Praise God I've made it to Santiago! God is so good to me. I met two other single teachers (one is my roommate) and the high school principal, Owen, at the airport in Miami and we traveled together the rest of the way. It was AWESOME to have Owen help with custom paper questions, get through customs and immigration, and collect all our heavy luggage in Santiago! Ryan, something about him reminded me so much of you!) It was smooth sailing the entire way today. The flights were on time and there wasn't any bad turbulence. My luggage stayed intact and all of the luggage arrived. I had some great conversations with strangers about where I'm going and what I'm doing. I stand amazed. When we exited the airport we met up with some more staff including Paul Gibbs, who I finally got to meet face to face after talking with him over the phone and though email. We dropped Heather off at her apartment and then went to Lori and I's apartment. I walked in and thought I was dreaming. Three bedroom, three bath. My room has a walk in closet. I don't need dressers or shelves. It's simple, but it's ours (with a third roommate coming tomorrow). They have provided food and some household things to get started which I'm so grateful for. Soon I'll have air conditioning at night, thanks to the generosity of a great friend. As we drove through town, I just felt peace, like I had finally made it home. Tomorrow we go shopping...

P.S. Sorry about the white background. I won't always copy and paste from my facebook, but I'm going on 24 hours of no sleep. :)

Well, the time has come. The day that I've been anticipating for years. I have prayed that in God's perfect timing He would move me to this place. He's had a lot to do to prepare me for this mission He's called me to. There are lessons I've needed to learn and healing that needed to come. He's been patiently waiting until I was ready and willing. Over the last several weeks there have been a lot of things happening- paperwork, packing, moving, repacking, etc. Now that's done. My suitcases are packed (to their limit I might add). My work visa is set. I'm checked in with the airline. Today I leave for St. Louis and tomorrow morning (very early) I will get on a plane headed for the Dominican Republic. I've had a lot of emotions the last couple of weeks- excitement being the biggest mixed at times with sadness of having to say goodbye (for now) to friends and family. But, I know that our paths will cross again, even if not on this earth. That gives me hope. God has given me such peace. Of course I am nervous. There are a lot of uncertainties. But, I am not fearful. I know my God is going with me. And I have an incredible support team in the states, too. People that are praying me through the transition. There are many things I regret in my life, but God is above all that. He has seen fit to use me to reach this group of students at Santiago Christian School. What a privilege. There is no better place to be than walking in the safety of God's will, depending on Him to be my everything.

My plan is to post updates here as frequently as possible when I'm in the Dominican Republic, so you can share in my journey.

My mailing address is the following (for letters only please since I have to pay to receive packages):

Sarah Tucker
BM#02-30555
8400 NW 25 street, Suite 100
Doral, FL 33198-1522

The words of this song have been very encouraging to me and I want to share them with you...

Bethel Music: You Make Me Brave

I stand before You now
The greatness of Your renown
I have heard of the majesty and wonder of You
King of Heaven in humility, I bow

As Your love
In wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us 
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You've made a way 
For all to enter in

I have heard You call my name
I have heard the song of love that You sing
So, I will let You draw me beyond the shore
Into Your grace, Your grace

You make me brave
You make me brave
You called me beyond the shore
Into the waves

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now 
The love that made a way

You make me brave
You make me brave
No fear can hinder now 
The promises You've made

As Your love
In wave after wave
Crashes over me, crashes over me
For You are for us 
You are not against us
Champion of Heaven
You've made a way 
For all to enter in

A Week At CIY: Move

the girls are ready to go

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to go with our high school youth group to Holland, Michigan, to CIY: Move. It's a week long "conference" for high schoolers that better equips them to be kingdom workers. We stayed in the dorms on the campus of Hope College. We took nine students (2 boys 7 girls) and three adults. The group wasn't a really large group like other churches brought, but we were able to bond more closely. We left Broadway Monday morning and arrived in Michigan late afternoon.

The first session was Monday night. The messages were all taken from the book of Daniel. The speaker challenged the listeners with two questions: 1.) What is your Babylon- your place of hurt, confusion, etc.? 2.)Who or what is your Nebuchadnezzar- what is taking the place of God and becoming an idol- causing you to conform? The worship was done by the Jordan Howerton Band and was one of the top things of the week for many of us. Each day for the rest of the week there was a morning session, small group/devotion time, free time in the afternoon, an evening session, and we closed out the day with small group discussions about what we learned that day.

Another thing we did throughout the week was when we heard the lion roar everyone (around 1,500 people) would fall to their knees in prayer. It reminds me of the verse "At the name of Jesus every knee will bow..."

day two enjoying some frozen yogurt

selfie with the statues

As the week went on, I found myself connecting more and more with these teens. I started to see their personalities emerge and where God is taking them. We were able to have serious discussions, but also able to laugh together frequently. In fact, there are things that were said or done that will only be understood by those in our group. It was nice to spend our free time together. Several days we walked downtown, got ice cream or fro-yo, and looked around at the shops. It didn't really matter what we did as long as we did it together.

Wednesday night the speaker talked about how it was only through the furnace that Daniel and his friends could clearly see that God was actually there all along. They would have missed out on so much if they had conformed and bowed to the image. It is in the furnace we have our highest potential to recognize that God is here- even in the midst of the fire. The furnace reveals God's power in our lives and others will see it too. It's as we walk through adversity that we grow the most. At the end of the session they had everyone put on the masks they were given (with the eyes covered) and then told a story illustrating how a father never left his son even though his son couldn't see him, just as God never leaves us even when we feel alone. They challenged us to take off the masks we've been wearing and for those that didn't know Christ as their Savior to accept Him right then and throw their masks into the fire. One of our students made that choice and others were able to let go of some things. It was a very powerful evening. God convicted me about letting some things go, to be open and vulnerable, and to stop putting things before Him in certain areas of my life.

group shot at Lake Michigan

Thursday afternoon was extended free time, so we went to Steak 'n' Shake for lunch and headed to the beach. It had been very cool all week, so we were thankful it warmed up to the mid 70s.
Lake Michigan was so cold though! The temperature was only in the 50s. I did go in (slowly), but only because I became numb to the cold. I think I broke the "don't be stupid" rule.
However, in spite of the cold water, the beach was full of activity- sand castle building, kite flying, boating, and a lot more. After seeing several other people get baptized in the freezing water, Silvey decided to go ahead and be baptized in Lake Michigan. It was great to witness her commit her life to Christ.

Silvey's baptism

During the Thursday evening session they had the students write things they learned throughout the week on white bags, put tealights in them, and bring them to put on stage. Once they were all up there it looked beautiful! Hundreds of lights lit up the stage backdrop of the Lion of Judah. During small group I shared that the God of Daniel is still our God today and that we don't have to wait for the mountaintop experiences (like this week), but we can claim Him even in the valleys.

Friday the speaker challenged us to go where God is going and He'll be there every step of the way. My future for tomorrow is determined by my choices today. Daniel looked to the future and believed God's promises to be true. God is here, God will be there, and come what may that won't change! I see how God is drawing the hearts of our students into His work in a deeper way. We ended the week with recognizing commitments students had made (then praying for them) and a great time of worship.

praying before the meals

Friday night in our small group I was able to incorporate the messages of the week into my journey of God moving me to the Dominican Republic. What an opportunity to challenge these students to remember their commitments and to not turn back in spite of difficulties that will arise when they return home. I was able to share from my recent experiences that life is hard and there are costs to being a kingdom worker, but it's worth it. I have grown to really love these students and it's hard to leave them. But, God loves them so much more than I do. We spent time in prayer thanking God for a wonderful week and praying for what would come. As I gave each one a hug, I whispered how much they've impacted my life and how God has great plans to use them if they are willing.

waiting for the doors to open

When we returned to the dorm, the girls each opened their kingdom worker cards and read their challenges. Some were more difficult than others, but the support the girls showed each other will help each of them complete their challenges. I'll admit it was really hard to leave Saturday. Many students knew leaving the "mountaintop" would be difficult, but we are in this together (even if I'm moving away).

I loved hearing them speak Sunday night at youth group about CIY, because they were able to clearly share how God challenged them personally, what they learned, their favorite moments, and how they are different now. When they were asked why others should go next year they answered, "because it would be stupid not to go." They concluded by sharing their individual kingdom card challenges and we discussed how they could help each other complete them this year.

I will finish by saying that it has been a huge blessing to work with the high school youth group over the last few years. I've seen them grow as God works in them. I've seen changes in my own life because of the impact the students have had on me. God is using our youth to challenge this generation and I'm privileged to be a part of it!