Sabrina Forster

 

Moments. What are moments exactly?

We think, dream about them, wish to live some of them twice, trying to prolong them. One look, one breath, one kiss, one smile, kind words … What if we could put those moments in a jar, close it, take them with us and open it when needed?! What if we could erase some of them and multiply others?!
Are we realizing we’re living in a once in a lifetime moment right now, never being able getting back to that moment ever?! What would we do if we were really getting that! How would that change our minds? Living in the moment, realizing how precious each and every second is, no matter what we’re going through, it’s a gift, not being taken for granted.
Don’t underestimate the moment you’re in right now. It’s a precious one! You’re powerful! Make use of your moment. This moment might turn into a milestone of your life and maybe of others as well!
You’ll never know if you don’t try! …

I don’t wanna worship you only when I feel spiritual!
I don’t wanna worship you only when I feel like giving praise!
I don’t wanna worship you only with my mouth declaring how you’ve been blessing my life!
I don’t wanna worship you only with songs!

I wanna worship you when I don’t feel like it at all!
I wanna worship you in times of trouble!
I wanna worship you in times of distress!
I wanna worship you when everything around me is falling apart!
I wanna worship you while others are denying your presence!
I wanna worship you both on the weekends and during the week; whether in school, at work or on vacation!

 

I wanna worship you with my whole life, my mind, spirit and soul;
whether I’m awake or asleep, or my life is getting out of control.
I wanna worship you God from my inside out,
because that’s what our whole life is actually all about.

My God is worthy of our worship and praise.
If we forget that, at least the stones will glorify His name,
together with the universe, all at the same…

Jesus came into the world to save our lives,
got despised, mistreated, abused and denied,
only to die for us on the cross, crucified on the hill of Calvary,
worse than a thief, a slayer or a perpetrator; a crime of humanity.

But I Jesus decided to give you all my praise,
all the glory to you God in all different ways.
Because that’s the least I can do to answer your love,
unconditionally coming right from above!

A year ago I would have never seen myself at this point where I am right now. My plan, another reality; a better one!:) Last Monday I started studying hotel management in Thun. Why? I can’t tell you exactly the reason for it. All I know is that I feel so much peace about it. I just KNOW it’s the right thing at the moment, it’s my next step; the next adventure and I’m already right in the middle of it!

FAITH it does not make things easy, it makes them possible!

I heard once a story from a preacher which really encouraged me. There was a young boy. At first he wasn’t a notable man, didn’t hang around with the popular guys, wasn’t rich or anything like that. All he had were a few sheep he was taking care of day in and day out. He was doing his work wholeheartedly. He protected his flock of sheep with his own life, fought against a lion, played beautiful songs on his harp and was a genius at dealing with his slingshot. Long story short, that young first unknown „boy“ was called to play music for king Saul, conquered the giant Goliath with his slingshot and mainly God as his backup,  and finally he became a well known king; the first king of a united Jerusalem! What would you do if your plan was becoming a king of a whole nation? Daily playing your instrument, protecting a flock of sheep, … Not really, right?! You would take classed how to become a great leader and do other important things to become a good king. The world’s trying to tell what’s best for us, what we need to fulfill our dreams and to become whoever we want to be. But sometimes we just have to admit that God knows it better eventually. I always knew I would NEVER work in an office; daily sitting while working, staring at a foursquare computer screen … NO! That wouldn’t make me happy. Last year I was working as a receptionist in the hotel Casa Moscia for twelve months and working there was the best decision I could have ever made for that time of season! And I did work in an office and learned a lot of interesting new things. It was a great year. I have a dream, a vision for my life. I know that studying hotel management is not the fastest way to accomplish that dream. But I know that I will and I’ve already been learning so many important things during this season now which will be important for all my next steps through life. Believe it or not, but what David had been learning during his life as a shepherd was essential for his life as a king and already before. As a shepherd he had to learn how to use his slingshot to kill a lion and afterwards to conquer Goliath, he had protect his flock of sheep and as a king his nation, he had to learn to be totally dependent on God and trust Him in the wilderness and later as a king, … We might not see the big picture yet, why we have to walk through the valley we’re in right now, why we are where we are, learn what we’re learning, study what we’re studying, but God does. God knew that David would become a king once and He prepared him for that challenge already before David had known a glimpse of God’s plan. I wanna trust God as well that I am on the way of something great and I’m so looking forward to every new day.:)

„My whole life, every single step I’m taking is a part of the big journey!“

So much was happening between coming back from Hawaii and now. Four months ago I didn’t know what would come up next. I knew God had a plan and that I didn’t have to get worried about anything, but after being home for more than four weeks and not having found a job at that time, made me getting a little nervous.
What I’m gonna tell you now sounds just crazy, but it’s the truth.
Recently I’ve been getting answers just on time. God’s been really stretching my faith. It’s not always easy to not know where I’m going. But knowing God is holding my hand at the same time gives me peace.  I don’t want the easy way, just the possible one!

After a long time looking for a job, I had finally found one. I was working for Red Cross three weeks long, finding people who wanted to become a financial supporter of what Red Cross is doing locally.
It did not take long until God was leading me to other work opportunities. Isn’t he great?!! I did not only get one, but actually two job offers. I like working with my hands. I like physical work. What I like less is working only with my brain, sitting in front of a computer the whole day, typing things into an electronic machine, which doesn’t even talk to me. Not moving makes me antsy. But right at that time, while I was looking for a job, I’d been asked a lot about finding something where I would get „at least“ a degree as a businesswoman or a job in an office. But that’s not where my heart is. I like talking to people, not to electronic machines, and I wanna use my hand and mouth muscles instead of my finger and brain muscles. But was that the right picture of office work I had?! I felt like God was saying: „Sabrina, I think it’s time to know more about that subject (office).“

Two days later I got a phone call. A couple, who was one of my supporters for the dts last year, was looking for a receptionist of a Christian hotel called Casa Moscia. I believe it was God who gave them the idea of hiring me as a receptionist. They had no idea that I was looking for a job. When I got the news, I could barely utter a word at first. I’m not qualified to do this. But what sounds impossible for me is possible for God. =)
Wasn’t God telling me a few days ago to learn more about office work and increase my skills in that kind of subject?! =) Working as a receptionist would be an awesome opportunity. I like talking to people, could use my Italian, the work as a receptionist is varied etc. So I took the chance and got the job.
I can work in the hotel from February till December. Isn’t that great?! Without even writing application letter after application letter, calling companies and looking through dozens of job advertisements God has given me the right one. But that was not the only gift I got!!!

For ages I’ve been riding horses. The people on the farm are amazing. I love being there. One day Claudia, the farm owner together with her husband Daniel, offered me to start working at their farm. I was actually thinking about asking her for an internship there from December till January. Everything went together perfectly. Before I’ll be working more with my brain, I can still do some physical work first.

I’m excited about the job in the hotel. And what will come next? I’m not gonna tell you now. It’s still a secret. 😉 You will find out soon enough. It might be mentioned in one of my next posts. You’ll see. Until that’s going to happen: Be blessed my friend!

ALOHA! =)

Kona, Thailand, Myanmar, back to Thailand, after three months of travelling back to Kona, Hawaii, and finally back home to Switzerland. What a journey. I’ve seen so many beautiful places, met incredible, beautiful people, had the privilege of working with awesome ministries, had been travelling through Thailand and Myanmar with an amazing team of ten people, and all the sudden I’m standing in my room back home in Switzerland, wondering if everything was just a dream. No, it definitely wasn’t a dream. It was the pure reality – stories I certainly won’t forget that fast …

The past three months have changed my heart completely. I’ve seen things which made me laugh and things which made my heart cry…

I remember: it was the 13th of April when our DTS staff surprised us with a video which showed us all the possible outreach places we could choose from. They gave us 15 min. to „find out“ where God called us to go. Uhhh.. that was hard. =)

After three months of lecture phase in Kona, Hawaii, all the seven outreach groups were sent out into the different nations. Not only the first three months were an adventure, a challenging, and stretching time, but also the three months of outreach were life-changing.

God blessed us so much the whole time. It had already started on the way to Thailand. Our second stop was in Manila, Philippines. Because of a long long lay-over we could stay the night in a beautiful, huge, luxury hotel downtown Manila. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked in that hotel and the gigantic buffet blew my mind away. We had to take advantage of this one-night-living-like-a-queen buffet!! One time, two times, three times, … we could go and get as much food as we wanted to and after our bellies were overfilled and ready to explode 😉 Emily and me threw a party in our hotel room. Oh how I love and miss this girl!!.. Time to sleep? Mmm.. for a few hours and then we already had to go back to the airport and take the next flight to Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Manila, Philipenes:

Thailand, what a beautiful country. First stop: Chiang Mai. We spent the first two weeks at Abba house; an orphanage and restorations house for captives (whether in prisons or those in sexual slavery). ABBA house provides a home for them. It felt like they were a big family and also we were a part of them. In the afternoons we were teaching English to ex-prisoners, have Bible studies, and a time of worship with them. Within only a few days we became such good friends and had lots of fun with them, like a big family. =) In the evenings we were teaching English to the kids. We also played games together, had movie nights with them, water balloon fights, BBQ nights, or were helping the guys out painting the new driveway. We were just loving on them, showing them how valuable they are, and what amazing skills God has been giving them. They were giving us so much joy, thankfulness, and love back. It was everything else but easy to say goodbye after three weeks of building relationships with them. But that was the start of a life-changing journey and so many other hellos and goodbyes over three months of travelling through Thailand and Myanmar (Burma).

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We spent three other weeks in Chiang Mai, but downtown and not in the countryside. During those three weeks we’d been working with the ministry lighthouse in action – a ministry that covers three different divisions:

– university: offering additional English lessons for the students, spending time with them, love on them,..

– red-light district: going into bars, providing alternative options and opportunities for living and working outside of the bar scene lifestyle, show them that they are valuable and loved, …

– village: helping out in the rise fields and households, learn more about their lives, … The villages are often visited by sex-brokers who are looking to purchase the children living there. The parents are not aware of the evils that are awaiting their children, and if they are, they view it as a means of sustainable income for the family.

If you want to know more about Lighthouse and their ministries, please click here!

After Chiang Mai we took the plane to Myanmar and spent three weeks in Yangon, the capital city of Myanmar (previously called Burma). Here are some pictures about the time in Myanmar:

 

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For the last few weeks of outreach we went to Bangkok, Thailand, and were working with the MST (male sex tourism) project. It was one of the most challenging times for me. MST focused on the male tourists who come to Thailand for sex trading. It was about being a friend to those men; a friend who listens to what they had on their hearts, to give them back their value, to show them that life is about more than what they were going through, and to offer them HOPE!!

During lecture phase I had no idea about what would all been happening during the three months of outreach, how not only other people’s hearts would change, but also mine. I’m so thankful for each and every person who supported and is still supporting me during, before, and after DTS. A big thanks to my family and friends who were supporting and encouraging me when I needed it. I also wanna say thanks to all my supporters. I couldn’t have done the PhotogenX DTS without any of them. Thanks for all your help, whether financially, in prayers, or encouraging words!!

And a BIG THANKS to God who has been such a faithful, merciful, and loving father all day long!!..

 

“It’s been a week full of new experiences, new connections, and unexpected moments. We did not have a set ministry we were working with and therefore asked God every day for new direction. We did lots of prayer walks and hung out with our new Burmese friends.

On Monday two of our team members, Rachel and Ashley, had the opportunity to meet with two monks and they spent the day with them. The monks shared about their culture and what they believe in, while Rachel and Ashley were able to tell them more about Christianity. They got to see a pagoda, a Buddhist temple, which was built on the water.

Throughout the week, all of the team members made different connections with the Myanmar people. A lady from the church we go to every Sunday brought us to the Scott Market, the biggest market in Yangon, Myanmar. We were surrounded by all kinds of jewelry, traditional Burmese skirts in all colors, paintings, and shoes. All of a sudden a little girl, around ten years old, was standing next to me, trying to sell paintings. Her English was almost perfect. She sounded like a salesperson making their pitch. I started thinking, why is such a young girl trying to sell paintings in the middle of a market full of tourists while other kids are going to school? What can I do for her? Buying one of her paintings would not change her life. These situations make me feel helpless. How can I help this girl? Meeting this girl made me even more thankful about what God has blessed me with every day.

Every Tuesday and Thursday the English Center organizes a cultural exchange day for the students. People from all different age groups come to the center to learn English. It’s amazing to see how hungry the people are to better learn the English language. I was impressed by how well most of them were speaking English. We split up into different groups and went to explore Yangon with the students. They showed us different places in Yangon such as China Town; a beautiful, huge lake in the middle of Yangon; different markets; cute, little restaurants where we could eat good Burmese food, etc.

On Saturday, three of our team members went to a service at a church, while the rest of us visited a children’s home. It was an exciting day for all of us. At the children’s home we played different games with the kids, took lots of pictures with them, and had to say goodbye way too soon. =) The kids were full of energy and contagious laughter throughout the whole time. The boys loved having Anna take picture after picture of them.

God has constantly been showing me his unexplainable love for the people in Myanmar. Every day I am reminded that it is not all about the material things I have in my life. One day they will all be meaningless. If I had everything in the world I could dream of, but not have the love, joy, and strength of God, what would the material things be worth?

My goal is to bring light into this nation, where dust and dirt is covering the streets. I want to make people smile and give them one moment in their lives where they can forget their pain. Just one moment of joy, a moment where they can feel the love of God for them.”

Girl who was selling little paintings at the Scott Market.

At the lake-one of the student we spent the cultural exchange day with.

“Little paradise” in the middle of Yangon, Myanmar.

Kids at the childen’s home during a game.

A new blog post is up on the outreach team blog page:

–> http://photogenxthaimar.wordpress.com/