9 Days Left

Hello Friends!

Last week we said farewell to our YWAM Siem Reap family and we ventured back to our starting point in Phnom Penh. God truly broke my heart for the people I met, worked with, and taught. 

I had the incredible privilege to teach english to about 12 young girls, 5 days a week. These girls have such sweet souls and to be able to share God's love to them while teaching them English is a dream! Some days were harder then others and at times 

my patience was definitely tested, but at the end of everyday when I watched the sun set over the Mo Meang Village, I knew in my heart that the Lord was moving... 

If I am ever lead by the Lord to come back, I will in a heart beat! 

For security reasons I cannot add pictures of the students but to the people I will see soon, I am happy to show them to you! 

As I face my last 9 days in Cambodia my soul continues to sing praises to the Lord for blessing me with an amazing experience that has changed my life forever. I have had the honor to meet so many beautiful people, and share Christ's love with them. I've had the privilege to stand on the grounds of Cambodia as I pray for healing, salvation, and restoration among the people. 

For ministry this week we have been doing a lot of evangelism and prayer throughout the city of Phnom Penh. 

In one week we will end ministry and start to debrief the last two months... Then we board the plane and say farewell! I will miss this country so much and will never forget the memories I have been blessed with. 

I ask that you pray for Christ's direction, provision, and protection to continue among our team. As we face our last week, it is so easy to not give 100% in all things and live in the moment, but I believe that through the power of God, all things are possible. 

Thank you for praying for me through this journey. I know that the Lord has worked so much through your prayers! May God bless you all and show His love to you in a new way everyday.

Farewell for Now, 

In Christ, 

Sarah Sanders

Hello From Siem Reap!

Hi Friends!

I apologize ahead of time that this update has to be brief due to limited access to wifi.
I am and will be in Siem Reap, Cambodia for a couple weeks.

During these weeks we will be working with YWAM Siem Reap, at two different villages. We will work with children a lot and teach English. It will be very similar to our ministry in Phnom Penh.

Our last couple of weeks in Phnom Penh were really amazing! The Lord broke my heart and challenged me a lot. Over a ten day period we worked along side of 5 other YWAMers from Kona, Hawaii and a girl from Singapore. This was the Steps of Justice program. In the mornings we would visit ministries such as, Daughter of Cambodia, Love 146, IJM,  and Agape Ministry. 

In the afternoon we went to a village to build a house for a older couple and their extended family to live in.

The house they lived in before wasn't much of a house... Some call it a 'hot box' or 'shack'.

This family is Buddhist and rejects the name of Yasu (Jesus).
It is heart breaking to know that they do not experience the love of Christ, but we were able to love them this week through our actions. Our vision and prayer is that this house will become a church! We pray it will become a place they can worship the Lord Jesus freely, and minister to others in the village.

It took us a about four minutes total to tear down the walls of the 'hot box'. After one day of demolition and sanding boards, we began to build....







During this week we got to go to a salon in another village called 'Life to Life'. Our friends Rocky and Iris (a couple from India) lead a bible study at this salon. The employees of Life to Life are recovered prostitutes and I am so happy to tell you that they all have accepted the Lord into their lives!

This is one of the employees saved from prostitution! She washed my hair as well as some of the other YWAM Charlotte girls.She is interested in doing a DTS in the future! I am praying that the Lord makes a way! It was really awesome to be able to support this ministry and fellowship with these amazing girls.

By the end of the week we only had part of the house to finish. Because we had to move on to Siem Reap, we didn't get to see the finished product... But we left it in the trusting hands of our YWAM Kona friends. 

Being able to see the ministry Agape International really stirred a fire in my heart for NGO's (Non Government Organizations) God showed me that it doesn't matter if I am in Greeneville,TN or overseas... I can be part of this. I can be part of changing people's lives in a drastic way. My passion for women and men in slavery has grown so much. I am now open and eager to support, and work with ministries in the US that focus on these things. Agape provides jobs for girls that have just been saved from prostitution or slavery. They have made a clothes line as well as accessories. To learn more about how you can support them and the awesome work they are doing, visit this page! : http://www.3strandsglobal.com/index.cfm?pID=3331

As we start this next phase of outreach I ask that you pray for our team. It is so easy to count down the days left till home and not make the most of being here in Asia... on the other side of the world! I often forget how incredible it is to know that God has brought me here to serve for this short season of my life. I ask you pray that God would continue to remind us daily of our purpose here, and that we would continue to love others with all that we have! 

I hope to update in a couple of weeks. If not it will be at the end of my trip! I want to thank you all for praying for me and my team. We truly receive them daily and are so SO thankful for all of you!

With Love from Cambodia,

God Bless You,

Sarah Sanders

Let My Words be Few, Let My Actions be Many

Hello from Phnom Penh, Cambodia!!!

I have been here for one week now and I already have too many stories to tell! God is moving in amazing ways and this journey has only just begun. I will start this Blog off with telling you about our first three days (traveling). 

These are segments of my thoughts on paper from 6/13-6/17

"I am currently sitting in the JFK "Korean Air" terminal and have been since 12:15p.m today. We missed our flight from JFK to Seoul. The last two days of my life have been a battle. The Lord is stretching me and for that I am thankful... Because I know that the me who will leave JFK at 12:50 a.m will be more flexible than the me 4 hours ago, and the me 24 hours from now will be more thankful for sleep than I have ever been in my life! "I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, and I shall not be shaken!"-Psalm 16:8  ...True Joy is to make the decision to always know that God is faithful and will never leave us, and that He holds our hand through it all. We will then find His love in everything, we will want to love everyone we encounter, and we will realize that it is only possible through Christ."....."I woke up two hours into our flight to Korea with the flight attendants saying, 'Dinna! Would you like some foo?' If you forgot the time, this is at 3:00 am. I am pretty sure I stared at my food longer than I ate it!" ..."We leave in from Korea in 5 1/2 hours, and I am ready to be in Cambodia." .... "As we fly out of Seoul, Jesus' presence is so strong! 

Seeing His creation on this side of the world and knowing that the same God created the mountains of East Tennessee...WOW. Then I start praying for North Korea and the Lord tells me to pray Philemon 4-7 for the missionaries that are there right now. To see God move puts down every doubt I have of His ability to save to lost! THAN to try to wrap my mind around the fact that I am watching the sun set over the East China Sea... Literally! What a peace I have knowing that my Father has the whole world in his hands."... "I am here. I am exhausted. My luggage is still in Korea. I miss my bed and the Blakeny House... I want to cry over all that has happened the last 53 odd hours.. But God is reminding me of Psalm 34:7, 'the Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.' I choose to believe this and trust the my God has great things at hand!" 

So time kept moving and the Lord kept working. Throughout the week we went to a Village for House Visits, to lead bible studies, and to help with a children's program with the Children at Risk department of UofN Cambodia. In this time we got to play with the children, sing songs with them, act out bible stories, dance with them, count to 100 in English with them! Wash there hair, clip there nails, braid there hair, and sometimes let them braid our hair!

                                

The people of Cambodia are so beautiful and like to learn new things. My heart is broken for them but I am thankful because this causes me to let God's love pour out of me, and into them. 

Since I have been here I have had two different encounters where God lead me to speak with women that know the Lord. It has been really great to encourage them, knowing that I am walking in obedience  to the Lord.

On Wednesday we went to a Museum that was once a Prison during the times of Pol Pot's 'Killing Fields'.  It was very hard to see the rooms that thousands of people were tortured in, followed by their death in the Killing Fields about 11 km. away. It was horrific to hear all the things that were done, but an honor to stand on a ground that is in danger no more.




I had the incredible honor to meet Mr. Chum Mey during our tour of the prison. Chum Mey is one of twelve survived prisoners from the S-21 Toul Sung Camp.
How awesome is it to know that someone can not only live through Hell on earth, but come back to the Museum to meet people from around the world! I can strongly say this is only by God's grace...

We then took a tour at the site of the actual Killing Fields where over 2,000,000 people were buried.
This was a breaking experience,but I gained from it, because I now have a deeper love for this country than I did before.
The picture to your left is a sign above a grave where over 100 women and children were buried.
My heart aches for the families that are still alive, with the knowledge that some of their family members bones still lie on this ground, unidentified.

 I could not thank the God enough for each one of these incredible sons and daughters of Christ. It is an honor to serve along side of them through this journey, to Love through our actions, to cry with one them, and to worship our Lord Jesus Christ together everyday! 

I can't wait to tell you all that God does over the next couple weeks of ministry! Thank you for your prayers, from the bottom of my heart. I encourage you to keep praying as I keep walking in the Lord's will on the other side of the world! 

Blessing and Peace be with you,

Farewell Friends,

Sarah Sanders

Four Days and Counting!

Hello Everybody!
First, I would like to apologize for not updating sooner... Time is moving so fast and it is already four days till we leave for Cambodia!

God has stretched my faith so much this semester, and He has been nothing but faithful. "For my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." - Philippians 4:19... I am so blessed and thankful to announce that all of my outreach fees are paid for! God has taught me through this experience of raising support that if it is his will, HE WILL PROVIDE! There is so much peace in that, which is why I choose to continue to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done..."  

In Phnom Penh we will be working with ministries such as Love 146 (http://love146.org/), Agape Mission International (http://agapewebsite.org/), Daughters (http://daughtersofcambodia.org/), Hagar International
(http://hagarinternational.org/international/our-work/where-we-work/cambodia/), and IJM (http://www.ijm.org/). We will also be building a house during our time in Phnom Penh, as well as working with local churches and YWAM Phnom Penh.

I am truly overwhelmed by this opportunity and I can't wait to spread the love and joy of Christ to everyone I will encounter! The Lord is continuing to break my heart for the young women of this country that have been sold into sex slavery, and spend their lives thinking that they have no worth, soul, or purpose. Although sometimes their stories can seem to be hopeless, I know that my God brings a hope that will not disappoint. (1 Corinthians 13:7, Romans 5:5)
I just want to show these girls that they have so much value and that they have a Father that loves them 'from everlasting to everlasting.' (Psalm 103:17)  “Preach the Gospel at all times, if necessary use words.”-St. Francis of Assis.I plan to do this to the best of my ability and only with the power of Christ Jesus.

Although all of my fees are paid for, my team still needs about $2000. I want to ask you all to partner with me at this time in prayer. Please pray that the Lord's will would be done, as well as provision and blessings. If the Lord leads you to give, you can write checks to YWAM-Charlotte and send to:
418 East. Franklin St. Monroe, NC 28112. 

I want to thank you all again for all of your prayers and affirm you that they are received daily. God is so faithful, loving, and just. I really can't stop praising Him!
I will be updating as soon as I can in Cambodia!

Blessings and Love be with you all,
Sarah Sanders

Update Letter 5/10/13

“Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.”- Mark 17:33

Friends,

As I reflect on the last eight weeks of my life, I am in awe of how much of a revelation of Christ I have been given. I have seen and heard more of His Love for the Nations, His Son, and myself than I have the last 19 years of my life! He has spoken to me in love since the moment I decided to open my heart and receive everything He has to offer.

I have learned that leadership comes from servanthood, which is enabled by humility. Humility comes from humbling myself daily, allowing Christ to ‘put words in my mouth’(Isaiah 51:16,)  dying to myself daily, and living in the knowledge that without Christ’s love in my life I am nothing(1 Corinthians 13). I am also learning to value others as our Father sees them, and to see myself as God sees me. I have chosen to seek, strive, and find ALL that Christ has for me. I’ve chosen not to bottle up everything He teaches me, but to share it with the nations!

“ ...we have been unwilling to surrender to Jesus our right to freedom.” ...“But if we give up our right to freedom we can go anywhere on earth today,” Loren Cunningham, Making Jesus Lord.

I have come to the realization that the enemy impresses a fear of rejection on us when we are in ministry. When acknowledging and believing in our hearts, that our sole purpose on earth is to Love God and Love people(Matthew 22:37-38), why should we fear rejection of man, or death of self? At YWAM, we strive to Know God and Make Him Known. I have made the choice to live this with all that is in me, whether it be in Greeneville,TN, Charlotte,NC, or Phnom Penh,Cambodia!

We will be in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the first month, working with different ministries through YWAM. One of the ministries we will work with is Steps of Justice. Steps of Justice is a ministry pioneered by YWAM staff, triggered to apply practical solutions to spread awareness and help people living in injustice. For more info on this ministry go to, http://www.stepsofjustice.org/ .

Although we are not sure yet, we will most likely be in Siem Reap, Cambodia for the second month. Some of our plans aren’t confirmed yet, but I will be updating my blog often  and definitely will update when I know everything we are doing!

I am so blessed to announce that I only have $530 left to cover tuition and outreach fees! The Lord has truly proven His provision in my life over the last 6 months and I cannot thank enough those of you that have supported me in this incredible journey!

More than anything, I ask that you pray for me. Pray that the Lord would continue to provide finances, good health, and safety!  If the Lord leads you to support me financially, please make checks payable to Sarah Sanders.

I can’t wait to write you all again and share with you the adventures I will partake of in Cambodia!

Farewell Friends!

In Christ Alone,

Sarah Sanders

418 E. Franklin St

Monroe,NC 28113

I'm Going To...

CAMBODIA!!!!

Cambodia is located in Southeast Asia

Capital: Phnom Penh

Currency: Cambodian riel

King: Norodom Sihamoni

Official language: Khmer language

Government: Unitary state, Parliamentary system, Constitutional monarchy

Population: 14.31 million (2011)

Religion: Buddhism: 95%

         Islam: 1.6%

                  Christianity: 0.2%

          Others: 3.2%

My Team! (From left to right) Katy Winter, Sarah Sanders(Me), Kevin Showalter, Ty Hoang, Blair Hembroff, Jarrod Smith, Danielle Alcaidinho, Caleb Horning, and Hannah St Croix.

We will be flying out on the week of June 10th, and I can't wait to see what the Lord is going to do through all 9 of us! Although I am not sure exactly what we will be doing in Cambodia, I trust that the Lord will reveal everything in His perfect timing! 

He is overwhelming me with His love, by breaking my heart for this country. I am overjoyed to know that right now, the Lord is preparing the hearts of the people I will cross paths with in Cambodia this summer! WOW! I am so SO grateful for God calling me here to YWAM-Charlotte in this season of my life. 

Looking back on the last six weeks I am amazed at how MUCH Christ is(has) revealing(revealed) His heart to me, more and more everyday. His infinite Grace is teaching me to live with a passion for others, which is rooted by His overflowing Love for His Sons and Daughters. I pray that He continues to break my heart for what breaks His, that He would love through me daily, and that He would give me wisdom so that I may walk in humility for His glory! 

God is so good... I have more thoughts to share, and hope to soon, but I couldn't wait any longer to share the great news! 

Be[loved] my friends.

In Christ Alone,

Sarah Sanders

The JOY of Evangelism 

Last week was the most Challenging, Convicting, Restoring, Grace-giving week at DTS yet. 

For a very long time I cringed when I heard the word 'Evangelism'. Not because of it's purpose, but because of what religious people have made it to be. When I heard 'Evangelism', I thought of people on the street corner with a sign that says "Turn or Burn, and "Liars go to Hell!" I think of men with suits on, standing in front of Walmart with a Tract, and asking people, "Are you going to heaven?"

The worst part is, my whole life I never saw that there are plenty of ways to share the gospel that do not judge others; but the ultimate fear isn't how we present it.... We fear rejection of man. The way my speaker, Doug Tunney Jr. put it was this, 'Do we really hate someone enough to not tell them about our Savior?' Our enemy will literally tell you anything to keep you from sharing the Gospel. When you really stop and think about how important evangelism is, doesn't it make you want to jump up and shout it from the roof tops?!... Paul did. Acts 5:42 says, "And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus." This is my desire, to live the Gospel of Jesus Christ everyday, so that telling everyone about my Savior will become a lifestyle. 

So one thing that was wonderful about our topic of Evangelism was that we did not just learn about it, we put it to action! We went out last wednesday and shared the Gospel. I was with two others, Cassie and Ty. We went door to door (just one of many ways to spread the word) in the Projects of Monroe, a neighborhood over. We did a "religious survey", to show that we care about there opinions. This survey would have lighter questions like, "Why do you think it is that most people don't attended church?" leading to a deeper question of, " Have you accepted Jesus Christ into your life?". 

This survey was most successful out of many tools we were given, because it opened up a lot of conversation doors that lead to wonderful questions and stories. 

There were three different women that really impacted me. One younger lady in particular was such a joy to pray with. She had accepted Jesus, believed that God will always provide, and has felt the love of Christ in her life before, but she had no motivation to do more. She had not seen that God longs for relationship, and a way to get to know him is reading the Bible. She doesn't go to church anymore because of rejection in the past. It was such a blessing to listen to her, to pray for her, to look her in the eyes and remind her that she is God's Beloved, and she has value. The lady was one of 8 people we spoke to in a 2 hour period... WOW. To know that I can impact that many souls in just 2 hours! Why don't we do this more often? We only fear what we do not know... 2 Corinthians 5:6 says, "So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight." 

His yoke is easy, and burden light. (Matthew 11:30)

So my encouragement to you is that you take this verse, and know that you have no need to fear. Because God is for you! 

I hope that this testimony of Evangelism is the start of many, because we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength!(Philippians 4:13)

Lots of Love from Charlotte,

In Christ,

Sarah