Please read on, but for those who just skim, PLEASE read this important announcement:
I have a new blog: sarahruplinger.wordpress.com. This is where I will be doing the majority of my blogging from now on. The only content I plan to add to this blog is a photo slideshow that I hope to get up within the next week and possibly some wisdom for future Racers. So please be sure to subscribe to the new blog. Thank you!
I have a new blog: sarahruplinger.wordpress.com. This is where I will be doing the majority of my blogging from now on. The only content I plan to add to this blog is a photo slideshow that I hope to get up within the next week and possibly some wisdom for future Racers. So please be sure to subscribe to the new blog. Thank you!
"What is next in the life of Sarah Ruplinger," you ask? Good question; I'd love to share with you!
In the Philippines (month 11) God gave me a beautiful and detailed vision of a ministry in Southeast Asia that would bring freedom and hope to women and children who have had those precious gifts stolen from them. I'm PUMPED about this dream and I'm pursuing it with everything I am, even if it takes my whole life, because I believe these sons and daughters are worth fighting for.
What does this look like?
1) A community of children's homes where each orphaned child would be raised by parents who pour out love on them. These children would grow up knowing the love of their Redeemer. The homes would embrace children with disabilities and offer them therapy. These children would receive excellent education and discipleship, enabling them to be a generation that transforms their nation.
2) A live-in community-based program for women rescued from sex trafficking, poverty, and/or abuse. This would be a safe place where women can experience restoration as they are flooded with the love and grace of Jesus. These women would be provided with counseling and discipleship to find healing and freedom in their Father's embrace. Throughout the program, the women will also be trained in an area that fits their own giftings and passions so they can experience empowerment through self-sustaining.
3) A community center that reaches to the rest of the city, with a heavy focus on university students, while providing sustainable employment for the women coming out of our program. This center would include a cafe, gift shop, salon, and studio. It would be planted near a university campus to connect with young people at such a crucial stage of their lives. The city center would be a hub for Bible studies, worship nights, discipleship, classes, open mic, and more. It would also provide a place of community and rejuvenation for missionaries in the area.
To read more about this dream God has planted in my heart, read a post on my new blog here.
How do I get there? Another great question! And I don't really know. But I'm trusting that since God gave me this dream that He will reveal each small step to me in His perfect timing. Right now, I'm living it up in my hometown of Delavan, WI — reconnecting with friends and family, as well as establishing a community in this town (my church family is in Madison). I'm jobhunting for a job working in a coffee shop or cafe to get just a little taste of that area. I've committed to remain at home base through the end of this year. In January, I'm planning to get back out on the field for 5 months before I come back and begin grad school for occupational therapy (God willing). I have a few different opportunities for serving apprenticeships during that time in India, Thailand, and Cambodia and right now I'm in the process of exploring these options further and praying into which one would best move me toward this vision.
To keep up with what I'm doing and what God is teaching me please subscribe to my new blog at sarahruplinger.wordpress.com
Thank you again for reading, praying, and encouraging me this year. I've been so blessed by the support you've given me. I hope and pray that you have been blessed by this blog as well.
