Newspaper Interview

We are so thankful to have had an article written by the Royal Gazette about what God is doing here in the Dominican Republic. Instead of writing a new blog this Monday, we'd love for you to check it out :)

Click the link below!

Dedicated to Serving Others

God bless! And remember to stay in touch rslara14@gmail.com

Serving HIM well

It is 11:20PM and I am WIDE AWAKE! 

I guess the Frappuccino did not help, but this gives me a chance to clear my head before climbing into my comfy bed on this cool Sunday evening.

Last week I shared about all the awesome things that God is doing in our ministry. Robersy had an amazing baseball team working beside him for a week (see the pics on last week's post), we've seen people saved (yay!!!), street ministry is up and going (Praise God!), etc.

However, in both of my 2015 posts I've mentioned “re-vamping” our schedules…  I've just never mentioned why (NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT! I know that’s what you were thinking!).

I was pooped at the close of 2014. I had served my butt off in several different areas and felt like I had loved my husband, but as I took time to analyze how I had used my time I was convicted about how much time I had spent with the Lord.

“But I spend 24/7 with God… I’m a missionary!”

LOL.

Although His promise in Deuteronomy 31:6 is true that He is always with me and I've been pretty faithful in my personal devotions, on my side I have been MARTHA a lot more than I have been MARY.

Now, although people have a whole lot to say about Martha, I actually like her and her zeal to serve… and her feisty-ness to get her sister involved too :)

HOWEVER, my 2014 schedule looked a bit like this:

SERVE!!!... Use any energy left over to be an awesome wife!!... Spend time with Jesus.

It left me EXHAUSTED and if you read through some of my old 2014 posts there is a lot said about desiring rest. Which never seemed to come, by the way.

So during our Christmas break I spent some time sitting and thinking about if I had served God well.

I served HARD!

I served with PASSION!

But “WELL”??? I don’t know.

So the more I thought, the more I prayed and the more I prayed, the more I knew. If I want to serve in full-time ministry for the rest of my life something has got to change.

Enter 2015.

This year I’m flip-flopping my life. Well, God is flip-flopping my life cuz I’m going to need His help.

Spending time with the Lord is and always needs to be PRIORITY #1 (please keep me accountable friends!).

Then comes serving my hubby well – this is my first ministry.

And then finally, I will still serve my butt off… but only after the first 2 things are taken care of.

To be honest, I've still kept most of my responsibilities from the past year but have scheduled them in a way so that GOD might be glorified, not Sarah.

So I hope that helps you understand when I talk about re-vamping my schedule. 

And so far, so good!

The more time I've been spending in the Word, the more I've desired to serve my hubby and this has overflowed into a true joy of serving in ministry. But since it’s only Jan 19^th (yup… it just turned midnight so I am fading fast) I do ask for your prayers as I try to do as God has called each one of us to do… 

Serve Him WELL.

How can we pray for you this year? We’d love to hear from you! Rslara14@gmail.com

Get your cleats on!

1... 2... 3... GO!

We have been excited to jump back in to ministry in 2015. We have revamped our schedules and really prayed about how GOD would want to use our time. We're praying for a good year!

Robersy started right off the bat (haha... pun intended!) with a baseball team from Tennessee. 

*SIDE NOTE* 
An awesome direction that SCORE is really trying to move in is less giving, more helping. This means, we don't just go to a village to hand out food, instead we are sending people to help the village grow their own gardens so that they can grow their own food for years to come. This also means, we don't just go and play all the time... but we play some AND teach the kids the importance of attending school, hygiene, etc. We want our ministry to mean something and help the future of the Dominican Republic.

This has always been heavy on Robersy's heart. We just don't hand things out. The boys on his team have to earn what they receive through good behavior, attending school, attending church, etc. He has had a positive response within the baseball ministry by doing this. The boys don't beg... they just work harder. 

Saying this, an FCA coach from Tennessee was excited about how God was moving here and wanted to bring his team to serve with Robersy's team.

Over the course of the week, the boys did ministry together (picking up trash and handing out tracts), trained together (field and beach training) and played together. Yesterday after the church service 3 boys on Robersy's team even received Christ as their personal Savior!!! God is doing awesome things!

Here are a few pics from their time together.

I've (Sarah) had a great week too. Apart from sharing with the team and visiting a few games, things are back on the go at the Lily House. After a lot of praying, planning and preparing, we've welcomed 3 minors in to the program and we are excited to see how God moves there. Pray for the girls as they get accustomed to a new situation and plenty of new people!

Thursday night was our first night out for the year on street ministry and it was great to link up with some regulars and meet some new ladies. As a result of going out we had 1 lady visit the church with her 2 children. THEN, following the church service a lady who works at a restaurant where we minister on Thursday nights came marching in (she didn't even make it to the service, she arrived late, but on a mission!) and said, "I can't do it any more... I can't keep running. I want to accept Christ as my Savior!"

WOOHOO!!! I am so excited to see God's hand moving in Boca Chica. One step at a time... one woman at a time... GOD be glorified!!!

Toes in the sand...

It is absolutely perfect. The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and the sand is squeezing between my toes at Boca Chica beach. I can't help but smile as I read Psalm 84.

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God."

Reflecting on the previous year I can remember times when I saw God's hand so clearly that I thought He'd appear at any moment, while at other times I questioned if God remembered that I was there. I can remember times when I had more than my two hands could hold, while other times I literally had to grasp for help. I can remember when God answered my prayers so fast and so clear, while other times I simply had to wait.

But as we begin this new year... this new opportunity... this new adventure... I rejoice for the peace I find in His presence. I strove (is that a word?!) to walk faithfully in 2014 and give thanks for the times that I failed because it reminded me that it is impossible to do life on my own. I want HIM. I NEED HIM. My soul longs to do right in His eyes.

HIS eyes.

HIS eyes.

If you look at verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 84 it reminds us in whom we must place our trust.





"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You."

Hope this makes Carolyn, Cathy and the ladies at
Columbia Baptist feel a little warmer this winter :)

If there is one thing I am taking and learning from 2014, it's that I serve an audience of ONE. 

The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

I have tried to please others, be who others have wanted or not wanted me to be, do or not do what others wanted me to do, but... that is not what God desires of me or of any of His children. He wants me. But He wants ALL of me. 

Those efforts spent changing my whole schedule, saying yes to commitments I physically couldn't even keep up with and even trying to change my character to make people happy, are better spent praisin' Jesus. 

Because that's why He created me in the first place. For Him. (Col 1:16)

So as I head back to Lily House tomorrow and things get busy with an awesome to-do list in other ministries while living life here in the Dominican Republic... may HE be all I strive to honor. In my actions. In my words. In my being. 

Happy New Year friends. Let's do 2015... for HIM!