On July 4th, our Ministers gathered around Sara because she was faced with (but more of that later). Not even a month ago, we got the news that Poppy would no longer be working for RMI and said our goodbyes. 👋
Although both of these were unexpected, we are confident that when ministers leave, it was because most of us are passing through RMI For a REASON and For a SEASON
"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven..."
"Complete your work outside, and get your fields ready for next season; after that’s done, build your house."
What's beautiful is hearing where Sara's Husband has called her—another ministry.
Sara said, He has called me to a ministry group that shares the gospel and helps people's spiritual growth. The need in this country is huge.
Stepping into this new role is not easy. I am losing my house and need to move to another city. I will probably need to let go of my belongings as well and raise support to be able to live and do God's work. But none of this is unfamiliar to you because you have done it over and over, trusting Him even when you didn't know where He was taking you. Your testimonies were small seeds that He was sowing in my heart.
It has been a while since I felt He was calling me to something new. However, my love for the ministry didn't allow me to see what He showed me. It's a mix of excitement and difficulty in letting go.
Unfortunately, I won't be able to continue with the Ministry since there is a lot of work to be done in the field. I hope you forgive me for not sharing this earlier, but I needed time alone with Him and the courage to follow His will for my life."
YES, we are thankful Sara had the courage to follow His lead—taking what she learned here along with our love! In the emails we exchanged, Sara will be helping our transition, as I replied, "Could you help all the ministers who will be taking over your tasks? Oh, Sara, it was so beautiful watching how everyone quickly volunteered to help when they knew you needed help. The problem is—we’re concerned that we may have missed one or more of your many tasks. So if you could gather a list with links (and if there’s any instruction you could leave), that would be absolutely fantastic!!
And then Sara replied, "I will love to help with the transition and will be available to help those who will be taking over my tasks. I am confident that He will show us the best way!"
My sweet dear Sara was one of my mentors when I came to this ministry!! She was so kind, loving, and patient with me!! She trained me to become an excellent TRL!! I can just say I love you so much and I know the Lord will lead you wherever you go!! Thank you for your friendship and love!! Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me and being my big sister!!
PS: Thank you for teaching me how to clean my windows!! 💓
Oh Isabella my dear, we had a wonderful time together, it was an honor to teach and work with each of you! You all have taught me amazing things.
So glad that your windows are clean, isn’t that fun?!!! 😂
My dearest Sara, thank you for everything you taught me, thank you for your friendship and the beautiful Bride that you are. You always had so much encouragement and wisdom to share during the fellowships. I know that wherever He leads you, you will touch so many desperate hearts and win more brides for Him. He will provide and take care of you as you follow His plan for your life. And like Isabella said; thank you for sharing how to clean windows (and fridges)!!
Ahh Adina, I was encouraged by each one of you, it was such a joy to see Him changing you ladies, so glad to also learn from each one of you!!! I am laughing at all the cleaning help!! hahahah. So happy that He used my life in this way as well 🤗
Dear Sara you were the first person I met at RMI when He brought me here, I’m sad to here you go but also happy to know that you will continue His work out there. Take care dear hugs and kisses you will be missed. He will provide! Go with your Husband where He is calling to to go.
Jewel my dear, I still remember sending you that email introducing myself, I was so excited when you replied. He took us on a great adventure. Thank you so much for all your love!!
Sara my dear, seeing you go is very sad for me, but I am comforted by knowing that you are going to do what He has called you to do. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to get to know you and call you friend. There are no words to describe how I feel at this moment, but know that I wish you all the best and so many blessings for this new journey and I am hoping to read some praise reports from you so we can see how you are doing and what He is doing in your life. I love you so much. You make me think of a song I have not thought of in forever, as a child we sang a song with the words: “And friends are friends forever if the Lord is the Lord of them”
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’”
Oh Yvonne my friend, you bring tears to my eyes! Thank you for walking with me during the tough times, for teaching and helping me with so many things, for your patience, and love, and for being a friend in such times as this! Love the song you shared, and it is true: “And friends are friends forever if the Lord is the Lord of them” I can’t wait to share the new adventures that He will take me!!
Thank you for everything!!
Sara my dear, here I am with a sad heart to say goodbye to you here in the ministry, 🥲 but at the same time happy to know that you are following His lead. I sincerely hope that you walk this new path, and that the Lord’s blessings are always with you in your life.
Thank you for everything you taught me, did and helped the PTG team, thank you for always being available to teach with love and joy. 🙏❤️
May our Beloved continue to bless your life, and grant you the desires of your heart, according to his will.
We will miss you 🌷💕
Marta! Thank you so much for your kind words, I am so blessed for the opportunity to meet you and watch Him using your life to encourage many ladies in our country! Thank you!
I will miss you all 💗
Dear Sarah, I am very grateful to the Lord for your life and for the time you were here with us, helping and teaching us! I particularly learned a lot from you my dear, thank you so much for your wisdom and patience! I ask God to accompany you wherever you go, and may your life be very fruitful and blessed in this next stage!!!
Thank you so much, my dear Elisa, you were so kind and patient with me. I pray that He will continue to use your life to encourage and teach others about His love!!
Many blessings and love!! 🥰
my dearest Sara, you brought me to the translating team and it has definitely changed my life!!!❤️🌟 thank you so much my dear for all your patience and time with me 🙈😂🙈 I wish you from all my heart, all the best, many blessing and that you never lose the relationship with Him, but it grows more and more!!! much love and huge hug from me!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️💃🌟
My dear Anissa, my heart fills with love to read your comment!! I miss you very much and thank you for bearing with me and for your love and encouragement! Send my love to your children, please 🤗 😍
Dear Sara, I will miss you, I appreciate your patience, love, sweetness, and savvy. Thank you for so many things in which you trained me with such patience, you have been blessed with so many gifts! It is very difficult to say goodbye to you even though we share relatively little, I came to appreciate you a lot. I hope as Yvonne said, you share with us about your journey with Him as a missionary. This new path you are undertaking is so exciting!! Many blessings dear Sara!
Beautiful Anastasia, I will miss you too, I will always be grateful to the Lord for the opportunity of meeting you and the other ministers! Will be sharing more of what He will be doing here with you all. Thank you for your love and prayers 💖
It is with Anastasia’s permission that I am sharing our WhatsApp conversation:
[6:22 PM, 7/14/2023] Anastasia Johnson: Dear Erin… I have had you in my heart all day after the news of Sara, I have felt so much sadness for her leaving RMI… on the one hand, happiness for the call that our Beloved has made to her but on the other, sadness at having to say goodbye… I thought if I’m feeling that way, I didn’t share as much with her as you did, I think you may be feeling sad, I know your Husband comforts you, but for some reason, I wanted you to know that I’m praying for you 💗🙏
[5:59 AM, 7/15/2023] Erin Thiele: Ahhh 🥹 yes and how kind and astute you are but surely it’s because of your intimate relationship with your Husband who whispered this to you. Yes, Sara was like losing another daughter. I remember vividly when I sent Tara to go to Turkey 🇹🇷 a dangerous place for an American 🇺🇸 who’s also a Christian. Thankfully Tara loved to travel, and told her I just knew they would end up close friends. Wow, they traveled the world 🌍 together and because of Sara’s love for my daughter, I loved her even more—entirely in AWE of her talent and beauty. 💗
When my Darling Beloved removes someone I love from my life (and ministry my passion), I do my best with His help, to focus on their future and then press closer to my Darling, who assures me that the future will be bright and reminds me to trust Him.
Anastasia, may I have your permission to use your words of understanding —of course, YES—you offered me what all women need LOVING UNDERSTANDING!
So may I? As always, when anyone leaves RMI, I know I must not give way to my personal feelings but turn my attention to others who will be dealing with the loss (of friendship and practically with the burdens of losing a team member).
Sure, you can use my words. I think I understand that pain because Sara is a very talented woman and I knew that she was very close to you after the friendship that she developed with Tara. But also, she had so many gifts in the service of RMI that made her a great help to all of us. Anyway, I think my Beloved has led me to understand why since Lota left I began to feel the emptiness of those who were leaving and that is why I thought of you because you have known and shared with them for longer than me. Much love dear Erin 💖
My dear sweet Sara, I’m blessed because l got the opportunity to get to know you 💕 l remember when l 1st came to this ministry l loved and enjoyed reading your praise reports l always felt so encouraged by everything you wrote 💖 I’m sad to see you go and even tho l have not had that much interaction with you this year l will miss you 🤗 but l also know that the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. I know that He has an amazing plan for your life and the fields his sending you to 🙏 Sending all my love to you 🤗❤️ And pls like the others said, come back and share with us all that He is doing in your life so we can praise Him with you 🙌🥰
Atarah dear, thank you so much for your words, it is funny that I was the one being encouraged by what you wrote and by your journey, I will miss you too ❤️
Reality is setting in but we all know HE is using this loss for GOOD but we (your ministering team and LMFs) could use your prayers 🙏🏻 and appreciate your patience 🤗
If you have a heart to HELP to step into one of our many vacant positions Sara’s left—please let us know. If you’re an LMF or an Alumni or you’re new—each person can build a strong BODY and can make a huge impact.
Yvonne as the MD Ministry Director do you have anything to add?
Dear Erin,
Thank you for all that you have taught me over the years, and for your patience and love. I want to share that my time in RMI was preparation and training for the next call He had for me. So, I want to encourage each one of you to not be afraid to step into new tasks that He leads you to. There were challenging times and joyful times but in all of it, He had a purpose and was teaching us something new! The most important teaching that I am taking is my relationship with Him! And this is what we want for each person who comes our way, that they will also know the Love of their lives.
Thank you for everything! 💓
Beste, lieve Sara, totaal opgaand in de beproeving rond mijn zoon in de afgelopen maanden, wat ik nu zeer betreur, Heb ik dit bericht gemist. Ik zal je missen😢. Ik zou je willen bedanken dat je naar de stem van onze HH hebt geluisterd en mij bij het vertaalteam hebt gehaald. Jouw BIO was de eerste die ik heb gelezen en wat mij hoop gaf dat ik eindelijk gevonden had wat de leegte in mij kon opvullen. Mijn Geliefde💞. Dank je wel voor alle geduld en wijsheid die je met mij gedeeld hebt. Ik weet dat nu je iets anders gaat doen, je dat doet omdat je je leven volledig aan Hem hebt gegeven. Niet voor niks las ik vanochtend deze tekst en wil het graag met jouw delen. Ik hoop dat je het nog leest “but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it”. Mark 835. Ik wens jouw een zeer gezegende en krachtige tijd toe in en met alles waar de Heer je naartoe zal leiden. Ik hou van jouw mijn zusterbruid♥.
translation:
Dear dear Sara, Totally engrossed in the ordeal surrounding my son over the past few months, which I deeply regret now, Did I miss this message. I will miss you 😢. I would like to thank you for listening to our HH’s voice and bringing me into the translation team. Your BIO was the first I read and it gave me hope that I had finally found what could fill the void in me. My Beloved 💞. Thank you for all the patience and wisdom you have shared with me. I know that now that you’re going to do something different, you’re doing it because you’ve given your life completely to Him. It is not for nothing that I read this text this morning and would like to share it with you. I hope you still read it “but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it”. Mark 835. I wish you a most blessed and powerful time in and with all that the Lord will lead you to. I love you my sister bride♥.
Dear Kristine, thank you so much for your message and this beautiful verse you shared with me. I am in awe of how He used my life and hardships to encourage people. Thank you for your love, and I pray that everything is well with what happened with your son. I love you too ❤️
Good morning, I’ve got an update from our Sara. An email I was not expecting subject “Thank You!” Yet this isn’t really to me as much as it is to many of you who’ve posted your loving farewell messages to Sara. You who were quick to rally around and volunteer to take on her endless tasks to keep the Ministry going to give Sara time to seek God for His plan. The funds earned were calculated and your gift 💝 paid, received yesterday.
“ Dear Erin,
I hope you are doing well; I just want to thank you for the huge blessing that you sent me. Your generosity really touched my heart. My prayer is that He continues to touch and bless the lives of many people who come to RMI and hear the testimony of your love for Him.
Much love and Blessings,
Sara
I’m now going to send her the link to this comment and post because I don’t believe she’s aware of all the loving support and farewells from all of you. It was bittersweet 😞 moving her BIO synopsis from the https://loveatlast.org/ministry-team/ to https://loveatlast.org/ministry-team/alumni/
Nevertheless my Husband, YOUR Husband has assured me constantly as He has consistently been filling the huge gaping voids from her extensive RMI positions that He promised to use this for GOOD because we love and adore Him and forever will be called according to His perfect purpose.
💗💝💗💝💗
Thank you so much Erin for sharing the link with me. I have no words to thank each of you for your love and encouraging words!! I was blessed to meet you all, to work with you, and to walk together over the years. My prayer is that your lives will continue to bless others as they blessed me!
Thank you, ladies, love you all very much!!!