08.09.08

Since May I've been interning with my church. My role was to help plan and promote this conference that we hosted. I have never felt as stretched as I did these past two days, when we hosted the conference I had been working on for months. It was a huge two days for me. God confirmed His desire for me to be at this church. I left a church I absolutely love, a church I really miss, a church that I thought I would be at for decades, all because I heard God say follow me to this church. This church, a church I had never wanted to go to, a church I didn't even like, a church that I didn't feel like I could grow at. It was a painful process, many times I would talk about it and just start crying. But I obeyed and I trusted that God knew where He wanted me. About a week after I made the switch, I was offered this internship. I took it, because I believe that when God calls me somewhere, He doesn't just call me to sit in a chair every Sunday. So I went from new attendee to intern in just a few weeks. And I am so glad I did it. Even though I spent my summer super busy, stressed out and not really liking my assignments for my internship, these past two days have made it so worth it. I went from a bad attitude on the first day to really loving serving on the second day. I was able to see how some of the people who came were deeply impacted, moved and inspired to really go after God. That was enough for me. If one person was changed and drawn toward the feet of Jesus, this summer has been more than worth it. I was so blessed to have this opportunity, I got to know so many of the staff and some really cool volunteers. I learned to truly submit even I don't understand and I really don't feel like it. All through the conference God has been challenging me with words He spoke to me when I was in DC. I was admiring the World War II memorial when He said,"Katie, are you willing to sacrifice for Me, even when no one notices, when no one shows gratefulness for your work, when no one else will even know of your sacrifice except Me?" I had to really struggle to live up to that these past two days. I had to constantly ask God to keep my mind and heart focused on Him. God is so good and He definitely honors your place of sacrifice. He honored mine when I left my old church, He honored mine when I gave up a not so busy summer to take this internship. The faithfulness He shows to His people is crazy amazing. Living in His will is not always fun but it does always draw you closer to the heart of your Father. And that's all I ever want.

orlando :)

orlando :)
i got back last sunday night from a ministry trip with my college ministry to orlando. all i can say is wow. we met so many people, did so many things, in three days that i have never felt such a strong pull into ministry as i do now. it made me look at the ways i serve right now and want to do them so much better. getting a chance to talk with the founders of many of the ministries we worked with made me want to pour out my life in serving others everyday.
we got to talk to a woman who was a missionary in panama with ther husband back in the early 90s. they were only there for a few months when Colombian rebels stormed her house and took her husband, along with two other missionaries, into the jungle. they were never seen again. she talked about her crisis of faith. a huge crisis of faith. they were serving God, they were doing God's work, so why had God allowed her life, her future, her family and her ministry to be torn apart? she talked about how she dealt with finding out he was dead and how he died. sitting next to a woman with such great faith was really amazing. when i first saw her, i never would have guessed the story she had to tell, what she has lived through. she said her biggest lesson was realizing that God's love was bigger than her circumstances. circumstances do not change God's love.
we worked with a ministry that works with inner city kids. i'll be the first to admit that i am not too gifted in working with large groups of children but i had fun. i loved the way the volunteers spoke of the children and the love and dedication they showed every week.
that same day we worked with a church that helps rebuild a poverty filled part of Orlando. i was on the team that got to go to every jobsite and see what they needed. in the process of going to the jobsites, we got to hand out the leftovers from the lunch the volunteers got. i talked to prostitutes and little kids. it was quite possibly the coolest thing ever! i got to meet a pastor of a church that was starting the next day and his love for the area was so evident. he never wanted to start a church on 18th street but God had other plans. he was praying and God said that He didn't want another church on 18th street, He wanted THE church on 18th street. what a way to end our time with that church group.
those are just a few of the many things i got to do and be a part of in orlando. and i get to go serve in d.c. in less than a month! i'm so excited and i definitely can't wait to see what God is going to do!

Peru!

I am in love with Peru...totally. Even though this trip was through school, I kept praying that God would break my heart for the people of Peru and use this experience to do change me. We went into the favellas (the shantytowns) of Lima, the capital city. For miles all around, all I could see were these little huts side by side. I could not forget that those tin roofs represented families who were living in extreme poverty. As we were driving up the mountain, driving through the shantytowns, I saw something that I had not expected. There was this huge cross at the very top of the mountain, at the top of the favellas. I started to realize, to remember, that in this seemingly hopeless place, God is still there. God has not forgotten them, God hears every cry of those beautiful babies that I fell in love with, God cares about their every need. You know how I know He cares? Because He absolutely broke my heart as I saw the poverty and as I stood at the top of the mountain next to that cross. I felt convicted, I could not help but wonder where the church is in all this, where I was in all this. How often do we build monuments to our experiences with God and just stop there? I know God didn't let me go to Peru for no reason. When will we let our experiences with God move us to action in order to bring the Kingdom down to earth? When is the church going to start to live up to its calling? God does not call us to something we cannot attain or accomplish, He'll provide whatever we need. We need to begin to look at our calling as the measure of our potential. When will that cross become food, become blankets, become water for the millions crying out to a higher power everyday? We need to take this cross, this love, that we claim to believe in, and do something about it. Let's make the love of God tangible. The bride of Christ should do no less. I decided to do something about what I saw, I'm sponsoring a child through Compassion. Her name is Maricarmen, she's 15 and I'm so excited to be helping her, praying for her and writing letters to her! So that's what I'm doing and I could not feel more blessed to be given this opportunity :)