how I'm going to survive the process.

But... God is SO encouraging. 

• When I started "support raising efforts" on Saturday there was an encouraging email waiting from my uncle
• Encouragement through my pastor at my church in Springfield
• An anonymous gift from a friend
• Long letters filled with encouragement from my mom and "support raising coach" Aunt Helen (and Aunt Mary!)
• My boyfriend, who spent 2 1/2 hours helping me organize an Excel spreadsheet so that my poor friends don't receive haphazard correspondence from me

So, here are my "by faiths" for the week:

• Learning German! I've been listening to Hillsong's Global project and looking at note cards my friend Sarah made for me
• Turned down an interview at a job I would have loved that could have been a "back up" just in case

Please pray with me! :) Let me know if you want to be on my newsletter list! 

sarahangelicawilson@cedarville.edu or swilson@teachbeyond.org

Memory verses in German! I know one of these words! :)

Team

Wow, time is flying by. I can't believe it's APRIL! My biggest project to get to Germany right now is discovering the support that God has for me! (My dad's words.)

My need:

• $1,760 monthly support for a two year commitment.
• $1,000 for start-up expenses.

If God lays it on your heart to support me, pray for me, or receive my newsletter, please email me at swilson@teachbeyond.org.

I would love to have you on my team! Thank you. :)