When one of our students brought a new soccer ball to afterschool on Wednesday, all the kids begged to play. Chris obligingly set up a game, only to discover that not a single one of the nine kids present knew how to play. We went from the mad scramble of free-range soccer to a very organized chalk circle system where we practiced kicking and passing both to teammates and into the goal. No matter how we played, helping the kids navigate this sport for the first time proved incredibly entertaining!
Except, you know, with the TV instead of a dress.
Oh man. I am not at all ashamed to say I was openly weeping.
Dear loved ones,You can read a different version / find out more on Sara's blog: http://sendsara.blogspot.com/
As (hopefully) all of you know, on January 12th a massive earthquake rocked the Caribbean island of Haiti. Since then, the Haitian Government has reported that as many as 230,000 people have been identified as dead, 300,000 injured, an estimated 1,000,000 homeless, and even more displaced... ultimately affecting at least 3 million people.
I cannot even begin to imagine what life is like for people there, for the newly orphaned and the freshly widowed, for the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere who had nothing and now has even less. With the more recent earthquakes in Chile and Japan and all the other problems going around, it seems catastrophe is striking just about everywhere right now. So often when we hear about these things, we don't know how to help.
I have been presented with a unique opportunity to actually go and work with Youth with a Mission (YWAM), one of the most structured relief efforts currently operating in Haiti right now.... Meaning that in four weeks, less than three months after this catastrophe, I will have the privilege of being with these people as well as their neighbors in the Dominican, partnering with the community and serving them in any way I'm able!
I am SO excited to see what God is doing in Haiti and to help with all the things that are already started there! In order to do that, I must humbly ask for your partnership, through prayer or financial contributions. The money will cover both the two and a half months I'll spend in Haiti/Dominican Republic as well as the three months in Los Angeles - where I'm currently enrolled in a Discipleship Training School with YWAM. Right now I'm learning from different speakers every week and meeting the community's needs in various ways, including mentoring and tutoring at-risk kids in a bootcamp run by the LAPD, hosting Human Trafficking Awareness nights at local cafes, serving in homeless shelters, and much more.
The two months I've spent training have been amazing, and I have a gazillion stories I would love to share with you if you'd like to hear them! For now, though, I'm looking forward to this final month in L.A., and then my time ministering in Haiti! In order for this to actually happen, I have to raise $4,000 in the next three weeks! It's a crazy amount, but God has already made it so clear that I'm supposed to be here - so I know that no matter what the number may be, God will provide and the goal will be reached. If you feel like God is leading you to help me in this ministry, please make out a check to Sara Owens or Youth With A Mission and mail it to:
Sara Owens C/O YWAM - Winter DTS
11141 Osborne Street,
Lake View Terrace, CA
91342
If you would like to know more or have any questions (or just want to say hey!), please feel free to e-mail me at: of.trees.and.seas@gmail.com. I would love to hear how you're doing and what you're up to, or even if I can help or pray for you in any way! (Really - I legitimately mean that for every single person who's reading this!)
Lovelovelove,
Your friend/relative/acquaintance/fellow human Sara Danae
This weekend, our little family has gotten bigger. Luke and I have adopted ten balloon children to take care of until the end of SAY Yes training. As instructed, we each replicated, with balloons, five children we interact with on a regular basis. These "kids" have to go everywhere we go for the duration of our training: on the subway, in the streets, at church. We can't tie them together or stick them in a bag. During our SAY Yes training sessions, unattended children may even be kidnapped or run away! Needless to say, we've got our hands full with ten light-headed balloon babies to look after!
Luke and I met with Pastor Doug, as usual, in the morning, and when he went home for lunch, we braved the blizzard to buy groceries. That night, we, the Ws, and the Ks trooped over to Nick's for our second LOST party. Irene brought homemade pasta and garlic bread, and we cuddled up inside, watching cable for a couple hours before returning to the wintry scene outside. Immediately Chris and Irene began a snowball fight, drawing in two neighborhood boys we'd never seen before. We only live a block and a half from Nick's but we all reached home drenched and laughing.
It reminds me of my first winter here, almost exactly seven years ago (February, 2003). Four of us came from First Free, St Louis, on a "vision trip" for a friend who would later serve as a missionary at First Free, Brooklyn. We were scheduled to stay only one long weekend, but a blizzard grounded our flight for three extra days! I missed my high school mock trial competition, but enjoyed seeing this new season play out in Brooklyn.
