Testimonies: Sara

I was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, into a family of true Christians. I was in church every Sunday from a very young age.

After church one Sunday when I was five, I asked my father how I could be saved. He shared Ephesians 2:8 and 9 with me. "For it is by grace have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." He also shared other verses. Then there in my parents bedroom, kneeling beside their bed at the age of five, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.

In junior high a man from ABWE, Harold Amstuts, came and spoke at a mission's conference at the church that we were attending, First Baptist Church of Hastings, Michigan. I can not remember what was his topic, but I do remember the closing. As we were ending, he asked, "If you would like to give your life to missions, stand up now." I was sitting in the front middle section with my parents, and I stood up. He then asked the question that was even more life changing for me, "If the parents of those children standing would be willing to let them go to the mission field, would you stand up?" My parents both stood beside me that day in church. What a support their commitment was and still is!

I went through some difficult times in High School. It was a wrestling with my life and my will and not wanting the Lord rule my life. After High School, I attended Cedarville University. My first few weeks on campus were life changing. At the Fall Bible Conference, I surrendered my life again to do whatever the Lord wanted me to do. I remember clearly the feelings of giving up control.

Although I had truly felt that I had given everything back to God, I remember thinking, "But surely this doesn't mean that He would want me in full time ministry." I didn't feel qualified or gifted in full time ministry. I couldn't play the piano or sing so surely that gave me an exemption from full time service.

After my first year at Cedarville, I went on a short term missions trip to South Africa. It was during that time that the Lord worked on my heart and gave me a heart for missions, Durban, and for our team leader, Bobby Hile. We returned to South Africa the next summer for another missions trip and Bobby asked me to be his wife.

We were married in June 1991 and I finished my last year at Cedarville University and graduated with a BA in Elementary Education in June 1992. We attended ABWE's candidate class just after I graduated, were appointed and returned "home" to South Africa in April 1994.