C A N A D A : Chronicles of living in an arctic tundra

We arrived in the Great White North mid December just in time for a 3 1/2 month winter (I know what you're thinking... you guys decided to endure the coldest winter in 30 years instead of living in tropical Hawaii... yup we go wherever the Lord calls us). We came to Canada knowing one thing, that the Lord wanted us to take over the youth group at the church that I (Sarah) grew up in. We started up the youth again on the first week of January and we had 5 kids show up. We knew the group needed a little TLC and we were more than happy to do whatever we could to serve them. Every Friday we would spend the first hour playing some type of game; dodgeball, kickball, handball etc. (the youth is primarily boys...), continue with an intermission of hanging out and some form of snack and then finish the night off with a message.
Some of the main topics we hit on with the youth centered around the basis of our faith, and trying to paint a picture of who Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit are. We spoke on the supernatural, healings, what worship is, and ultimately tried to center and ground them in their identity in Christ. We've seen so much growth in their individual lives, and the Lord has given us such a huge heart for them as a group and some much hope for what he will continue to do in their lives. They've blessed us this entire winter, given us the privilege to be a part of their lives, and taught us so much about ourselves and our leadership as a married couple. These amazing, energetic, crazy youth have been the reason the Lord brought us to Canada and we wouldn't have had it any other way.



                                         The Youth!

Connor teaching.

Weekly dodgeball

                                          Team contests

                                                    Sparklers!

                       Connor also coached a Jr high basketball team in the community!

en Peru : Honeymooners

At the beginning of December we decided to give South America a try and ventured down to Peru for our honeymoon! After a full days worth of traveling we arrived in Lima, Peru at around midnight and were shuttled to our apartment. After spending a couple days in Lima biking around the city, practicing our Spanish (or lack there of...) and spending time on the coast, we packed our bags and headed on a 22 hour bus ride to Cusco. Winding around the andes, through the desert, and throwing up in my pillow were some of the many adventures had on that bus ride. When we arrived in Cusco, Connor was having horrible headaches because of elevation sickness at 11000ft, so we found him some local Coca tea which happens to be the only thing that gets rid of elevation sickness. While in Cusco we travelled around to a ton of ancient Inca ruins, got caught in the craziest hail storm at the top of a mountain and wore awesome Peruvian sweaters. The peak of our trip was seeing Machu Picchu one of the oldest standing civilizations today and one of the seven wonders of the world! Our honeymoon was a blast, exploring South American culture and starting off our marriage with adventure!

    Traveling the coast of Lima by bike

The streets of Cusco

    One big happy Incan family (llama included)

                      The storm approaches between the ruins...

                     Hailstorm hits!

                      Awesome Peruvian sweaters!!

             
    Train ride through the Andes

Machu Picchu: 1 of the 7 wonders of the world.

November 28, 2014

 Hey everyone! Just to catch everyone up to date I'm going to rewind a bit back to November! Connor and I got married on a beach on the westside of Oahu, surrounded by our closest friends and YWAM community! It was absolutely gorgeous and such an amazing setting for a wedding that was completely planned from 2000 miles away. We rented a ranch house for our friends and family on an organic farm called Kahumana. The people there were wonderful and completely accommodated our entire wedding and even supplied us with extra things that we ended up needing. The wedding turned out to be even more beautiful than we had hoped, thanks to our amazing friends and family.



                          Our crazy/ fantastic wedding party!

Aaron Larson officiating!

                                                                         

Jumping in the ocean after the "I do's"

Our backyard reception!