Final update from my time in America

I've been meaning to post this for about a week or so, but saying goodbye to everyone in America and moving back to South Africa and getting ready to leave for a missions trip in 4 hours (and it's 2am now and I should be sleeping) means that this hasn't happened till now. So, here is a newsletter that I wrote to my supporters a little over a week ago. I explain a bunch of the stuff I learnt in my time away and what I'm up to next. Enjoy :)

---------- Written on Thursday 21 June 2012 ----------

A week from today I'll be home. It's such a weird thought. I'm so excited to go home but so sad to be leaving here, it's very bittersweet. My time here has been so special and such an incredible privilege. I feel so blessed to have spent the past six months at this beautiful base under such amazing leadership. They have poured into me, taught me, encouraged me and helped me grow. I really am so grateful.

This has been such an incredibly season of growth and learning for me. God has taught me so many practical things which I'm excited to put into practice for the rest of my life. And he's also grown me so much in my identity in him and taken me deeper in my intimacy and relationship with him. He is so good and so patient and so loving. I just love him so much and I know that it can only get better from here because he only wants good things for me. I'm excited to walking forward in life with the promises that he's given me and in the anointing that he has put on me. I look forward to living out my calling, knowing that everything I do, I do in his strength and I am never in my own ability alone.

If you are interested in hearing some of the songs I've written, two of them are on my blog. With All My Heart, a worship song, can be found at http://spalser.blogspot.com/2012/04/with-all-my-heart.html. Aeidan, a love story song for my friend whose baby was miscarried, can be found at http://spalser.blogspot.com/2012/05/aeidan.html. My other two will be going up soon. I will also be posting photos on my blog from my Art Worship piece that I did last week and an explanation about my project. Once I'm home I will continue to write on my blog, so please feel free to subscribe to it. I will keep posting the things that I'm writing and creating. Just add your email address to the subscribe section on the left. If you run into any problems, please let me know.

I'm very excited about what the rest of this year has in store. I arrive home next Wednesday morning (27th) and will be leaving for Mthatha early on Saturday (30th) morning. I will be joining a mission’s trip with a team from Pinelands Baptist Church and partnering with a missions organisation there called Sondela which is part of Zema. This will be my 6th trip there and I am so excited to see all the kids and teenagers again and continue to build the relationships that God has allowed me to form over the years. We will be working primarily in the rural villages near the mission’s base, doing a Holiday Bible Club for kids, a youth ministry program and helping with practical things at the base.

One of my prayer requests for this trip is for team unity. I've missed all the initial bonding and preparation for the trip, so please pray that I will fit in well and be able to make a good contribution to the team. Language is also a big prayer need. I do know some basic Xhosa and my grammar is quite good, but my vocabulary is rather lacking. Please pray that God will give me an ability to pick up words and phrases again easily and be able to communicate well even across the language barrier. Another prayer request is for our physical safety. We will be travelling for two days to get to our ministry location and the roads aren't very safe in some places. Please also pray for our physical protection as there have been some incidences of theft in the past.

Wisdom and discernment are also a huge request. I really want know what God's heart is in every situation. So please pray that I'll be attentive and sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. During my time there I will also have the privilege of leading worship, so please pray that God will help me in that and that I'll be listening carefully to his leading. Pray that I will make the most of every opportunity that God gives me and that I'm able to apply what I've learnt here at YWAM in the ministry opportunities that I have on the trip.

After the Mthatha mission trip, which is ten days long, I don't have any set plans for the rest of the year. Next year I plan on doing my Masters in Computer Science at UCT, focusing in an area called Information and Communication Technology for Socio-Economic Development (ICT4D) which basically involves using technology to help with community development. I'm very excited about this and about possibly having an opportunity to work with Learn to Earn (a Christian skill-training NGO) again as I did last year during my Masters.

In the meantime, however, I am purposefully keeping my time fairly open and unstructured so that I can do all the things that God has put on my heart to do. This will include doing quite a lot of tutoring (Maths, Science, Computers, English etc) and starting to teach Music. I'm looking at starting private piano lessons, but I'd also be open to teaching the recorder and flute. Within our church I want to volunteer a lot of time to the ministries that need me most. I see myself naturally getting involved a lot in the music ministry, training, discipleship and equipping the different musicians in our church, as well as working with the admin and communication side of things if I'm needed. In addition, I'm looking at getting involved in children or youth ministry, depending on where the biggest need is, and helping out with some of the IT stuff in our church too.

And then in my person time I want to keep as much flexible time open in my days to be able to continue to train and develop myself in various areas. This will involve studying the Bible more and making sure that I am reading good books and listening to podcasts that help me continue to grow from the place that I'm in now. I also want to make sure that I make space for creativity and song writing because that is something that I've seen myself grow in during this time but never really made space for at home. Additionally I want to ensure that I am practicing and continuing to grow in my musical skills and competency on piano, acoustic guitar, bass guitar, flute and voice; and possibly getting further lesson on guitar and voice training.

So while I'm very sad that this season of my life is coming to an end, I know that it's only beginning of what God has in store for me in my life and I want to make sure that I'm stepping into the abundant life that he has promised. And so because of that I'm really excited about coming home and stepping into God's plans for me. As I finish up my time here, please continue to pray for me. It's going to be very hard to leave after investing so much of myself here over the past six months. Tonight (Thursday 21st) we have our CD Release Concert where we play all the songs on our new album and give out copies of the CD. The album so now available online for free download here.

I am so grateful for all your support over the past six months. Your prayers have been so impactful and meaningful in my life. Thank you for lifting me up when I was struggling and for encouraging me and interceding for me. Thank you for every one of you who have supported me financially. Without you I would not be able to be here. Even the smallest contribution has meant so much to me. If you would like to continue to receive updates from me, please let me know. This will involve the ways that God is working in my life, things I need prayer for, updates from the ministries and mission involvement.

May God bless you hugely and continue to grow you in intimacy and depth of relationship with him.

Much love in Christ,

Sarah

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Stepping into God's Anointing

It never ceases to amaze me how fast time flies! It’s already the start of my 5^th week in School of Worship (SOW). I have so much that I could write, because God has been doing so much in my life and stretching me and growing me and challenging me in so many ways, but I’ll try keep this brief. I will try to write extra posts about some of the other things I’m not able to go into detail about in this update. If there’s anything particular that you’d like to hear more about, please let me know and I’ll be sure to include it in a future update.

This is my band :)

In my last newsletter I mentioned that I have had several prophecies spoken over my life with regards God’s anointing on me for worship. I said that I didn’t feel like I had stepped into them yet and that I was hoping I would be able to during this school. Well, I definitely feel like I am! On the second Wednesday evening of the school I assisted my friend Bronson in leading a time of soaking worship for 1.5 hours. It was a really amazing time of being in God’s presence. I stepped out and sang songs in the Spirit and was playing only for Jesus, not worrying much about the other people in the room. In that moment when I started to sing out the prophetic words that God put on my heart I felt His pleasure wash over me and my hands started to tingle and ‘burn’ with the same feeling that I felt when I first felt His anointing rest on me. It was so amazing to get such a tangible feeling of His delight and His affirmation of me taking a step in the direction in which He has called me. And I know that is only the beginning of what He has in store for me. There have been a number of other times where I’ve stepped out in obedience and in love and I’ve felt His delight on me.

Bonding time in Boulder

I really feel that I am exactly where God wants me to be and it’s such an amazing feeling! While it isn’t the easiest thing to be away from Paul during this season, I couldn’t think of a better season of my life to be able to wholeheartedly seek the Lord with no distractions. He is teaching me so much about intimacy with Him and being able to find my satisfaction and fulfilment in Him alone. I feel like God is drawing me into a much deeper place of intimacy with Him and helping me grow in my character and integrity as a result. In class last week we learnt about the Tabernacle of David and I was blown away by the life of David, looking at it from a completely new light. God brought new revelation to me about the importance of David’s intimacy with God which allowed him to live in a freedom that most of the people in the Old Testament never got to experience, because he understood God’s grace and mercy, and knew Him so deeply. It’s so freeing to know that while I do have a lot of responsibilities as a worship leader; my primary focus need only be on intimacy with God. The overflow of that will be a life that pleases God in every way, including in my leadership.

While this school is probably fuller than my Community Development course time wise, it feels so much less stressful to me! I absolutely love all the hours each day where I’m able to practice, play and write music/poetry. Our two hour band sessions each afternoon are definitely one of my highlights. I realised that I have never before had a season of my life where I was surrounded by so many creative people. It’s so inspiring being around these people and they bring out the creative side in me that I realise I have suppressed for a lot of my life. I love the freedom to express myself in new ways and being challenged to step out of my comfort zone and try new things too.

These are the girls from my band: me, Brooklyn and Maddy

Today our second official song is due. The specifications for our first song was that it needed to be a corporate worship song that could fit in at our home church and represent the place that we wanted our church to be in a few years time. I put the lyrics on my blog here. The inspiration for our second song needed to come from Proverbs. I chose Proverbs 21:3 and wrote a meditation to God about my desire to bless His heart and how I could do that in light of what He says in that Proverb. I’ll put the lyrics up here soon. During Week 3 our teaching was specifically on Songwriting and during that week we were given a number of writing assignments. I turned one of the poems I wrote into a short song and I put a recording of it on this post and on YouTube. I also have a few other poems and reflections on my blog that you can read if you’re interested.

Another huge learning area for me is in my skills on various musical instruments. During the first week God asked me to surrender my entitlement to play the piano to Him. I have been playing the piano for the past 15 years and I thought that I was coming here mainly to play piano. But in fact I’ve been doing very little piano playing in the band at all! More often I’m singing lead or harmonies, playing the flute or even playing the bass guitar! I’m getting one-on-one acoustic guitar lessons each week and practice for at least 30 mins each day. My teacher is a really amazing guitarist and man of God and it’s such a privilege to learn from him. After just three short lessons I feel like I have a much better understanding of the guitar and I have left my lessons with my head hurting from all the amazing new things I’ve been learning! So while it is a little different to not be playing much of my ‘main’ instrument, God has shown me that this is a season for me to grow in areas that I’m not that strong. From this I’ll become a more skilled musician overall and thus more equipped to lead worship in a way that glorifies God and write songs that allow people to really enter into God’s presence.

My band again - after a bonding time at the park :)

In closing, I am having the time of my life and really enjoying every moment of this season, even the really hard times. I think I cry on a near daily basis, sometimes multiple times a day! So while I am being stretched, I am also being refined and I know that God is doing something very special in my life during this time. I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me over the next eight weeks! Thank you so much for partnering with me during this very amazing time of my life. I really value your love and prayers so much; they carry me through the challenging times. I also really appreciate all those of you who have supported me financially, as I would not be able to be here without you. May God pour out His blessing and favour on you and may you experience intimacy with Him on a whole new level today and continuing deeper forever.

Much love in Christ,        Sarah

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Metaphor - song writing assignment

In class this week we’re learning about song writing. We have incredibly teachers, Caleb and Erin, who are really great musicians. One of our assignments from Monday was to choose a metaphor from Isaiah 25 or 26 and explore it poetically.

I chose the metaphor from Isaiah 25:4 which says,
“You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.”

You are a refuge in my need

A safe place for me to hide

You keep me sheltered in the storm

Protecting me from raging tides

In my distress I run to you

Guard me from the blazing heat

That burns and bickers in my soul

Leaving no room for retreat

Your love is like a cooling balm

A shelter in times of trouble

You, Lord, make the waters calm

Rebuilding my heart from rubble

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Graduation Speech for CDFM

My CDFM class - students and staff: (back) Dante, Sarah G, Kai, (front) Me, Chrissy, Kourtney, Jonathan, Keri, Angie and Jenna

Honestly I didn't know what to expect of this school when I applied. I hoped I'd learn something about God's heart for the poor and how to combat poverty, but I didn't have incredibly high expectations. But within the first week of teaching God had already blown me away with a complete change in worldview and I learnt more that first week than I expected to learn in the whole school. 

And from there on the learning and amazing teaching continued. Each week brought new insight and revelation into topics that God can use in us to change the lives of people all around the world. Things like water & sanitation, healthcare, education & teaching, economics, how to start an NGO, amongst many other things. But while this school did teach us a lot of practical skills that we can use on the missions field, these would be a lot less meaningful without the Godly foundations that everything was built on and the biblical worldview through which everything was seen. 

I know I speak for my whole class when I say that I now definitely have a much better understanding of how to go into a community and be able to empower them and help them build themselves up without doing more harm than good in the process. This school has revealed to us so many misconceptions we've had about missions and the ways in which we've done things in an unsustainable and unloving way in the past, even though we thought we were doing the right thing. I feel equipped to go out and make a much more long term impact in the world now, wherever that may be. And I know that I will be able to use the principles taught in this school to bring God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven in every sphere of life that I may be in: whether that be in church, on the missions field, in social circles, education, IT or in business sphere. I know that God is going to use each one of us to bring about his intentions for mankind wherever he may take us in life. And I'm really excited to be a part of it. 

I would like to thank all our staff for all their input in our lives over the past three months. We really appreciate you and would not have made it through without your love and support. And thank you YWAM Denver for this amazing opportunity that you have given us. I look forward to seeing where God takes each one of us from here. 

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So far so good :)

It's been two weeks, but it feels like so much longer than that! Being back at YWAM Denver is so amazing and I'm really really enjoying it so far. At first a I was a little nervous about coming back, because I knew that a lot would be different from my last time here in 2007, and also because of how much I have changed and grown since then. But it's only been a week and I already feel like I've known everyone for a few months and my room mates totally feel like family! It is especially awesome having Paul here and, even though we don't get to hang out that often, it's just great having him nearby and seeing the way that God is working in his life. 

Paul at the lake near the YWAM base. The YWAM base is directly behind him in the distance.

There are just five of us in my school, Community Development for Missions (CDFM). We are a really nice mix: Dante is our only guy and he is from the Bahamas. He is going to MIT in September to study Chemical Engineering. Kourtney is from Viginia and she went on her DTS outreach to South Africa and volunteered in Haiti for 9 months after the earthquake. She wants to study nursing after this school. Sarah G is a Missionary Kid who lived in Thailand and Burma for 4 years. She is now studying Renuable Energy for International Development in the States and taking a semester break to do this course. And finally there's Crissy who is originally from Colorado but has travelled a lot and is passionate about helping women caught in trafficking and prostitution.

My CDFM class: Crissy, Sarah G, Angie (staff), Keri (director), Jonathan, Kourtney, me, Jenna (staff and my small group leader), Dante and Kai (assistant director)

Our leaders are also really awesome people. Keri is originally from the UK and he has his Masters in Mechanical Engineering with a specialision in Community Development. His wife, Angie, is a nurse and they both have a huge heart for missions. They also have a really adorable 2 year old son called Jonathan who I am very quickly falling in love with, and another baby on the way :)

Angie and Jonathan

Last week we spent most of the time bonding and getting to know each other. We also went over the basic introductory things about being in YWAM and rules of the base etc. This week we are doing a video conference with a lady called Christine from the YWAM base in Khona, Hawaii. There have been quite a few issues with the technology, but they got stored out by Tuesday. 

The road outside the YWAM base, very often full of geese!

Thankfully God is able to work regardless and I have learnt so much about the lies that hold back cultures and societies and how we need to go to the root of these beliefs in order to bring about change, rather than just trying to bring change on higher level without looking at the reason for the lack of development in the area. Because so often the reason for the community being in that situation is rooted in a lie that they or someone else believes about them and until that lie has been replaced by God's truth. For example that we are ALL made in God's image and that he has given us dominion over the earth and we are not controlled by it. Through this truth God can bring about lasting change. I'm really looking forward to what else I am going to learn this week and I'm really excited for the rest of this training school!

The YWAM base covered in a fresh layer of snow :)

The weekly outreach that I'm involved in with the rest of my CDFM class is teaching English to Karen refugees from Burma who are now living in the States. We had EFL training on Sunday which was pretty interesting. Monday was our first outreach and I got to take the two hyper 10 year old twin boys, who were distracting the class, aside and teach them Maths, which I thoroughly enjoyed! They are such characters! I'm really looking forward to going back and working with them every week.

Ahtim and Ahtow