Thursday, November 21, 2013

Home for the Holidays

Oh hey,
so right now we are in Schererville, IN. We started last Sunday and we end this Sunday. I am staying with Bev and Charity at Connie and Bob's house. They are a sweet couple and they love the Lord. In Happy Heart we have around 15 kids. They are a very energetic group but its fun. At the end of this summit we will be spending Thanksgiving back up in Buchanan at the camp. I am excited to spend it with my Red Team Family. We have one more summit before going home for Christmas break. We will be in Fort Wayne, IN and then I will be home on December the 9th. I am very excited to go home and see family and friends, but at the same time, please pray for me that my heart would be here until then. That I would have focus and love for the people around me. Thanks for all of your prayers!

Sarah

Thursday, November 7, 2013

How Do We Come?

Hey everybody,
      I didn't get a chance to update y'all last summit. So here it goes: Last summit we were in Harrodsburg, KY. We had been there once last year. This time we were at a smaller church called Shawnee Run Baptist Church. It was different than most summits we will have. Both Base Camp and Happy Heart were combined. We had about 12-15 kids total. It was fun to work with the other club teachers for a few days and to watch God work in the kids! Me and Amanda stayed with Gary and Patti. They were great hosts! We got to play with their grandson, Titus, and chill with their 9 month old baby granddaughter, Addison. Because last summit was an 8 day summit, we had time to relax at our host homes. On our off days, we went to a corn maze, picked pumpkins and destroyed them with machetes!! That was fun! God is faithful to provide us time to rest. We left Kentucky and headed to Pennsylvania.
     We are currently in Lebanon, PA, which is right outside Hershey. We are at Lebanon Valley Bible Church for the week. This is also an eight day summit. Happy Heart has around 20 kids every night! It's one of our biggest groups yet. They are all very attentive and they are fun to get to know. I am staying with Angela at Carol's house. Carol has 5 grandsons that we have had the privilege of knowing and I am excited to see how God is going to use these last few days. Friday we are having our annual Fall Cook Off. I am really excited to get together and all cook. It was a lot of fun to do last year, but this year I am not doing something as elaborate. I learned my lesson. But so far, this summit is going pretty well. I am enjoying the fall in PA. Its so beautiful.
     The other day we were singing a song. The words were:
                 I come broken to be mended
                 I come wounded to be healed
                 I come desperate to be rescued
                 I come empty to be filled
                 I come guilty to be pardoned
                By the blood of Christ the Lamb
                And I'm welcomed with open arms
               Praise God, Just as I am

And it got me thinking... Do we come to God how we are? Or do we get so caught up in trying to clean ourselves up that we forget He is waiting to do the cleaning. We can't do it, and He is willing. But if we don't come, it can't be done. So, the question I asked myself was : How do I come to Christ? Do I come broken in faith, knowing that He will fix me? Do I come hurting, believing He will heal me? Am I desperate for Him? Do I try to fill myself up or do I let Him fill me? Do I come guilty, telling Him something He already knows, so I can be free of it and pardoned... Not because of what I have done, but ONLY by the blood of The Lamb.

The answer... I fail... miserably. But, God is a God of second chances and He is a loving God. So, yes, I come to Him.... Just as I am.