Finally

Once upon a time Girl met Boy.
They had some adventures and fell in love along the way.
Now they're getting Married.

September Twenty-Fifth Two Thousand and Ten

Facebook Break...

Facebook may very well be taking over the world...or at least my life.
It started off as a good way to contact people and keep in touch and may or may not have turned into a slight addiction...so I'm taking a break.

We as a base here in Orlando are fasting various thing for the next couple weeks to take time to really seek God about the property we are pursuing. When I think of fasting I automatically think of not eating but fasting can be really be from anything. It's not about the lack of food, it's about putting our focus completely on God and gaining a renewed reliance on Him. When I asked God what this should look like for me, I realized it's definitely facebook that needs to go. While I thought this sounded kinda silly initially, it really makes sense for me.
While I am sure I will miss chatting and seeing what everyone is upto (...all the time haha) I am excited to have more time to press in to my relationship with God and pray for the release of this property.
So for the next couple weeks if you need to contact me you can email me, call me, or just wait until next month!
Peace,
SJ

Birthday Weekend

Well My Birthday/Family weekend is officially over. My family left this morning. Sad day.
They arrived last Wednesday night. Nathaniel and I rushed to see them as soon as they got here! We were only able to spend the evenings with them on Thursday and Friday as we both worked during the day. But I was fortunate enough to be able to take time off on Monday and Tuesday so I spent both full days hanging out with them.
My Birthday was lovely. Nathaniel and I spent the day with the fam shopping at my favorite outdoor mall. Mom, Bethany and I enjoyed ourselves but Dad and Nathaniel were quite bored and retreated to a Mexican restaurant where they watched a basketball game instead. We then had dinner at Panera with friends and family followed by an evening of cheesecake, ice cream and presents. Great Day, tiring but great.
Monday and Tuesday were spent shopping and chilling out in coffee shops with the fam.
Now mom, dad and bethany are back in the car, on their way to Edmonton and I am back at work.
Thats all for now.
Peace,
SJ

Almost my birthday!

Well, the countdown is on! Only nine days left til my 21st Birthday :)
My familia will be here next week, probably Thursday, that will be wonderful! I think they might be crazy for driving from Sayulita, Mexico to Orlando "on the way" back to Edmonton but I am definitely not complaining! I don't know what we will be doing for my birthday yet, Nathaniel has stated that he will be doing the planning this year so I suppose I shall have to wait and see!
Thats all for now.
Peace,
SJ

PS. Birthday Cards are always welcomed! :)

PO Box 620487
Orlando FL 32862

Spring time at last!

Growing up in Edmonton I have definitely experienced my share of cold weather. I remember many years when it would start warming up after a long winter and suddenly -10 degrees becomes t-shirt weather.
Now living in Florida I have become quite a pansy when it comes to "cold" weather. I find myself complaining about what an awful winter we've had here when it's almost 20 degrees outside.
Fortunately for us pansies down here it is starting to warm up and we're all heading to the beach this weekend in celebration of the end of winter.
Thank you Jesus for warm weather, I do not miss the snow one bit!

Sarah Jane

Prayer Request:

Many of you know I'm working on applying for an R-1 Visa right now. This visa will allow me to be in the US for 3-5 years and I would be able to travel back and forth without any problems. It will hold me over until I can apply for a green card after Nathaniel and I get married.
Please keep my finances for this in your prayers. It's going to cost a chunk of money that I don't have at this moment. The visa itself costs $320 and then there will be lawyer fees on top of that. It's really easy to stress out about the money but I'm trying really hard to just give this to God and let Him provide how He wants to.
Please also pray that the paperwork would get filled out smoothly, that I wouldn't be missing any papers and that all this can be done in the next two weeks!

If you would like to donate towards this you can send a cheque either directly to me:

Sarah Jane Rinas
PO Box 620487
Orlando FL 32862
USA

or if you need a tax receipt you can send it to:

Project Funding Office
PO Box 57100
Vancouver, BC V5K 5G6
Canada

**Make the cheque out to "Youth With A Mission". It is important that my name NOT be anywhere on the cheque! Please attach a separate note saying it is for Sarah Jane Rinas with YWAM Orlando.

Or give online (also tax deductible):

Go to http://ywamcanada.org/donations.html and click "online donations"

Thank you so much for your prayers and support, it is greatly appreciated!

Peace,
Sarah Jane

Happy New Year!

Wow life got real busy real fast in the past month!

On Monday we had 45 new students com in for 3 different schools. I spent Monday trying to register them all and make sure they were all settled into their houses and whatnot. That was quite a job.
This quarter we have a Discipleship Training School (DTS), a School Of Ministry Development (SOMD) and a School Of Missions (SOM). I will be working with our training department again, helping the school leaders with the administrative things that need to be done.

At the end of this month I will be coming home for a short visit. My visa expires at the end of the month so I will be trying to get another one. I'm a little bit nervous about this as it's out of my control for the most part.

Last but definitely not least, Nathaniel proposed on Saturday night!
We don't have a date quite yet but I will definitely keep you posted on that one.
I'm soooo excited, and so blessed!
Let the wedding planning begin! If you have any tips or words of advice I would love to hear them!

More Updates coming soon.

Peace,
SJ