This week I spoke at Dordt College, kicking off the Global Agricultural Summit they’re hosting there. 700 attendees from 25 countries converged, coming together to discuss how to grow and distribute food in a sustainable way around the globe. I showed up on Wednesday morning for a sound check, then prayed with the worship team, then was pointed in the direction of the “quiet room,” where I could pray and center before coming out on stage to do my talk.... Read more
In mid-January I learned that my grandpa, who lives in Maine, was diagnosed with Stage IV bladder cancer. The hospice doctor said he didn’t give patients timeframes. He encouraged my grandpa to just live his life and enjoy the days he had left without feeling like he was on a countdown. When my grandpa pressed him for an estimate of how much time he had left, the doctor said, “I think you’ll be around long enough to fish in the spring.”... Read more
I wrote this, from experience, for Todd DeKryger’s family and friends…..and all of you who are limping along with broken hearts. * When your heart is broken…. You feel like you can’t breathe. You can’t see one step in front of you, let alone two. You can’t envision how you’ll survive. You can’t see the future for the life of you. You can’t stop crying. You can’t imagine how you’ll hope again. You can’t believe that your future could be... Read more
I am heartbroken this morning. Todd DeKryger, a physician assistant and the medical director of the Hospital of Hope where I worked in Togo for three months last year passed away yesterday. He had malaria, and then some other infection that they could never find or treat. When his condition worsened, they arranged for him to be airlifted to a hospital in Germany with his wife, Jennifer. Shortly after he got to Germany, his conditioned got even worse, and the... Read more
I’m staying with a friend in Minneapolis for a week in between speaking engagements. Last time I was at her place, it was early January. I had spent a month with family over the holidays — resting, laughing, eating and doing very little writing or public speaking. So during my time in MN in January, I had all kinds of energy. I spent 3-4 hours each morning reading, praying, journaling, studying and writing. I was excited and inspired, and I began... Read more
This past weekend, I spoke at a large church in Milwaukee. There was a service on Saturday night, and three on Sunday morning. I showed up Saturday afternoon and set up the book table, and did a sound check and a practice run-through of my talk. Then, the stage manager took me backstage to meet the pastor who was going to be introducing me. He was at least 6’2”, and my hand disappeared in his large one when we shook... Read more
I had the privilege of speaking at Northbrook Church in Milwaukee, WI, this weekend about “Children In The Margins.” The hard truth is that in 2015, the number of children who died in the developing world under age 5 was the same as the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust (6 million.) The good news is that Compassion International is caring for these kids so we can get that number down in 2016. Here’s a link to my talk. If you’re... Read more
I spent my birthday (this past December) at a lodge in the Pacific Northwest. As I sat by the fireplace on that rainy, windy day, I set goals for myself for the upcoming year, and I started a new journal in GoogleDocs. I titled the document “Do the thing you think you cannot do,” a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt. I had a sense that the upcoming year was going to be one of choosing love over fear, courage over cowardice,... Read more
It seems fitting that the week before Valentine’s Day, I spent three days at a convent with nuns. Each morning I was there, I did a spiritual direction session with a kind Sister who was in her mid-60’s. We talked about Lent, following Jesus and being single. At one point in our conversation I may or may not have insinuated that it was harder to be a single Protestant than to be a single Catholic. Because I have essentially taken the... Read more
Yesterday I flew from Rochester to South Bend, IN, where I’m spending 3 days at a convent for a personal spiritual retreat before speaking at a college near Fort Wayne on Friday. The convent where I’m staying is a complex of buildings around a lake. The dormitory looks kind of like a nursing home — with twin-sized beds, plain bedspreads and activity rooms with institutional-looking furniture. This morning I woke up feeling tired and achy and empty. It was chilly... Read more
Sarah Thebarge
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