Red Family For Life

Hey y'all,

I am currently in Pikeville, KY. We are at First Baptist Church. I am staying with Angela and Olivia at John and Leslie's home. They have two kids, Stephen and Elle, and their parents, Big Dog and Linda. It has been such a blessing staying with them so far. We are here for an 11 day summit, and we are almost done with it. Today is our day off, which means we are half done. In Happy Heart, we have had around 25 kids every night. They are full of energy, and they are very loving. Life Action came to this church 18 years ago and made a huge impact on many of the families and many of the lives. I pray that it would continue this time as well. 

    Last night we celebrated all of the summer birthdays during family night. Happy birthday to: Shane, Patti, Bret, Tyler, Josh, Daniel, Andrew, Matt, Maggie, and myself. It was the most interesting round of "happy birthday" I had ever heard in my life. There were special games for everyone based on what they liked and based on their personality. It was a lot of fun. 

  Before we came to Pikeville, we were on spring break. I got to stay at home! It was a very relaxing time. The team stayed in Minden, so I went to visit them once, and they got to come out for a bonfire. It was hard to leave home one last time, but I was looking forward to seeing my team.

   Being back on the road is both challenging and a lot of fun. It is winding down to the very last days of the year, and it is getting sad. It is finally hitting... I am leaving these people. But it's also fun at the same time, because I get to do life with them every day. Even though I only have a little less than a month left, I am so thankful for the family I have with my teammates. 

Hey guys!
      I know it's been a while since I last updated. We are just about to leave Mineral Wells, TX. We have spent the last week here. I am staying with Danielle and Amanda in a B&B. It's so awesome. I am so blessed to have gotten to experience this. During the summit, we had anywhere from 20-30 kids in Happy Heart, which was an unexpected blessing. We were only supposed to have ten. The kids were so loving and fun, I am really going to miss them. God was doing a work in the adults as well, which was really cool to hear about.
       Last church we were at was Goodlettsville Cumberland Presbyterian Church. We went there one time last year, and we got to go back again. It was great to go back to somewhere I had been twice already. I stayed with Ms. Judy. And while I was there, I got to visit with one of my previous host moms, Ms. Renee. It was a really great time, we played dominoes for two and a half hours. I stayed with Debbie at that church. We had only a handful of kids in Happy Heart, so we combined with Base Camp a few times, but its always good to be able to invest more personally in the kids.
     We are leaving tomorrow morning for RUSTON, LOUISIANA for spring break! I am going home and I can't wait to see my family. Its been quite a while since I have seen them. The team is staying at a camp in Minden, LA. So I will get to see them a few times, which will be nice. I am looking forward to some time to rest, and spend with my family.
      Thanks for all of your prayers :)


Sarah

Lucky number 13

Hey y'all.
It's been a while since I've updated. So right now we are in Vidalia, GA. It is our first ever RED TEAM THIRST CONFERENCE!! A thirst conference is a four day event that is meant to show them their thirst for Christ. It's always a great growing chance when you do things you normally don't get to do. This summit we have three year olds, so that is a growing experience for all of us as Happy Heart teachers. We have had a pretty good group of kids. We average about 15-20 kids a night, so thats really encouraging. I am staying with Angela and Charity. We are staying on a golf course with Wendy and Tim.
The last church we were at was in Rocky Mount, NC. I stayed with Danielle at Maryanne's house.
Our next church is in Goodlettsville, TN. It's exciting because we got to go to that church last year. I am excited to see some of the familiar faces from last year.
We are at our sixth church of this half of the year, but our 13th church this travel year and we only have five churches left until the end of the year. It's been going so fast, but I've been enjoying spending time with the team. Spring break is coming up as well, and I get to go home for that. I am really excited to see my parents and brother again! Pray for all of us as we are finishing up our year, that we would finish well. Thanks!!

New Creation

Hey again!
So right now we are in Thomasville, GA. It is an 11 day summit, and we are almost done. In Happy Heart, we have around 15 kids. Its a great group and they are the sweetest kids ever. The kids get so into the lessons and stories, and they have so much fun during the games. I am really going to miss this group when we leave.
Me and Angela are staying with Bob and Darlene. They are so sweet, and make us feel at home. They hosted people two times before us, with Life Action. So... the pressure is on for us :)
Well, today being Valentine's Day, we are going to go to a movie and then have dinner. It should be a lot of fun. We get to dress up and just have fun together.
Tomorrow is the deadline to tell HQ if we are coming back next year. Most people have made their decisions already, but there are still a few who are trying to decide. Its a super stressful time for them, so please keep them in your prayers.
Also, I went to the doctor and I was treated for a sinus infection. And I think that's what it was. Praise the Lord, I haven't had a headache since I went in!
In my quiet time, I have been going through 2 Corinthians. And WOW, there is so much stuff in there. I don't think I have used a highlighter that much in a long time. Its been really cool to see what God has been showing me through that. The other day I went through chapter 5. I got to one of my favorite verses. 2 Corinthians 5:17 "If you are in Christ, you are a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come!" That is so encouraging. Because the person we were before Christ, thats not who we are now. We have a new self. In every aspect of the word. We have been recreated. I'm just glad that I have been remade.
Please pray for me and the rest of the team to finish this year well. We only have 7 churches left to go.

Thank you!

Where does the time go?

Hey y'all,
We are at our 2nd church of this half of the year. We are in Manchester, TN. We are staying with Josh and Andrea and their three boys, Jackson (10) Gage, (8) and Peyton (2). I am staying with Danielle, Olivia, and Bethany. This summit is an 8 day, so we only have Saturday and Sunday left at the church. We have around 15-20 kids every night in Happy Heart, so its been a good sized group. I ended up going home on Wednesday night because I didn't feel good. But the men pulled through and did Happy Heart well! Next week, we have Monday through Thursday off, we will be heading to Georgia on Friday morning. We only have 8 churches left. Where does the time go? It went so fast. God has been teaching me so many things still.. Even when I feel like I don't want to learn. We have 16 days until we have to give our answer to Head Quarters about if we are traveling next year. It is always a stressful time for everyone. So please pray for everyone to have peace about whatever they are doing. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Sarah

Here we go again!

Hey y'all.
I know it's been a while since I have updated everyone on whats been going on. Well, from December 9th through January 10th I had Christmas Break! It was really good to be back home and to just relax. While being at home I got to go to the church that we are currently doing a summit at. I met some of the people from the college group, and was able to just do nothing. It was very nice.
Right now we are at Calvary Baptist Church, in RUSTON!! It's so nice to be at home still. Getting to stay with my family during the summit has been so different that in the past. I have really enjoyed it, but I also feel so spoiled. I have Savannah staying with me. I love her :) We get to have coffee with my parents every morning and to talk about life. It's been a blessing to be at home for an extra two weeks. With us leaving in two days, I really need to start packing. (Its easier said than done!)
But as for the summit, I think it went pretty well. There was a good amount of people who came every night. And it was the biggest college group we had all year. Happy Heart had anywhere from 7-20 kids. This summit was good, and it was challenging. It was good to see people I already knew. But at the same time, its really hard to balance home life with road life. And once again, the deadline is coming up to let Head Quarters know if we are traveling next year. So please pray for the entire team to do what God has for them. It's a stressful time of the year for all of us.
This summit, we also got a new family revivalist. They have six children, five girls and a boy. The oldest is 13 and the youngest is 4. They are super sweet and a lot of fun.
Thanks for all your prayers!

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