Archive for August, 2004

  • 27 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

    Visas!

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    Just a quick update on the visa situation…

    I have mine! My passport that I left at the Thai consulate arrived in the mail yesterday, with a real-live, official visa stamp inside. I’m still a little incredulous that it actually worked. When I arrived at the small consulate office in Portland there was no one waiting to be helped and I just walked up to the woman who looked to be a receptionist and she okayed my paperwork within five minutes. No mention of an additional letter from the Thai government at all. It’s like one consulate doesn’t know what the others are doing. So, next I will take Jen’s application in for her and I expect it will be the same easy process.

    So praise God! He is a good provider and takes care of all the details when he calls someone into his work. Thank you all for your prayers. I will probably leave for Bangkok in late September or early October. I’ll keep you posted!

  • 27 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

    My August Prayer Letter

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    August, 2004

    Dear Friends and Family,

    Things are happening fast! In about a month or so I will be in Bangkok, Thailand, starting my life as a missionary. This week I will be moving from Eugene, Oregon, where I have been since September, back home to McMinnville, Oregon. Right now I am training my replacement at the law firm I have been working at, and am beginning to think about the somewhat daunting task of packing (and getting rid of things). I will also soon be applying for a visa (see more below). But despite all of the details that need to happen before I leave in mid-September, I have been surprisingly peaceful. God has been providing abundantly and giving me time to rest, have fun and enjoy my summer.

    Seek first the Kingdom, and these things will be given to you…

    Less than three months after I sent out my first prayer letter, my entire budget was raised. Praise God! And I thank each of you who gave, who prayed, who encouraged me in this process. We serve a wealthy God, who truly does give good gifts to his children, and provides seed to the sower.

    Team News

    The team I am joining in Bangkok is still in its early stages. My team leader, Kevin Walton, has been in the city for several years as a pastor, and has been recruiting missionaries to join in the task of ministering in the slums.
    · Dave Von Stroh has been in Bangkok since September, learning Thai and recently beginning to disciple believers, host a house church and attend training on community development and organization.
    · Jenny Godoy, from the Philippines, has arrived in Bangkok recently.
    · Jen Wilson, from California, and I will be arriving around the same time and will probably be roommates and go through culture shock together.
    · Three more future teammates are beginning their fundraising in the states.
    · The church we will work under is in the process of transitioning from being a cell church to being a network of four house churches. Pray for wisdom and discernment for Kevin as he facilitates the transition.

    Pray for our visas!

    Jen and I are attempting to get our non-immigrant visas and it is proving to be more difficult than we expected. Jen has been turned down twice and is having to delay her departure date. Thai consulates, just in the past few months, are requiring a letter of permission from the Thai government, which we do not have yet. Kevin is beginning to navigate the bureaucracy to request the letter, but it could take quite awhile. In the meantime I will apply in Portland and hope they are lenient. Pray for favor with the authorities!

    This will be my final letter until I am in Thailand, but check my website for more updates. Below is my new overseas contact info. Also, please note that my email address has changed since my first prayer letter.

    Though my personal budget is met, if you would still like to contribute to the ministry in Bangkok, any additional funds will go into my ministry account, to help directly with costs of our churches and programs. We can never have too many of these donations!

    Again, thank you for partnering with me in this ministry—I would not be going anywhere without the support and prayers of my community back home.

    Blessings,

    Sara

    Sara Stephens
    c/o Kevin and Cynthia Walton
    1038 Soi 34
    Klong Chang, Bangkapi
    Bangkok 10240 THAILAND

  • 23 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

    What I’m Up To Now

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    I’m back at home (i.e. McMinnville, Oregon), after a hectic day and a half of packing up my room in Eugene. After getting rid of some of my larger possessions (bed, dresser, stereo, keyboard, espresso machine *tear*) I still have an impressive mound of boxes and bags in my room here. How I’m going to decide on what gets my limited luggage space is a task I’d rather not think about. :)

    An update on the visa situation: tomorrow I travel to the Portland Thai consulate and apply for my non-immigrant “O-type” visa. With much prayer and an innocent smile I’m hoping they will be lenient enough to grant it to me, despite not having a required letter from the Thai government. Keep that in your prayers, if you think of it.

    My departure date will probably be a bit later than I originally anticipated. The visa craziness might necessitate that, but I’m also slowing down my pace and taking an opportunity to spend two weeks in LA visiting my future teammate Jen and other Servant Partners people. I will return September 20, and play it by ear after that. I’m guessing early October, but we’ll see.

    I’ve been getting to see a few friends that I haven’t talked to in months or years, and my grandma is here from North Carolina. My church just commissioned me this morning, and I have just felt very blessed in my preparations.

    More soon, once I have a visa story to tell. My second letter, which I have put in the mail (and will soon email to you folks on my email list) will also be posted soon.

  • 06 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

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    My future teammate Dave, sharing a meal with neighbors in his community of Permsup. Posted by Hello

  • 06 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

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    A view of Bangkok, seemingly worlds apart from the slums I will be living in. Posted by Hello

  • 01 Aug

    Posted by
    Sara


    Category

    My First Prayer Letter

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    This is the letter I began sending out at the end of April to let friends and family know about God’s new call on my life.

    Dear Friends and Family,
    This past school year I interned on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the student group that nurtured and challenged my relationship with God during college. As I served students at the University of Oregon I also prayed about what God might have in store for my future. And I have felt led to join a church-planting team reaching out to the slums of Bangkok, Thailand.

    My most exciting times of serving Jesus have been on the mission field. High school trips to Mexico and a two-week outreach in Guatemala during college left me passionate about justice for the poor. At the end of each trip I was sad that I could not stay longer, learn the language, and find out what would happen to the families I had met.

    This year the college campus has been my mission field, and also my training ground. But I have felt a tugging from God away from the world’s elite (which is the college student in America), to some of the world’s poorest. This is not an entirely new call, as I have for years imagined myself as a lawyer serving the poor someday. While that may eventually be where I end up, my next step is to live among the poor. I expect God wants to grow me in my compassion and understanding, as well as work through me to bless the people who come into my life.

    I will be joining a Servant Partners team in Thailand in September. Initially I will be learning to speak Thai and adjusting to Thai culture. I will live in a slum community, building relationships with my neighbors. As I become better able to communicate, I will be helping with ministries such as cell groups, discipling believers, and friendship evangelism. I may also be a part of ministries that promote small business development or practical services to children and parents. I plan to commit about 5 years to this outreach.

    Bangkok is known both as the city of angels and the city of sin. It is one of Asia’s most influential cities, and also one of the most corrupt. The government and police protect the city’s infamous prostitution “industry,” which contributes 14% to the GDP of the country. Many young girls, mostly poor, are forced or sold into prostitution. Drugs, alcohol, gambling and debts to loan sharks also plague the city.

    Thailand is 92% Buddhist, with less than 2% of the population Christian. The Christian outreach that is present is to the middle and upper classes. Yet 1 million of Bangkok’s 8 million live in the slums and are unlikely to ever hear the Gospel.

    The mission field in Bangkok appeals to my passion both for justice and for evangelism, and I am excited to see what God does through me there. Please consider praying for this ministry and for me regularly. I will be sending out newsletters and prayer requests to keep you updated. I look forward to sharing more with you about this new journey!

    In Him,
    Sara