going home

Dear Candice,
My prayers have been answered. I got the e-mail yesterday that said I've been put on a trip to go back to Haiti in June. My friend Mady called me and asked if I had gotten the e-mail so I went and checked and called her back. I was completly beside myself, and I still am. We sat on the phone for a little while going back to some memories of our last tip.
We laughed.
We cried.
We praised God.

For some reason, I've had this strange feeling that I wouldn't be going back this summer. I cried out to God every single day since I got back to Nashville last July that I would be able to go back.
Haiti is where my heart is. It's home.
I couldn't be happier to have the opportunity to go home.
I'm just speechless. This is just proof that God hears me. And I know that but sometimes I just need to be reasured of it. I'm definitely sure of it, thanks to things like this.
I'm so excited to embark on this long journey all over again. I know it won't be any easier, but I know that I will be changed even more. I'm more at peace now because I have more a feeling of what Haiti is like. I'm not alone in this journey either. I have been blessed with people around me who know what this is all like and people who I get to experience this amazing opportunity with for a second time.
I don't want to say that I know what to expect because I honestly don't know what kind of crazy stuff God is going to do in this, I just know that He's in the middle of all of it. He's in charge.
So here we go again.
I love you.
Love,
Sara

frozen fear & free faith

Dear Candice,
as I sat with a group of a dozen 5th grade girls that I teach in Sunday school this morning, they taught me something very important. I love that I can always depend on 11-year-old girls to give me the slap in the face that I need.
I've been in a weird mood lately. There's a part of me missing- the most important part. I've felt empty and like I've just been going through the motions. I'm just kind of tired and weary. I'm empty. I've been afraid, as usual, of oppinions, of emotions, of relationships. I'm having trouble letting go, but I know that now more than ever, in times like these, it's so important to let go.
We were talking about bravery when one of the girls said, "Fear freezes us, but faith frees us."
And I sat there speechless for a few seconds wondering how a 5th grade girl just comes up with that.
I don't know where she got it or why she said it. I just know that I needed it.
It's so refreshing that God always knows what I need and when I need it. I think He does that when I don't listen to Him. He uses crazy things and unexpected people to tell me exactly what I need to know.
It's so refreshing and so true.
I was frozen by my fear. I had stopped trying. But true faith and confidence in my Savior is what sets me free.
Fear freezes us; faith frees us.
I'm letting go.
I'm free.
I love you.
Love,
Sara