Ministry Update

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I pray that this newsletter finds you and yours basking in the wonder of this holiday season. As this year comes to a close I have much to be thankful for. In a few short weeks I will have served 6 months in the mission field! Not only is this an honor, but a real life example of the Lords provision. I believe that anytime we feel the Lords call to serve it is wrought with the enemys attempts to derail our mission. Thank you for your prayers and support during this crucial time! Hes faithfully protected me and given wisdom all along the way. I am about 3 months into the observation stage of my Counselor Training. Christine, the counselor I observe, has been an awesome teacher! She keeps one ear on the Lord and one on our client in sessionsand He offers her great wisdom to share each week. She also allows me the opportunity to hear from the Lord and speak anything He may be sharing with me. Between the three of us and our eager client, the Lord is revealing Himself to be the loving, faithful Father that she has been searching for! I am honored to witness first hand the transformation in our clients life. After the new year, I will begin leading a counseling session of my own with a seasoned counselor observing me. This is the final official stage of training. I am both excited and extremely nervous. I am continually reminded that He is the Great Counselor; I am just His vessel for sharing. In January Im also facilitating a womens group, Weight of Grace. The study is designed to take a look at the root issues of why women overeat and struggle to love their bodies. We will look at ways to deepen our dependence upon the Father and His Word to combat the negative beliefs and emotions that keep us stuck in the endless cycle of diet, fail and repeat. This will be my 2nd time teaching this material. I look forward to seeing what our Father has in store for us. Please pray for participants to join me on this journey of discovery. Our Vision Benefit that I wrote about last quarter was a great successPraise the Lord. GLI was able to raise the needed funds to continue with the development of a new client database. We are meeting over the next month to finalize our steps and I will begin working with the software company to transfer our data in early 2013. I knew all those years with the Panthers had an eternal purpose! Again, thank you for journeying with me in 2012I look forward to many great God stories through this ministry in 2013!

Family Update
Mike and I are enjoying family life. We stay pretty busy with our newest addition. Mike begins testing the waters of seminary in January with one course at Liberty University. The Lords got a plan for my husbands ministry; I cant wait to see it play out! Our sweet girl, Ida, is a little over four months old and growing like a little bean stalk! We love each and every moment of our time together, but its moving too fast! Ida loves the Christmas tree with all its bright lights and twinkling ornaments. We look forward to the many Christmases we have in the years to come.

Is the Lord Calling You to Give?

Thank you to those who have already joined my ministry support team, both through prayer and financial gifts. In order to continue to fulfill the Lords calling on my life, to Share the Gospel with Christians at Grace Life, I need additional financial support and prayer partners in 2013. I currently need $425 a month to complete my missionary support raising goal. To meet my monthly salary, I am seeking faithful friends like you to give monthly to my mission. I am asking God for: 1 monthly gift of $100 3 monthly gifts of $75 2 monthly gifts of $50 As the year comes to a close, I covet your prayers about supporting my ministry in a financial capacity. Is the Lord calling you to give financially? Any monetary gift large or small is greatly appreciated and all gifts are tax deductible. One time gifts are also a blessing. I look forward to seeing how the Lord blesses our partnership in 2013.

Sarah Martin, Missionary with Grace Life International