Sarah McKendree

I was raised in a Christian home. My parents taught me from a young age to serve the Lord. For a long time, I thought I had gotten saved when I was 4 years old. As I became older, I started having doubts about my salvation. I couldn’t remember asking Jesus into my heart. When I would start doubting, Satan would remind me that I must have gotten saved. After all, I could remember being baptized!

One Sunday when I was 11 years old, my Pastor preached a message about people who were members of the church, but you wouldn’t meet them in Heaven because they were not saved. I felt the Holy Spirit convicting me and telling me that the message was for me. All I could think at the time was, “How does Preacher know I’m not saved?” I didn’t want to go forward during the invitation – what would everyone think? Fear of going to Hell overcame my pride and I went forward. My Preacher’s wife showed me from the Bible how I could know for sure I was going to Heaven. That morning I prayed and asked Jesus to live in my heart. Now I know for sure I am on my way to Heaven!

The summer I was 13 years old, I went to church camp. I don’t remember any of the messages from that week, but God spoke to my heart about surrendering to be a missionary. I went forward the following Sunday, and made it public that I was surrendering my life to be a missionary.

After I graduated from high school, I went to Oklahoma Baptist College. It was not until after I graduated from OBC in May 1997, that the Lord showed me the next step in His plan for my life. After counseling with my Preacher, Bro. Vineyard, I started deputation to raise support to go to the Philippines. I arrived in the Philippines on August 4, 1999. For 7 ½ years, God allowed me to work with the Sisson Family in General Santos City, Mindanao, Philippines.

While I was home on furlough in 2004, I met Matt. I did not know then that he was the man God had chosen for me to marry. I returned home to the Philippines, never dreaming of the plans God had in store for me! In November 2005, God showed me that I should be praying for Matt as my future husband! I was rather shocked, since I had been praying about someone else! I began praying for Matt, but he did not know.

When I returned to the States again in 2006, I saw Matt again while I was in Oklahoma City. He invited me to go with him and our Deaf Group to a baseball game on July 4. Not knowing that he had been praying about me, I agreed to go! Before church the next evening, Matt asked me to pray about allowing him to court me. Imagine the shock on Matt’s face when I told him I had been praying for him since November, so if he was asking the answer was yes!

On August 10, 2007, we were married in my home church in Lovington, New Mexico. God had already called Matt to be a missionary to the Deaf in Peru. When I started praying for Matt, God burdened my heart also for the Deaf in Peru. I am excited about serving the Lord with Matt to reach the deaf in Peru.

God used the years I spent in the Philippines to prepare me to live in Peru. During our survey trip in January 2008, God knit my heart to the people of Peru. I am looking forward to the day when we can go to stay in my new home of Peru.

Most people never get to live in and serve the Lord in one foreign country. How privileged and honored I feel that God would allow me to live in and serve Him in two different countries!