Creating Heavenly Hotspots

Hello All!

It's hard to believe that I've been in the US for a month already! Time has flown by. Leading up to my brother's wedding, there were lots of preparations and just kind of settling in. His wedding was beautiful with so many personal touches unique to him and Ally. Ally really worked hard to make it a loving, cozy environment where people could celebrate and enjoy themselves. She did a great job! It was a lot of fun for me to spend time with so many people who have deep roots in my family's history. My brother has had the same friends since he was little, so it was nice to have my bonus little brothers all in one place and meet some of his new friends that he's collected over the years that I've been in Honduras. It was a celebration of Ally and Samuel, and it was also a celebration of community and the people who mold us and shape us.

Since the wedding, my brother went on his honeymoon while my sister returned to university. I have been home with my parents in Christmas mode. We have been Christmas shopping and opening packages from Amazon left and right. We've been wrapping presents and listening to Christmas music and figuring out schedules. With fewer weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, everything has felt more rushed than normal.

Heavenly Hotspots

In the mean time, I have also tried to keep up with my regular schedule of online teaching through VIPKID. It has been a challenge. It is odd to say, but my internet in Honduras is often faster than what I can find in rural West Virginia. I started out by using a phone hotspot with a pay-as-you-go data plan, and that was working fine. I would roll out of bed and sit on the floor with a Winnie the Pooh sheet as my backdrop. All was well until I was about half way through the monthly GB allotment, and they started throttling the speeds. Miraculously enough, I have only had one IT issue in the whole month because of internet. But, I have had to be resourceful! During Thanksgiving week, the night before Thanksgiving, I was at my grandmother's house, and the power went out. My aunt lives on the next street over, and she still had electricity. So I packed up all of my teaching gear in the dark and headed over to my aunt's to stay the night. I had already set things up when the electricity came back on at my grandmother's. But, I stayed put and enjoyed and evening and a morning with my aunt and her pups. I have taught in my parents' living room with a couch as my background. For over a week, I woke up close to 4am to drive half an hour to teach at a family friend's house. They saved my classes! And thankfully, the weather cooperated. Just this morning, I set my little classroom up on the floor of my sister's bedroom in her apartment with her window curtains as my backdrop. It's been interesting and stressful to say the least!

But, in a time of prayer last week, God used that situation to speak to me about creating heavenly hostpots. Because I wanted to keep my job, I had to go where the internet was. It was difficult to find connections that were fast enough for the teaching platform, but in my desperation, I was willing to do whatever I needed to do to be able to do my job and avoid IT issues. On a regular basis in life, we are around people who have needs whether spiritual, physical, or emotional. Many of these people don't have the resources or the tools to be able to meet those needs, and they feel desperate. . In this year, I want to be conscious of facilitating heavenly hotspots. In the same way that a hotspot makes internet connection faster and more reliable, I believe that we as believers have the power to call down Heaven to the earth and to facilitate an encounter with the presence of God that someone may never otherwise have.

Raúl and I know a devout, Honduran lady who is one of the best examples of that. Her name is Sonia, and she has been in ministry for many years. Every time you go to Sonia’s house, she doesn’t just offer you a beverage or a meal, she always is prepared to give you a word exactly suited to your life in that moment. I don't think I've ever left her house before she has prayed for me. She cultivates the presence of God in her house in such a way that you are nearly guaranteed to encounter Him every time you visit her.

I believe that’s how we’re all called to be as believers. How we cultivate these heavenly hotspots may look different for each of us, but I believe that it starts with deepening our own intimacy with God and seeking healing and fullness in any area that He leads us to address. When we are connected to Him, we recognize our authority to pray for the healing of others. We know the heart of the Father enough to steward our resources with divine generosity. We can receive the words that someone else needs to hear from God. When we create a throne for Him with our worship, we invite others to enter in to the place where He inhabits, and His presence does a transforming work that none of us humans can do. In this new year, I would encourage you to ask God what steps you can take to be and create a heavenly hotspot and to be a facilitator of an encounter with the loving Father, with the Savior, and with the Holy Spirit.

That may look like providing hospitality for someone in need of family. That may look like visiting a sick person not just to pray but also to worship God in their midst and ask for His presence to bring divine healing and comfort. That may look like praying for the people who visit your home before they walk out of your door. Regardless, I would encourage you to join me in pondering with God how I can be more intentional in my relationships to invite God's presence into the moment and provide those around me with the fulfillment of their needs.

Matters of Prayer

1) This month, it came to my attention that Esthefanny still has not received her high school diploma. Guys, it's been a year. Welcome to Honduras. There has been some concern that her school, which has since stopped operating fully, is giving all of the students the run-around. I have done the best that I can to advise Stef on how to proceed in going to the Ministry of Education, etc. But, we need some divine justice and favor! She was told that she should be receiving her diploma by the 20th of this month. She is preparing to finish her first year of university! They allowed her to register with the provision that she later bring them her diploma. Please join us in praying that God would mandate from Heaven that that diploma be released into Stef's hands!

2) Raúl's green card and citizenship. We continue to wait to receive Raúl's green card, and we continue to save up for his citizenship. Thankfully, while I've been in the States, I have been able to save a little bit more, and we are thinking creatively as to how to pay for his citizenship. Please join us in prayers for God's provision.

3) The new year. I am excited about ministry for this coming year. I can't begin to express how refreshing it is to have people in my life who value relationship first and who bring so much to the table in terms of vision and great ideas. I don't know how ministry will unfold this year, but we're committed to taking our next right steps as God leads. On a personal note, I am asking God for discernment. There are many dreams and desires of my heart that I would like to pursue or at least receive an answer from God about. I always want to obey Him and seek His best. I also don't want to waste time. Please join me in praying that God would give me clarity to know how to best steward the talents that He has given me and also the time that I have. I want to choose wisely.

4) Josuan. I received a message from a Honduran friend and former leader at Teen Challenge that Josuan is now in Teen Challenge. He has been there for less than a month, but I am encouraged that he is there. He has continued to struggle with drugs all of this time and has bounced around from place to place. I don't know what it's going to take for Josuan to have a true breakthrough. I wish I could make that choice for him. But, God recently comforted me that my efforts haven't been in vain. Nearly seven years ago, Josuan had no hope that there could even be another path for his future. He didn't know that God loved him. He didn't have any healthy community. Now, he knows at least on a head level that God loves him. He has people who he knows loves him and have fought for him. And, there are people who pray for him. I hope you will join me in being one of those people.

Merry Christmas to you all! I hope it is deeply blessed.

All My Love,
Sarah

Thank you all so much for how you continue to stick with us in prayer and support and even just reading and knowing what we're up to.