My Supporter Letter for Belfast

Dear Friends and Family,

It’s hard to believe that the summer is almost over. As the seasons past by, I am continually struck by God’s faithfulness for each one of us. Here’s an update on what God has been doing during the last few seasons of my life:



In May, I graduated from the University of St. Thomas with a double major in elementary education and Catholic Studies. I student taught in an inner-city Catholic School in South Minneapolis. I also served as a student missionary and a leader of a Catholic women’s household with a college ministry called St. Paul’s Outreach. It was a very busy year of school especially following a year off from school doing service work in Detroit, Michigan. During my year with Youth Works-Detroit, I led a high school girls youth group, taught an after school program for children in our neighborhood mostly from the housing projects, put on retreats, served at a soup kitchen, helped families in the community, and loved the people around me. Through these experiences, I learned that I thrive and love working with inner-city youth. I have grown so much these past two years in my ability to love others through Christ’s love.




Recently, I learned about a program in Belfast, Northern Ireland called Youth Initiatives which serves inner city youth primarily in West Belfast. After applying, I was accepted as a volunteer youth worker to work with their 15-18 year olds primarily in two programs called Lifeline and Girls Program. Essentially these programs are about personal, social, and spiritual development in the context of creating a positive relational environment for the youth. As a youth worker, I will be journeying alongside these youth through the ups and downs of their life. I will help run programs while spending time with them in their everyday lives. Too many youth in the city are down trodden and have lost hope. Ultimately it is the Lord’s work to awaken hope in the lives of these youth, but God uses us to be a part of this work in transforming lives of these youth. I have been fortunate enough to see radical transformation of the inner city youth I have worked with from being closed off and harden to being joyful and friendly through loving them, being a constant support, and teaching them about Jesus. I’m excited God has called me to do this work in Belfast too!

While doing ministry, I have come to learn that I can’t do it alone, but only through the support of family, friends, and even acquaintances. I ask that you would consider be a part of this work by supporting me through your encouragement, prayers, and finances. Prayer is so essential to doing inner city work, so I ask that you would commit to praying for me and the youth I work with on a regular basis. I will also be praying for you while keeping a correspondence between your family and myself about various prayer needs. Please consider supporting me financially as I will need $12,000 for the year to support my living costs, travel needs, training, etc. I am particularly looking for people who will support me on a monthly basis at $20, $30, $50 or whatever amount you prefer, but I am very grateful for one time gifts of a flat amount as well. Tax deductible donations can be made online or by writing checks out to the Sword of the Spirit with Sarah Nilles in the memo line. You can e-mail me at sarah.nilles@gmail.com to receive a reply card with more information about how to do this. Or you can follow the directions below to give online or send a check to the Sword of the Spirit.

I cannot begin to thank you for the ways you have already supported me throughout the years. I am so blessed to serve as the hands and feet of God in places of need, but I am incredibly grateful for people back home covering me with support through prayers and financial gifts. Please know of my thoughts and prayers for you. I look forward to talking to you more in the near future about my work in Belfast.

Christ Peace, Sarah

All donations are tax deductible.

Give online at:
http://sos-nar.com/eGive.htm

Make checks payable to
Sword of the Spirit (Sarah Nilles) in memo
and return to:
P.O. Box 4978, East Lansing, Mi, 48826

Sorry for the Blobs

For those who read my blog regularly, I want to apologize for the "blobs" instead of blog posts. I don't know what has been going on, but I haven't been able to make my blog posts properly space out. They look fine when I type them, but then they turn into blobs. I am trying to figure it out. Thank you for your patience.

On a happier note, have you noticed that I'm now able to post pictures and links right onto my posts. I'm proud of my blogging advancements! Thanks for all your support. I love you all!

P.S. I just fixed my blob problem. All is well!

Why Belfast?

On Friday, August 31, I will be boarding an airplane to fly to Belfast, Northern Ireland to live and serve there with a ministry called Youth Initiatives. I will be journeying alongside youth from the most disadvantaged communities in Northern Ireland particularly in West Belfast to awaken hope through Jesus Christ. I have a two year visa, but I have no idea how long I will be there. My life philosophy is one year at a time. And sometimes only one day at a time.

It's been really fascinating telling people that I will be moving to Belfast. A lot of people have been really excited for me. Others are confused why I would work for free and fund raise my living. "You know it is ok to do ministry work that pays?" People talk about how beautiful it is there, and how they want to visit me. Advice is given not to get bombed. Yeah, that's my goal whenever I go to do inner city work, to get shot or bombed. My favorite is when people tell me that I am going over there to find someone to marry. Yes, exactly what I'm thinking about doing my first month in the country. Unfortunately I have to wait until Leap Year in 2016 to follow the Irish tradition of asking the guy to marry me, so I guess I have to wait a bit.

At the beginning of June, I was sitting on the porch of a family I had worked with a lot in Detroit. We were catching up on how everyone was doing. I told them that I had graduated, and I was moving to Belfast to do inner city work. They all looked at me as if I was crazy, and said "Why would you do that?" It made me chuckle a bit as I pondered the questions myself. Why would I do that? Why would I go to another place I had never visited to do very similar work to the work I had been doing in Detroit? Ultimately, why Belfast? I've absolutely hated being asked this question because I never knew what to say. Uh, God is opening a door. I think this is what I am supposed to be doing. uh...

Over the last few months, God has given me the grace to articulate myself better. Why Belfast? I try to live my life where the Spirit of the Lord leads, and for this season of life I know that it is Belfast. God has a particular reason and purpose for leading me there, and even though I don't know what it is exactly, I know that I will learn soon enough. There is a song written by Ed Conlin that says "you will lead oh Lord where only love can go. He is my life oh Lord, my life for you." I thought about this song often when I was in Detroit. There were so many things I was unafraid of because God's love went before me. I encountered extremely difficult situations yet through the grace of God I was able to deal with them and face them head on.

Since Easter 2011, I began sensing that God had something to show me in Belfast. I was serving alongside people in Michigan from Belfast, so I heard a lot of stories about it. Of course, I wanted to go and visit but I very clearly remember waking up that EAster morning and telling my friend, Magz from West Belfast that God had something there for me. At the time I didnt know if it was for a short visit or for a longer period of time, but I knew he had something there for me to see. The following year when I was back in St. Paul, the desire to see what God had for me in Belfast was still there. I was actually very resistant to looking into serving with a Chrisitan community there. No way could God be calling me there. I just wanted to go for my own reasons; it would be a cool adventure! Each time I looked into doing something here, it didn't work out or I would have very unsettling feelings. Logically Belfast did not make sense. There were a lot of other GREAT job opportunities opening up right before me, but in my heart Belfast was the only thing that felt right.

As I prayed about going to Belfast, God never said "go to Belfast" rather he told me do not be afraid and I love you. It reminds me of the words from the song again, " and you will lead oh Lord where only love can go." God promises that his love goes before me, so I do not need to be afraid. Of course, I am nervous about the unknown of next year, and I wish he would tell me what's going on, but I trust that he will show me in his time. I still dont't fully understand "Why Belfast?" but I do know that God's love goes before me ad I don't need to be afraid. I'm content with that. Maybe in a few months or a few years, I will have a more elegant answer but I've never been the most elegant of people!

Losing It

I found myself in my room crying again because I couldn't find it... I couldn't find a picture that I took in Detroit. It might have been one of the photos that got deleted from the camera a few months ago. As tears fell down my cheeks, I became frustrated that I didn't save the pictures better. "It doesn't matter anyways," I think. And yet it some how does. Why else would I be crying about it? The worst part is that this isn't the first time I have cried over a lost picture. (I'm really bad about keeping track of photos.) As I wiped away the tears, I kept thinking, "why does this even matter?" And an old fear came creeping back, you're going to forget it said. As strange as it sounds, I'm so afraid that by moving around so much that I am going to lose those moments on the mission field that are so close to me. I feel like I have to prove that existed for others to see in order that it is actually real. It kills me that people don't know about Elizabeth Bindi, Joseph Bangura, Rutile or any of the other incredible people and situations from Africa that I hold so close to my heart. Just like the pictures, I fear that Africa, Detroit, and Minnesota might become lost. It's a LIE though! It's a lie because not only do I hold them close to my heart, but so does my heavenly Father. He loves them all so much more than I do. And he knows it all so much better than I could ever remember from a picture or story. So I hold close to him, remembering the good times and the bad. I once again trust the people of Detroit, Africa, friends, and family into the loving hands of the Father remembering that he loves them all. He knows what they need and He will provide for them.

God Cares... a LOT!

I am continually struck and blown away by God's faithfulness. People always comment on how crazy I am for all the things I do. I just want to respond by saying that I have an even crazier Papa. He sent His son to die on the cross for me and each and every day His Grace and Spirit are enough! God really cares, and it makes everything worth it. This past weekend, I traveled to Minnesota to visit friends and say "good bye" for the last time before moving to Belfast. A couple of weeks ago I was overwhelmed by the short visit and all the people I wanted to see. My wiser friend, Kelsey told me, "Sarah, I can't wait until the end of the trip when you talk about how much God blessed you just like He always does on these short visits." I knew she was right, but I had no idea how right she was. My trip to Minnesota was so much more than visiting friends and saying goodbyes. The Lord spoke directly into areas of my life I had been afraid of, questions I had about Belfast, and lose ends in relationships that had been hanging for years. Even better, He provided in the little ways. I was standing for 20 minutes having an incredible conversation that I wasn't sure was going to happen with my brother Joe Hall who has been battling cancer for over a year. As I was looking at the tint of pink in Joe's cheeks (during other visits he has been deathly pale) and the foot long scar on his stomach, I was struck that we had this moment together when he was joyful and not puking his guts out. For 20 minutes, we shared life, joked, and talked about the future. And I needed that. I needed Joe back as my brother and to have his encouragement before leaving for Belfast. The Lord did that over and over again during my time in Minnesota. He perfectly set up situations and conversations to show me how loved I was, and how much I can trust in Him. He made it strikingly clear that I have a family that will meet once a year in Minnesota for training with St. Paul's Outreach and we are scattered all over the world. We came together in college to form a community led by the Spirit of God, and just as the Spirit drew us together, now He sends us out. Many of my friends are still working for SPO, but I get to go off on another adventure in Belfast working for Youth Initiatives. A cross cultural missionary once told me that good "goodbyes" make for good "hellos." Through the grace of God, I'm anticipating a really good "hello" with Belfast. The Lord has a big work for me in Belfast, and I believe it extends well beyond the walls of YI. Even though the unknown makes me a little nervous, I am not afraid because over and over again, God shows me that He cares a lot. "My grace is sufficient for you..." 2 Corinthians 12.9