I am SO excited about how GOD is providing, even my ridiculous needs!!! This week, I have been really worried about finances... And, Tuesday morning, I won a prize at work for 5 dollars! I know, it's not much... but I didn't have enough cash to put gas in my car, and that was just the amount I needed to finish filling my tank! Praise the Lord!!
Thursday I had to close at work, so I was there late, and when it came time for lunch I was STARVING. I had only brought some carrots and a granola bar, and I knew that there was no way that would carry me through the day. I decided to just walk down the parking lot to the little pizza place, the whole time kicking myself for using my money for fluffy things, such as lunch... :-) and God was like, Sarah, if you can't trust me to provide lunch for you, how are you going to trust me to make it through your whole life of mission work??? So I get to the place, and I ordered the smallest thing on the menu, it was less than 4 dollars... and I went to pay, and the lady said to me, "You are the 'show God's love' customer of the day." And my mouth dropped open, and I said, "huh?" Apparently, every day they pick a number of order and that person gets their order for free! And it was me! Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!!!
Saturday afternoon, I got a call from a lady that I haven't seen in 10 years! She said that she had a piece of equipment that I need for school... this thing costs about 600 dollars new, and she has them for 75 dollars!!! She has enough for me, and for Holly!!! Wow! God is SO awesome!
Today we had a soup lunch at church, and they took an offering, and the amount of the offering, was just a bit more than what I need for my ticket that I have to buy before the first of May!! It blows my mind, how God will provide. It's so amazing. I am in awe of His power! Praise the Lord with me!!
If you have anything extraordinary that God is doing in your life, I'd love to hear about it!! I love hearing about God's faithfulness to His children!!!
~Sarah
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Thursday, April 05, 2007
First Prayer Letter
Dear Friends,
Greetings to you all from Sunny Florida! I pray all is well with you this spring, and that you see God’s faithfulness manifested in your everyday lives. God has surely been faithful to me, and ALWAYS provides for all of my needs, no matter how trivial they may be. Thank you all for your support through the years, financially, but especially through prayer. I can not even say how much your constant prayer support has meant to me and how just knowing people are praying, gives me strength during hard times.
I have some very exciting news for all of you! God has really been working in my heart for the past couple of years, since school. And this past year in Africa He has really been softening my heart, and opening it in ways I have never expected. It has always been my prayer to have a heart for missions, and to be broken by the things that break the heart of God. But I have always sort of seen myself on the “sending” side of the equation. I have now come to realize that God has a different plan for me!
The need in Africa is so great, and my heart breaks for these people whom I have come to love. There are aspects of every day life that we take for granted, such as cleanliness, hygiene, balanced diets, and women’s health issues that are overlooked or abused there. A friend in Mozambique was telling me about birth in a hospital there. She said that if the women make “noise,” the doctors and nurses beat them and make them be quiet. When the work day is over, the doctors leave for the night, and the women may still be in active labor, but the day is over, so the doctors go home for the night. The World Health Organization reports that “a woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. This compares with a 1 in 2800 risk for a woman from a developed country.” Those statistics are crazy, considering that these women are dying from things that are preventable with proper care, observation, and education. God has laid these people heavily on my heart, and I can not wait to go back to Africa and serve them in this capacity. But, first I need to be trained. And for this training I have been given the greatest opportunity, for service. There is a school in the Philippines that trains missionary midwives, on the field. This ministry is called Newlife International School of Midwifery. The students are trained in their free clinic called, Mercy Maternity Center that serves about 20,000 women a year. All of the care is provided to these women free of charge. I am one of the thirteen ladies who have been accepted to attend Newlife in the fall. This has amazing potential for ministry for me, because it will equip me to provide the needed care to these beautiful people. The program lasts for two years, during which I will attend classes, work in their birthing clinic, and also do village outreaches. I am SO excited for this opportunity, because it lets me learn midwifery while I am also out serving on the mission field!
This program comes at a major cost, but I know God is faithful to provide the means required to walk the path He has prepared for me. For the whole two year program, books, airfare, visas, medical equipment, etc. the cost is approximately $30,000. And I know that this is a lot. A lot, a lot, but God is big, and He is SO faithful. He has never given me reason to doubt that He will provide for me. I would ask you to prayerfully consider becoming a partner in this ministry opportunity that God has provided. In missions, some are called to go, and some are called to send, but there can not be missions without both of these groups of people. So I am asking you to give as God leads, but above all, please pray for me. I think these next two years are going to be SO challenging for me, emotionally, physically, spiritually, as well as academically. I can not do this alone, I need your support. For me, now, to look at these bills coming in, every day, is so overwhelming, I know there is no way I can do this on my own. It is a team effort. Please join with me in this venture.
There are several major expenses I have coming up in the next months. Here are some of the things on my “shopping list” for the next few months. Tuition for the fall and spring is $10,000. Textbooks for the fall are about $800. An electronic fetal Doppler is about $600 and other medical supplies will be about $500 additionally. Airfare is almost $2,000 dollars. And visas are going to be very expensive as well. I just wanted to give you an idea of where the money will go as it is donated. So feel free if you, or your Sunday school class, or school group, or Bible study group, want to take one of these needs and “adopt” it as your own, let me know, and I will let you know how your money is being put to good use on the field, and how God is using your gifts, and how you are affecting the lives of these women, first in the Philippines, and later in Africa. Please pray about how you can partner with me in this ministry opportunity that God has provided for us. If you are interested in me coming and sharing in your church or other group, let me know, and if it is not possible to make it, because of time or distance, I will be glad to make some other arrangements with you. Please call me, or e-mail, if you want more information about speaking to your group: smontaudo@juno.com, or
352-315-4116.
Please pray about how you can stand with me and join in this ministry opportunity first to the Philippines, and then to Africa. Thank you in advance for your consistent support, both financially, and through prayer. I covet your prayers, especially now, in this time of preparation. And please let me know if there is anything I can be praying with you about. You are all in my prayers. Thank you again for your faithfulness. May the grace of Our Lord Jesus be with you.
In Him,
Sarah Montaudo
Prayer Requests:
That I would see God’s faithfulness, even when it’s hard.
The money that I need will come in, in a timely way.
For me to get everything together before it’s time to go.
Safe travel.
Praises:
This AMAZING opportunity to go to Newlife!
God’s provision in my life, and His faithfulness.
Having the support of my family and friends.
Please make your checks payable to Faith Community Church, with “For Sarah Montaudo” in the memo line:
Please remove this coupon and return with your donation Mail to:
Donation $__________ Check #_______ Faith Community Church
Pledge for $____________ per month 1107 Griffin Road
Is this a one time Contribution? yes no Leesburg, FL 34748
I will be a prayer Partner
Name________________________________
Address______________________________
_____________________________________
e-mail address_______________________________
Would you be interested in receiving more frequent e-mail updates? _______
Greetings to you all from Sunny Florida! I pray all is well with you this spring, and that you see God’s faithfulness manifested in your everyday lives. God has surely been faithful to me, and ALWAYS provides for all of my needs, no matter how trivial they may be. Thank you all for your support through the years, financially, but especially through prayer. I can not even say how much your constant prayer support has meant to me and how just knowing people are praying, gives me strength during hard times.
I have some very exciting news for all of you! God has really been working in my heart for the past couple of years, since school. And this past year in Africa He has really been softening my heart, and opening it in ways I have never expected. It has always been my prayer to have a heart for missions, and to be broken by the things that break the heart of God. But I have always sort of seen myself on the “sending” side of the equation. I have now come to realize that God has a different plan for me!
The need in Africa is so great, and my heart breaks for these people whom I have come to love. There are aspects of every day life that we take for granted, such as cleanliness, hygiene, balanced diets, and women’s health issues that are overlooked or abused there. A friend in Mozambique was telling me about birth in a hospital there. She said that if the women make “noise,” the doctors and nurses beat them and make them be quiet. When the work day is over, the doctors leave for the night, and the women may still be in active labor, but the day is over, so the doctors go home for the night. The World Health Organization reports that “a woman living in sub-Saharan Africa has a 1 in 16 chance of dying in pregnancy or childbirth. This compares with a 1 in 2800 risk for a woman from a developed country.” Those statistics are crazy, considering that these women are dying from things that are preventable with proper care, observation, and education. God has laid these people heavily on my heart, and I can not wait to go back to Africa and serve them in this capacity. But, first I need to be trained. And for this training I have been given the greatest opportunity, for service. There is a school in the Philippines that trains missionary midwives, on the field. This ministry is called Newlife International School of Midwifery. The students are trained in their free clinic called, Mercy Maternity Center that serves about 20,000 women a year. All of the care is provided to these women free of charge. I am one of the thirteen ladies who have been accepted to attend Newlife in the fall. This has amazing potential for ministry for me, because it will equip me to provide the needed care to these beautiful people. The program lasts for two years, during which I will attend classes, work in their birthing clinic, and also do village outreaches. I am SO excited for this opportunity, because it lets me learn midwifery while I am also out serving on the mission field!
This program comes at a major cost, but I know God is faithful to provide the means required to walk the path He has prepared for me. For the whole two year program, books, airfare, visas, medical equipment, etc. the cost is approximately $30,000. And I know that this is a lot. A lot, a lot, but God is big, and He is SO faithful. He has never given me reason to doubt that He will provide for me. I would ask you to prayerfully consider becoming a partner in this ministry opportunity that God has provided. In missions, some are called to go, and some are called to send, but there can not be missions without both of these groups of people. So I am asking you to give as God leads, but above all, please pray for me. I think these next two years are going to be SO challenging for me, emotionally, physically, spiritually, as well as academically. I can not do this alone, I need your support. For me, now, to look at these bills coming in, every day, is so overwhelming, I know there is no way I can do this on my own. It is a team effort. Please join with me in this venture.
There are several major expenses I have coming up in the next months. Here are some of the things on my “shopping list” for the next few months. Tuition for the fall and spring is $10,000. Textbooks for the fall are about $800. An electronic fetal Doppler is about $600 and other medical supplies will be about $500 additionally. Airfare is almost $2,000 dollars. And visas are going to be very expensive as well. I just wanted to give you an idea of where the money will go as it is donated. So feel free if you, or your Sunday school class, or school group, or Bible study group, want to take one of these needs and “adopt” it as your own, let me know, and I will let you know how your money is being put to good use on the field, and how God is using your gifts, and how you are affecting the lives of these women, first in the Philippines, and later in Africa. Please pray about how you can partner with me in this ministry opportunity that God has provided for us. If you are interested in me coming and sharing in your church or other group, let me know, and if it is not possible to make it, because of time or distance, I will be glad to make some other arrangements with you. Please call me, or e-mail, if you want more information about speaking to your group: smontaudo@juno.com, or
352-315-4116.
Please pray about how you can stand with me and join in this ministry opportunity first to the Philippines, and then to Africa. Thank you in advance for your consistent support, both financially, and through prayer. I covet your prayers, especially now, in this time of preparation. And please let me know if there is anything I can be praying with you about. You are all in my prayers. Thank you again for your faithfulness. May the grace of Our Lord Jesus be with you.
In Him,
Sarah Montaudo
Prayer Requests:
That I would see God’s faithfulness, even when it’s hard.
The money that I need will come in, in a timely way.
For me to get everything together before it’s time to go.
Safe travel.
Praises:
This AMAZING opportunity to go to Newlife!
God’s provision in my life, and His faithfulness.
Having the support of my family and friends.
Please make your checks payable to Faith Community Church, with “For Sarah Montaudo” in the memo line:
Please remove this coupon and return with your donation Mail to:
Donation $__________ Check #_______ Faith Community Church
Pledge for $____________ per month 1107 Griffin Road
Is this a one time Contribution? yes no Leesburg, FL 34748
I will be a prayer Partner
Name________________________________
Address______________________________
_____________________________________
e-mail address_______________________________
Would you be interested in receiving more frequent e-mail updates? _______
Hi!
Hey Everyone,
Here is my new blog to keep you all informed on what is going on in my life as I get ready for school, and then as I am there, studying, and ministering to these women of the Philippines! Thank you all for reading! God bless!
~Sarah~
Here is my new blog to keep you all informed on what is going on in my life as I get ready for school, and then as I am there, studying, and ministering to these women of the Philippines! Thank you all for reading! God bless!
~Sarah~
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