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<<First Name>> <<Last Name>>
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// F I R S T O F F we just want to say massive THANK you! Honestly we say it every time, but we mean it from all that we have... Thank You! To say that we have felt God's hand and favor over us the past month, would almost seem like an understatement! We have been blessed beyond measure by all the encouragement and Love we have received by our community, and have experienced victory after victory, testimony after testimony! And so that is exactly what this newsletter is going to be about! The Testimonies! The Praise Reports! The Victories! We just want to bring praise back to God and to uplift and express our Thankfulness to our community that has been standing by us throughout it all!! So Thank You!
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C H A P T E R T H R E E : P R A I S E A N D C O U R A G E
We both felt that God was going to mark this year, above any other we have been through so far, by the outpour of abundant Praise for Him and all that He has in-store for us, and also by the need for such Courage. That though it will a be a year full of Testimonies and inviting others in to share in our Praise, it will be a year that will demand our Courage. To stand firm in what God has called us to, and to be willing to jump at His command into the unknown. To trust in even greater ways, that He will equip us and lead us, that He has gone before us, but ultimately that He is in control. And as we do so, through the hardship, we will see such fruit and testimony of all that He is!
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/ / A F T E R W H A T S E E M E D like forever, baby Maceo finally decided to make his way into the world!! He was due on January 1st, and once that day had come and gone... well the days seemed a little longer as each day passed. Through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit, we did everything we could to try and jump-start the labor process as the toll of pregnancy was increasing each day both physically and emotionally. Jennifersara ended up getting something that is called a Foley balloon - which is a natural form of induction, which is meant to dilate you to 3-4 cm, upon which it would fall out or be removed 24 hours later if it didn't work. So we waited to see what would happen, but after 21 hours it seemed as though Maceo might be born at the hospital. However, we continued to pray and seek God, and sure enough the balloon fell out!! We called the birth center to let them know and with in the hour, Jennifersara's contractions began!
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Her contractions began at 1:30 pm, and immediately were 5 minutes apart lasting for more than 1 minute. In just less than 2 hours and 30 minutes her contractions had progressed to being only 2 minutes apart, and so we made our way to the Birthing Center! Contracting down the stairs, outside the car, inside the car, outside the birthing center, on the examination table.. Jennifersara was already feeling the weight of enduring through the contractions, but was determined and ready to begin. She was only 4 cm dilated upon arriving to the Birth Center, but spent the next 4 hours in the birthing tub, to which she progressed to 9 cm (1cm after the first 2 hours, and 4 cm after the next 2 hours). We then went onto the bed that was in the room, so that the midwives could put a catheter in Jennifersara to help her empty her bladder. After that... she was ready to push!
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Jennifersara remained on the bed, as even the  thought of going across the room back into the tub, seemed far too unpleasant to say the least. After about 2 hours of intense pushing, of which most of that time was getting Maceo's head to crown.. and in what literally was like 30 seconds, Maceo's head finally came out, immediately followed by his shoulders, and in a blink of an eye, his body shot out so fast that she ended up tearing slightly. Honestly if I would have blinked, I would have missed it. But there He was!! After his fast exit, he was immediately placed on Jennifersara's stomach, of which he didn't really cry, but just made a few noises. Taking everything in, he just looked around and is to this day very observant! While we enjoyed meeting our son, the midwives were tending to Jennifersara- because of her slight tear she actually ended up loosing 3x times the normal amount of blood. But after about 45 minutes, they finally got her bleeding under control and gave her a few stitches. It was a very painful process as they stopped the bleeding, but we were finally able to fully enjoy the many cuddles with Maceo until they released at about 6 am the next day! |
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8 LBS 6 OZ
20.5 INCHES
10:45 PM
JANUARY 13, 2021
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Y O U T H W I T H A M I S S I O N
For the first month, our activity in YWAM was a bit limited as most of our time was spent sharing the load and rhythm with learning to be new parents and taking care of Maceo. But we have slowly eased back into working full time again. Thankfully Aaron was able to work from home, as a lot of what he is doing at the moment is on a computer. so he has been doing what he can in helping getting the new registration system online for Homes of Hope! He has been learning a lot and is excited to continue to do further training in Salesforce! He managed to go into the warehouse at the beginning of February to make sure that everything was still in order, but mainly he made sure that at least half of the day each day he is contributing to his YWAM responsibilities; while Jennifersara waa still on her maternity leave! For the last few weeks leading up to our trip to New Jersey, Aaron was in the office every day and was joined by Jennifersara and Maceo on a few of those days which was a nice distraction! Again not a lot of fun picture-esque moments, but we are both so glad to be learning a different side of YWAM and the responsibilities of leadership.
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Y O U T H M I N I S T R Y R O L E
The church had also given us grace with the new arrival of Maceo, and communicated that they didn't expect us to continue to do the Sunday youth teaching for a few weeks. This was a huge blessings as well, as it meant one less thing we had to worry about and could focus more attention on Maceo. We did, however, still manage to write the lesson plans out for the weeks we missed and passed them on to someone who was able to teach on our behalf!! During that time Aaron was able to start on the Youth room "remodel", by painting the walls. haha. Jennifersara has a great vision for what it will be like, and so we are excited to see it come into reality! On Feb 7th we decided to go back full time with our Youth Ministry roles, which has been challenging but so good! In January we focused on the Character and Nature of God, which then led into learning about how God's identity impacts our own; and so in February we talked about our own Identity. It has been incredible to see how God has been moving through us even when we think we aren't impacting them; to hear the testimonies of their growth and confidence in who God has made them to be has been a blessing! Before we left for our trip to New Jersey, we began teaching them about worldview and absolute truth. This was all to set the foundational lenses in how we should approach the Bible; so when we get back, we will be starting a series on the Old Testament Overview - which we are super excited about!!! Jennifersara has mainly taken the lead of the youth group, and Aaron has focused more on the YWAM work. This has worked out great so far as we share the ministry load, though we both still have a foot in each ministry; but it has allowed us to use our time more effectively!
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F U N D R A I S E R
// W E A R E B O T H completely honored, humbled, and eternally grateful to be able to say that God has once again done the impossible for us!! At the beginning of December last year, we set out to raise our Entire Year's worth of Rent and Utilities so that we would be able to remain financially stable during the year. It was something that definitely called us to new levels of trusting God to provide, though we knew He could and was completely able, it is still something completely different to see it unfold before your very eyes!! Once again, God went out of His way to move a seemingly impossible mountain, just to show us how much He Loves us!!! We are proud to say and announce that God provided all the money we needed for our Rent for the entire year and then took away the need to raise anything for our Utilities! Truly Incredible! So undeserving, here we stand completely humbled by not only the Generosity of God, but also by all those who have partnered with us to see this amazing Testimony come into fruition! Truly we are forever grateful and cannot even begin to think how to fully Thank You!
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T H E F I R S T F O U R W E E K S
The first month has consisted of many sleepless nights, keeping Maceo fed and happy, changing diapers, adjusting to the new rhythm of life... and most importantly taking lots of photos!!
And I mean a lot of photos! haha. But here are a few!
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H E L L O 4 W E E K S O F P A R E N T I N G:
"I blinked and Maceo is a month old already. I truly  know now more of what it means when people say to savor and enjoy every single minute. Something that Maceo is already teaching me is the gift of just being. I don’t want to let this stage of his life fly by because I was too preoccupied by other things. I look at him and everything about him is a gift. His life, his little smile, and the tender moments in the night when Aaron and I are so beyond tired but yet we look at him and his precious little face, and all we breathe out is the words “Gift”. That’s him. Not only is the meaning of his name ‘God’s Gift’ but it’s also what his life has been to us, truly and absolutely a gift. This transition has been a little bit of a hard one as it’s a lot of firsts like becoming parents and learning how to breastfeed, but when I look up and see Aaron, and I know that God is present with us equipping and teaching, I feel courage and strength run through my veins. Some nights have been long while others go by quick. I’m grateful for all of the ups and the downs and I’m so grateful for this precious life we get to grow and show God’s character too."
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Our main Prayer request at the moment is that of a Car
Unfortunately the car that we were borrowing from my parents didn't pass the smog test, and so it could no longer be driven legally. Because of this, my parents have generously been driving us around when we needed to go for Check-ups for Maceo, or food shopping, or to work, ect. Which has been such a blessing!
However, we are in desperate need of a car.
Whether having to go to and from work, go food shopping, go to church, or simply just to get around; it is an essential need at the moment. So we would ask if you could please please be partnering with us in prayer that God would provide something for us, as we do not have the funds as of yet to be able to go out and buy one. Because of that we will be starting a fundraiser, so please be on the look out for that!
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If you have questions, would simply just like to know more about our vision and what God is doing through our lives then please contact us at:
aaron.jennifersara@gmail.com
We would love to hear from you, no matter the reason!
So please don't hesitate to send us a message!
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If you feel led or simply would just like to give towards what God is doing through us, see below for different ways in which you can partner with us!
PayPal is a direct and instant way to partner with us, however, for those seeking it we also have a Tax Deductible way as well!! Just click on one of the blue buttons below that suits you best, or you can contact us if you would like an alternative option!
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On the left, click on where it says "Choose Fund" and scroll down and click on "Missions"
A new tab will appear underneath where you can then select our name "Aaron and Jennifersara"
Enter in your details, send us a message, and you're good to go!
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We both just want to say a massive Thank You for reading our Newsletter! And to all those who have stood by us throughout our journey! It means more than you know and more than we can express! Truly Thank You for all of your prayers, your encouragement, and for your Support. We would not to be able to serve and continue to do what God has called us to, without the Amazing Community that surrounds us! You are a part of fulfilling the vision here, and are a part of every life that is impacted through us and the Ministries we are apart of!
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