Update from The Sawyers!
Dear Friends and Family,
Our unplanned furlough due to the Kenyan Presidential elections has come to an end. As many of you know, we came home at the end of August to avoid the elections in Kenya. After arriving home we found out that the elections had been pushed back from the traditional time in December to March 4th, so that put us here an extra few months. The elections happened March 4th as planned and the Kenyan people did awesome! They stood in lines over a mile long in some places and waited several hours, some places over 10 hours just to vote for their next president. It was very peaceful with only 20 people losing their lives. Some people say “oh my! 20 people”! Well understand, last election almost 1200 people died and as many as 600,000 were displaced from their homelands. Currently, one of the challengers thinks there was some foul play in regards to the counting and is challenging the results. As I sit here writing this letter they are meeting in the supreme court of Kenya to determine and see if there will be another election. Please pray that the results would be received with peace.
We have enjoyed seeing many of you and speaking at several places. However, I think I can live without the snow and cold weather. I am very much ready to return home to Kenya. While being home many of our friends and church people from Kenya have stayed in touch by calling us almost weekly. It is great to hear their voices and to know that they are all doing well.
It was very encouraging to hear from them that while all 3 of us missionary families were out of the country at the same time, the church continued! People continued to come! In the past when the missionaries have left and returned there had been as much as a 50% decrease in the attendees. However, this time there has remained a steady group of people. It is awesome to see these folks grow in the Lord and want to serve Christ.
We have been packing another shipping container to send overseas. This is always exciting, scary and everything else as you put stuff you have purchased in a metal box and wonder if you will ever see it again, or once it arrives if you can afford to pay the customs on it. This container is not solely ours but has something from all of our missionaries in it. It will even Lord willing be holding the belongings of a new missionary couple that will be joining the Kenya field. Please remember Trevor and Abby Knowles as they finish up their last couple months here in the States. It is always exciting to see young couples give their lives for lifelong service to the mission field.
We are excited to get back as well because of another project we have been praying about and seeking the Lords guidance on for some time. After much prayer and thought we are excited to announce that we are hoping to break ground on a school! The school will be nursery through 8th grade. We are hoping to have the nursery and kindergarten building up by the first of January and add 2 classes a year until we reach the 8th grade. There will also need to be a kitchen dining area. This is a great opportunity to give almost 240 kids an awesome education as well as give them a Biblical foundation to grow on.
Please pray with us that the Lord will provide the funding to raise the structures. It is roughly $12,000 to build 2 classrooms. That builds them but does not furnish them. If you are interested in being a part of this with us just shoot me an email.
Travis, for the Sawyers!
Today Sarah spoke to sixty 4th graders at the local public school. She was invited to talk about her life as a Missionary kid. She had shared this previously with our church, Grace Fellowship, and did a wonderful job! We are so proud of Sarah for not shying away at sharing about her life as a MK!
Support Address:
The Master’s Mission
Travis and Laura Sawyer
P.O. Box 547
Robbinsville, NC 28771
So You Want To Be A Missionary?
Just Released! New Promotional DVD featuring The Master's Mission
So you think you've got what it takes to be a missionary? Watch and see if you want to jump in and sign up!
Link to So You Want To Be A Missionary DVD 
Active Duty Missionary
Use Your Montgomery GI Bill Benefits to Train With Us!
As a Christian in the armed forces what does Active Duty mean to you? There is no organization on earth more focused on creating and developing leaders than the US Military. Are you in the armed forces and considering your next career move? The Master's Mission is providing specific opportunites of missionary service for those servicemen and women finishing their active duty and seeking to serve Christ abroad.
Link to the GI Bill Web Site.
The Master's Seminary
Continuing Chapel Series
The Master's Seminary featured James Teasdale, TMM Executive Director and missionary to Kenya, as a part of their continuing Chapel Series.
Link to "The Mission of The Church" featuring James Teasdale 
Tactical Athlete
Recently introduced at The Master's Mission, Jeff Martone. Check out his blog!
http://tacticalathlete.com/articles/
NANC Counseling
The National Association of Nouthetic Counselors (NANC) is a fellowship of Christian pastors and laymen who have banded together to promote excellence in Biblical Counseling. Visit www.nanc.org
Friends of TMM
This book takes comes basic elements of the Christian faith including Scripture, salvation, angels, creation, the church and the end times, and shares the basics of what the Bible teaches. I wanted the book to be a solid representation of biblical truth, so I partnered with my friend, Dr. Dan Hayden, to ensure that the material was rock-solid. Dan has been a pastor for many years, speaks nationally, and writes and presents instruction on his website (www.awordfromtheword.org). With Dan's help, I believe this book accomplishes our goal - to give Believers the basic information they require to confidently live a Christian life and to be able to answer most of the questions we face as Believers.
In Kettlebell Rx, CrossFit certification instructor and world-renowned Kettlebell coach Jeff Martone teaches you how to toughen-up your body, develop unbelievable conditioning and stamina, and acquire a chiseled physique by wielding the ball of iron known as the kettlebell. Drawing on his world-wide research and the thousands of classes he has taught to athletes around the world, he breaks down kettlebell training like never before. He offers hundreds of movements, both beginning and advanced, shows dozens of the most common errors students make while training, and offers numerous workouts for athletes of all varieties. With over four thousand step-by-step photographs, descriptive narrative, and detailed programming, Kettlebell Rx is the only complete Kettlebell book on the market. (www.tacticalathlete.com)
Easily read in a day, Your Unfinished Business is for those who don't want to settle for just avoiding what's unpleasant or seeking what makes us happy. Too many advise you to resign yourself to your fate. Their message is this: You may not be able to control your circumstances, but you can control how you respond to them. Nothing could be further from the truth. You can control your circumstances. Instead of fatalistically accepting what comes your way and trying to feel good about it, you can turn your circumstances, even the unpleasant ones, into tools that can change reality. You control your circumstances the way you control something entrusted to you. That's because you have unfinished business, having been called to be a steward of your circumstances. Stewardship isn't about what you do with your money, although that's what seems to be told to us regularly. Nor is it about positive thinking. Instead, it's the only way to integrate faith into daily living, turning your circumstances into tools working toward a greater good rather than working you over. And that greater good is turning them into beacons drawing attention to the God who calls everyone to Himself. Your Unfinished Business will help you stop expecting anything from this world and take up the unfinished business of meeting this world's needs for direction, decency, and compassion at the times and places God has placed you. Sowing faith, hope, and love so others can reap truth, goodness, and mercy, you'll discover that who you are, what you know, and what you do are channels through which God touches this broken world. (www.yourunfinishedbusiness.net)
In a culture steeped in passivity and addiction, many women make horrific mistakes in the men they choose and pay dearly for it. But how does a guy learn how to be a good man? How does a woman learn to recognize him? What does manhood really look like? Chuck Holton, former Army Ranger, Adventurer and international war correspondent, has three men-in-training of his own. He also has two daughters who will need to be able to recognize a good man someday. Over a three-year period, Chuck made it his mission to nail down the facets of a fully-engaged, functional man by seeking out timeless wisdom of ancient cultures and the experience of dozens of mature men. The result is a five step curriculum that is already changing the lives of men and women around the world. It is being used by church groups, schools and even single mothers to help their sons to emulate - and daughters to identify - powerful, passionate, engaged manhood. Memorize it. Teach it to your sons and daughters. Apply its principles to your own life. The world desperately needs your help making men. (www.amazon.com/chuckholton)
The rigor of becoming an Airborne Ranger is exceeded only by the challenge of being one - but those who join their ranks find fulfillment in something bigger than themselves. In the same way, pursuing God's objectives energizes our everyday lives. Former U.S. Army Ranger Chuck Holton shows how God oversees our training and gives each of us specific skills to accomplish the mission He has for us in this great spiritual war. Riveting action and powerful vignettes offer potent spiritual ammunition for the battles of every Christian serving in God's army. Find out what it takes to be a more elite soldier. Life is combat. From the instant the alarm clock signals the beginning of your day, you’re jumping into a zone of uncertainty. Your survival depends on having a clear focus.
YOUR OBJECTIVE:
Get on mission as an elite soldier. Become part of something bigger than yourself.
Your Commanding Officer will oversee your training, honing your skills to a razor-sharp edge. God will lead you through the danger zone of today’s insecurity, equipping you to make a difference. In this riveting book, you will be issued potent spiritual ammunition for your daily battles from the perspective of a seasoned Special Operations soldier.
UNCERTAINTY IS A GIVEN. FEAR IS OPTIONAL. (www.amazon.com/chuckholton)