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Sarah Dobrin
 Sarah invited Christ into her life at a weekly Child Evangelism Bible Club that she attended when she was in elementary school. Little did she know or understand, but it was through many shaping experiences as a young girl that Jesus had a hand on her life and was revealing Himself to her in so many different, yet tangible ways. As a young child, Sarah was a part of a small church that was like an extended family. At that time her family lived in an apartment complex with people who came from all over the world, and Sarah was introduced to different languages, food, and cultures. The family frequently visited a Cambodian neighborhood where Sarah was able to meet children her own age who were in greater need than she was. Sarah’s family also visited an Alzheimer ward at the VA hospital near our home. These childhood experiences served to shape Sarah’s understanding of God as One who loves all people, and who invites people from every tongue, tribe and nation to enter into worship and life with Him.
Even with these experiences, Sarah’s high school years were filled with an ongoing obsession with soccer and focusing on herself. In her junior year, God allowed a soccer injury to keep her from playing soccer for an entire year. It was during that year that Sarah was forced to be alone, quiet, and immobile. In moments of quietness and stillness during that year, she began to hear God speak to her in new ways. This experience of being immobile thrust her into a closer walk with Jesus.
After a nomadic college experience, spending time in Santa Barbara; San Francisco; Wenham, Massachusetts; and Lima, Peru; and studying Spanish, sociology and social work, it was revealed to Sarah that God was calling her to Peru.
While in college, Sarah was introduced to an organization called Word Made Flesh, whose staff minister to marginalized people all over the world. While spending four months in Peru, she spent time with the Word Made Flesh community. Through her experiences in Peru and with Word Made Flesh, she met Jesus in a new way. It was through the brokenness of people that Sarah had met and befriended on the streets of Peru, that Jesus ministered and showed her her own desperation and brokenness before Him.
Sarah joined and then spent two years (2002-2004) in Lima, with the Word Made Flesh community, taking part in helping to create and administer a social work program at the day center called “House of Job”. Together, staff and volunteers visit youth on the streets two evenings a week. These are times of worship, beauty, joy, sorrow, brokenness, and suffering. They are filled with realities that are humanly impossible to repair or change. They are filled with God’s grace and mercy to sustain, give and provide.
Towards the end of Sarah’s two year commitment, it was clear that she would need to return to the U.S. for a solid time of rest, reflection and reevaluation of ministry, as she returned home weathered, withered, and exhausted. While in Lima, it was as if Sarah had been trying to run a sprint, while God was asking her to participate in a marathon.
During 2005, through health issues, emotional pain and a lot of amazing healing, Sarah began to gather a new understanding of God and how He longs to minister to us, through his son Jesus Christ. Through love, encouragement and the prayers of the CPC church body, Sarah began to search the Gospels for how Jesus walked this earth and how he related to his Father. Once again, she began to see her need for quiet and rest before such a loving and caring Father. Through this, Sarah has a new perspective on what it means to serve God, and minister His grace and love to others, knowing God longs for us to receive the same from Him and from His Body.
During this extended time of rest, reflection and learning, God has called Sarah back to Peru in a new way. As she has lived and experienced life as a missionary where desperate needs are constant, her passion for encouraging those who serve has grown. Sarah has returned to Lima in the role as community care facilitator for the Word Made Flesh staff in Peru. This new role entails many different avenues of support, but mainly is focused on being an encourager, facilitator and example of making healthy life choices – spiritually, physically and emotionally. She is continuing her ministry among the youth on the street, but in a less structured manner.
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