Comfort is distracting

"I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus is calling us."-Philippians 3:14

I never thought I would say I miss my Frisco, Texas bubble. But here in a country that is SO different from what I am used too, I miss it everyday. I miss my car as gross, junky and falling apart as Vincent is, I miss him and knowing how to get places. I miss eating fruit and veggies, yogurt and eating lucky charms for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, and nice balanced meal for dinner. I miss having my family and mentors a call away. I miss my job and the kids that were that job. I miss Texas. I miss knowing what everyone is saying. Most of all... I HATE missing my younger siblings birthdays. My baby sisters 11th birthday is in a couple weeks and I hate that I'm not there for it. But she is so proud that I am here in the Philippines doing what God told me to do. She now says she wants to be a missionary in Africa! 

 I've wanted to be a missionary since I was 16 yrs old and I've wanted to leave America for about 4 years now. I was so anxious to get on the mission field and do something with my life. Since leaving America, I've told a couple people, that if someone handed me a plane ticket home and told me you leave on Friday, that I would go so fast. But why? To go back to my comfort things? To go back to the Frisco bubble and continue living life...work Monday through Friday and sleep all day Saturday, then go to church on Sunday, and start all over on Monday. What kind of life is that?! It would drives me crazy and it did, that's why I left. Could I share Christ with those I meet day to day or serve with my church in South Dallas? Yeah of course, but I would still be living in my comfort zone, where it is so easy to get distracted by Frisco, distracted by Dallas.

This is one of the things Paul talks about in 2 Timothy (this has been my quiet time the past week or two). While you are running the race there will be two things that can hurt the out come; people who will distract you and comfort. The people who distract you are those who might say 'You don't need to take your faith so seriously' or people who aren't Christians and are trying to drag you down with everyday life. Comfort, well I've talked about my battle with comfort. If I let my battle with comfort and wanting to be back in my Frisco bubble win, I would be on a plane home right now. Then I would be SO disappointed in myself for not sticking it out and leaning on God for strength. I was listening to a sermon from the singles ministry pastor at Watermark Community Church in Dallas. JP said 2 things that really convicted me and that's why I'm writing this. He said "You're not following Christ if you want comfort more than His will for your life" and referring to 2Tim 4:13- "You cannot run the race with nice things, you can only run with the things you need". This verse Paul asked Timothy to bring him his papers—many bible scholars think this may have referred to his bible—and his cloak. He wanted things he needed to finish the race. The things I need are here in the Philippines with me; my technology so I can stay in touch with my families, my bible, my clothes, my camera, my passport and my essential oils(just for my mom) ;-). In Texas are my "nice" things, the things I want while I run the race; my church and the people I know there, chickfila, my kids that I take care of on a regular basis, Mexican food, my car, wataburger, and all the other things that scream comfort....DR PEPPER...okay I think I'm done. 

To run the race efficiently, I have to give up the nice things, the comfort and the distractions. For that to happen, I needed to leave America, because I am a creature habit and fall so easily into the distractions of everyday life. 

"But the Lord stood with me, and gave me strength, so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And He rescued me from certain death. Yes, and the Lord will deliver me from every evil attack and will bring me safely into His heavenly Kingdom. All glory to God forever and ever! Amen" 2 Timothy4:17-18

So yeah that's what I'm working through right now while living in the Philippines. I love living here, the people are so nice and outside the city is beautiful! I mostly struggle with the diet here. I wanted y'all to know its not completely awful here and I'm not always counting down the days until I'm home.

 Here are some pictures of the ministries I have been involved in so far! 

I got to teach on compassion to a group of kids at Aparche Christian School

One of the many times I have shared my testimony. This time there were actually about 10 people there. 

This is the church I get to work with for the next year. Community Gospel Church in Umapad. 

 

This is the pastor of the church teaching the kids who are apart of the feeding program. I have taught a couple times as well. 

 

These two girls are my lifelines here. Becca is the blonde and she can sleep just about anywhere, she keeps my sane and insane at the same time. And Franny is the one who keeps me thinking positively and is very much an older sister to me. I love them both and we get along SO well! 

365 days ago....

This day one year ago, I received a phone call from WorldVenture, announcing that I had been appointed as a missionary going to Cebu, Philippines with their Journey Corps program. Fast forward 365 days, I am now sitting on a plane headed to the Philippines. I have raised support, both financially and in prayer. I have a whole support team back home praying for me and encouraging me. I also have have two teams going to Cote D'ivoire and Indonesia who will be going through very similar things, and will be able to pray for and encourage each other as well. Then I have my team; Becca and Franny. We will be living in the same area for about a year. Becca will be there for 9 months so she can go to school in the fall, and Franny, who was there last year, will be staying most of the year. 

I am so excited for the opportunities I will have to share the gospel with Filippino people and the ministry opportunities that I will be a part of. 

That special child

I wasn't in the house 30 mins, before we met. I don't remember his name (I will figure that out later), but what I do know is that they call him a "special" child, because he is "not complete in the head". My parents and I have been praying for this child. The Lord has placed on my heart a love for those whose  cultures don't except them, maybe don't know how to help them and in America are called disabled. Ate Nida is my host mom and her youngest sons name is Kyron. Ate told me last night that Kyron plays with this boy because other kids do not, and that it make him angry when other kids don't treat him right. I almost started crying in tricycle where this was conversation was taking place. I wasn't in my new home 30 mins before the Lord laid in my lap the ministry I had I wanted the most! 

Where has the time gone?!?!

Wow. I can't believe that it is now the middle of July. In a few VERY short and fast weeks I will be flying to Denver, to meet up with my team mates Becca and Franny, as well as the other Journeyers to do some last minute training, before we head off to our different countries.

Tonight I skyped with Chris and Brent Ralston, who are the Journey Corps missionary contacts in Cebu City, Philippines.  They are wonderful people and I can't wait to meet them.

One of the things we discussed is the different ministry opportunities I would have while I'm there. My top 3 areas of ministry are Disability/Special Needs, childrens and youth ministry. While I am in the Cebu I will live pretty much in the city, and use public transportation to get around, and working between two churches is high possibility. I will hopefully get to work with ladies from the ages of 18-30 who have been rescued from human-trafficking. I will also get the chance to start a kids club in the local community and possibly help train someone to take over when I leave.

I AM SO EXCITED!!

In the area of fundraising, I am almost done. I have about 6 monthly supporters, and several one-time givers! I am so thankful for all these people God put in my life!

Some of the things I am still in need of is 3 months of malaria pills, one more vaccine, and some natural products from Young Living. If you would like to help with these, just let me know!

THANK YOU to those who are praying and giving!

This is one of my favorite verses from the Bible. It's a great reminder that the Lord will not only provide all of our needs, but that we are valuable to Him. 

Sarah-Isaiah 61:1

What does the Bible say about Missions

First mission trip? How to prepare

I have a couple girls that I know at church who are going on their first mission trip to Costa Rica with our Youth Choir. I am so excited and proud of them for follow Gods command to GO and share His love with other people. One of them asked me for some advice, because she knows that I have been on several mission trips, so I am writing this for them!!


First thing to do is start writing your Support Letter and making a list of family and friends that you could send a letter to.

Here is a link to one of my Support Letters for Ireland. It doesn't need to be more than one page and it doesn't even have to be a full page. Just make sure you include

• What you will be doing
• When you will be going and how long you will be there
• How much it will cost for you to go
• Where they can mail cash or check
• Who to make the check out too
• Whether your supporters can Give Online
• ALWAYS personaly sign the bottom of your letters! :-)

Something I love to do is add a scripture verse at the beginning and/or  end of my letter. I am working on a post that will only be list of scripture that you can use in your letter that covers Missions, Prayer, and Biblical Fundraising.
After you write your letter, let someone proof read it, to make sure you got all the spelling, grammar and right information in there and didn't forget anything. After that I recommend sending it to Kinkos to be printed, but you can definitely print it at home.

Second. Get a binder and tabs to keep all of your stuff organized and together in one location. I am always loosing papers so I HAVE to do this!

Third. Keep track of who has sent in money for your trip and how much more you need. One of the best ways to do this is Excel. You can keep names, addresses and dollar amounts on one page.

Make sure you send out Thank You cards before and/or after your trip!

FUNDRAISERS

Let people know you will babysit for them and that the money will go toward your trip

Host a garage sale. Ask people for donations! This was my favorite way to include people who couldn't afford to give to my trips financially, so they gave this way instead.

Make bracelets and sell them

Make T-shirts through a fundraising company. Bonfire Funds, Fund The Nations and Booster are a few great companys. We used Booster one year and they were great.


PRAYER!! Do not forget that praying and staying in touch with God through out all this is VERY important!!

For now this my very little bit of advice! I hope this helps!

Moving across the world, Philippines, Depending on God...OH MY!!

This year my mom challenged me to pick one word that would help me stay focused this year. After praying about it, I felt the Lord saying 'Depend on Me' along with the scripture verse 2 Corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight.". I will be depending on God a lot in the coming year and here is the biggest reason why....

There is a missionary sending agency called World Venture. They have been sending missionaries around the world for more than 70 years. World Venture is currently serving in more than 65 countries, all over the world and they send out hundreds of missionaries every year. One of those countries is Ireland. The missionaries I have served along side at Galway City Church were appointed by World Venture.

In October of 2010, World Venture started a new ministry called Journey Corps. Journey Corps sends Journeyers who are 18-28 years if age to 1 of 3 different locations for their choosing; Cote D'Ivory, Africa, Indonesia and the Philippines. These missionaries spend 9 months, 1 year or 2 years in the country they feel God is leading them to. While the Journeyers are in country, they are trained by missionaries who are seasoned veterans, and who have a great understanding of what Long-Term and career missions is. While they undergo training, they are also living with a family from the area, living life with them and serving in their church, in whatever way they are needed.  Journey Corps Mission is to "Develop young people to reach the world for Christ" and the way they have decided to do this is by sending college age young adults to the mission field to learn hands-on under long term international missionaries.

This organization was mentioned to me by a dear friend and mentor who was appointed by World Venture and she is currently teaching in Barcelona. I checked into Journey Corps and saw what an amazing opportunity this would be. So I prayed about it for several months and then took it to my parents and told them THIS was the next step I needed to take. I sent in my application toward the end of June and after a series of interviews I was appointed on my birthday--September 10-- of all days. Over the summer Journey Corps sent me the list of countries I could choose from. Out of the 3 countries, I chose the Philippines. They had the most opportunities for church ministry. I will be living in Bacolod City on the north side of the Negros Island in the Visayans.On the map below, it is the island to the left of Cebu.

This is going to be a blast, but hard at the same time! I AM SO EXCITED!!!
Right now it looks like I will leave the week of my birthday. In June I will go the the headquarters World Venture for some pre-trip training and I will also meet the other people going to the Philippines.

For me this is the next step in moving permanently overseas for missions. One day it will be Ireland, but for now it's the Philippines.

If you would like to be apart of this trip and the ministry that is going on in the Philippines, you can go to www.worldventure.com/sarahcbailey . I need $3500 for outgoing expenses, in my account by August and I will need $1350 a month while I am in the Philippines.

PLEASE send me your email, if you would like a newsletter each month, about the progress of fundraising, what I am learning through all this, and prayer requests.

Sarah Bailey