Hello everyone!!  I landed safe and sound at 9pm on Friday night.  I was welcomed by my wonderful family.  We then drive to my grandparents house and I attempted to sleep.  After a rough night's sleep I spent the day with my family, giving out gifts and being properly reunited.  Sunday I went up to camp for a couple hours to visit Lydia (who has been working there since June 26th).  After such visit, we all came home to a house that was in a bit of disarray due to our floors being refinished ...
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I can't believe that today is already my last full day here in Manila.  The time has really flown by and God has really shown me many amazing things here.  The following is the last update as to my movements, including what the rest of today and tomorrow will look like.

Tuesday (Aug 19)
Karin had school, and took me to the center early.  I helped Cecille with the SLC pre-school program again.  These kids are uncontrollably cute and are eager to learn.  It has been such a blessing to meet them a...
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I can't believe that I have less than 4 days left here in the Philippines.  This has certainly been a journey and an adventure.  

Friday (Aug 15)
We went on a community visit to the families who live along the rail road tracks near Karin's place.  It was an eye opener that there was such living conditions so near to the nice apartment where we were staying.  It was a very hot morning and I was feeling quite exhausted, so after the visit we went to a corner store to get a bit of air conditioning...
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As many of you know, I came here with the expectation that God would show me if ministries like this are what He has prepared for me.  In January when John came to Bethany to share, I was struck by the practicality of their ministries and the devotion of all their workers to their dream.  Since coming here, those initial reactions have been reinforced as I have gotten to know each of the staff better.

I am still praying for God's direction as to my future, but I am also enjoying each moment of...
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So sorry for being so delayed in this next post.  The internet has been pretty spotty everywhere we go, so I finally gave in and went to an internet cafe, which is where I am sending this to you from.  Here is the low down of the last few days.

Wednesday (Aug 6)
Last time I just told you about the morning of Wednesday.  That afternoon I helped Ate Lorna prepare the food for the feeding program.  My help consisted on peeling many eggs that had been boiled and dividing up the food between 49 cont...
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Yesterday's post was a very short one just to let you know about my activities here in Manila with IT Tender.  Now I want to give you more.

Sunday:
The first day I arrived, I was feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement.  I was nervous for how I would find Karin, my wonderful host who was picking me up, and how I would fit in here with the Filipino culture.  As it turned out, these worries have been for nothing.  Once I stepped out of the airport, Karin started jumping and waving.  I wen...
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I made it!! I arrived safe and sound at 7:30 Sunday morning. After getting my bag, I met Karin (my gracious and very British host) and she took me back to her place to freshen up. After a bit of unpacking and a shower, she took me across the city to see the Witts (a very lovely and close family from church). It was really nice to see them here in Manila. They helped me adjust and gave me a few tips for my time here. We stayed together for the rest of the day. Then Karin took m back to her pla...
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In less than 9 hours, I will be boarding a plane that will take me on a crazy and wonderful adventure to the Philippines.  As the hours count down, I am both nervous and excited.  I am nervous simply for the loneliness of the 20+ hours of travelling and the faint uncertainty of what I am doing during my entire time there.  Yes I have a couple ideas of what I will be doing, but those will just be a few days of the 3 weeks of my trip.  I am excited to see what God has planned for me and how He ...
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I can't believe that I am leaving in 7 days.  I am very excited for the adventure I am about to embark on and the lessons I am about to learn about God, myself, the global body of Christ and another culture.  

As I begin to prepare for this journey spiritually, mentally and physically, I have had a small epiphany about my personal journey thus far in my life.  I have been working on preparing what I will share as my story and testimony while in the Philippines and this time of reflection showe...
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I know it has been a while since I last posted and today marks just two weeks before I board a plane for this exciting adventure.  As the day approaches, the reality of this trip is beginning to sink in, and I am getting both nervous and excited for it.  I am excited to see what God will do in my life and what He will show me as to my career in Social Work.  I am fully aware that He may make this experience so enticing that I may go back once I have finished school for an internship with IT T...
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Happy Canada Day everyone!!  Today is a special day when we celebrate the day our country became recognized as such under the British Empire in 1867.  I am proud to be a Canadian today of all days!  As I get closer and closer to the time of my departure, I am becoming increasingly aware of the blessings I have received in prayers and donations.  I am getting so close to my fundraising goal it is mind boggling, and there is still a month left.  I want to say thank you, from the bottom of my he...
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As the time for my trip draws closer I am continually reminded of the grace of God through His people.  I have been at the receiving end of so much generosity these past few weeks I think my heart will burst.  It just affirms that this is where God has called me for a short time this summer.

I have received some more information as to what exactly I will be doing while in Manila with IT Tender.  I will be working a lot with their Night Life ministry to at risk street youth.  With that I will b...
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So today marks two years since I have graduated from my DTS and tomorrow will be two years since we last said our goodbyes.  The six months I spent in Maui and Bangladesh with my DTS family were life changing in many ways and I miss everyone dearly.  It was during my DTS that I realized my passion for Social Work, realized my passions for prayer and intercession, for social justice, for showing everyone the unconditional love of Christ to the best of my ability.  It was there that I began to ...
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So today I was able to present to my church a bit about why I am going to the Philippines this summer to work it IT Tender.  I said much that is already included in my blog posts and descriptions on this site.  Afterwards everyone was very encouraging and kept saying it was a job well done.  I want to say a huge thank you to them all.  They have watched me grow up from an infant and have always been supporting me in prayer, whether I knew it or not.  They have supported me in my YWAM adventur...
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A few weeks ago, around the same time as the last post, I booked my flights to the Philippines!  It's pretty exciting to have something that has just been a theory and idea come to life with the purchase of plane tickets.  I leave August 1st and return late August 22nd.  Now stuff gets real.

As this is the largest portion of my budget and the biggest expense of my trip, I am beginning to become more intentional in gathering support.  This Sunday (May 25th), I will be given a short time to shar...
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This January, John Coffey, the leader of IT Tender ministries, a branch of International Teams Philippines, was speaking at our church as to the activities of their ministries.  As I sat and listened, I became more and more interested and intrigued by what he was reporting.  He shared stories of children who's lives had been changed through their ministries and how they in turn changed his life.  As he explained the ways their ministries functioned, I became increasingly inspired and ideas in...
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I know that is has been a very long time since I last updated this and I am sorry for those of you who were looking for updates as to the ending of my adventures in Maui and how I readjusted into North American culture.  As a quick summary, we had one week of debrief in Maui, where we reunited with the base staff and our friends on the other teams.  It was a busy week filled with team celebration dinners, team debrief sessions with the base directors and personal debrief sessions as a school....
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So we only have 6 days left here and then we are back in Maui!  I just wanted to let you know what we have been doing!  We spent this last week at Dhaka University making friends and sharing the love of Christ with people.  We never did go to the refugee camp ( :( ) but I had fun at the university.  I met a guy from Hamilton who goes to McMaster and we will be chatting a bit once I get to Maui.  I also met a few people from Toronto and I have a couple emails to chatt with people.  One day we ...
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Here's a picture of Sara with her team mates, all wearing their custom made salwar kameez.  They look like they're fitting into Bangladesh culture really well, but they'll be heading for Maui on June 1.  Then, about 10 days in Maui.  Sara will be home on June 10!  We're looking forward to seeing her and hearing her many stories!  (Sara's Dad)

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At church they did a beautiful ceremony with the mothers and their children.  The kids had big red flowers and they each gave it to their mom.  When they presented it to her, they said something to her; it was either thanks for something or asking for forgiveness.  When they finished that they h...
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We're half way through our outreach time in Bangladesh!!!!  I can't believe how fast time is going!!!  I had a long chat with my leader today about how excited I am to come home and see everyone and be with you all.  I know that there are going to be a lot of things that I will appreciate when I am back in Canada.  I can't wait to come home and be with you all!!!  
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So, we're now in Khulna and we just worked at a conference for the weekend for the people who work for a local Christian Bangla organization. It was just like the True City Conference in the way that there were big group morning sessions and then in the afternoon they went to one of 5 different workshops.  I led the workshop on worship with two friends, and it went quite well.  Also, a couple of the other students did the major teachings in the morning.  It was really fun and we made a lot of...

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 Well, this weekend here in Bangladesh is the Bangla New Year, so there are lots of festivals and parades.  Yesterday we went to an afternoon church service and did what we call the DTS program (Drama, Testimony, Song) but we also had a teaching and someone explain the skit.  It went really well; the village we were at was across a river and we had to stand up in a leaky canoe.  In the morning we helped the guy speaking plan his sermon, and we added another song to our set; the whole service...
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Here is a site that will let you know the kind of weather that Sara is experiencing these days.  Click here.

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Here's part of another email Sara sent to her mom.

We're doing well. As you know, its easter weekend. Yesterday we went to a church that is literally a 2 minute walk from our house here in Khagrachari. At the end of the service one of us gave her testimony and we all sang "In Christ Alone." I really love this little city. The main ministry we are doing is teaching English to the locals and at an elementary school. When we teach the locals, we really just build friendships. The people here are ...
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Hello everyone.  Here is an update that Sara sent in an email to her Mom after her arrival.  It provides some information about her first few days in Bangladesh. 

"The flights were good. The sixteen hour flight was really long but Emirates is an excellent airline. We got to see the city of dubai. You can definitely tell it's the richest city in the world. When I first arrived, I wasn't feeling well so I haven't eaten a lot of Bangla food. It's mostly curry chicken, pitas and rice. I'll let yo...

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Sorry, these updates are getting later every time.  Just a warning, I will be posting on an unconsistant basis while in Bangladesh.

So, a couple weeks ago, our lecture topic was "Holy Spirit."  Our speaker was Maria D, she is a past YWAM Maui staff member.  We learned a lot of things; Holy Spirit is a He not an it, He has a personality, He has jobs/functions and He works in may different ways.  Another thing we learned was that God is not a communist.  In saying that we understand and recogniz...
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So, I am very sorry about my tardiness in posting.  Life here gets quite busy and it is easy to forget some obligations we have.  So I shall do my best to update you on what has happened in the last couple of weeks.

The lecture topic for the week before this past week was World Views.  We had a man named Rick Thompson come and teach us that week.  It was really cool to experience his way of teaching.  He made it very clear at the beginning of the week that he was going to be targeting our mind...
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This week was a crazy week.  The Fall DTS was back and preparing for their graduation ceremony which was on Friday so our schedule was off kilter all week.

Our speaker this week was Doug Tunney from YWAM Boston and he spoke this week on evangelism.  Doug has personally led over 100,000 people to Christ from around the world.  He gave us the "wordless book" as a tool to use in sharing the gospel message to those we meet.  I had heard of this book before, when I was a kid, but I didn't know how ...
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Sorry, my updates are coming later and later every week. Life is getting super busy and we rarely have a free moment to do what we need to.

Anywho, the lecture topic for last week was New/Pure Hearts.  A team from the University of Nations in Kona led by Tom and Donna Cole led the week for us.  They had eight sessions for us to go through, and each one was quite emotional and brought up a lot of hurts, pains, or wounds that we didn't even realize were there and that needed to be spoken aloud p...

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Sorry for the super delayed update.  There is a lot to do in not much time.

So, this past week we had Chris Keim, from Alberta Canada, speak to us about our identity in Christ.  It was a super empowering week.  Christ taught us many things.  A few major points were:
- the Tabernacle is just a shadow of how God wanted to dwell within us
- our spirits are the Most Holy Place
- he reminded us that our identity should not be in anything other than Christ 
- everything in this world is a shadow of the ...
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On the morning on the first of February, I was awoken by a dream that plastered a smile on my face for the rest of the day.  The dream went something like this:

I saw myself at church with my family; we were camping out at the church.  We were trying to do so in secrecy, but numerous members of the church were stopping by to say hello and give us gifts.  Suddenly, Mr. Berry was knocking at the window wanting to be let in.  My Dad told me to go and let him in.

As I opened the door, I was envelop...
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This week our lecturer was Matt Laskey, who is also out school leader.  The topic was "Basic Christian Foundations."  It was quite a dense topic, but Matt did a wonderful job condensing it into one week and giving us a day for processing too.  We covered things such as sanctification, the apostles creed, the Holy Spirit, the Trinity, the attributes of God, God's holiness, the core beliefs that are the same for every Christian, the difference between the Old and New Testament, the fundamental ...
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This week we are at the YWAM University of Nations in Kona, HI.  It is a completely different set up here, but the environment is very much the same.  God is very present here and is moving in big ways in the lives of everyone here.

There are so many people here.  We are a part of a "coorporate week" here at the University, where all the DTS's from Hawaii come together to learn from world renowned speakers and people.  It turns out that besides us, the other 8 DTS's are all from here at the Un...
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This week has been super powerful.  Our speaker for the week is Donna Jordan, an elderly lady who really knows how to listen to God.  I have never heard God's voice so clearly before this week and I only hope that I can continue to hear His voice.  Today we had to write down the things that were in the way of us hearing God's voice.  We took those things to the cross (campfire) and left them there for good (burned them).  After we did so we were left to have communion, pray individually and w...
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Last week we had to write down where we felt God leading us to for outreach.  From then on the leaders were praying about what where each one of us were to go and who was to lead our teams.  And this last night we got word of where we are going.

We were given a piece of paper with the name of the country written on it and without talking we had to find our team.  I had been pulled towards one country from the beginning and I am super stoked that it where the Lord has led me for outreach.

Ready?...
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The DTS so far has been all that I anticipated and more.  This past week has flown by, but it seems like it has taken forever.  The first few days were the infamous "Exodus" and then we moved into orientation.  Friday we went to the beach on the other side of the island (Kam 3) and that was a great day.  The entire base came and we just chilled on the beach, had a BBQ lunch.  I tried to work on my tan, but I don't think it worked.

Today was the first Sunday where we went to various churches in...
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So far we have done some amazing things!  At our opening night ceremonies they told us about a crazy trip we were taking (which they called Exodus), and they gave us a packing list but no other information.  We went camping just off the ocean and it was beautiful.  We set up camp and then had dinner of ramon noodles (mr. noodles).  Prior to the camping trip we had a scavenger hunt that had an unknown prize at the end; the prize ended up being a packet of flavouring for the ramon noodles.  Our...
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I arrived safe and sound in Maui last night around 11:50pm.  My flight was delayed nearly 2 hours in Vancouver, but I made it with all my luggage.  As a consequence of arriving so late, I had to find my bed and get ready in the dark without waking anyone.  I was the last DTS student to arrive.

Thus far, it's Saturday, we pretty much have had free range of what to do.  I woke up a couple of times in the night to a beautiful picture out my window of the grounds, the volcanoes in the distance acc...
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This is my last night in Canada.  As I am preparing some last minute details for the trip, I am again reminded of the great adventure God has ahead of me.  I am very grateful for all the support I have recieved from friends and family here I Canada.  God has used you to remind me that He loves me and will always take care of me.  This trip is going to show me much of who He is and how He is a part of my life.

I will do my best to keep you all updated through this blog.  If you have any questio...
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The time is approacing very quickly to when I depart for a life changing adventure.  I am so grateful to God for this opportunity, but I am also nervous about the trip too.  Experiences come with many great things to look forward to, but they also come with their share of unknowns that make people nervous.  While preparing for the trip, a bunch of us have found each other on Facebook and have started chatting about the trip and each other.  This has been a great comfort because I will already...

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I cannot believe that the time for my 5 month experience with YWAM is coming so fast.  It's already only 9 days away!  I have learned so much and have been showered with the Lord's blessings, but I know that these next few months will be the experience of a lifetime.  God has changed so many people's lives with YWAM and I can't wait to be apart of Loren Cunningham's dream of waves of youth breaking on the shores and filling the continents of the world.  I am extremely greatful for all the gen...
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As the date grows closer to my departure for the 5 month experience in Maui, I am even more grateful for the many great friends and family members God has blessed me with.  Every where I turn, there is someone beside me who is overflowing with love and support for me as I approach this new adventure.  And as the Christmas season is one where we surround ourselves with family and friends, I am feeling very loved this year.  Another way in which I have felt very loved is through the generous do...
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As we continue through the Christmas season, I am constantly being reminded of how soon I am leaving for this trip.  It is going to be a very exciting time and I can not wait to see how God uses me and how He helps me grow while being away for so long.  This is going to be longest I have been away, on my own, from my family, but I am very excited.  I greatly appreciate the prayers and generous donations.

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This week the reality that I am leaving my friends and family for 5 months really hit me.  I am doing all I can to spend as much time with my friends and family before I leave, and make sure they know that I love them.  As the money comes in and the payments are made, my friends, family and I are getting more and more excited for the adventure ahead.  We are now over the $5000 marker in fundraising.  That is a huge blessing and a lot of people have shown their generosity.  As part of the prep...
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Today was a GREAT day!  The Step-a-thon was a huge success with many people coming to climb some stairs or just cheer on.  It took us about two and a half hours to do all 10,000!!  Dad and I did all 10,000.  Our friend Andrew joined us in doing all 10,000, as well as Alex, who did 11,000.  Even little James climbed a few stairs.  We started right at 9am and we ended around 11:30am.  After completing the climb, we all came back to our house for a delicious of chili and amazing potato soup made...
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With the Step-a-thon in 29 hours, the nerves are building.  I can't wait to accomplish the personal goal with the participation and encouragment of many friends and family members.  As well, we have surpassed $3000 in fundraising!!  This is a huge blessing, and I am very grateful to all those who have donated thus far.  Many people have expressed an interest in coming to the Step-a-thon on Saturday and there is to be quite a crowd, which is a huge encouragment.  I am overwhelmed with gratitud...

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Today my Dad and I did more steps than we have ever done.  We went up and down seven and a half times for a total of 7500 steps.  It was easier than we thought it would be.  Strange that the first couple of times up seem to be the hardest.  Then, we get into a groove and it goes easier.  The bottom third of each time up is pretty easy because we've had a break coming down.  We were planning on doing 7000 steps today, but we thought if we did 250 more (up and down), then we would have done thr...
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A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has recently sponsored money towards my trip.  I have no words to express my graditude.  The Step-a-thon is coming up soon and I can't wait to finally complete my goal with other surrounding me.  Even if I do not raise my goal, I will still walk the 10,000 steps.  Thanks once again to those who have donated!
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I met and encouraged my friend Matthew Belch to apply for this trip with me this summer.  I am now happy to announce that he has been accepted to the January DTS in Maui, so we will share this experience together.  It will be great to watch each other grow and learn thorugh this, and it was God's plan that I have a friend there.  Having Matt with me will be a great comfort and I know that he will also learn a lot while in Maui and the Far East.

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You've heard the expression "No pain, no gain".  Well, we came up with a new one:  "No owie no maui."  This is a good analogy, seeing as doing the stairs is painful.  Today Dad and I accomplished 5000 steps in under 2 hours.  That's half of the planned Step-a-thon.  It didn't hurt as much as we thought and we almost did more than that.  My Granny Ruth and Grandad (my Dad's parents) were visiting for the day too, and having them there was a great encouragement.  I only hope that as we keep goi...
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Earlier on this week I recieved a very generous donation.  This brought my fundraising to $320.  This was a great encouragement to me, knowing that people are willing to give so generously.  The progress on the stairs is good, and the date for the Step-a-thon is drawing nearer and the anticipation is growing.
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This past week, the total of money fundraised went from 40 to $120!!!  This is great and it still humbles me to see people donating generously.  Please keep praying that I can make my goal and that as I prepare to go, that I will be fully prepared physically, mentally and spiritually.  This is an awesome journey, and I can't wait for the real DTS to start in Maui!
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Tonight my Dad and I tackled the stairs in the drizzling rain and dark skies.  It surprised me when he asked me at 8:30pm, "So, Sara, want to do the stairs a couple of times tonight?"  I hesitated, but agreed.  It was colder than the last time, I was unusually stiff and my muscles felt the burn earlier than I anticipated.  All this just proves that I need to be spending a lot more time on the stairs in order to be ready to do 10,000 in one day.  We only did them twice, amounting to 2,000 step...
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This weekend was exciting for us in the world of fundraising.  I recieved my first two donations for the trip!!!!!  The first one was delivered by hand and the other through the PayPal feature!  It is a fantastic humbling feeling, knowing that people are so generous and kind and would give to my cause.  These are only the first in a hopefully long line of donations to come.
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The other day as I was training on the escarpment stairs with my dad, he said something to me that I thought I should share with you.  He told me that when I am on the mission field and am going through tough times, I can look at the situation as if it were the stairs, and how I overcame the pain and difficulty of the situation to achieve a greater goal, getting there and sharing the love of God.  This was a great way to mentally prepare for my future in Maui.

**(note: doing the stairs while c...

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My Dad and I started training for the setp-a-thon last year.  Then, I went to Joy Camp for the summer so we haven't done much for several months.  Today we started again: 3000 steps (500 up and 500 down three times).  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  I have to admit, though, my legs were pretty wobbly on the final way down!  I think I have a lot of work to do to get up to ten thousand steps!
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