Teammate Spotlight: Sarah M. Koshiol

Resides In: Rogers, Minnesota

Before NET: Graduated from Rogers High School, very involved in her church community at St. Michael, has wanted to do NET since her freshman year of high school.

First Encounter: Right after Team Announcement Night, when we were walking to our team meeting spot, I ran into her and introduced myself. My teammate from last year, Monica, who was in the same Camp Wapo small group as Sarah, said nothing but great things about her, hence I had big expectations of her.

Initial Thoughts: She seems very quiet and passive, but also I feel she is definitely not truly either of those things once you get to know her... I ended up being very right.

(Left) At some point in October, I asked her in the van what is something interesting she naturally does, and she responded with "the Flamingo". Turns out when she is hanging out, she'll rest her leg on her knee like a flamingo, which I never noticed until after I asked her. It's a very fun niche, and it became very iconic. I was also very proud because I was the first to notice it. The picture taken was at the Baton Rouge Zoo in January, and when we saw flamingos, she knew what to do. (Right) Thanksgiving Bingo at the Ellis' house! And our only photo of just us haha, it's a great picture though! Sarah, despite her quiet demeanor, is ultra competitive in any games we play. Although she is competitive, she is a great sport about it, and I really appreciated that.

Favorite Memory: A few come to mind, but I love watching The Chosen with her. She actually introduced me to the show with her Chosen long-sleeve shirt, and I watched it over winter break, and we referenced it every now and then. When season 2 premiered on Easter Sunday, we watched the first episode together the day after, then watched episode 2 on our retreat off together a couple weeks later. It was a very great thing to bond over, and I'm grateful for it.

Something Sarah taught me: The power of prayer. Our first deep conversation was about prayer, where she talked about how throughout high school, she would pray every day, and by her senior year was praying three hours a day, and found many revelations in prayer. Her relationship with Christ was the first thing I truly admired about her, and it inspired me to dive deeper into my relationship with Jesus, especially at home where it is most difficult for me personally. She taught me it was very possible, and I have been able to live out a life of prayer since being home. Praise God!

What the world should know about Sarah: She is incredible at ministry. By the end of the year, she had 5 different talks approved, and was giving talks on retreat at least once a week. She always had a great attitude, shared great insight on retreat, which she took from her strong prayer life, and absolutely loved leading retreats. Furthermore, she opened up so much throughout the year. She started out very quiet and shy, but she opened up more and more to the team every day, and we got to experience her beauty in fullness by the end of the year. She is extremely funny, very attentive, and very joy-filled. Oh, and get this woman a Wendy's Frosty, stat.

What’s next?: Sarah will be doing a second year with NET! It's not a surprise she is doing another year, and I'm super excited for her next team.

To Sarah:

Friend! I am so thankful for you. Thank you for being a part of this team and a part of my life. Thank you for committing yourself to our friendship, especially the second half of the year, where we worked and fought hard for things to work out. We may be complete opposites in personality, but we still wanted a friendship, and we made it happn. Know always of my prayers for you, especially as you go into a second year of NET, and remember you always got a friend up here in the Pacific Northwest. Love you, sista!