The Philippines.... wow.

Well! Here I am!!! In the Philippines, we got here Friday afternoon. I can not believe it, really. It is kind of surreal at the moment. I'm sitting here on the balcony of my new home and smelling the smells, and seeing the people, and seeing my new life... but it still seems weird. I'm in that getting used to everything phase, I guess. Things are going well, we have started orientation and we get our first assignment tuesday. Shifts start Thursday, and I have a clinical shift thursday morning, and then friday a day shift in the birthroom. I'll let you know how it goes!! :-)

Thank you guys for praying for our trip over, it went well, we had some... issues, but nothing major, and we are all here and all of our bags arrived with us, and we saw God's power again and again. For example, in Manila we had to re-weigh our baggage, and because we were making a domestic flight, even though it was from an international flight, we only got about 45 lbs, and we all had two 60-70lb bags... so they wanted us to re-weigh... The man graciously told us we could average the totals, pay a discounted rate... and they were adding the total weight of all the bags, the man accidentally hit the reset button on the counter, and the total weight disappeared, and most of our heavy bags had already made their way down the conveyor belt!! So we only ended up paying $100 US for 20 overweight bags!! Praise the Lord!!!

Things here really are going pretty well, pray for our interpersonal dynamics, 20+ girls in one house leads to some... umm... stress and hurt feelings. But pray that we will have grace for eachother, and that the new girls won't be stepping on the older girls toes too much. Also, the air is really not too clean here, and my allergies are going crazy. Please pray that they settle down too, cause in the Philippines, I've heard, it's really rude to blow your nose in public... this presents quite a problem for myself... but, I've been doing my best to only blow my nose around my North American buddies! :-)

That's it for now! I'm sure there will be more posts up here soon, as well as more pictures!! I couldn't find my camera for a while after I got here... I just found it right now... in a bag... oops! Have a wonderful day!!

~Sarah

Wow!!

Wow wow wow!! I am here in Oregon doing this orientation thing. It is glorious. It is definitely just what I needed after this past... sheesh, how long? month of craziness. I met the single students and they are great. It's going to be a good year. Our host families brought us hiking on a bunch of mountains, and we saw waterfalls and God's beauty everywhere. But boy, it's cold!! It's been wonderful because we are getting to ask SO many questions to people who have been there, and there are lots of us asking, so what one person may not think to ask, someone else will. It's SO great to be here. It's so fun to be able to put faces to all of the names I have been praying for all these months! Pray for us as we get ready to go to the Philippines on Wednesday!! It's going to be a great adventure!

~Sarah

Oh boy...

Well, here we go!!! God has been SO faithful to me as I've been getting ready to go to the Philippines! He has gone so far above and beyond anything I ever could have asked or expected. God is SO awesome!! And SO Faithful!!

I am leaving first thing in the morning (although, I kinda think that it's before first thing in the morning. When I think of first thing in the morning I think 7 ish...), at 5am to head to the airport. I'm meeting Holly there and we are flying together to Portland where we will meet up with the other single girls who aren't over there yet for some sort of orientation thing, I think. I'm not sure yet what that will be, but I'm excited! Pray for us as we fly to Portland and then as we all fly over to Davao early next week. And that we would be good examples of God's love everywhere we go.

Keep checking back for more frequent updates now that I am going! I should put stuff up here much more regularly!! Thanks so much for praying for me!

~Sarah

two weeks!?!?

Wow! I can't believe it's only 2 weeks left until I go to the Philippines... yikes! These past two weeks have been SO full, it's been a blur. And I'm sure that the next two weeks will be the same. The last couple of weeks have been filled with visiting people, weddings, book reports, shopping for little things to take.... and SO much more. I had the opportunity, this past weekend to go to the wedding of my best friend from childhood, Matthew Friedman. It was so great to see all the Friedman clan again... oh, and Ted, too!! I didn't know if he was going to be there, so it was a great surprise when he was. It was so much fun! I had a really good time, and I was kinda sad I didn't get to spend more time with them. God has really blessed me with SO many people who love me! I am so grateful!

And now, I'm back home again, and it's time to get serious... :-) Please pray for me in these last two weeks! I will definitely need it!!

~Sarah

Less than a month to go!!

Wow!! How time is flying by!! It seems like I was just accepted to Newlife, and here I am with 27 days left until I leave! Yikes!!

I just want to thank you guys for all of your support. God is continually using you to bless me as I prepare for this amazing new step in my life. I am SO crazy excited!! He's provided lots of churches for me to speak at, and hundreds of wonderful people, to encourage me. He has provided all of the instruments I need, doppler, stethoscope, fetoscope, etc. He has already provided tuition for the first full year, with more coming in!! He is definitely working, and it's SO amazing just to sit back and see.

Here in August starts a crazy month for me. I am running all around trying to get things together, trying to say bye to people, sharing my testimony with small groups and churches. It is all a little overwhelming, but God has been faithful, and will continue to be so.

Please continue to pray for me. I can't do this on my own. I am praying for you all too. Thank you so much for your faithfulness.

~Sarah

P.S. Look for more frequent updates as I get closer to the time, and especially when I leave for the Philippines!!!

Praises and Prayer requests:

• Praise the Lord for His provision!!!
• Praise the Lord for His protection!!
• Pray for me to have peace in these last days before it's time to go.
• Pray for the last bit of finances for this year to come in before I go (visas and living expenses)
• Pray for safety as I travel around the US this month, and to the Philippines!!

Africa

Questions

Hey everyone!
People keep asking me if there is anything they can do to help... or to buy something that would be useful in the Philippines, for school, or later for midwifery in Africa... well... in answer to that request... here is my AMAZON.com wishlist. if you see anything on there that you are interested in purchasing, go right ahead.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1VGUX85BI1GQZ/ref=cm_reg_rd-upd/104-3827294-6893500?ie=UTF8&msgid=updated

Thank you to everyone who has been praying, or supporting me financially. God is providing. And it's so awesome to watch. I am just about where I need to be to pay for the first semester, but a ways from where I want to be, to pay for the year (and get a discounted rate on tuition). If any of you feel led to do any fund-raisers at your church, or other group, let me know, and I can help you get something organized.

Thank you again, to everyone who is praying, and giving of yourself, in whatever way. I couldn't do this without you!

~Sarah