traveling with Jesus

Dusty Barren Land

2011-12-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

Rain.
It is good for my soul.
I love it.
It feels like home.
It puts a smile on my face.
Yup, even in the perpetually rainy Pacific North West.

I love the sound of rain.
I love falling asleep to it. Or waking up to it.
I love hearing it on a metal roof.
I love a glorious torrential downpour.
I love the warm rain in Uganda.
I love that magical misty rain in WA.
And puddle jumping? OH SO MUCH FUN.
Especially in my cute polka dot rain boots!
And dancing in the rain? it's the best.

See, what's fantastic is that rain brings life. You can see it in the incredible green-ness of western WA.
And thus, lack of rain brings death. As I see daily in dry, dusty, drought-ravaged east Texas.
You see, here we haven't had enough rain in a looong time. Dead trees. Dead leaves. Dead Cows.

but do you know what else is utterly amazing about rain?
God says that is what His Word is like!
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." -Isaiah 55:10-11

Now, when it rains, things always get wet. Everything. The ground soaks up the water, the plants drink it, and everything turns lush and green and happy. Why? Because we need water to have life!

Do you know what else is true? We need God's word to have life! We need Him, desperately. He is our love, He is our life, He is our Lord. Without Him we are dead. And so, when I don't have enough of Him in my life, when I am not spending enough time soaking up in His word, I start to see dead patches in my heart. The leaves turn brown, the grass gets crunchy, and I start to look and feel haggard. God's word brings me life, it reveals to me more of what He is like, so I can fall more and more in love with God and know HIm better and better. Which the Bible says is life in John 17:3.

Also, God says His word is like snow.
Snow inspires wonder. It makes us giddy with delight.
We love snow. We sing songs about it. We pray for it at Christmas. We make paper cut-outs of it and tape them to our windows.
God's word is like that too.
It should inspire wonder. not just at the words, but at the Speaker, Himself.
Seeing who God is, hearing what He's done, and how much He loves us, should make us giddy with delight.
In Psalm 119:103 it is declared that God's words are sweeter than honey!
I want a love like this. I want to love God and His word this way.
It's not always easy.
Believe me, when reading the Bible is your homework, it can sometimes be difficult to engage your heart.
I want to declare that I love you, Lord, and this love is worth the work and the fight and the everyday ordinary moments.
So...
"Let it rain, let it pour, what we have is worth fighting for!"

Constant.

2011-12-10T11:18:00.000-08:00

This was one of my homework questions today. And I was overwhelmed by it. So I thought I'd share my answer.

48. Discuss the interaction you've had with the providence and sovereignty of God in your life. How has God directed you, how have you responded? If you feel you screwed it up do you believe God is creative enough to use it in the best way?

My lanta. Uhh.. I wasn’t aware you wanted us to write an autobiography for a homework question. ☺
Welcome to my life. God’s providence and sovereignty? Constant. Everywhere. In Everything. In the face of the darkest darkness I could ever imagine? Absolutely.

Honestly, I could write for hours, hundreds of pages. God is faithful; He never abandons me. I could talk for hours about everything I have seen God do in my life. Just thinking about it is moving me to tears. He is so good.

I have seen God’s providence in the little things, like cars.
I have seen His providence in the big things like family and guiding me all over the world.
I have seen it in terrible tragedy.
I have seen it in glorious joy.
I have seen the providence of God in more incredible friendships than I can number.
I have seen it in financial provision, in His comfort on a rainy night.
I have seen it in the moon and the stars and felt in the joy of a smile that just can’t stop, a heart that is overflowing with joy that moves me to do happy dances all over the place, and the kind of laughter that you just can’t stop, and leaves you with sore abs afterwards.
I’ve seen it in a taxi that came along in the middle of a monsoon on a random dirt back road in the middle of a Ugandan village.
I’ve seen it in a kindergarten class in a small Christian school in East Texas that once terrified me, who ended up stealing my heart.
I’ve seen it everywhere: in my life, in the lives of friends & family, in the lives of random strangers.
All in all, I can say this: God’s providence is constant.

up to date!

2011-12-06T14:38:00.001-08:00

Oh me, oh my.
Once again, I have completely neglected this blog.
My apologies.
Life has been crazy. If I ever thought it was crazy before, I had no idea!
Let's see...
I am 3 days and 1 exam away from being a Latin teacher for an entire semester.

Some of my students performing a skit in Latin. It's about beards. :)

Which is crazy. I am so stretched and challenged in more ways than I could ever imagine, every single day in the classroom. It is a time for me to learn grace, to learn to lean on God, and to walk humbly before everyone, including my students. I feel like I am constantly making mistakes, some with the actual language work, and some with the teaching, which is hard. However, I am definitely learning 1,000 ways NOT to teach Latin, as well as few ways to actually teach Latin. I do have some consolation in that my students actually know more Latin than they did at the beginning of the year, so we are actually learning! Yippee!

Last month I went on a week-long pastoral outreach in Michigan!

Jess & I at an amazing coffee shop called Lemonjello! :D
It was amazing. I got to visit my lovely lovely friend Jessica and work with her church. Having been on staff at a similar-size church previously, it was very cool to see how another church did things. I learned a lot and got to work with amazing people! And on either end of this outreach, I got to stop in Chicago and spend time with my wonderful friend Brian who is attending school at Wheaton College. The whole thing was amazingly divinely orchestrated and filled my soul to the full. Oh, it was glorious. :D

Brian & I at the Bean in Chicago!

School of the Bible itself has been great. We have excellent teaching and I am learning to see God in a whole new way. He is so incredibly gracious and loving and kind.
Last week and this week we've been tackling the Nature of God, which primarily has had to do with God's foreknowledge. It's intense to say the least. We've been examining different views of what it means that God is all-knowing and the implications of each view. My brain hurts constantly. But it's been a time to really ask the hard questions and find out if my thinking lines up with what the Bible expresses on the issue.
Looking Ahead:

OUTREACH!
We've got two more outreaches in this school! And I am excited for both of them.

THe next one is coming in March. We'll spend a week doing teachings and working with local ministries.
We were just presented with location options yesterday, so I am still praying through them.
our choices?
-Houston, TX
-Florida
-Mexico

And... our main outreach in July?

I am going to ZAMBIA! That's right, folks, my return to Africa is imminent!
:D
Also, I am tacking on a 2.5 week trip to South Africa to visit a friend and check out ministry opportunities.
Hooray!!
So.. I'll be spending 6.5 weeks in Africa this summer. Woot Woot!

And...
We'll be doing the Proverbs Project
which is a scientific inductive study of the book of Proverbs.
Before Christmas break.
Oh my.
I am excited.
It will be crazy.
But I know I am going to learn heaps!

Hooray! Christmas Break! I CANNOT WAIT to come home to the glorious PNW and see my wonderful family and friends. :D

A Tail of Two Goats

2011-10-19T18:27:00.001-07:00

We were given an assignment to tell the events of Leviticus 16 (The Day of Atonement) in story form.

Behold, I give you:
A Tail of Two Goats By John Martindale, Rachel Kelley, & KatiRose Johnston
*Note: this story may be a bit irreverent at times, but we believe in a God who laughs :)

Once upon a time, in a land sort of far away, there lived two goats: Mahli and Mushi. These were no ordinary goats, pecked at by chickens or chased by the dogs, they were pampered goats, who oft lunched on their master Aaron’s linen underwear.

  Mahli & Mushi were not the only animals of the house; they had a good friend, Bartholomew the bull. He loved to eat grass, swat flies with his tail, and in his eyes there dwelt a certain type of rage and fire, more blazing than Bob the other Bull. One day Mahli & Mushi observed something most disconcerting: their master came out, quite in a tizzy, and took Bartholomew the bull away. They heard him murmur under his breath, “Lest I become BBQ, like my sons became BBQ, I will take the bull instead of me.”

  Many minutes passed restlessly, until Aaron, their master, returned. Bartholomew was nowhere to be seen, and Aaron’s previously spotless white garments were stained a shocking shade of crimson. Suddenly, Mahli had an epiphany. He turned to Mushi and eloquently waxed: “Roses are red, violets are blue, our master came home without Bartholomew.” Mushi responded, “What could this mean? What did he do? Could this be the end of me and you?” Then Aaron walked to the corner of house, and away scampered a scared little mouse. With one fell swoop he grabbed the dice. The goats mused, “this could be nice. Perhaps, this could mean games and fun.” But his face turned solemn and he said, “My dear little goats, come.“  

He lead them to the Tent of Meeting where scared little sheep could be heard bleating. And he took up the dice in his hand, and let them fall into the sand. As they fell, and he saw them lay, his gaze turned Malhi’s way. 

As they trudged along, something frightening came into view: a bull roasting, it looked like a giant BBQ. Petrified, he wondered within, could this be Bartholomew, who paid the price for my master and his kin? And onward his master walked, until at the Ark of the Covenant they stopped.  

And his master slowly pulled from his side a knife. It glimmered in the candlelight. And upon the ground, he took a knee. And said, with tears in his eyes, “Malhi, I am so sorry. The Israelite people have made lots of mistakes. They’ve rebelled against the Lord and profaned His name. They have prostituted their hearts with idolatry to the golden calf, which “accidentally” came out of the fire I kindled; thus, the BBQ. So God has chosen you, to make these people holy, to wipe their slate clean, and be foreshadowing of the greatest thing mankind has ever seen. This is a picture of One’s who coming as a sacrifice once and for all. So that goats like you won’t have to take the fall. Then, grievously, Aaron put the knife to his throat. And that was the end of Malhi the goat. His blood was poured upon the alter, he paid the momentary price. But unfortunately there was more to this sacrifice.

Mushi, saw his master returned, and once again wondered what could be the meaning. Where was his friend? Would this bloodbath ever end? Bewildered, he looked into Aaron’s eyes, sure that his fate would soon include his demise. What happened next was much to his surprise. As his master laid his hands upon his head, the confessions he heard filled him with dread. Aaron spoke of every imaginable heinous, abhorrent, detestable, nefarious, odious, atrocious, flagrant, villainous and pernicious act that could be done. From the least to the greatest, sin was partaken in by everyone. What was to be done? Aaron lifted his hands and ushered him away into a room where the chosen man bathed. “Get out of the tub, there’ s no longer any need to scrub. You’re clean! Now take this goat far away to the wastelands, nevermore to be seen”. So they journeyed over the hills and far away, around the bushes, and past stacks of hay, until no house or vineyard could be seen, they even crossed a great ravine. With the chosen one no longer in sight, Mushi realized the magnitude of his plight. Forlorn, he wandered aimlessly, and turned and tossed, he knew that he was desperately lost. Thus he carried their sins far, far away, into the setting sun and the end of the day.

So, children, when you’re tempted to sin, remember the predicament Mushi the goat is in.

Why?

2011-07-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

"I thought you wanted to go to Africa. Why are you going to spend another year in Texas?"

Good question.

"Those five reasons you're excited about SOTB sound great, but pretty personal-growth centered. How is this missions? Where does this fit into your vision for missions in the future?"

Also good question.

Answer:

First off, here's my vision: To disciple nations through the education of children
(Yes, those nations are hopefully African ones, but if God calls me somewhere else, I am not saying I won't go :) )

That's a big vision.

In Uganda the greatest need I saw within the church was the need for good discipleship. There are so many people who have such passion for serving and following Jesus, which is awesome! However, there is a HUGE LACK of good teaching, and of sound doctrine. Many pastors have never really learned how to study the Bible. Tradition, weird theology, and beliefs from past tribal religions have been mixed together. A Biblical view of God's nature and character is ESSENTIAL for right relationship with Him.

Children are the most receptive age group to the Gospel. 80% of people who come to Christ do so before the age of 12. Long-term they are the most effective to disciple as well, as they have their entire life ahead of them! They can meet Jesus at a young age and choose to follow Him, making wise decisions as they grow avoiding so much unnecessary baggage and heartache. Also, I absolutely ADORE children and have been blessed to already spend so many years teaching them about Jesus.

Education? Math, Reading, Spelling, Science kind of school? Yes! Why?
Do you know how many hours a week children are in school?
6 hours a day x 5 days a week = 30 hours of influence per week.
30 hours per week x 31 weeks of school = 930 hours of influence in 9 months.

Wohoo! Now can you imagine if children spent those 930 hours learning not only how to read, write, reason, do arithmetic, and science, but seeing God as the author of each subject? If each day, in each subject they saw how it revealed WHO GOD IS (aka His character and nature)? What if the motivation for going to school wasn't just so you didn't end up flipping burgers for the rest of your life, but to know God and love Him more and to be more like Him? Sound impossible? It's not. That's the kind of school I got to student teach Kindergarten in last year, and where I'll get to teach Latin this year!

So, how does School Of The Bible (SOTB) fit into all of this?
If I want to be a teacher in a school that aims to base every subject on the truths of God's Word, and reveals His character and nature, I'd better have a solid, Biblical understanding of God's nature and character, and a solid knowledge of how to study the Bible and interpret things IN CONTEXT!

If I am called to disciple others, I'd better make sure that my own foundation is secure and surely founded on the Word of God. I had better make sure that my vision of God is correct, before I say "follow me as I follow Christ".

Doctors need years and years of training before they fully begin their work. Why would missionaries, who are doing a job that is just as important, think that they need hardly any training? I want to be the most effective and successful that I can when I finally am back in Africa (or wherever). I want to be trained well, and this is an EXCELLENT place to be trained.

As a bonus, I get tons of extra teaching experience and an opportunity to put this whole Biblical foundation of education into practice!

Any more questions? I am happy to answer them!

Excitement. :D

2011-07-20T09:47:00.000-07:00

I'm excited. So, so, so excited!

Why?

Because of this next season of my life, this next new adventure.

School of the Bible.

ahh.. just saying it sends shivers all through me. :)

Here are 5 reasons why:

#1 I am stoked for excellent teaching. We get to learn about and discuss all sorts of amazing topics: the character and nature of God, Hermeneutics (how to study the Bible), Homiletics (how to teach & preach effectively), the nature of sin, the atonement, Old Testament history, New Testament history, and all sorts of other wonderful things. Being privy to many mealtime discussions with SOTB students from last year only whetted my appetite. It is going to be amazing. And this school has been running for something like 20 years. And other schools in other nations have been built off this model. It's incredible.

#2 I am excited to build a solid, Biblical foundation in my life. Over the years I've had excellent teaching and discipleship from a variety of people and ministries, and I am so thankful for it. But, I've never had any formal training on how to really study the Bible. And I've seen firsthand the transformation that comes from the result of digging so deep into the Word all the time. I know that I have areas in my life that need to be built up Biblically and so I am so excited for that to happen.

#3 I can't wait to jump into this time, because I know that it will totally blow my view and understanding of God wide open. I cannot wait to know Him more and love Him more than I ever have before. After all, "The end of all learning is to know God, and out of that knowledge to love and imitate Him."

#4 I get to learn to teach adults. Currently, teaching adults absolutely terrifies me. Give me children and tell me to teach them just about anything, and it will be a piece of cake. Tell me to teach adults almost anything, and I'll be shakier than a patriotic jello mold (ironic, as that was part of my final project presentation last year (to a bunch of adults) and I'm pretty sure I never stopped shaking.) This year in SOTB, I'll have to do at least 3 major teachings for my class, and then on our outreaches (yes, a total of 3: Two 1 week in the US, then a 1 month overseas outreach) I'll be doing hours and hours of teaching. Terrifying, and yet exciting. Wohoo. Growth!

#5 I get to be a real teacher. Yes, it's true. On the YWAM campus is a K-12 School (with about 150 students) where I got to be a student teacher last year. It's called Christian Heritage School. And you're looking at the new 8th Grade Latin teacher. I am so excited to get to put into practice all the things I learned last year in my teacher training. This is such a great place to be a first year teacher, as I am under the mentorship of incredibly talent teachers who have been teaching for years. It's going to be a huge challenge, but I am so excited.

and there you have it... 5 reasons I'm beyond stoked for this next school.

Ready... Set... SOTB!

2011-07-10T21:16:00.000-07:00

SOTB.

That stands for School Of The Bible.

it's 11 months long.

It's in Tyler, Texas (where I was last year for TFN)

and it's what I am doing next.

and it's going to rock my world.

Oh, so excited.

I'll be posting more about it soon.. so stay tuned.

But for now...

You can read more about the details and specifics here.

and here are a couple of videos:

After the Storm

2011-07-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

this is an excerpt from a song that has become very near and dear to my heart. It's called "After the Storm" by Mumford and Sons. And it's delightful. To me, this speaks hope. It speaks life. I think of that moment after a long hike, when you reach the crest of the hill and you see an incredible view. Yes, I believe that for this season of my life. I must be near the top of this hill. I've caught a glimpse of the view, and it takes my breath away. I am headed to a good land with my Love. It does not mean that nothing bad will ever happen again. On the contrary, I know that there are storms and battles, probably ones greater than I can imagine, that await me. But, I will walk on, walk on, walk on, for He is with me. He is faithful. And because of Him, I can live my life with "grace in my heart and flowers in my hair". Yum.

listen to this piece of beauty right here:

Favorite

2011-07-08T16:24:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite quotes ever. It was written by William Bradford, the Governor of the Pilgrims (from Plymouth, in 1620).
In case it's been a while since you've pondered it, the journey that they took was incredible. and ridiculous. They had already been driven from their homes, imprisoned, and barely escaped to Holland. After 10 years there, working back breaking labour, they realized that this was not the place they were called to be. They dreamed of a land where they could be truly free to worship God freely, and do what was right by their conscience. And God called them to it. Their journey was insane. Across the Atlantic ocean in a tiny boat in stormy weather. And when they finally reached their destination (which, actually, they landed hundreds of miles north of where they intended to land) no one was waiting for them. They were starting from scratch. In this Bradford tells what the Pilgrims told the neigh-sayers in Holland. And it has become great encouragement and inspiration to me. So.. here you go!

It was answered, that all great and honorable actions are accompanied with great difficulties, and must be both enterprised and overcome with answerable courages.

It was granted the dangers were great, but not desperate; the difficulties were many, but not invincible.

For though there were many of them likely, yet they were not certain; it might be sundry (many) of the things feared might never befall; others by Provident care and the use of good means, might in a great measure be prevented; and all of them, through the help of God, by fortitude and patience, might either be borne or overcome.

True it was, that such attempts were not to be made and undertaken without good ground and reason; not rashly or lightly as many have done for curiosity or hope of gain.

But their condition was not ordinary; their ends were good and honorable; their calling lawful and urgent; and therefore they might expect the blessing of God in their proceeding.

Yes, though they should lose their lives in this action, yet might they have comfort in the same, and their endeavors would be honorable.

TFN Grad Speech

2011-06-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

I spoke at my graduation from Teachers For The Nations (TFN). Here's what I said:

I came to TFN expecting to be trained to be a teacher. I figured I'd learn things like classroom management and curriculum development from a Christian perspective and we'd talk about the importance of education in transforming communities and that would be it. Ha ha ha. Little did I know I was coming to a school that would challenge me in every possible way and teach me how to think Biblically. I did learn about classroom management and curriculum development, but I learned so much more than that. I learned that education and all transformation all has to start with the individual. And consequently I became a much stronger individual. I learned to embrace so many of the things that make me distinctly KatiRose. For example: I love puns, banjo music, and recycling. But I was also challenged to examine the ideas and values I've held for so long and see if they were Biblical. And many things changed. Speaking of things that changed, at the beginning of TFN I didn't know how to cook and was terrified of Kindergartners. But as I was providentially assigned to assist in cooking dinner for 30 people every night, and "student-teaching" the 11 cutest, smartest, most amazing Reading Class students ever… all of that changed. Also, I have a much stronger appreciation and love for my country; my state; my city; and most importantly, my family. I have learned the importance of the covenant relationship of the church, and been challenged by a greater understanding of the intensity of the covenant of marriage, and the challenge and privilege of having children.

I learned that education is so much more than memorizing answers and spitting them back out on a page, it is more than moving information from the mind of the teacher to the mind of the student. Education involves the whole person. As we've heard said a million times this year, "the end of all learning is to know God and to love Him more." And the greatest thing is that we've seen this lived out. Our teachers haven't just been transferring their knowledge to our minds, they've captured our hearts. And now, as TFN graduates, we have this challenge. How will we use this treasure we've been entrusted with? Will we be found good and faithful servants? Or will we just burry it in the dirt? Will those Red Books be falling apart from use, or just look impressive, collecting dust on your bookshelf? No, we must invest this treasure and use it for the expansion of God's Kingdom. How you do that will be up to You and God (we're all individuals). However, in case you hadn't already heard, there is the additional requirement of getting married, having 10 children so we can take over the Legislative branch, and save America. So remember, it's all Bambi's fault, and "¡Matale si puedes!"

Law is Coeval. Or God is not arbitrary and harsh

2011-04-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

so I've been terrible at updating this thing. and I am sorry. And I really haven't been writing much, ok anything at all, about what we've been learning in school. That is not because we aren't learning anything, it's because we are learning so much that I don't even know where to start. So.. I'll start here and we'll see what happens.

1. You shall have no other gods before me.
2. You shall not make for yourselves any idols
3. You shall not use the name of the Lord, your God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day by keeping it holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

My Reading Class (Kindergarten) children are learning the 10 commandments and are going to recite them this Thursday night at our spring program. Words cannot describe how proud of them I am.

The Ten Commandments are a huge part of a key foundational truth that I have learned this year. I've always known that these were God's laws and that they were designed for right living. But as to why God picked these 10, I didn't have a very good idea. It seemed that He was God and He picked them, so that ought to be good enough. In my mind, these laws came into being on Mt.Sinai in Exodus when God gave Moses the tablets. But... that is not where they begin.

We have learned that God's law is coeval. Coeval (co-evil for pronunciation) means "brought into existence at the same time as" something. God's law is coeval with the creation of man. It is not a cause/effect thing, and these laws aren't just the arbitrary will of God. They are the description of how we are designed to live. For example, a car engine is designed to use oil. It's not some clever marketing trick by the oil companies, that they threw into the owner's manual of each car, it is the design of the car. A car can run without oil, but not for long. Just as we can live contrary to our design, seemingly with no side affects. For a while. And then... things deteriorate. I love how much more I see God's heart in these commands; how I can see that He isn't harsh and arbitrary, but He truly loves us and wants the best for us. This is the super condensed version, so hopefully that makes sense.

150 (Ode to a Conclusion)

2011-02-01T22:58:00.000-08:00

Dear Conclusion,
I hate writing you.
I Just want to go to sleep.
But you are standing in the way.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said?
In the introduction, of course.
Repetition, repetition, repletion
Man, I am just kidding
Or am I?
I’ll leave that for you to decide
Take it back like counter-clockwise
One hundred and fifty words
Are a lot to demand.
I hate the rehash
I don’t have anything new to say
I’d rather write another paragraph instead
Wouldn’t that be better?
I think so.
Only at 94 or so.
Man, we’ve got a ways to go
Kind of like 6 year olds learning to ask questions
The kids who don’t mind if Wilbur dies: bacon is delicious
But are afraid to read the end because they know
Charlotte’s a goner
And that’s too sad to stand.
Like this conclusion.
Concluded.
Respectfully yours,
KatiRose

camping out

2011-01-24T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for, being convinced of what we do not see." -NET

a verse I've read, heard, studied, quoted, and preached thousands of times. A verse I need to camp out in again.

sure of what I hope for.
what do I hope for?
I hope for a good future.
I hope for a deeper relationship with God.
I hope to be used for His kingdom and His glory.
I hope for Africa.
I hope for restoration.
I hope for fruit from the ashes.
I hope for healing.
I hope that He is enough.
I hope that His promises are true.
I hope for justice.
I hope for grace.
I hope for deep, lasting relationships.
I hope for a best friend I don't have to say goodbye to.
l hope for adventure.
I hope for plane tickets.

Certain of what I do not see.
the reality of the unseen God.
the immortal invisible unending God.
the all powerful all sustaining gracious Lover of my soul.
certain that He is.
certain that He is all I need.
certain that He is faithful. Even when I am faithless.
certain that I can trust Him with all my heart, all my soul, and all my physical life.
certain that the above statement sounds ridiculous. oh, Father, help my unbelief.
certain that He sees the injustice and hears the cries of the broken hearts of an entire continent. certain that He has a good plan for ALL of His beautiful children.
certain that my heart has only hit the beginning of feeling how He feels and loving how He loves.
certain that He makes all things new.
certain that He works all things together for my good.
certain that my definition of good has to be redefined to not necessarily include the words safe, easy and comfortable.
certain that loving is never wasted.
certain that change is always a part of my life.
certain that some relationships are only for a season. certain that this fact doesn't make them any less valid or worthy of my time, heart, attention or resources.
certain that I am worth more than many sparrows, and all my needs shall be supplied.
certain that He knows the deepest desires of my heart.
certain that I need more faith.
certain that if I ask, He'll grow it in me.
:)

Impossible?

2011-01-12T20:35:00.000-08:00

14 Is anything impossible for the Lord? I will return to you when the season comes round again and Sarah will have a son.”- Genesis 18:14

This verse rocks. The God of the impossible. It's amazing enough that He created an entire nation out of a 90 year old woman and a 99 year old man. Miraculous. Fills my day with hope.

but here's the kicker I would have missed if this verse hadn't burned into my brain this morning:

Just a chapter later and we get to the destruction of Sodom and Gommorah and the fate of Lot's daughters. Let's face it, these poor girls had lived through a pretty rough and intense 48 hours: Angels show up at their house, then the crazy lustful men of the city surround it and demand the angels. Instead their father offers THEM to the crowd, in the cultural practice that protecting honorary guests is of higher value than one's daughters, but luckily the crowd doesn't go for it. The next morning they have to flee their city and leave behind their "husbands" (betrothed) and leave behind everything they know, without a backward glance. Unfortunately their mom can't stand that, takes a look over her shoulder and is turned into a pillar of salt. Now the entire plain has been reduced to ashes and the two girls are hiding in the mountains with their dad. Not entirely ridiculous that dispair sets in.

The other thing to keep in mind here, is that at many points in the text we see that the culture of these utterly wicked cities have settled in to the hearts and minds of the entire family. But here's where fear takes hold, culture kicks in, and the God of the impossible gets lost.

"30 Lot went up from Zoar with his two daughters and settled in the mountains because he was afraid to live in Zoar. So he lived in a cave with his two daughters. 31 Later the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man anywhere nearby to lie with us, according to the way of all the world." - Genesis 19:30-31

and the daughters resort to their own plan. This breaks my heart. So sad. But how often do I completely forget the God of the impossible, this amazing God who is the best thing there is in all the world? Too often. How often do I let fear control my life and take matters into my own hands instead of waiting for God's perfect timing? Too often. And just how deep has the "way of all the world" sunk into my thinking? Probably more than I want to admit. My prayer is that through this time I will learn to lean on the God of the impossible rather than the way of all the world.

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

2011-01-10T21:05:00.000-08:00

"When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” - Genesis 5:28-29

this verse stuck out to me this morning in my reading. In fact I feel as though I've never seen it. Lamech was right, as Noah did bring comfort from the curse, just not how his father envisioned it. The comfort from the curse came through the violent redemption of the Flood. Which got me thinking about why his father said that. And then I was very curious to know what Noah's name means. According to a quick search the name Noah could mean : peaceful, comforter, long-lived, or wanderer. All very cool. Noah was an amazing guy.

It was cool to find this verse as I've started reading the Bible in 90 days. So today I ventured from the fresh, perfect creation to the point where "every thought and imagination of their hearts were continually evil" and then got to see God's redemption plan for even that, as the flood and the rebuilding began. Amazing. God is so faithful. And I love looking at things from His perspective. It brings my heart comfort, to rest in the hands of He who definitely knows what He is doing.

Fresh Bread

2011-01-06T21:09:00.000-08:00

1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

that's a nice sentence. and it's true. which is awesome. but having read it so many times, the astonishing amazing God who began the beginning and created the entire universe is somehow lost on me. Until I read it like this:

In the beginning {1 tn The translation assumes that the form translated “beginning” is in the absolute state rather than the construct (“in the beginning of,” or “when God created”). In other words, the clause in v. 1 is a main clause, v. 2 has three clauses that are descriptive and supply background information, and v. 3 begins the narrative sequence proper. The referent of the word “beginning” has to be defined from the context since there is no beginning or ending with God.
sn In the beginning. The verse refers to the beginning of the world as we know it; it affirms that it is entirely the product of the creation of God. But there are two ways that this verse can be interpreted: (1) It may be taken to refer to the original act of creation with the rest of the events on the days of creation completing it. This would mean that the disjunctive clauses of v. 2 break the sequence of the creative work of the first day. (2) It may be taken as a summary statement of what the chapter will record, that is, vv. 3–31 are about God’s creating the world as we know it. If the first view is adopted, then we have a reference here to original creation; if the second view is taken, then Genesis itself does not account for the original creation of matter. To follow this view does not deny that the Bible teaches that God created everything out of nothing (cf. John 1:3) – it simply says that Genesis is not making that affirmation. This second view presupposes the existence of pre-existent matter, when God said, “Let there be light.” The first view includes the description of the primordial state as part of the events of day}

God {2 sn God. This frequently used Hebrew name for God (אֱלֹהִים,’elohim ) is a plural form. When it refers to the one true God, the singular verb is normally used, as here. The plural form indicates majesty; the name stresses God’s sovereignty and incomparability – he is the “God of gods.” }

created {3 tn The English verb “create” captures well the meaning of the Hebrew term in this context. The verb בָּרָא (bara’) always describes the divine activity of fashioning something new, fresh, and perfect. The verb does not necessarily describe creation out of nothing (see, for example, v. 27, where it refers to the creation of man); it often stresses forming anew, reforming, renewing (see Ps 51:10; Isa 43:15, 65:17).}

the heavens and the earth {Or “the entire universe”; or “the sky and the dry land.” This phrase is often interpreted as a merism, referring to the entire ordered universe, including the heavens and the earth and everything in them. The “heavens and the earth” were completed in seven days (see Gen 2:1) and are characterized by fixed laws (see Jer 33:25). “Heavens” refers specifically to the sky, created on the second day (see v. 8), while “earth” refers specifically to the dry land, created on the third day (see v. 10). Both are distinct from the sea/seas (see v. 10 and Exod 20:11).}

my mind is blown.

that's one verse.

And suddenly it's amazingly new and fresh. Reading these notes, which I must tell you only get better as the verses go on, have given me new eyes. It really was like reading it for the very first time.This is the New English Translation (NET) Bible and it is amazing.

you can read it here. (Don't worry, you only have to read the notes if you want, just over over the asterisks and they pop up)

Fresh Bread from an always fresh God for a fresh year. Yehaw.

November: Maybe We Should "Just Be Friends"?

2010-11-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Welcome to week 3 of November. Which isn't looking quite as delightful as I had anticipated. There are definite bright spots, though!

#1- The Flame Goes Forward
We've had two days of celebrating the year of Jubilee for YWAM. Loren & Darlene Cunningham were actually here and spoke for much of our "conference". It was very much fun and SUPER encouraging. We got to hear all about AMAZING things YWAM has planned for the future around the world. So so so so cool to hear about amazing things God is doing everywhere.

#2- SOTB is on outreach.
This is happy and sad. We miss them already. One of my friends left on Friday and then the rest of the SOTBers headed off today after lunch. We got to pray and send them off, which was great. They are heading to work with a church in Ohio and I know it's going to be an amazing time for them. However, this place is very quickly turning into a ghost town.

#3 - There is a plague going around.
YIKES. Please pray for us.. so far we've had 3 or 4 people get really sick with very high fevers. No bueno. Please pray that it stops spreading and that everyone gets all the way better. Having a million things going on this week does not help our immune systems as we're all getting sleep deprived trying to get our mountains of homework and projects all done this week. (I'm chugging Airborne like crazy... and praying that I don't get sick!)

#4- Elementary Thanksgiving Program
While we've got lots of homework to do this week, our class time will be a little lighter. We'll get to spend some classes making banners and decorating for and setting up the the Thanksgiving program that the elementary students will put on. It's an evening program so we'll need to be there to staff it, but the kids are so cute, I'm sure it will be lots of fun. It just means another turn of cleaning, setting up and tearing down the gym. Not my favorite. Oh well. It's worth it.

#5- Elementary Thanksgiving Feast!
This sounds like it will be lots of fun. The kids dress in costume and we're making an "authentic" Thanksgiving Feast where we celebrate God's faithfulness and provision by thanking Him for all He has done.

and then... my favorite November week of ALL... :D

November: Te Quiero

2010-11-07T21:36:00.000-08:00

well, week 1 of November was great. Welcome to week 2:

#1- Daylight Spendings Time!
Today we got to "fall back" which looks like this in mathematical terms:
me+1 extra hour of sleep = happiness.
:D

#2- Tuesday.
usually Tuesday and I aren't really friends. I have to get up earlier and there are more of my less favorite classes. However, this Tuesday something very special is happening: One fantastic family from Whatcom County happens to be here visiting relatives and they are coming to visit me! WOHOO!

#3- Veterans Day!
it's a pretty sweet holiday and around here it's a big deal. We're having a big assembly that one of my teachers is organizing it, We'll be helping which... usually means more work than a regular school day, but variety is fun. And I think this will be pretty sweet.

#4- A Wedding!
How often do you have a wedding right outside your door? (well actually....)
This weekend two fantastic people from SOTB are tying the knot, on my front porch! It will be lots of fun and I'm excited to see how these two are going to rock for the Kingdom.

#5- Banquet!
It isn't frequent that I get invited to banquets. Especially ones where you have to RSVP and they give you a ticket. In fact, this might be the first time. Over at the Ranch we're having some sort of big Thanksgiving Banquet with all sorts of important people. I think it will be fun. Plus I get to wear my favorite fancy dress :)

and there you have it. November- week 2. Which will very quickly melt into Week 3 which contains a lot more craziness!

November: Nacupenda!

2010-11-01T20:35:00.000-07:00

As I began to ponder, November has all of the sudden delighted me.

So, each week, I'll show you what I am looking forward to.

This week, here's a list of 5 reasons why i love November.

1. Today, November first is my half birthday. :) It's always fun to mark off half way through the year and think back over what's happened. It's been quite a momentous six months. And I am definitely excited to see what the next six hold.

2. Today is also the beginning of No Shave November. Which means boys will be sprouting beards left and right all month long. Hooray! I am in the opinion that the world could always use a little more facial hair.

3. Tomorrow is election day. I am so thankful, especially this year, for my precious right to vote and choose my representatives in government.

4. This week my precious niece, Elizabeth turns 1!

5. We are having class with School of the Bible this week. It's lots of fun to be together and we sure fill up the room! (a total of 36 students. + staff!). It also means I get to spend more time with my lovely friend Jessica! We're learning all about Self- Government! (Which is what we do every week in TFN.. but.. is always so good!)

and there you have it, 5 reasons I love the first week of November!

Slice of life:

2010-10-04T16:16:00.000-07:00

so I realize that's been over a month, and I've written once. Fail.

a post is coming.

but just so you can get a little slice of my life, here's what it usually looks like:

That's my, WOW MY BRAIN HURTS face.

And this is the WOW, I FINALLY GET IT face.

:D love and miss you all!

Season-ing

2010-09-08T19:59:00.000-07:00

SEASON:

noun-

1) a period of time usually characterized by the changing of the environment as time passes, as in Spring, Summer, Fall, or Winter

verb-

1) to add flavor to or enhance the natural flavor of food, as with salt, herbs or other spices

2) to prepare or make ready for use, as in preparing a grill for cooking, or adjusting the moisture content of firewood for burning

welcome to the new season of my life. Which previously I had only ever thought of as the first definition of changing times. And then, one morning this week I was awoken by a picture of raw chicken (which I have spent quite a bit of quality time with this week, cooking supper) being seasoned. And the gentle reminder that season was also a verb. Eagerly, I got out my Bible, and my dictionary and my laptop and started searching all the possible meanings of "season". I found more than what I listed, but these are the ones that best apply.

I even looked up just how one would go about seasoning a grill. What I discovered is that it involves turning up the heat and scraping off all of the junk that has gotten baked on and then reapplying a new, protective coating of oil. Well, for a grill that sounds dandy. For my heart, it's not always a walk in the park. But it is a fantastic picture of what this new season is in my life. And just as we are learning in class, it is much easier to get excited and really delve into what you are learning when you have a picture of the destination, the seasoning metaphor gives me hope as to where we are going in this time. The scraping off isn't the be all end all of this time, it is only the beginning and totally necessary to lay a good foundation.

Seasoning is also about adding flavor. If for example, I was a raw piece of meat, I've been marinated and seasoned by all sorts of things. I love that God is a master chef and He knows exactly what combination of seasoning leads to the perfect flavor He's trying to create. And so, while some of them by themselves are awful, vinegar for example, when layered all together, it creates the perfect effect. Thank goodness, I am not in fact, a piece of meat, but I am person, made in the image of God! So how much more is God concerned with my character. He there is a goal He has for the kind of person I am to be, and He knows there are certain character traits He wants to develop in me. grill seasoning instructions can be found here.

All in all to say, that it this time here so far hasn't always been easy or fun, but I have been given the gift of a new season. And I want to embrace it. Don't get me wrong, there have been lots of FANTASTIC times here as well, not all the seasonings God uses are bitter, some are sweet! It's a beautiful blend of joys and trials, challenges, and growth. And oh, how I can't wait to taste what God has in store for this season of time. It's going to be incredible.

"All of my life, in every season, You are still God. I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship." - Hillsong United "Desert Song" (which you can listen to here. and you should because it is amazing!

*Disclaimer: I heart metaphors a LOT. So I get a bit carried away with them. So I'm sorry If I went a bit overboard here. *

What I Did on my Summer Vacation...

2010-09-01T20:05:00.000-07:00

I sat in the car for a reeeeeeaaaaaaaallllllllyyyyyy looooooooooooooooooooooooooong time.

And saw some of the most amazing places on earth. And met some amazing people. Oh, and hung out with some of the most fantastic people ever. I decided that these three weeks beat five hours on an airplane, hands down.

(I'm not awesome at chronicling everything we did in specific detail like Mama D. But I had fun summarizing things on FB. So, I'm putting in all of my descriptions and linking to Mama D, Ben and Hosanna for more pics and details, that way you can see all the fun we had!)

"And we're off, like a herd of turtles! I'm armed to the teeth with audiobooks, new music, and some great kiddos. (Thanks, friends!) Next stop, one of my favorite places in the world: CRC! Farewell, fb world, no internet until at least Monday. Let the adventure begin! :D"

Day 1: Drive farther than ever before? check. Days 1-5 take lots of naps, play games, swim in waterfalls, absorb amazing teaching and spend time with friends at one of my favorite places ever? check. California tomorrow? YES. YES. YES. Hooray for adventures!

The whole crew at Silver Falls (Ben is hiding....)

I got some much needed Vicky Time! (and we were tourists. Notice the sign behind us!)

Monday: drove 500 miles and drove 1st mtn pass ever. Tuesday: Yosemite National Park. GORGEOUS BEYOND COMPARE. GO! Also met ranger Dave Crockett. No joke. Wednesday: drove 300+ miles and 2 mtn passes, Kings Canyon NP, and saw Giant Sequoias. Tomorrow: Big Fat Greek Family time with Jeremiah Diacogiannis and Ashleigh Newton. Woot Woot. This road trip stuff is pretty great... :D

General Grant Tree - 2nd Largest in the WORLD.

3 lovely days in Santa Barbara with fantastic people. bad sunburn. OUCH! 1 stinking hot night in some town in Arizona. Route 66. GRAND CANYON. Oh, so AMAZING! Now a couple days with the lovely Barbara Ellis in Phoenix. First car issues, but all is easily fixed. Thanks Jesus! :D lots of fun in the sun!

Flat Cat and I at the Grand Canyon!

My Grand Canyon shot of the day:

Hosanna! The coolest almost 14 year old I know. (we used to be roomies. It was fantastic!)

Swimming in Pastor Barb's lovely pool!

Rain storms in the desert are crazy amazing. So is the CONSTANT lightning. Things that are not so amazing: cranky children, tent trailers in New Mexico in August: muggy, hot and sticky. And water leaks in said tent trailer. oh my. thankful that each day we are given sufficient grace. (and swimming pools!)

drove by the place they tested the Atomic bomb. {sad} went through a police checkpoint {weird} got kicked out of a national monument because they were testing a missile {eerie}. got stuck behind a "snow plow" & went sledding in New Mexico {unexpected & FUN}. Ate at Chili's for the first time {yum!} I ♥ crazy, random, awesome days!

White Sands. The sand is a really different consistency (made of Gypsum crystals).

It really looks, like snow, hey?!

my shot of the day:

Today: 2 more police check points (one looking for illegals, one for DUIs), nearly making roadkill out of a tarantula, time zone change twice, downpour rainstorm, a couple hours in Texas, and a trip to Carlsbad Caverns (AMAZING ^2). :D good day.

Sunset in Carlsbad. {Photo by Hosanna}

A cool bug Elijah found at Carlsbad:

Saturday: woke up in New Mexico. drove over 600 miles (filled up with gas 3 times in 3 different states), got 32 oz slushies for $.69 in Texas, almost got hit by a 2 foot high tumbleweed blowing across the highway. Discovered how obnoxiously loud cicadas could be, and went to bed in Oklahoma. Sunday: BBQ with friends and basically the entire day spent in pools. Huzzah!

in Texas. Melting. Tomorrow is my last day with my Greek family {sad}. We'll be spending most of it in the pool {hooray!!!}. Then Wednesday morning, I finally arrive at YWAM. {Wohoo!!}

KatiRose now officially lives in Texas. weird. It's been a wonderful couple days settling in at the base and meeting awesome people. Orientation starts tomorrow! :)

me in my new homeland!

Today is the Day!

2010-08-04T00:45:00.000-07:00

It's here! It's here!

Let the adventure begin!

In case you are fuzzy on the details, here's what I will be doing again.

What?: Another YWAM school. The school is called Teachers For the Nations (henceforth referred to here as TFN)

It's a teacher training school that prepares teachers to go out and disciple nations through education of children. :D

Where?: Texas. Tyler, Texas to be exact.

That's about an hour and 1/2 east of Dallas.

and I'll be at the Dayspring Campus of the Tyler base.

When?: TODAY! Actually my school starts August 26th, but my Greek Family and I are road -trippin it up, so we're taking our time to get there!

How Long?: 9 months +2 month outreach phase = 11 months

(August- May lecture, outreach June & July)

Why?: My heart passion is for Uganda and the children there. I believe that this training will be greatly beneficial to better equipping me to serve there. I want to do the best I can to be prepared and come with the most that I can offer, and this seems to be a great stepping stone. My hope is that after this school, I will be able to go back to Uganda long term and help in discipling the next generation and equip them to be world changing followers of Jesus Christ.

any more questions?????

I'm happy to answer them!

Please, please, please keep me in your prayers!

Meet Flat Cat

2010-07-31T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is Flat Cat: (and myself)

I received him as a gift many years ago. He's a life size cardboard cut-out of a cat.

And after spending years sitting on shelves, he's decided that it's time for a life of adventure.

First, he met my lovely friend Brenna.

He also met people with colorful personalities.

As a celebrity, he knew he should set an example by "going green".

He also enjoys fine dining.

Flat Cat is available. (In case you were wondering).

Struck by lightning! Shocking!

He thought he'd let the city of Bellingham know he plans on taking over the town...

Flat Cat is quite popular. He's got friends in high places!

What would an adventure in Bellingham be without a stop at Mallards?

Flat Cat did, in fact, discover that he is a Chocoholic.

Rockin' Cat!

We forced him to play on the playground. He didn't look too enthused.

Flat Cat is moving up in the world- reserved parking!

He even made a visit to the Royal Rosarian Garden!

He's spotted in the most swank Portland places...

He chose good company- my lovely mom!

He's got his own exhibit!

He went shopping and picked up some bling.

And after quite and accomplished day, he even became a Jr. Ranger in Multnomah Falls.

well done, Flat Cat.

Flat Cat's wanderlust has only increased, so he'll be joining me on my crazy amazing road trip to Texas. Stay tuned for More Adventures of Flat Cat!!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like August...

2010-07-31T11:05:00.000-07:00

my plans for August include:

dance parties, tearful see you laters, ghetto paintball, waterfalls, lots of naps, excellent teaching, 3000 miles of driving, SoCal beaches, loads of camping, the Grand Canyon, Carlsbad Caverns, three new states, one crazy Big Fat Greek Family, little girls with a million questions, lots of use for the bluetooth headset, visiting old friends, packing my life into my car, good books to be finished, ending up two time zones away from where I started, and another amazing adventure with Jesus. Yes please.

{5 days!}

Far Too Easily Pleased

2010-07-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and s*x and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." -C.S. Lewis

Your Love Is Strong

2010-07-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

This song has been on repeat in my head and through my speakers for the last couple days.

It's fantastic.

and it speaks so much to my heart right now.

So I'm sharing it with you.

Lyrics Here

Enjoy.

World Cup Fever

2010-07-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

One Friday morning in June, I woke up ridiculously early, picked up my sister, and drove to my dad's house. What for? To turn on the TV.

Crazy?

Normally.

But this was June 11.

The first day of the World Cup.

And this was South Africa vs. Mexico.

The first game of the World Cup.

And this was the 2010 World Cup.

The first World Cup in an African nation.

and when, on June 10, you get a message from a good friend in South Africa saying this, "You MUST watch the opening game tomorrow, and I'd better hear you cheering in the green and gold for Bafana from here, okay?" You get up early and go watch the game. Also, you reply with a cheeky facebook status update: "getting up at 6:15 am to drive to where I can watch the first match of the world cup. Cheering loud for Bafana!! If only I had a vuvuzela... Can you hear me *friend's name* ?! :D"

I, still considered to be a "new believer" in the church of "Futbol is actually an amazing sport" have been anticipating this World Cup for over two years now. Why? When I was in Uganda in 2008, already all the MTN shops (an African mobile phone provider and sponsor) had the 2010 logo painted on them. So between the shops and all my friends, we've been talking about this for two years now!

Since that day, I've watched many games, many different places (I as well as most of my friends don't have cable, so we have to get creative) and listened to ones I couldn't watch (via online radio) and cheered my heart out for different nations around the world.

It's been fun and exciting. I've watched games from my laptop in the kitchen with kids cheering around me and asking questions too (yes, I've even got the Greek kids hooked on soccer!) I've stood in a crowded restaurant in a nearby town for the Ghana vs USA game and cheered for Ghana (my life in peril, no less) (If you want my full explanation as to why I picked Ghana over the US, I am happy to give it) I've sat at my desk, heart on edge, listening to Chile collect cards and Spain manage to squeak by... and it's been grand.

I can see why the world gets excited.

It's a sense of community.

I can talk to people all around the world or down the street and we're talking about the same thing.

We can share in the same heartache.

Or dance in the same victory.

It's made the thousands and thousands of miles between friends feel a lot shorter.

and for that, I am ever thankful.

We started with 32 teams. Now we're down to 4. The world waits with anticipation.

And just so you know, July 11 is going to be a big day.

It will be exciting. and emotional.

and then I'll be sad that this fantastic tournament is over.

but for now, I'll enjoy the phenomenon and cheer my heart out.

GO URUGUAY GO!!

risks and dreams

2010-05-24T09:05:00.000-07:00

WOW. I was going back through my blog, and I found this post saved as a draft....

and all I can say is, wow.

what a long way I have come.

what amazing healing has happened in my heart.

how amazing and faithful is my God!

This was originally written January 6, 2009:

Fear. it eats me alive some days. Surrounds me and then sneaks up in the darkness. Routinely in the evening it clamps its icy iron fingers around my heart. And then I am lost. paralysed. the actual event is momentary, but its chill lasts for some time. I just freeze. All logical thinking is gone. And all I know is that I am and that I hurt. The shock wears off and the numbness with it, and then as the rush of pain comes in like a flash flood. All I feel is alone.

As I lie in bed, waiting for sleep to come, sometimes I imagine going back to Uganda. My dreams come alive. I am there, safe and happy. Sharing Jesus with the world. with a family of my own. But it is always shattered by the sudden surge of fear. I will always be white. I will always stick out and thus be a target. Villages aren't safe, they are frequently raided and burned and those houses have no burglar bars. Houses can always be broken into, ambushes can come from anywhere. The words come from somewhere deep and dark.. a poisonous whisper, "You are not safe. You will be found. And no one will protect you. Everything will be stolen from you again. And it will be much worse than last time." Fear. Much more fear. Memories flash back. Adrenaline. PAIN. So much for sleep. again.

You see, that night I lost so much. And in all of it, my dreams are gone. Eaten up by fear. Long gone in the aftermath of the storm. Innocence and the much greater trust I had in my Father... gone. Shattered. the pieces seem to small even to be picked up.

But...

I went to Africa with an incorrect understanding of reality. In my mind the violence and pain was contained in the past. The hurts were very real and still lingering but I was going to be part of the healing. I never expected that the danger was still real. That violence still touches so much of everyday life. Whoops. The invincibility of youth, my own lack of understanding and my enthusiastic, effervescent hope and trust in the God of the Universe for transformation, as well as some whole life in Whatcom County innocence created a false perception of what it would really be like. But now I've experienced it. A small piece.

that orange dust will be forever in my soul.. the memories are so vivid. Which in most cases is a huge blessing. I can see it. taste it. feel it. And I long to go back. for the joy. the richness. the challenge. the scarcity. the beauty.

What I've come to see is this.. anything truly GOOD comes with risks. But it is also worth taking those risks.

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!!

2010-05-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

So.. in case you hadn't heard.. since Mama D spilled the beans... :D

YWAM here I come, once again!!!!

I am so BEYOND EXCITED, in case you were wondering.

Now, to fill you in on a few more details:

Where?: Texas. Tyler, Texas to be exact.

That's about an hour and 1/2 east of Dallas.

and I'll be at the Dayspring Campus of the Tyler base.

When?: mid August!

(yes, that's VERY soon!!)

How Long?: 9 months +2 month outreach phase = 11 months

(August- May lecture, outreach June & July)

What?: the school is called Teachers For the Nations (henceforth referred to here as TFN)

It's a teacher training school that prepares teachers to go out and disciple nations through education. :D

any more questions?????

I'm happy to answer them!

Remembering the Rescue... through worship

2010-04-09T14:34:00.000-07:00

I like to remember. well, the good things. golden memories dance around my head. Pictures float through my consciousness often. And if they didn’t, I just open up the photos on my computer and walk through memory lane again. Other memories are so vivid it is as though they just happened moments ago. I get flash backs. I’ll be going through my day, and then something sparks and instantly I am once again walking through a jungle of banana forests. It’s so real, so intense I can feel the sunshine streaming through the canopy of leaves above me. but it lasts only a split second. and then, here I am, still in Whatcom County. Usually sitting at a desk in front of a computer.

One of my good friends from my days in Uganda who I spent most of my time with, is often surprised at my memory. I’ll say, “remember when.......” and he’ll laugh and reply, “how do you remember that?!” I just shrug and smile.

It’s amazing how great it is to remember where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. Nearly two years ago, I walked through the hardest and most painful time of my life. I was shattered. and devastated. my heart felt as though it had been dipped in liquid nitrogen and thrown on the floor- smashed into a thousand pieces. I was bleeding and oozing emotionally. I was awash in a sea of icy-cold fear and choking depression. I would have kept God at arms-length holding Him responsible for my current circumstances, except that He felt millions of miles away already. the Bible felt irrelevant. I was indifferent towards sermons. honestly the only thing that really kept me coming back to church were our times of worship. The time of singing somehow opened the door to my soul, and only then for those 15 or 20 minutes did I feel safe and sure that God really was who He said He was. And that He’d actually redeem the deep sorrow of my soul.

a few more moths of misery dragged by and in January ‘08 I was given the opportunity to visit some of my best friends. Incredible people who knew the deep pain I was wrestling with and a couple of whom carried the same pain themselves. Oh the joy and relief of being with people who understood! It simply cannot be put into words. At that point, I was still deeply impacted by the trauma. I wasn’t able to sleep through the night for nearly a year. I would wake up with horrible nightmares, and flashbacks so real they sent adrenaline coursing through my veins. I have a very vivid memory of a horrendous sleepless night while visiting my friends last year. when I walked into the room just a couple weeks ago, it was just as fresh as if it happened the day before. That doesn’t sound like something great to remember, but hang with me, because it gets so much better. While I was there a year ago, barely surviving emotionally, I was surrounded by deep and tender love which again reminded me of the goodness of God, that is always. Again, I had some incredible times of worship, where God was somehow once again near. That room where I get to stay, has a chalkboard wall. And on it I wrote the verse that God spoke to me, in faith. It wasn’t true for me anymore. But I needed to believe that it could be.

It is still there. And seeing it again, a year later was an incredible reminder of just how far my heart had come. Over this last year, it’s been a long, slow road to healing. but it has come. It’s been a long journey, out of a valley so deep that the sky was rarely visible. It was a pitch black winding road through icy dampness. but it has lead slowly and steadily upwards. And as I keep walking the road, I find myself out in the open meadows. The sun is bright and warm, the air fresh and warm and the mountain peaks are not only visible, but near. And I can now look at that verse and see how it is true. How the joy has returned to my life.

It is this that makes me want to remember. When I look back and truly see the depth of despair that i have been rescued from, I am amazed and in awe of my Rescuer. And that moves me to worship- to declare His worth and his glory!

One Day Without Shoes...

2010-04-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time... I lived in North America. And I had very nice feet

then I moved to Africa. And had allergic reactions to Mosquito bites.

you can see that my feet were not so nice anymore. Sometimes they were so bad, I would limp.

then I got to move for 6 weeks to places that had less mosquitos, so my feet began to heal. see how beautiful they are?

if you want to read the whole story about my beautiful feet, you can read it here. (don't worry, there are no pictures for that one)

Today, I am going barefoot.
Why?
Because in developing nations many people, children especially, have no shoes.

I take shoes for granted very easily.
Without shoes you are "constantly aware of the ground in front of you, suffering regular cuts and scrapes, tending to infection after each walk, and enduring not only terrain, but heat and cold."

Even without shoes for me, life won't be so bad. I drive lots of places. I don't do a lot of walking. however: In some developing nations, children must walk for miles to school, to get clean water and to seek medical help.

Think about this:
Cuts and sores on feet can lead to serious infection.
Often, children cannot attend school barefoot.
In Ethiopia, approximately one million people are suffering from Podoconiosis, a debilitating and disfiguring disease caused by walking barefoot in volcanic soil.
Podoconiosis is 100% preventable with basic foot hygiene and wearing shoes.

if you want to learn more. go here.

Sometimes Happiness Looks Like This:

2010-04-07T19:35:00.001-07:00

so, in case you were wondering how my trip went... here are some pictures!

Here are the lovely prairies. Now, meet some of the amazing folks I spent four glorious days hanging out with.....

This is Kelsey. She's fantastic. and she's my friend. she also helped save my life. She's got GIFTS. and the Holy Spirit is going to use them in a MIGHTY way!

with true friends, you can be yourself. completely.

where it all began...

YWAM friends are fantastic! See, we approve this message.

This is my incredible friend Julia. She oozes Jesus out of every pore. We got to pray hardcore for each other before we ever met. Now we go on coffee dates. Or have tea parties via Skype. This girl is FANTASTIC. So watch out. Amazing things are going to be happening all around her, as God does His work through this precious jewel!

Hooray! the moment we've all been waiting for. Oh wait, someone's arm isn't long enough....

yay for friends who are very very ok! You have to understand, that pretty much every time for 6 months (or actually as long as I've know him) there was a camera anywhere around, Tim makes a silly face. Except this time. I, however, was prepared for the silly face picture. ooops.

Finally! Together again with two of my favorite boys on the whole planet. Haha, do you see how the joy is practically eating my face?!
Now, I am just going to take a minute to brag on these two. I have lived with them day in and day out for 6 months straight. And it began when we were strangers. And I am still impressed with who they are. Now that's saying something ;) These guys LOVE Jesus. I've watched them wrestle (literally. hahaha) and grow (more than facial hair, though that is definitely impressive!). They've had deep wounds to overcome. They've been part of many of the happiest times of my life. And they've been there for the absolute worst.

Tim, on the left, is FULL of compassion. Overflowing. He's a servant. He's crazy good at soccer. And he's taught me so much about culture and what it means to be from the US. (even though he's not). He's taught me to relax and enjoy things I can't change. He's also an animal aficionado.

And then there's Ryan, on the right. He is FULL of faith. He's got it the whole "child-like faith" thing figured out. He loves wholeheartedly. Regardless of how much others disagree or give him grief. Ryan draws good doodles. He's got a hunger for the Word. He loves basketball. He can do handstands like nobody's business. He and his family have given me another great example of what it looks like to love Jesus and love each other. well. Also, he can juggle.

so. don't say I didn't warn you.

because these boys are going to change the world.

Thief

2010-04-02T16:07:00.000-07:00

I am a thief.

I am a murderer,

walking up this lonely hill.

What have I done?

I don't remember.

no one knows just how I feel.

And I know that my time is coming soon...

it's been so long, oh such a long time

since I've lived with peace and rest.

Now I am here, my destination.

I guess things work for the best.

And I know that my time is coming soon...

Who is this man?

This man beside me.

They call the King of the Jews.

They don't believe that He's the Messiah.

But somehow I know that it's true.

The laugh at Him in mockery

and they beat Him till He bleeds.

They nail Him to the rugged cross

and they raise Him

yeah, they raise Him up next to me.

My time has come.

I am slowly fading

I deserve what I receive

Jesus, when you are are in your kingdom,

could you please, please remember me?

And he looks at me, still holding on

the tears fall from His eyes

and He says, "I tell the truth,

today you will be with me in paradise."

and I know that my time is coming soon.

And I know that my time is coming soon.

And I know paradise is coming soon.

----- "Thief" by Third Day from Offerings: A Worship Album-----

This song has captivated me since the very first time I've heard it. It is a beautiful retelling of the story of the criminals who hung beside Jesus that is found in Luke 23. How amazing is the grace of Jesus, that even as criminals, we can see the assurance that when we ask, paradise is ours today. Incredible. Oh, Jesus, thank you for making this a truly Good Friday!

Anticipation..

2010-02-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

Anticipation.

It's a happy word.

and my heart is filled with it now.

For lots of reasons.

but one in particular.

that will be brought to life in 28 days.

Are you ready?

I am!

Do you know what is about to happen?

I get to see some of my favorite people in the whole entire planet.

Now, please be assured that I have lots of favorite people.

But.. these ones will always have a special place in my heart.

Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time... I moved to Uganda.

And there I met a few Canadians.

We had many adventures together....
like going on million hour drives

or playing "volleyball"

we took lots of silly pictures

and enjoyed life together.

we built things..

and ate ice cream!

and did things that were thoroughly amazing!

Like rafting the Nile!

which ended like this in case you were wondering...

but the most exciting thing is that... in 28 days.... this will happen:

which makes my heart do the happy dance... :D

here's to anticipation!

outrageous love

2010-01-27T07:47:00.000-08:00

nothing can change how God feels about me.

He will always love me.

far more than I can fathom or deserve.

He loves me because He loves me because He loves me because He loves me because He loves me because He loves me because He loves me because that is what He is like.

it does not matter how I feel about myself.

nor what other people think/say/conclude.

He is so much bigger than that.

His love is relentless.

He will pursue me all the days of my life.

even when I fail at loving Him back.

and even that doesn't change His love for me.

He says that simply because I exist, because He made me, I have value to Him.

no one else can change that value or mark me down.

even if everyone else decides that I am not worth defending.

He died for me.

and now He wants to make me pure and holy and more like Him.

and He's committed to that.

no matter how many times my flesh raises a rebellion

He will see it through.

because He loves me.

because He loves me,

He has prepared work for me to do.

something He created me for.

because He loves me.

because He loves me,

there is one who comes to steal, kill, and destroy.

but because He loves me, He won't let him win.

He will stand and defend me.

because He loves me.

He will never fail.

ever.

not once.

not partially.

HE WILL NEVER FAIL.

Hamthrax?

2009-10-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Have Hamthrax (aka Swine Flu)?

Make cookies!

Our household (& barnhold) has been sick. So we've been living in the house and enjoying time together. Even if my poor roomie sounds like a seal (cough cough cough). Since some of our friends were sick too we had a sick party and watched the Princess Bride. Good stuff. Eventually we made some sugar cookies, and since we had a pig cookie cutter, naturally we should make some cookies in honor of our disease. The first one went to Nellie's boyfriend (here visiting from AK) who brought the sickness with him. oops. So, it's been a crazy week. But we've had some good laughs.

Speaking of laughs and swine flu, the elementary schools have been particularly hard hit in Lynden. So sad for all those sick kiddos. But most of those who have had it are recovered and back in school and church. I was teaching sunday school for the 4th-6th graders two weeks ago and we were learning about Lazarus. The kids were acting out the story and asked what had made Lazarus so sick. "Did Lazarus have swine flu?" haha. I told them that he didn't, but since we were acting it out, in our rendition Lazarus died of swine flu. But not to worry, Jesus still raised him from the dead just the same!

*Disclaimer: I know that swine flu is a serious disease and has been deadly. And we've experienced the nastiness of it for sure. This post is just about our trying to make the best of the not fun thing of being sick. It is not intended to make light of the deep sorrow that many people have suffered due to Swine Flu.*

PS. All credit goes to John Borries for the name Hamthrax. Brilliant.

Curveballs..

2009-10-30T12:39:00.001-07:00

wow. It's been a long time, and much has changed. God threw a few curveballs my way, and it's been a great adventure.

Curveball #1- My school (the CRS) got cancelled.

I had finally gotten my entire application sent in and was anxiously awaiting acceptance when I got an email that the school director had to leave the country for family reasons and there was no one to take their place, so the school had been cancelled. I was definitely disappointed, but am excited to see where Jesus leads next.

Curveball #2- I moved.

Ok, not so much of a curveball, we had been planning it since March, but the timing was certainly surprising. Just a couple weeks after we moved my little sister off to college down south, I was moving out too. So now I live in a barn. It's GORGEOUS. Out in the country. Remodeled. I have two roommates, and they are AMAZING! And one of my roommate's parents live right next door. And they are the most fantastic people!! Living here has been the biggest blessing!!

Curveball #3- I lost my job.

Now this was definitely a shock. Just a week or so earlier, I had told God I really wanted to live by faith. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised! It all happened just a few weeks after I had moved out. Crazy! But, if you were going to get laid off, this was definitely the best possible way. I was given two weeks notice, lots of hours during those last two weeks, extra financial blessing, a goodbye party, and a nice heater from the wonderful ladies in my office (who didn't want me to be cold in my new house). And I come highly recommended by everyone in the office. Great people. I miss them. I know it's crazy, but I am so excited to see what God has for me in this time!

so that's the long and the short of it. God is gracious and faithful. And I know He has big plans for me. I am excited to discover what the next step is, and see how He will move me to get there.

"When God throws a curveball, don't duck. You just might miss something amazing." - extreme days

You love a people undeserving...

2009-07-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

we now interrupt your regularly scheduled programing...

2009-07-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please?

I have announcement to make.

Are you ready to hear my secret?

drum roll please.

I know where Jesus is calling me to go next!

and it's the best equation ever:

Jesus+ me+ YWAM+ children+ East Africa= tons of amazing awesomeness + one happy me!

I've applied to do another school with YWAM.

This one is called a CRS (Children at Risk School).

Here's the summary provided on the base's website:

"The Children at Risk school (CRS) is for those who want to work with or on behalf of at-risk children around the world. CRS is a nine month study track (3 month lecture phase, 6 month field assignment) teaching specific skills needed for working with orphans, the disabled, refugees and street children amongst others. The goal of the school is to multiply leaders who will champion the cause of children through social, political, judicial and spiritual intervention. Students experience God’s heart for justice, defending the cause of the fatherless, rescuing the poor, the weak and the oppressed."

So the lecture phase of the school that I will be doing takes place in Switzerland. And the outreach takes place in Rwanda. Woot Woot.

The school starts in April 2010.

:D can you feel my excitement?!

Oh, Jesus is so amazing!

the Eagle inside belongs to us....

2009-07-04T10:29:00.000-07:00

Happy July 4th!

I don't have anything particularly eloquent to say.

But I thought I'd give a little love to the land where I was born and raised.

So USA, this is what I love so much about your founding fathers:

Watch as TJ, Ben Franklin, and John Adams decide what our national bird will be.

And yes, for the boy meets world fans out there, John Adams is in fact played by Mr. Feeney.

Redemption

2009-07-01T22:27:00.000-07:00

I hate July 1st.

If I could I would have it wiped off the calendar completely.

And it's not because I hate Canadians. Actually it's because I love 3 certain Canadians so very much, that I'd elect to make some other day their national holiday.

but you see, 365 days ago was the worst day of my life.

And so, I want to wipe it off the map.

Never again see another calendar that bears this date.

So much so that I am taking the day off from work because I didn't want to endure the trauma of typing it over and over. But I figured that today lots of people would place orders for tomorrow. But I didn't take a single one. Isn't God good?!

And it was this point that I was pondering on my drive home that Jesus used to show me just how good He really is.

In my quest to obliterate Canada Day from the calendar, I was sentencing that day to death.

That's it. Ruined for the rest of my life. Yes, but......

it's not beyond redemption.

Stop. Think. Read that line again. let it sink in.

Hallelujah!

See in the dwelling on the ruins of this date, i was limiting God by believing that there is nothing even possibly good that could ever happen on this day again. EVER.

I was saying that the One who created the universe, can raise the dead, has healed countless thousands and performed amazing miracles, is not god enough to redeem a day on a calendar.

And even more, I tell this Healing God that He is not healer enough to fix me.

How preposterous!
and how amazing is this gracious God who allows me to think like this. And gently guides me to the Truth.

He is the God who promises justice.

Who is without limits,

Who NEVER EVER FAILS.

[edit]

It is now the dreaded day. And you know what...? So far it's actually been pretty good!

I slept until 9:30 and awoke to a beautiful, sunny day.

I got have a glorious phone call with a friend who lives on the other side of the planet. :D

I watched Ashlie & Tyler goof around and talk about Edge camp. Which is definitely one of my favorite things in the whole world.

And I spent the afternoon on an adventure with my lovely amazing Lisa.

I'd say that sounds like the beginning of Redemption, don't you?!

rescue

2009-06-28T23:03:00.000-07:00

This verse has been haunting me ever since I read it. So I had to share it:

"Rescue those unjustly sentenced to die;

save them as they stagger to their death.

Don't excuse yourself by saying, 'Look , we didn't know.'

For God understands all hearts, and He sees you.

He who guards your soul knows you knew.

He will repay all people as their actions deserve."

-Proverbs 24:11-12

She likes purple..

2009-06-27T17:39:00.000-07:00

Ok. but not really. The title of this blog comes from this song which really isn't about me. It's really about Cassie. But, it's been stuck in my head all week. Because part of it is true for me.

I've got a secret.

But I'm not telling.

yet...

just know it's a good one. a happy one. finally!

so keep watch.

cause I can't keep it in much longer ;)

there is no one like You

2009-04-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

I love the goodness of God. Ok.. that's not true. I am learning to love the goodness of God. To be honest there are days where I hate the goodness of God- days where the million pieces my heart is smashed into just can't make any sense of a God whose goodness is like this. And then there are days, like today, where the reality of the goodness of God just hits me in the face and all I can do is get down on my face in worship or dance around with hands lifted high proclaiming His goodness. Those are the moments where all the pain is acknowledged, justified, and swept away in the tide of His love. Where I pause and look at the cross and all is right with the world. It's just insane to me how the cross is just so amazing. He loves me that much! He pursues my heart to the point where He is willing to suffer all sorts of agony to win my heart. He paid for the pain. And He payed for all the pain I caused others, and even Him. In the cross I see great love, mercy, justice, grace and forgiveness. And that's just scratching the surface.

Oh, the goodness of God in my life is displayed right now in this: that He cares more about the transformation of my character than He does about my personal happiness!

quarters...

2009-04-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

So, I did this for facebook and never ended up posting it. So I thought I'd post it here...

25 random things about me:

1. from January 2008 to January 2009 I hung out in 8 airports, most of them multiple times: Sea-Tac, Heathrow, Entebbe, Mombassa, Nairobi, Abbotsford, Calgary, Saskatoon.

2. I've never broken a bone, had a cavity, or been stung by a bee... but I've had jaw surgery, malaria, two varieties of parasites, infected mosquito bites, and been a patient in an African hospital.

3. I collect Moose. Meese. Meesen. whatever you want to say.

4. my closest friends live in: the US(WA,OR, OH), Canada (SK), Argentina, Jordan, India, Uganda & South Africa.

5. I LOVE books. and reading them. Bookstores are my "happy" place.

6. I saw Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers 5 times in theaters.

7. my 3 favorite musicals are: Les Miserables, Holiday Inn, and The King & I.

8. in high school I was in Show Choir which involved wearing a ridiculous outfit (tuxedo shorts (yes, SHORTS), black nylons, tuxedo shirts, a SEQUINED vest and a sequined bow tie!) and dancing around to oldies music. Sometimes fun. other times pure torture.

9. I am the WORST decision maker. EVER.

10. I've worked in Children's Ministry for 6 years now.. and have done a million crazy things to teach kids about Jesus. And LOVED it all.

11. I'm mildly lactose intolerant. No milk for me! But pretty much everything else is ok in moderation.

12. i HATE whipped cream.

13. one of my biggest pet peeves are misplaced apostrophes.

14. I think Bush Boy is right, the best job ever would be Professional World Traveller.

15. I've seen at least 50 bands in concert, some multiple times.

16. i know two different songs that say all the books of the Bible.

17. I've had 3 cars so far and none of them were made in my lifetime.

18. When I was little I had a pretend older brother who lived under my bed. Too bad he was a real person: Kurt Browning. He's a Canadian figure skater.

19. Fredrick is my 3 foot tall paper mache horse. He lives in my living room. I found him on the side of the road. He also lived at Stephanie's house for a time while I was in Uganda.

20. I am terrified of going fast by myself. Por Ejemplo: skiing, freeway driving, tobogganing down large hills, tubing, etc.

21. Whilst playing games i have a really hard time being mean i.e. "competitive" as some would call it. Combine that with #9 and you'll see why RISK is the worst game ever for me to play. Just ask someone who has been unfortunate enough to have played with me!!

22. I am afraid of the giant lobsters that they decorate Cost Cutter/ Food Pavilion with during Lobster Mania.

23. When I was 6 or 7 I won a bike from a contest at McDonald's. But it was a boy bike. So I traded it in for a pretty princess girl bike. Oh yeah!

24. JRR Tolkien was the best fiction writer who ever lived. Full Stop.

25. I've eaten goat. and LOVED it.

Taking the Initiative Against Drudgery

2009-02-19T21:43:00.001-08:00

"When it comes to taking the initiative against drudgery, we have to take the first step as if there were no God. There is no point in waiting for God to help us- He will not. But once we arise, immediately we find Him there. Whenever God gives us His inspiration, suddenly taking the initiative becomes a moral issue- a matter of obedience. Then we must act to be obedient and not continue to lie down doing nothing. If we will arise and shine, drudgery will be divinely transformed.

Drudgery is one of the finest tests to determine the genuineness of our character. Drudgery is work that is far removed from anything we think of as ideal work. It is the utterly hard, menial, tiresome, and dirty work. And when we experience it, our spirituality is instantly tested and we will know weather or not we are spiritually genuine. Read John 13. In this chapter, we see the Incarnate God performing the greatest example of drudgery- washing fishermen's feet. He then says to them, 'If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.' (John 13:14). The inspiration of God is required if drudgery is to shine with the light of God upon it. In some cases the way a person does a task makes that work sanctified and holy forever. It may be a very common everyday task, but after we have seen it done, it becomes different. When the Lord does something through us, He always transforms it. Our Lord takes our human flesh and transforms it, and now every believer's body has become 'the temple of the Holy Spirit.' (1 Corinthians 6:19)." -Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest

Beloved

2009-02-17T11:32:00.000-08:00

"Love of my life

Look deep in my eyes

There you will find what you need

Give me your life

The lust and the lies

The past you're afraid I might see

You've been running away from me

You're my beloved

Lover, I'm yours

Death shall not part us

It's you I died for

For better or worse

Forever we'll be

Our love it unites us

It binds you to me

it's a mystery

Love of my life

Look deep in my eyes

There you will find what you need

I'm the giver of life

I'll clothe you in white

My immaculate bride you will be

Oh come running home to me

You've been a mistress, my wife

Chasing lovers - it won't satisfy

Won't you let me make you my bride

You will drink of my lips

And you'll taste new life"

-Beloved by Tenth Avenue North

You'll Come...

2009-02-02T12:41:00.000-08:00

"Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge Him. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." - Hosea 6:3

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon you Lord
My rock and redeemer
Shield and reward
I'll wait upon You Lord

As surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as the dawn appears

You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit rain
flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come, You'll come.

We are not shaken, we are not moved
We wait upon You Lord
Our Mighty deliverer
Our triumph and truth
We wait upon You Lord

surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
As certain as Your word endures

You'll come let your glory fall
As you respond to us
Spirit rain
flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come, You'll come.

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

- Hillsong United (Brooke Fraser) "You'll Come"

Omnivores for Mediocrity...

2009-01-08T11:01:00.000-08:00

so I have recently realized that after February 1st, I have no plans for this year.... except for the holidays on the calendar and a few weddings i've been invited to...

the funny thing is that every adult I have mentioned that to has responded in the following way "Are you quitting your job?!"

NO.

but to me, my job is not really a plan... it just is. And i am so thankful for it. I love it. And call me crazy, but I really don't believe that I am alive today just so that a company in Bellingham could have another receptionist. I don't believe that this is "what I was created for!" It is in a small part, but I dream of bigger things!

I believe that six months ago. I lived, because God still has work for me to accomplish.

Just because I don't have a specific word on what it is yet, doesn't make it void.

I believe that Christians in general dream too small.

I believe that North Americans dream too small.

A thought came to my mind this week: If FEAR was completely gone from my life, how would I live? what would I do? what would my dreams look like then?"

I believe that God has a plan.
a bigger one than I could imagine.
And if I just trust my Heavenly Father, instead of esoterically trying to pinpoint just how I can claim His promises, but rather TRUST based on how I KNOW Him, then GOOD things will come. Healing. LIfe. Growth. Explosion. Blooming. It will happen.

I don't want apathy to win.

I don't want to live a life of mediocrity.

It will take courage.

which I am still trying to find.

but slowly by slowly, it comes.

DREAM BIG!

God of this city

2008-11-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're Lord Of this nation
You are

You're the light in this darkness
You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless
You are

For there is no one like our God 
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come 
Great things are still to be done In this city
 Greater things are still to come 
And greater things are still to be done here

You're the Lord of Creation 
The Creator of all things
 You're the King above all Kings 
You Are

 You're the strength in our weakness 
You're the love to the broken 
You're the joy in the sadness
 You Are

Greater things have yet to come 
Great things are still to be done  In this city
 Where glory shines from hearts alive 
With praise for you and love for you
 In this city  

Greater things have yet to come 
Great things are still to be done
 In this city 
Greater things are still to come 
And greater things are still to be done here

Burn Us Up

2008-11-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or rack, shack, & benny according to Veggie Tales) is one of my favorites. And we talked a lot about their story on DTS. "You are able to deliver from the fire of affliction... but even if You don't.... we will burn..." (burn us up- Shane &Shane)

But as we read the story in church today I saw it with new eyes.

"16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."- Daniel 3:16-18

There are so many good things here.. but one stands out to me. verse 17. the God we serve is able to save us from it. Rack, Shack, and Benny knew the strength of God. And they believed He would save them. and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But here's the kicker. God is able, but he doesn't always rescue us from situations. Sometimes He does not intervene. And they knew that. And were willing to take that risk, to have that faith and to still trust and serve their God knowing that they very well might be charred to a crisp. But even if he does not, How often do I simply assume that I won't burn. That God will protect not only my soul but my "earthsuit" (thanks Gary for that term!) as well. WRONG.

Rack, Shack and Benny weren't angry at God for allowing them for them to actually get thrown in. Though they emerged complete, not even smelling like smoke. BUt what if God hadn't protected them entirely? What if He had indeed spared their lives but they had some minor burns and some singes on their clothes? Or consider the story of Daniel in the lion's den. What if God had not actually shut the mouths of the lions. What would have happened if God had allowed a lion to take one bite out of Daniel .. granted the spectacle would have been lessened. And God would kind of look like weak sauce. Could you imagine what the crowds who were watching would say "Come on. All powerful? Your God couldn't shut the mouths of lions or quench the flames. All He did was spare your life. And not without some damage to your person." And they would be right. When God doesn't fully intervene, when He doesn't fully rescue us from evil, He looks weak. We wonder... what happened to this all-powerful God who loves us?

And, if that hypothetical situation had occurred, minor burns and a lion snack. How would they have reacted? How would Rack, Shack, and Benny have felt treating their wounds? Or how would Daniel feel getting his wound sewn up? Would they have felt betrayed by God? Let down and abandoned? Looking at the text, I would say no. They had all firmly resolved to follow their God no matter what the cost and had already faced much testing of that choice. They had made their choice to follow no matter what the cost. And I know that I have said that many times. So what's wrong with me? Why am I angry about a lion bite when I am still alive?

So many times we.. ok, I assume that when I read those verses in the Bible where God says He will protect us and save us, I read that as physically. That God will protect my body and spare my physical life. Well, that's not true. God will not always spare me, because let's face it, we all do die eventually. The point is that He will always protect my SOUL, which is really the only part that matters. My soul is the only part of me that is eternal. And so, sometimes, for purposes and reasons unknown to me, He will not always spare my physical body. Sometimes, He'll spare my life.. but.. allow other things to befall me. I mean look at Job. He lost everything. His children, his possessions, his livelihood and income, his health, his wife, his friends, and his reputation. And yet... he still trusted God with it all. God was able to intervene in each of those situations, and He chose not to. Job couldn't see why as he cried out over and over to God. But eventually he did see that God's aim was to draw Job into a deeper relationship with Him. That may not have been all of God's motivation or reason to allow Job to suffer, but that was His desired result. It all comes down to how God chooses to limit Himself to allowing us to have free will.
All that for love.... What an amazing God!

And that's the thing. We find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned with God when bad things happen and we feel He's let us down. In reality, it was just our wrong perceptions that let us down. I think in North America we have subscribed at least to a degree in prosperity gospel. That if we follow Jesus bad or hard things won't happen to us. So we are totally surprised when things do happen to us. And shocked. And wondering what's wrong with God. Perhaps that's part of the curse of affluence and comfort. In other places in the world, hardship and suffering is common place. It happens to everyone. a lot. And we don't see that here. Suffering and sorrow aren't so common place. Our culture doesn't know how to deal with pain (not that many cultures do) we just bury it and go on pretending that life is fine.. to put on a happy face. And I think that's the root behind so many problems in society. Instead of being shocked when bad things happen, we have to entrust our hearts to God and bring our pain to Him. And when we get there, we find Him already weeping over it.. and yet ready to heal us.. over time. I am not claiming to have this all figured out, it's something I'm walking through. Wrong beliefs and misplaced trust that God is exposing through all of this. And, drawing me closer once more. I am so thankful for a relentless God! "For He wounds, but He also binds up; He injures, but His hands also heal." -Job 5:18

still my hope is found in You

2008-11-02T20:30:00.000-08:00

"My soul is weak
 My heart is numb
 I cannot see
 But still my hope is found in You
 I’ll hold on tightly
 You will never let me go

 For Jesus, You will never fail 
Jesus, You will never fail

  Simply to the cross i cling 
Letting go of all earthly things
 I'm clinging to the cross 
Mercy’s found a way for me
 Hope is here as i am free
 Jesus, You are all i need
 I'm clinging to the cross  

Even darkness is as light to You, my Lord 
So light the way and lead me home 
To that place where every tear is wiped away

 For Jesus, You will never fail
 Jesus, You will never fail  
Simply to the cross i cling
 Letting go of all earthly things 
I'm clinging to the cross
 Mercy’s found a way for me
 Hope is here as i am free 
Jesus, You are all i need 
I'm clinging to the cross  

What a Saviour, what a story 
You were crucified but now You are alive
 So amazing, such a mystery 
You were crucified but now You are alive" - Clinging to the Cross - Tim Hughes

DRC- you are not forgotten

2008-10-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

The people in the eastern DRC are living a nightmare. In the north, the LRA is still raiding villages and abducting women and children. And in the south, there is a three way fight that continues between the government troops, Hutu forces who fled there following the Rwandan genocide, a rebel band of Tutsis who fear genocide once more. All sides have committed atrocities. And now their refugee camps have been burned. They have no food. no shelter. no safety. The NGOs have stopped operating. Please, keep the people of the DRC in your prayers. You can read more news articles in this link: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7702099.stm] Justice seems far away. But my heart is trying to rest in the fact that our God is a god of justice and love, and one day He will make all things right!

"I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called to the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came before him, into his ears.

The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because He was angry. Smoke rose from His nostrils; consuming fire came from His mouth, burning coals blazed out of it

He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. He mounted the cherubim and flew; he soared on the wings of the wind.

He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him— the dark rain clouds of the sky. Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced, with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

The LORD thundered from heaven; the voice of the Most High resounded. He shot his arrows and scattered the enemies,
great bolts of lightning and routed them. The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

Psalm 18:1-19 NIV.
Photos from BBC News.

tides of goodness

2008-10-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

"think i'll wait for the tide
seems it's all i can do right now
there must be a reason
i've run aground

and i know the waves
will come
by the moon and the tide
like a man and his bride
i will wait
on You, Lord
and we will run so far from here
to Your...

safety in the storm
there is courage for the simple man
to the holders of secrets and scars
learning to stand with reaching arms
we'll wait till the very last
no matter what will be
you're always good
always good
to me" - Newsboys "The Tide"

Hosea: a lesson in God's faithfulness!

2008-10-24T22:57:00.000-07:00

God told Hosea to marry an unfaithful woman. Ouch. That just might suck. The good news, maybe, is that Hosea (might have) picked her out. He might have even truly loved her from the beginning. Which would have made her betrayal even more painful. However, God had warned.. well rather even commanded, that she would be unfaithful. Hosea saw it coming. The thing was, that in his pain, Hosea had to trust, rest & walk in the faithfulness of God. He had to believe that God was who He said He was, and that He would make things good at some point. And what an example of surrender. It doesn't say that Hosea argued with God about this (though he may have) but even if he did, God's word won out, and Hosea obeyed.

Hosea is the story of one man & his wife. It is the story of the nation of Israel. Is is the story of my life. Over and over again in the Bible, the people of God are unfaithful, they chase after "less-wild lovers" and forsake the unfailingly faithful and merciful Lover. Over and over I do that to God. I pursue other lovers and leave the only One who is good behind. I deserve nothing less than death... the punishment for adultery. But my Lord is extravagantly gracious and merciful. He loves unconditionally far beyond the bounds of humanity. Over and over He takes me back into His arms, cleans me up, clothes me in the garments of His house, and loves me again. And so many times I sneak out again, chasing anything shiny that has caught my eye. I don't understand this: the relentless, gracious, tender love of Jesus.

"Jesus gained the power to love harlots, bullies, and ruffians.. He was able to do this only because He saw through the filth and crust of degeneration, because His eye caught the divine original which is hidden in every way - in every man ... First and foremost He gives us new eyes. When Jesus loved a guilt-laden person and helped him, He saw in him an erring child of God. He saw in him a human being whom His Father loved and grieved over because he was going wrong, He saw him as God originally designed and meant him to be and therefore He saw through the surface layer of grime and dirt to the real man underneath. Jesus did not identify the person with his sin, but rather saw in this sin something alien, something that really did not belong to him, something that merely chained and mastered him and from which He would free him and bring him back to his real self. Jesus was able to love men because He loved them right through the layer of mud." - Helmut Thielicke

Jesus looks at me this way, He sees through the muck and mire of my sin.. into the soul He deeply desires. This is the "reward of His suffering". Intimate fellowship with me. With all men, individually. So... what can I do about it? What can I do to ensure that Jesus receive His reward? By telling the world about this crazy love. By sharing, even with just one person, how amazingly pursued they are. That a high price was paid for them (Isaiah 43: 4 & 53:1-6) and that God desperately desires fellowship with them. That this God, does not care what they have done, He has seen it all, and still extends grace. He offers justification and forgiveness. A fresh start, to be pure and clean as snow (Isaiah 1:18).

the above was found in some of my DTS lecture phase notes... and in a time in my life when I sometimes have some serious doubts about the faithfulness of God, here, a precious beautiful reminder of just how faithful He is! And then in the light of all of that, how much richer His GRACE is! wow. awesome. there are just no more words... :)

Last Day in Uganda!

2008-07-27T10:55:00.000-07:00

Wow. I can't believe it's here already. Yesterday was my last full day on Hopeland. In a couple of hours we leave for Entebbe. Catherine, Kendra, Tim & Ryan all fly out tonight. Then my amazing friend & awesome staffer, Rachel, is spending the night with me in Entebbe. And tomorrow morning I get on a plane and fly to London. And by tomorrow night, I'll be back in Whatcom County! I still can't believe it!

We spent our last few days here seeing God do something awesome. Friday & Saturday we hosted a conference for the youth about HIV/ AIDS. Uganda has made some awesome progress in reducing the rate of HIV infections in the last 20 years. It has become a model for many other African countries for how to help bring cases of infection down. Sadly, though, the most recent statistics show that the infection rate is beginning to rise again. So we got to encourage this generation that it is in their hands - only through lifestyle changes, especially brought about by loving Jesus and living the way He commands us to (being faithful), can HIV/AIDS stop from being spread and eventually be eradicated. The conference was a great success. Friday night we had 95 students and Saturday there were around 140. They were mostly boys, which is awesome, because in many ways, they are the ones who can make the biggest impact with their choices. We had a good number of girls too, which was awesome... because at the moment in Uganda, women represent 57% of the people infected with AIDS, and young women are 9X more likely to contract HIV than young men due to many not so great cultural practices.

So... here is my last update from Uganda. I still can't wrap my brain around that. Please pray for journey mercies... my layover in London is only 1hr & 15 min, so if my flight is delayed at all, I could quite possibly miss my connecting flight and then be stuck in Heathrow for 24 hrs (that's the next flight out to Seattle on the airline I'm flying).

wohoo! What an amazing, crazy, hard, wonderful, perplexing, growing time the last 6 months have been! There have been so many good things... and not so good things... but all in all.. God has done some amazing works in my life, and I've seen Him in so many new ways! Yahoo!

so... all my love.. from Uganda... one more time!
-Kati Rose

Blessed Be Your Name...

2008-07-09T02:38:00.000-07:00

hello everyone.
well.... things have been..... not going according to plan. Well, my plan that is.

If you haven't heard already, our trip to Kenya did not go well. However, we have gotten to see the amazing goodness, faithfulness, protection & provision of God in a truly amazing way.

We stopped in a city called Kisumu for lunch on our bus ride, and someone there got ahold of my pin # somehow & stole a substantial amount out of my bank account. Then our first day in Mombassa we were mugged at knifepoint & assaulted. This is where the God-miracle work begins. Through a long and complicated process of communication we were introduced to an amazing man and his wife who work with YWAM Mombassa. They took the most amazing care of us that I have ever received. This family embodied hospitality in such a way that was as if the love of God was just spilling over through them in all they did. They dropped everything that they were doing to care for us, drive us places & deal with the police. We were fed amazing meals, and just truly experienced the care of the body of Christ in motion. They also arranged flights for us, so we wouldn't have to take another 21+ hour bus ride back, and just loved us.

And also People's Bank is amazing, and if you don't already bank there, you should. They are going to restore the $ stolen out of my account back! Yahoo. Not to mention they have the most amazing customer service anywhere!

we are now back at the base. We're (the girls) staying with Dr. Tim & Jackie (the base leader & his wife) and the boys are in a house next door. It has been so great to be back home at Hopeland, and just in Uganda in general. I don't blame all Kenyans for the stupidity of a few, and in fact, most of my favorite people on DTS were all Kenyans. However, just the general atmosphere of Kenya vs. Uganda leads me to prefer Uganda.

After much prayer, we also feel that it is not God's best timing for us to be going to Pader at this time. I still truly feel called to go at some point, but I have complete peace about not going at this time. Though I am sad, because I was really looking forward to ministry in the camp. No team is going at all at this time, partially also due to the increased movement & activity of the LRA in the North again.

Another change that has been made to my plan, also after much prayer, is that I will be returning to whatcom county at the end of July instead of the end of August.

Here's the thing, yes, something terrible happened to us. But we have seen the absolutely amazing grace of God and seen the body of Christ in motion in the most incredible way. We feel so loved & taken care of, and see the sovereign hand of God in all these things. I trust completely that through all of this God will be glorified and that good things will come. And I have gotten to see Jesus in a new way once again. What an amazing Savior King we serve!

"Through many dangers, toils, & snares I have already come. 'Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home."

"Our God is an awesome God, He reigns from heaven above with wisdom, power & love. Our God is an awesome God. "

"Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise, when the darkness closes in Lord, still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name."

thank you all for keeping us in your prayers.

Praise & Glory to our Father,
-Kati Rose

GRADUATION!

2008-06-27T22:21:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I know i promised a long update with more information about outreach and all that jazz, but that's because we thought our debrief week would be more just relaxing.. it's has actually been insanely busy... and we've had several power outages this week (surprise surprise). So... today is Graduation. Yep, we're done. 5 months of DTS finishes today! WOHOO! What a crazy adventure it has been!! There have been ups and downs.. and yes, I will post a more descriptive blog all about DTS as a whole at some point. It's just that graduation eats up pretty much all of today, and tomorrow I have to do tons of laundry, pack, & quite possibly move into a new room.. as well as go to town to pick up some stuff, because Monday morning we leave for Mombassa!! Yahoo! So, we'll be in Mombassa for a week, come back Tuesday morning... do lots of laundry & repack, because Wednesday we leave for Pader for two weeks (which, by the way, I will be incommunicado for those 2 weeks, no cell reception (I think) and definitely no power or internet (it is a refugee camp for goodness sake!) We should be back around the 23rd or 24th.

Yesterday was spent in a cleaning frenzy beautifying the base for all the visitors and setting up & decorating for graduation. Thursday we went rafting on the NIle! It was INCREDIBLE!! SO amazing (class 5 rapids! Our boat flipped in one, so we all "swam" through the rapid! We also took our 5m long boat down a waterfall that was 5m high (so we were vertical for a little while!!!). It was one of the scariest things I've ever done, but also so much fun. I'm a little sore, bruised & sunburnt... but throughly thrilled I did it. Also, they are building another dam on the NIle so in the next two years, most of the 11 rapids will be non existent.
This week we've also just gone to town, had a lecture, monday morning devotions, a massive homework assignment (a huge evaluation of DTS & Staff & ourselves... where we got to express all of our displeasure in many things, as well as answer very vague questions like "are you open?" with answers like: "Open to what?" or "Well, I'm not closed." etc. One student on our DTS wrote 13 pages about everything that had gone wrong, her husband wrote 8! Let's say that this DTS was a challenge, not what we expected at all... but still many good things have come of it. I am still very happy I came, and I still totally believe that it was God who directed my steps to come here, and intended for me to have this experience.

anywho... time to do some organizing and packing & cleaning, then eventually some getting ready. Grad starts at "10" which actually means it will start between 11 & 12. It should be interesting.. both DTS & SBS (School of BIblical Studies) are graduating today... that means with our 36 +7 there are 43 diplomas to hand out. And like a million guest speakers. We'll also have lots of LOUD music (some people have developed the technique of wearing earplugs to save their sanity & their hearing for things like parties & church services were the volume is pumped to the absolute loudest level possible.) Our dorm is also turning into madness comparable to a wedding or prom.. girls have been planning their grad outfits for months now. All of the african girls went out and got really fancy weaves done too. The sad thing is that i have to say goodbye to some of my awesome friends who are leaving today! The good news is that I will no longer have 16 roommates!

ok... well.. peace out for now!
love you all!!
-KatiRose

week 3 in FP!

2008-06-16T00:28:00.000-07:00

hey everyone! we're all safe and sound.. PTL Persis is all better! things are going awesome.. only one week left! so crazy.. time flies!! Jesus is amazing as usual!
well, gotta run!
love you!

malaria strikes again..

2008-06-10T02:10:00.000-07:00

hey everyone just a quick update... a girl on our team, Persis, has malaria. Apparently it's pretty bad, but she is refusing to stay at the hospital. Please keep her in your prayers! As well as just general health for our whole team, a bunch more jiggers made their appearance yesterday.
love you!

A week in FP...

2008-06-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!!
we've been here in Fort Portal for just over a week now.. and what a crazy week it has been. It turns out that as I was on the internet this time last week, they were taking Catherine to the hospital... she had +4 Malaria.. which is about as bad as it gets. I spent 2 nights with her in the hospital, but by the grace of God, she is totally better now! YAHOO! We've also been working with schools, basically doing a crusade for them. We went to a school for nurses and I got to "preach" to them.. we found out when we got there that they were actually all born again, so it was just fellowship. We spent all day at church yesterday, attending service and then putting on one of our own. As for what this week holds, I am not sure. Last night we went to this little place in a back alley way and watched the first 1/2 of Poland vs Germany in the Euro cup. Tonight the plan is to go back and see Italy vs the Netherlands. We'll see about that. We've also started doing a prayer chain at night instead of praying at 5 am. We pray in hour long shifts, usually one guy & one girl. and we each take 2 shifts a night. so we can pray from 6pm to 6am. We've also been on a sweet prayer walk. God sure has a lot to say! We're asking for boldness and for God to capture the hearts of this generation. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!
love you!
miss you!

welcome to Fort Portal!

2008-06-02T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone!!
I am in Fort Portal now!!
We had 3 awesome weeks in Mityana district in a village called Kalyankoko(which translated from Luganda means "asks chicken" (it comes from a witch doctor woman who used to ask for a chicken in payment for her services). We had such an awesome time! The church there was incredible, the pastor so humble & the church members so devoted & hungry for more of Jesus! Our work was definitely Spirit led which was amazing. We were all crammed in a little tiny house (no doors or even curtains between rooms.. so we got to know eachother REALLY well!!) and the boys slept shoulder to shoulder.. it was on dirt floors and we had no running water (but the water was clean & clear & amazing people were always fetching water for us!)We all got sick too (barfing in the banana trees!Or sick in other ways.. it was all intestinal to be sure).. and there was a jigger epidemic (I had two in one toe!) We did some crusades & some door to door. then the last week we did seminars & tim & I did kids ministry (mark & ryan each helped one day too) while the parents were in seminars in the church. 10 kids gave their lives to Jesus! It was so cool! We played a lot of soccer with the kids & the adults in the town. They all laughed at me, a muzungu girl who is not too good a soccer.. but tried anyway! We also built a house out of mud in one day (and had a huge mud fight with each other!!) I can't say much more than it was amazing and a huge blessing! Now were here in FP in a huge house... that has some weird western features to it.. so we all had culture shock the first night we got here. Catherine is sick.. please pray for her.. she has been sick since Tuesday afternoon with a fever & chills... she plans to go to the clinic tomorrow. we don't exactly have a church to work with here yet. the first one backed out on us, but it sounds like we may have one now. Msaki & Millie met with a pastor today, and we'll find out tonight what's going on. Internet is expensive & i'm almost out of time.. I'll try to be back on next monday. Pray that GOd will guide us to the right ministries & the right people & just work mightily through us. FP is HUGE.. seems bigger than Jinja. Hard to say though, this is the first time I've left the house. OK.. blessings on all of you!
love you!
miss you!
Happy JUNE!!

ch-ch- changes...

2008-05-10T01:22:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!
So, here's the deal.. I wanted to wait until I got pictures to post, but that doesn't appear to be happening... but we've had a change in our team. Pastor George will no longer be going with us.. and instead, our friend Jared from Kenya will be coming! Very exciting! Also, it appears that the phone number I posted before was wrong. So here is the correct one: 011 (0 or +) 256775571802. It has been officially decided that we leave Monday morning, though the time has yet to be decided. Ummm... I don't know what else. Passion is still up in the air... so please keep that in your prayers. I still can't believe that we leave on Monday and that we are now finished with lecture phase!

I know I said I'd post and update about the last 2 weeks soon, and I hopefully will... but we're at Fast Net right now in Jinja and it's just too hard to concentrate on things like that with so many people everywhere! So.. for now..
love you all!!

Outreach!!

2008-05-05T08:15:00.001-07:00

Fort Portal / Mityana Outreach Team 2008
Back Row (L-R) Me, Mark, Bernard, Brenda, Mercy, Catherine, Sandra, Steve, Millie, Pastor George.
Front Row (L-R) Tim, Ryan, Msaki, Persis.

Hello fantastic friends and family!
I have a lot of information to give you in a very short amount of time.. life here can change pace quite rapidly... and we are often informed of things at the last minute.

Outreach is here. nearly.
we are on our last week (it may not be a whole week, we're not sure!) of Lecture phase. Originally we were told we would leave .. well, it doesn't matter, but the last thing we were told was that we would leave Monday May 12th. (our time, not WA) Our team will be going to Mityana & Fort Portal (yes, where I went for Mini Outreach in March.) We will be in both places 3 weeks each. I will not have internet access at all during those 6 weeks. (We are scheduled to arrive back at Hopeland June 22nd or 23rd.)

The good news is, that we have an AWESOME team! We are 12 students & 2 leaders making a grand total of 14. 6 guys and 6 girls. 6 Africans & 6 Muzungus. Well balanced!
Here's who we are:
Ladies:
Catherine Bules (Canton, OH; USA)
Brenda (Kenya)
Mercy Ogalla (Kenya)
Persis Tusubira (Kampala, Uganda)
Sandra (Jinja, Uganda)
KatiRose Johnston (Laurel, WA; USA)
Guys:
Mark Pouteaux (Swift Current, SK; Canada)
Bernard Edwards (Capetown, South Africa)
Ryan Pauls (Saskatoon SK; Canada)
Tim Falk (Saskatoon SK; Canada/ Peru)
Steven Honest (Jinja, Uganda)
Pastor George Solo (Jinja, Uganda)
Leaders:
Emma Msaki (Arusha,Tanzania)
Millie (Uganda?)

So, more about outreach. We'll go to Mityana first. I don't know too much about it, other than we will probably stay in the village. Mityana has a major problem with witchcraft, is what we have been told, and that's about all we have to pray into. We stopped to get "fast food" there on our way to FP last time (fast food African style is meat on a stick or chapati or matoke shoved through your window.) Then after 3 weeks, so approx. June 2nd? We'll head on to FP.

Fort Portal. So far we have heard that we will not necessarily (meaning unless God tells us to, which we really hope He does...) be going back to Kijura & Kahuna to do any follow up on the ministry we did in March. The plan is to stay in the town of Fort Portal. Drunkenness & hopelessness are going to be our big enemies there.

We also have an awesome opportunity, which at the moment is still a huge maybe (Mugaya is still praying into it.. ) that would be absolutely amazing. Here's the deal, May 30 & 31 in Kampala there will be a Passion Conference. (http://www.268generation.com/worldtour/lowbandwidth/index.php?filename=kampala-english.xml) And we have the opportunity to staff it. 30,000 university-aged students are expected to attend from all over Uganda and East Africa. And we could have the opportunity to go and minister to them.. to pray with them and share the awesome hope of Jesus with all of them! It would be AMAZING!

Outreach Prayer Requests:
* health for the whole team (this seems to be the enemy's favorite tactic of attack at the moment... )
* hearing God's voice & discerning it well
* LEADERSHIP
* Unity among the team
* That God would fill our hearts with His COMPASSION & GRACE
* unity among our team & the pastors/ translators/ bishop we will work with
* God's creativity in reaching these people
* Physical, Spiritual, & Emotional Strength
* that we would rest in the peace of God, especially about situations with family & friends at home (the other favorite tactic of the enemy for now!)

[Here's a request: would someone be amazing, and please take this info and make it into prayer cards & pass them out. I have no way of doing it from here... thanks! You're awesome!!]

Ready for some more good news?
For my birthday, my amazing friend Penny, is loaning me her spare cell phone, and she got me a sim card, which means... that while I won't have any internet access, you could call me while I am on outreach! This is a great website (which I do not have at the moment, but will post asap) that Catherine's mom found, and has been using to call her for the last 3 months, where one can purchase international calling cards online quite cheaply! My phone # is +2567775571802... I can receive text messages and send them, but it is a bit more expensive and I can't really afford too many. All incoming calls for me are free... so, if you really miss me and want to chat sometime in the next month & 1/2, you can give me a call! I'd love to hear from you!

And, for those of you who were wondering, here is an overview of what the next 4 months of my life look like (as in, the whole rest of the time I am in Uganda!)

So, then, after outreach, we have debrief week. Hopefully, we'll go rafting on the Nile that week! (23 June-27 June). Then on the 28th is our Graduation. 30 June we leave for Kenya. A bunch of us (Catherine, Kendra, Meg, Penny, Ryan, Mark, Tim, Kristine & I ) are going to Mombassa for a week to relax, and hang out. We will "hopefully" get to visit some of our friends in Kenya while we are there too. We should be back on 7 June.

After that, as in, 8 or 9 July, we head up to Pader for a two week outreach in the IDP camp. In case you were wondering what the story is there, I'll tell you! IDP stands for Internally Displaced Persons camp. They are the result of the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) and all the havoc they have wreaked on Northern Uganda for the last 20 years or so. They have been in exile in Sudan for the last two years or so, but there is SO much of the mess that they have left behind. They would raid villages, kill people, rape women, and abduct the children and brainwash them (as well as involve them in witchcraft) and then force them into being child soldiers. The people in these camps are squished in (houses are ridiculously close together, and FULL of people) scared, and hopeless. They have lost everything, their houses, farms, businesses and communities. They have nearly no future. The camps are government "sponsored" which means that the soldiers guard them from possible attacks from a new tribe who is taking over and inflicting terror, the Karamajong, but most of the food (one meal a day) comes from relief organizations. The people have nothing to do.. nearly no jobs, and there is no return to their "homes" or what's left of them in the foreseeable future either. These camps are places of great spiritual darkness and many are demonic strongholds.

Apparently, most of Hopeland's work there in the last 2 years or so has been very discouraging and spiritually depressive, but with the last team that went, things changed. They had been praying for the joy of the Lord to invade that place and all the people there. (An outreach team from Scotland and another from South Africa had been there for 3 weeks before the team from our base headed up) (Hopeland has been going up and showing the Jesus film as well as building a school!!) And the joy of the Lord came! Apparently, before the children that lived there wouldn't even play, they would all just sit there. This time though, the kids were playing! They had planned to show the Jesus film, but God had other plans and broke all of their equipment so they ended up doing dramas about the life of Christ and many came forward and were saved and there were many who were healed. Anywho, they really want to send up more teams to support the new baby Christians and disciple them. So, lots of us want to go up to the camp and work there... hearing about these camps was a big part of what God used to break my heart for Uganda.

our work in Pader will be...? Well, it's up to God to show us what He wants us to do. We plan to work with the kids, do some sports ministry, help with the school building, do some AIDS presentations, and also some discipleship classes/seminars, as well as..? all sorts of other things. We'll see where God leads. It's a 1.5 day drive up to Pader (the roads are not so good, and we'll have to stop in Kampala for supplies & such.) We plan on coming back around 22 or 23 July.

After that, sometime between 28 July - 3 August, I'll start my work with Spring of Hope. [http://www.springofhope.org.uk/].

Ok... well, that's enough about outreach. I'll toss up another update about the last week or so soon.. before I leave!
love you all!!
-Ket Rose

Week 12- Update

2008-04-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

Week 12: (Thus Far)

Well, the rain has made a difference. The average temp in the morning & evenings has dropped to mid-low 70's. Which, is COLD.. considering our average temp before that was mid-low 90's. Nearly all this week I've been wearing jeans under my skirt, and a thick sweatshirt. This morning was the first sunny morning in like a week, which was really nice for quiet times.

Oh Outreach. I don't really want to write about this now, because nothing is for sure, but I also know that time is in a big crunch, and I don't know how much I will be able to update this. On Monday, outreach locations were posted. We also discovered, that the schedule has been wrong (for the 5th time now?) and that we aren't leaving May 19th, but May 10th. Which is just over two weeks from now! So, outreach will be six weeks instead of 5. (we come back June 19th). This whole thing has been a mess thus far... the way it was posted was really really dumb. So. I won't go into it. But, it does look like I will be going back to Fort Portal for 3 weeks and then to another place called Mitanya also for 3 weeks. (None of the outreach locations were outside of Uganda. And Pader was not on the list. However, that might change, with fervent prayer, so I am not giving up that one yet.) I will say, that so far we have an excellent team, and outreach looks like it will be a lot of fun, and that God will do amazing things. It's funny how much of a difference having a unified team makes!

Yesterday, Catherine, Penny and I went to town to pick up some stuff, like foil, for our Bible Verse Rap (so we can make some bling bling and possibly even grills.. hahaha) I also had my first boda boda ride, it was scary but fun too!

Oh, class this week... well, it has been on worldviews. Sort of. Only the last 35 minutes or so..(this is 2nd 1/2 of lecture on Wednesday!) so we've been keeping ourselves entertained in lots of ways. We've had more problems with completely crazy teaching. Yesterday our speaker went off on this tangent about Israel, and said that God will protect the country of Israel or He is not God. And basically stating that the existence of God is directly tied to the existence of the political country of Israel. Then he also said that the US will become a Muslim country if Israel is attacked by the muslims. WHAT?! I know. [oh, and speaking of the US and all sorts of political stuff... I just want the world to know... if Hillary Clinton becomes president of the United States, I am moving to Canada.]

Then we also spent a good 45 min-an hour arguing about weather or not it is sinful for women to wear trousers. This morning we had a 30 minute discussion on gender roles. And now... as usual... we are hearing the evils of homosexuality and lesbians (those are always two different things here.) (By the way, there is a HUGE preoccupation with sex here... every sin we hear about, every week, is always sexual sin. And many people here believe that all other sins are a result of / stem from sexual sin!! We're all just sick of hearing it.)

Thus far, this week has just been exhausting. With class full of not so good teaching, all the hysteria over outreach, and an emotionally taxing email from home, I am just drained.

Oh, and on Monday, while slashing, Tim, David & I got bitten by Safari Ants. (Think Lenningen & the Ants but not quite so large or scary, though if you don't pull them off, and you get enough of them, they will eat you alive.) They sting, but you just have to pull them off quickly, though they climb fast. So hope you discover them quickly.

On a lighter note, my feet are much much much much much, like a 1,000,000x better! My toe is basically healed, and the big sore has completely scabbed over and is just healing. I've finished my anti-biotics.. and things are going well.

Ok, are you ready for the most exciting news ever?

I just found out that... In July, we get to go with a team to do a 2 week outreach in Pader! YAHOOO. Talk about a dream come true, and the entire reason I wanted to come to Uganda for DTS. I just can't stop grinning! :D

Week 11- Update

2008-04-24T17:26:00.000-07:00

Week 11:

Last week, was by far the best week of DTS thus far, and definitely one of the best weeks of my life. Our speaker was Gary Killingsworth, the leader of YWAM Scotland (he's an american) speaking on the Holy Spirit. His teaching style is so refreshing- Spirit led.. and focusing on how awesome, powerful, victorious, and just beyond our comprehension God is. it's just that here the whole christian culture is occupied with SIN,and how bad we are. To illustrate the point perfectly, this week (week 12) our memory verse is Galatians 5:19-23. It begins with a list of 16 (15 +1 etc) sins and then goes onto say that people who do this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then finally we get the 9 fruits of the Spirit. And we have to make it into a song. So our group has turned it into a quite impressive rap. hahaha. But that week it was just so refreshing to just be able to get lost in how awesome and amazing God is. instead of just focusing on how much sinful man sucks. Friday was an awesome day, we had the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Then they treated us to a DTS fun day, and paid for us all to go to Kingfisher and swim and have an amazing meal. We had a blast.Then we got back and there was this whole big who-ha about supper, because they were supposed to save us some (it was chapati night after all) and Alex, our amazing guardian angel/fairy godmother/ amazing staffer from england had saved us some, but the person in charge of the kitchen didn't want us to have them and wouldn't give up the keys. Finally, we sent a hostage negotiation delegation, and they were able to persuade him to give up the keys. Yum. Chapat for supper!

Saturday, the boys & Catherine & I all went to town. We went shopping and hit up Fast Net, and some supermarkets. We ate at The Source (well french fries aka "chips" and soda) and had an all together amazing day. Sunday was another chill day. We spent the morning reading & doing laundry and composing our memory verse rap. Then we walked to Wairaka to buy chapatis and right after we had purchased our tasty sunday afternoon snack, it began to rain. So we started our walk back, through the MASSIVE amounts of mud. And, God rained down His grace upon us. As we walked, a man in a taxi passed us and offered us a free ride back to YWAM Hopeland. Wahoo. The rest of the day we just ate chapat & chilled in the common room.

That reminds me, Rainy Season is here. Which means that the average temperature has dropped, and it rains a lot. We get massive thunderstorms. Saturday night the thunderstorm was INSANE. It broke the windows of one house here! The thunder was SO LOUD it shook the building! Thus, it makes all of the dirt roads around here (so, all the roads but one) complete massive piles of mud. So our walk to Wairaka on Sunday was VERY VERY muddy... This week we also switched work duty again, so I'm back on grounds, pulling weeds and slashing.

Also, there was quite a tragedy that happened this weekend. I don't know if you heard or not (someone told me it made the international news) but Wednesday night there was a fire set in a school in Kampala. One of the staff of Discovery Centre, on base here, his daughter went to that school. Thursday morning we found out she was missing. They couldn't find her in the hospital, nor among the dead. (The doors of the school were locked, and so the kids were trapped inside. I don't know how many people died.) Word finally got to us (students anyway) on Sunday that they had found her, she was dead. Apparently 95% of her body was burned, but she died of suffocation. Her funeral was on Sunday. She was 10. Please keep her family (Parents & 3 younger brothers) in your prayers, her father's name is Dixon.

Updates!!

2008-04-24T06:29:00.001-07:00

Hey!
sorry that this update is so late, but... better late than never right?! So to start where I left off..

week 9: (the weekend)
Saturday we had breakfast at Ginger in Jinja (name of restaurant) on the Nile River. Then we went to Bujugali Falls, which was amazingly gorgeous, and went swimming in the Nile! It was so much fun! We plan to go back and go rafting there later (during debrief week)! It should be lots of fun. Sunday was good also. I can't remember exactly what we did.. just stayed home and chilled, doing laundry, listening to a podcast or two.. and just relaxing.

Week 10- Update

2008-04-23T17:25:00.000-07:00

Week 10:

this week was interesting. Our first speaker was speaking on "rejection and acceptance" but it was pretty much more on demons and strongholds than anything else. Wednesday- Friday was supposed to be on Deliverance.. but our speaker's theology was way out of whack and we all started challenging him and asking a lot of questions. He was intimidated and would not let us even finish our questions, he'd just start talking over us. (that was Wednesday) Thursday, was actually one of my favorite days of DTS. Our speaker was "sick" and couldn't come. It was raining so we all just hung out while they set up an alternate plan. I sat on my bed, listened to Simon & Garfunkel and played solitaire. Then we had Break Tea, and sat in the classroom and watched a tape of old soccer games. Then we got to watch video teaching by Floyd Mclung on the Father Heart of God. It was AMAZING. And so wonderful to have "western" teaching. The next day our speaker was still "sick" so we watched Derek Prince videos on deliverance. Which was also with a very heavy emphasis on demons. To give example, with the amount of demons he described, Mary Magdelene was really lucky to only have seven!

Saturday I was cooking.. which was not too bad... we've had major problems with people not showing up to cook when they are supposed to, especially the leaders. For breakfast we had no leader, but Jared is awesome and lead well. Cooking was long.. but not too bad. Sunday was horrible. Tim was cooking, and I felt so sorry for him. The staff person who was supposed to cook with him basically refused, and he was the only one there for quite some time. Then when they made the tea they forgot to put in the sugar, and the tea tasted like charcoal. THen no one showed up for wash up either. Needless to say, we were all up in arms over the whole situation.. because the situation had finally come to a boiling point. We are all sick of having lame leaders... people who say "do as I say, not as I do." and do not lead by example. It has been so frustrating.. but.. God will use even this to refine my (and everyone else's) character.. not by fire.. but with sandpaper.

We also spent the weekend watching Lord of the Rings. Yes, in four evenings, we watched all three extended edition movies! It was quite delightful. And we found a new place to hang out, in the dining hall, since we are no longer allowed to go down to the basketball court after supper... and there is no way to watch a movie in the class room or common room.. and since we are mixed company, we can't watch in a dorm either. Yay for the Kwap House.

Beautiful Feet!

2008-04-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

God is so funny sometimes. The way He uses my life as an object lesson is just crazy.

let me bring you up to speed.. my feet are disgusting.. and have had a million problems since I got here. It all started with millions of mosquito bites covering my feet and my unconscious compulsion to scratch them. My scabs seldom stayed on my feet for long, because any little nudge would send them flying off. I was frustrated and so sick of bleeding all the time. But our mini outreach did at least one positive thing, as it provided my feet a refuge, because there were no mosquitos there. My feet healed and were looking so much better when I returned. However, there were many woes in Fort Portal, the least of which was not, Jiggers. They are little parasitic bugs that enter through one's toenails and are nearly impossible to spot at first. Then then grow in a circular pattern, turn black, and build a little house in one's toe. The process to remove these lovely creatures is less than fun, and I won't gross you out by describing it here. I was fortunate to receive two of these lovely guests in my toes. I found one the last day in FP and Bira graciously removed it. Then a few days after we got back, I discovered another one. A few days after that, it too came out.. in front of a large crowd who gathered to watch the excitement.

If you didn't think that those were bad enough, this week has been the kicker. I had an itch. Just a normal itch. So I scratched it. And then later.. the skin fell off... and turned into a huge scab. I put some ointment on it. And it appeared to be helping. Then I went running so I put a band-aid on it. A day later the band-aid fell off, and the scab was gone. Great. Then the sore started pussing everywhere. Even better. So I had Rachel, who is a nurse, look at it, and then clean it. She told me it was infected and that i needed to get some antibiotics for it. So, I went back to my room, cleaned my feet, and as per instructions, put on socks and crocs and proceeeded with my evening. As I returned, several hours later, I discovered a HUGE blister on the 2nd toe of my other foot. Funny? I wonder how that happened. I went to sleep. The next day my toe hurt a lot.. and the blister was just chilling. But by the end of the night my toe had swollen up to be HUGE and it hurt to bend it. I thought I might have broken it or something! Monday was even better. The blister popped.. and pussed everywhere. I couldn't walk normally. Tuesday morning I woke up and the blister had reformed, but it was a blood blister this time. Then, that afternoon, it popped. We prayed for my feet in class, a couple of times, and the last time, I really felt God say that He would heal my feet. In His timing. Let me just tell you, that my feet were disgusting. I got accused, mostly jokingly, a few times of having leprosy!! In fact, I found a verse in Isaiah that described perfectly the condition of my feet: "From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it. But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed or bound up, or soothed with ointment." -Isaiah 1:5b Ok. Finally, Dr. Tim, the base leader, and yes, a MD, looked at my feet. He explained the reason for all of this... it all starts with the bites. Things here get easily infected, and my body is having an allergic reaction to the mosquito bites. He told me what i need to do is to 1) do my absolute best to not get bitten, 2) don't scratch!, & 3) get some antibiotics from a pharmacy in town.

Now, I'm sure that those are pretty obvious things to do, and if you have managed to read this far through all the nastiness you are really searching for the object lesson in all of this. Today, in class we learned about shame.. because nearly our whole class was struggling with it. And here it is. It all starts with a bite. Shame begins with the bite.. the lie planted in your mind by the enemy. Sometimes it comes from our own sin. Other times it's from the sin of others. Sometimes it's just low self-esteem caused by the media or the world around you. But that's the bite. And it has a small amount of poison, but by itself, it's not enough to cause any real damage. Nevertheless, lies like mosquito bites itch.And they are hard to leave alone. So you begin to scratch... you entertain that thought... you let it linger. Before you know it... sin is there to stay, and your mosquito bite has begun to bleed. The problem is that when you suffer an allergic reaction, your skin has a hard time holding onto the scabs.. so they bleed more.. and then more bacteria (lies) climb in. Before you know it, your wound is infected.. and what was once a small bite has now become a gaping, pussing, open sore. GROSS. The lie in your life becomes something you operate out of, a stronghold, some thing you, in a twisted perception of reality, now see as truth. That's how we end up believing that we are worthless, useless, ugly, unlovable, unforgivable. That is how shame becomes part of our life. And God is a healer, and He wants to hear us of our shame... just like He wants to heal my feet. The thing is, the wounds on my feet are crippling me, I walk with a limp. Shame makes me walk with a limp too.. I limp along in life, thinking and feeling like I am not good enough.. that I am worthless. So just as God can set you free by telling the Truth... He can heal your soul by telling you the Truth about who you are in Him. A beloved, beautiful/ handsome child of the King. YOu are redeemed, set free, victorious in Him, and He loves you and longs to bless you and to know you. So all you have to do is recieve your healing. And then: 1) try your absolute best to not get bitten, 2) don't scratch! & 3) if you do, put on the antibiotic ointment of His word!

So, here is the final update on my feet... for now. The healing has begun! The swelling in my toe is gone.. and my open sore is definitely on the mend. I can now walk without paining, and the girls brought me back anitbiotics from the pharmacy in town today! Whaoo! So.. God is giving me all sorts of tesimonies about things He is doing.

Just a quick sidenote-- life here is awesome! Our speaker is amazing, and it's Holy Spirit week. we should find out outreach locations tommorrow. I promise a long update this weekend, I had to cook last weekend, so that's why it's late! Love you all, miss you all.
JESUS IS AMAZING!

Back Into the Swing of Things...

2008-04-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Week 9- Hopeland!

Welcome back to the weekly routine of Hopeland life. It was so great to get to play volleyball again, though the games haven't really been hard core this week. We learned about Spiritual Warfare.. which was cool. There has been more dealing with issues and many many meetings... where it takes forever to do anything because each point must be reiterated by at least 4 other people in their own words... and with 37 students and usually at least 4 or 5 staff... it takes quite a while.

Thursday was prayer and fasting... and then I cooked supper on Thursday. It was quite tasty- pork, rice, cabbage, and pineapple. (No sweet potato & g-nut). Then last night, Ryan & I led worship. Bernie & Bulous (NIgeria) helped too. It was amazing. God moved so much. I really felt that it unified us as a body, which is SO necessary. Today all the girls are going out for breakfast and then we are all going to Bujugali Falls. Oh, and on Saturday (3/29) Guy's girlfriend, MJ, came from England. She is here for another week, and is amazing! Right now, it's 5:26 am.. but I haven't been to bed. I tried to sleep and couldn't, so I went up to the office and used the internet until my computer battery died.. then headed back to the room to plug in and type this whole massive update. Then I'll head back... upload it, and some more pictures.. and then get ready to go to breakfast.

All about Fort Portal (Part 2- Kahuna)

2008-04-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

Week 8- Kahuna

In Kahuna we stayed at the house of the Bishop. It was much bigger, but the hospitality was less, I always felt like an intruder and in the way. The water situation there was much worse.. it too was about 1/4 of a mile away, but this was just a nasty pool of water coming out of the ground, and the water was so bad that even if we boiled it, we couldn't drink it. Water had to be fetched from a different, farther waterhole for drinking... and it wasn't often. We had two jerry cans of drinking water per day.. for 24 people. It suffices to say that it was nowhere near enough and we all got dehydrated.

For Easter, I went to Pastor Willie's church (we stayed at his house the first week) where I was not only the only white person there, but the only person who did not speak Luganda or Lutoro (the local language) and there was no translator. The two people I was with did their best to translate, but they didn't translate too much of it. [INSERT REST OF STORY FROM EMAIL HERE]

what can I say, Kahuna was difficult, we were all already worn out from the week of ministry in Kijura... and tensions were running high in our group. Finally, near the end of the week, a meeting was called, and we all sat around and talked about what our problems with each other were. Then we asked for forgiveness... and finally at 12:30 am we finished by sharing hugs with everyone and heading to bed. From that point on, we were finally unified as a team! Praise the Lord!

Our prayer and fasting day was really cool. We went for a prayer walk... which was also just so cool, God spoke so much to me! Kahuna is home to the largest tea plantation in Uganda, and quite possibly all of east africa. It's huge and GORGEOUS. there are rolling green hills everywhere covered in tea bushes! So we walked down to the tea plantation and prayed there. Both Kahuna & Kijura have a major problem with drinking. There were these little packets of alcohol everywhere in the streets (the size of those ketchup packets from fast food restaurants) but they are 40% alcohol and there are thousands of them just all over the street. So after our prayer walk, we spent about 45 minutes picking up trash. Then as we walked back to the house we kept picking up trash until we could literally hold no more in our hands... and there was still tons left.

our last night in Kahuna we were invited to the house of the Engineer of the tea company for dinner. It was very late 10:30 by the time I ate... but an amazing feast! Then the roads were muddy and the bus & two taxis got stuck in the mud.. but the Engineer lent us his pickup so we didn't have to walk & carry our things 2k in the mud. Thank you Lord! Then the boys used the truck to get the taxis out of the mud.

Finally, we were on our way back to Hopeland! We left at 7am. We were all SO excited to head back home. To me it was just about as good as going home to America.... or as close as it could come.. the whole going back to America is still 5 months away. The excitement mounted when we reached Jinja. The taxi couldn't drive fast enough. Soon we were back at Hopeland... screaming.. and shouting for joy! The team from Wairaka was back already and they greeted us all with joy. We got all reorganized and then the Iganga team came back. WE could hear them shouting too. WE ran out and waited for their taxi.. and then we all began to share our stories, after many hugs and shouting! The DTS family was finally back together again. I don't know what main outreach will be like. Hopefully some of my closest friends will be on that team.. though I did get to know the other American girls on my team more.. and they would also be great to have for main outreach.

And then, as a happy family, we all ate chapattis together!

More good news about fort portal... there were no mosquitos.. so my feet began to heal!! And we didn't have to sleep with nets either! YAHOO!

Saturday and Sunday were long days... but good. We watched Coneheads and MIB II. Both funny alien movies. The boys (Tim & Ryan) and I went to town.. and I bought some shampoo & Teddy Grams. We also had rolexs (chapatti with scrambled egg (that had onion, carrots & cabbage mixed in) rolled up inside, which one can purchase for 600 shillings.. which is the equivalent of $0.36 us. So tasty!

all about Fort Portal (Part 1- Kijura)

2008-04-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Sorry, that as usual, it has taken a million years for an update, but once resuming to the swing of things here at Hopeland, free time with internet, and Mac in my possession was once again nonexistent!

so... Mini- Outreach!

WEEK 7 - Kijura
We left for outreach on Saturday morning, around 8am. The leaving was hard... we had just spent the last 6 weeks trying so hard to become a family, and now here we were being torn apart. They sent us off in style, though, taking pictures, putting us on the bus and even chasing it down the road a ways. It was bittersweet. The whole bus trip took 8 hours! We went to "Fort Portal" which was more like the general area. Instead we stayed in two small villages, Kijura the first week and Kahuna the second.

In our first house in Kijura, we had dirt floors, no power, and the water was about 1/4 mile away and then down a steep, muddy slope. We did get power in the evenings by running our generator and then later on, borrowing from a neighboring shop. Our room was TINY. We fit 3 twin mattresses side by side, and then had two feet at the end of them for our bags, and that was the entire room. There were 7 of us. Yes, that means at least two per twin mattress. It was more "DTS Bonding Time". The whole house was tiny, and we were very squished (24 of us, plus the family who lived there, who, by the way, were AMAZING people- Willie & Josephine and their kids) Each day we did door to door evangelism in the morning and then a crusade in the early evening. It was exhausting. But good. Door to Door was challenging, considering I had never done it before, but God came through. My favorite Door to Door story comes from a day when we went to the Police Station. We went and talked to the "prisioners" there - 5 young men. They took time to share their stories with us, each was very different, but all were great. In the end, one guy was already saved, and the other four wanted to be born again. So we got to pray with them! It was so cool. We were also able to bless them practically, by giving them food (they had mentioned to us that there wasn't enough food to go around).

The other cool day in Kijura was the day we skipped door to door. Instead we went down to the bore hole (where you pump water from) and slashed the grass and cleaned the hole. Then we got to spend an hour at one of the local primary schools ministering to the kids. Msaki came up to me and said, "In 5 minutes I want you to tell a Bible story to these kids." (there were several hundred of them!!) So, I ended up sharing about the 5 loaves & 2 fishes (and was able to mix in the Gospel too!) and then asked the kids who wanted to be friends with God? They all raised their hands, and then we prayed. I don't know how many, if any, were real decisions for Christ, but at least I got to sow some seeds

We also played with the kids a lot during the crusades, and did our best to share the love of Jesus despite the language barrier. It was the hardest children's ministry I've ever done- I had no words to use! The only way I could share the love of Christ was through my smile and my hugs. It was frustrating at times.

Crusades were also really hard. Basically, you take this huge wooden platform, get a sound system and set up. Then you throw a bunch of people on the platform and sing about 15 songs and dance all crazy. Then you invite people to come and sing "special songs". After that, someone gets up and shares the gospel by shouting as LOUDLY as possible that you need to get saved. After that, they invite people up to come pray and get saved, and many come. So we pray with them, and write down their names. And then we ask if there are other people who need prayer for healing. They come forward. We pray for them. Then we sing a few more songs, and then pack up for the day. SO far out of my comfort zone, and gifting! Not only was it spiritually exhausting, it was physically too.

this is a typical outreach day:
5-6 Morning Prayer time
6-8 sleep
8-8:30 Breakfast
8:30-9:45-sleep
9:45-10:15 get ready for door to door
10:15-12:30 Door to Door
12:30-1:00 - Sleep
1:00-1:30 Lunch
1:30-3:00 -Sleep
3:00-6:30 or 7 Crusade
6:30-7:15ish - Sleep
7-7:30- Supper
8:00-9:30 -"Short" evening meeting
9:30-10:30-attempt sleep
10:30-on - Sleep. sort of. with other people on top of you!

we were always tired... and the sleep was more like resting... lying on your sleeping bag. (Speaking of sleeping bags, Thank You SO much Mom, my sleeping bag is INCREDIBLE! So wonderful, none of that nylon and fake plaid flannel junk. It's like a big comfy blanket. The whole first night I slept in it, it was like one big cozy hug from home! I am sleeping on it now, at Hopeland, it's so wonderful!!) Not actually sleeping. The radio blared all night. We learned some great jingles from it though.. "Mirinda- Pineapple." and " I Love you, Gold Fry!" etc.

however, though many of us were completely out of our element, God blessed the work of our hands, or rather the work of our tongues, since we did not do much with our hands.

I also got sick the first week.. a cold.. not fun. But God used it in some amazing ways... I read another book that changed my life... "Darfur Diaries: Stories of Survival" by Jen Marlowe, Aisha Bain, & Adam Shapiro. God used it to confirm some things, firstly that He has given me a heart for East Africa, and secondly that He has called me to ministry of reconciliation and restoration. I know that I am not ready to go yet... I still need more knowledge and experience... but a desire for someday in the future. God has created in me such a hunger and thirst for knowledge, I can't wait to go back to the US and raid the local library and just devour so many of the things I don't know. And, incredibly, I find myself seriously considering and praying about going to a four year university after I finish my last class at Whatcom! I know, I know, we all never though that those words would come out of my mouth!

we're back!

2008-03-29T00:45:00.000-07:00

ok... quickly... a longer update is coming! we are back and so thankful for running water, internet and power! As well as the warm Jinja weather! God did some amazing things... our team finally pulled together the last 3 days after a long late night meeting where we aired our grievances. I got to work with some awesome kids too!
ok.. full report to come!
love you!
Kati Rose

Week 6- update

2008-03-16T17:39:00.000-07:00

WEEK 6:

Wow. Can't believe that it's been 6 weeks already! This week we are learning about Sin. Interesting. Sort of. I actually haven't paid tons of attention in class this week... I've been learning but more prompted by what the speaker has been saying in class.

We have had like a million outreach meetings... nearly 3 times a day. It has been frustrating.. with 20 people opinions abound and lets just say that our leaders are not the most organized people. But.. I still believe that God is going to use us, and do big things. However, we need LOTS of prayer.. we leave Saturday morning at 5 am.. and we are supposed to arrive in Fort Portal at 1pm.. and we have a crusade scheduled for 3pm! That's not a huge window for things.. so please please pray. OUr team is suffering from MAJOR disunity. The first 20 minutes of every meeting are spent arguing about how we should do things... and then we finally get things done. Ah. It's just frustrating. We are all exhausted.. after getting up at 5 every morning and not going to bed until 10 at the earliest. (we usually have meetings from 8-10 pm!) The leadership is also frustrating at this point... but... I was reminded this morning that "When the Lord is on the throne, things already better" (it's a song we sing in swahili! God is in control.. He is Lord and the leader over all. He can take care of things when men fail. PTL!

Tuesday night we had our first "social event" (a lot like funny night.. only for just DTS) we played some crazy games and all laughed a lot.

Yesterday, we offically innagurated our new base leader. DR. Tim. Woohoo. So we had a big "party" meaning LOTS of speeches... and demonstrations and pitches for each school/ ministry.[it started at noon and ended at 3:15!] The Tongans sang and then danced (and they invited lots of other people up with them.. it was SO cool.) Then we had a big meal.. YUM. We also had to help set up before the whole shebang and then clean up afterwards... and then we played volleyball and had leftovers for supper.

Today was pretty good. Just the ususal... mostly. I was cooking supper (Sweet potato & G-nut) and then it started to rain. Catherine & I played in the rain.. and then headed back to the dorm to change.. and instead got more people and we all went and played in the mud.. ok just Bernard & Cady & I. The boys & Meg played soccer in the rain with the Tongans.. all the people at Discovery Centere watched us and laughed. Then we served dinner... and then I went and attempted to wash all of the mud out of my clothes. I gave up and rinsed them.. and will let them dry.. and then tomorrow I will wash them properly. Yes.. So that's an update. Prolly the last for the next few weeks, unless by some miracle there is an internet cafe in FP and I have time to use it... (we won't have electricity where we are staying.. and prolly not water either.. I think we have to haul it. )

So.. have an amazing couple weeks.. Blessings on you, and PLEASE keep our team, as well as the other teams (Wairaka & Iganga) in your prayers!

Love you all,

KatiRose.

week 5 - Update part Dos

2008-03-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Week 5: Part Dos (that's 2 in Spanish, FYI)

WOW. What a crazy week. Friday morning began, as usual, with our 5 am prayer meeting. We were then supposed to present our memory verse skits (the verse was Hebrews 4:12 and our group had an interpretive dance) well, let me back up a bit. We have been having some issues in our dorms... the guys more so though. Anywho, Friday morning began with a quest to "remove the sin from the camp" because a lot of $ have gone missing from several of the guy's bags... This all began with the hope that whoever it was would confess and we would move on. Instead... no one confessed, and still hasn't.. and we spent the entire day being interviewed and such. So we had no class... and no teaching on the father heart of God (sad) But.... all was not lost. I read the most AMAZING book, "The Only Road North" by Erik Mirandette (Yes, I read the whole thing Friday afternoon!) So good... so amazing. And God really challenged me as to what kind of life I wanted to live. Do I want comfort, security and stability? Or do I want to "live on the edge" trusting Him for everything? Well, I made my choice. "my future decided I will praise Your name..." It's all up to God. This life is no longer my own (Galatians 2:20) and WHEREVER He leads I will follow, regardless of my own comfort. "Everything I am for Your kingdom's cause.."

Saturday the boys and Penny and I went to town. I bought some fake Tevas.. that are amazingly comfy. The boys all got "Pomas" - fake Pumas flip flops. I'm going to get some later... prolly after outreach. I also bought some Teddy Ghrams (so YUMMY!) and Bernard & I split a loaf of Cake Bread, a Jar of PB, and some margarine (pronounced marg-er-ene by Bernard) quite tasty. The bread lasted until Monday... and I still have my 1/2 of the PB. (I'm saving some for outreach). Umm.. oh yes, then we went to the internet cafe.. and Mac couldn't hook up to their 3rd laptop station ( a wire coming out of the wall) so I still haven't uploaded pictures.. sorry. but the post below this one has a link to Bernard's pics on facebook.. so that should give you some more!

Sunday, I went to Westside Church in Bend, OR. No, I did not make a secret trip back to the states... I listened to a 180 Podcast.. and Oh, it was gloriously amazing! Then... I can't remember... I did a massive load of laundry and reorganized all of my stuff. Yea, I think that's it. Oh, I was cooking that day. So I did breakfast and lunch (together) and then Supper.

Week 5 - Update part 1

2008-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

week 5:

thus far, this week has been good. The teaching was a little funny.. kind of all stuff we already knew. We've been learning about the character & nature of God as well as the fear of God. (There have been some interesting cultural things that have come up this week, but with only 23 minutes of battery left, they will have to wait!) This week we also switched worka duty, I am now on housekeeping... which is really boring because we only have a few rooms to clean, lots of people, and nowhere near enough cleaning supplies. I have ended up just killing bugs & mopping floors these last three days. Oh how I long for weeding! Tuesday during break tea we found a Chameleon .. which of course we picked up. I pet it! (And I pet a bat yesterday during worka duty too! Don't worry Kelso, the bat was asleep... it was really soft though!) Today was prayer and fasting day.

Oh, quickly, I'd better tell you about mini outreach. I am going to Fort Portal. We leave march 15th an come back the 28th! It is a town in the West right on the border with Congo. (The Democratic Republic of Congo, actually, but here everyone just calls it Congo.) It is apparently in the Rwenzori mountains that are supposedly quite beautiful and made from volcanic ash! Our group is 20 people. The group to Iganga (60KM East?) is 9 people and the group to Wairaka is 8 people. We leave the 15th at about 5 am. Our leader told them that we would be there about 1pm and we have an open air crusade starting at 3pm!! This trip will be a HUGE stretch for me... we are mainly focusing on Crusades, Seminars (where we teach groups of people what we have been learning during lecture phase thus far (quite possibly with very little notice and we are required to select the topic!!), door to door evangelism, and preaching in churches. None of those are in my comfort zone as far as ministry goes. Give me dramas, or kids, or some kind of mercy ministry please! (though apparently in Uganda those are the main ministries used... so... time for more S T R E T C H I N G!!! Also, the three people I spend the most time with (all guys ironically) are going to Iganga. Not Fort Portal. (though I was kind of expecting that... ) And the girl I am probably closest to is going to Wairaka. So... time for more relationship building. (But it's ok, I am an "S" personality type... so I will enjoy it... eventually.) No, actually I am excited to get to know some of the other people on the DTS, especially getting to know the girls better (all 5 americans are going to Fort Portal, and we have no "muzungu" guys at all!) (the Iganga guys have no "muzungu" girls (and there are only 3 girls each on both of the other teams!!!) So God knows what He is doing. Please, please, keep us in your prayers!

So, to add to the busy-ness of the base, we are now getting up at 4:45 to pray at 5am every morning for outreach. Then we have meetings from about 8-10 pm going over outreach details. Small groups have been suspended and now we meet in our outreach groups to learn dramas & songs & plan the details for our trips! Not only that, we still have our 10 chapters a day, quiet time, & we had questions due for "Is that really You, God?" due tomorrow. Then there is still kitchen duty (I am cooking Sunday) and, oh, things like Laundry to do too... oh, yea, and then there is just time to chill and breathe... so, so sorry that i have been slow with the updates. I promise a long one Saturday!

Yahoo.. Supper is almost here.. and we are SO hungry, all I have eaten all day is two rolls, two cups of tea (one Peppermint.. :( ) and a banana.

Busy, busy, dreadfully busy....

2008-03-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Hello One and All! How is life not in Uganda?! Life here has been wonderful! So to finish up where I left off...
Week 4 (part two):
We were supposed to have Coffee Night on Wednesday to fundraise/ raise awareness of the Pader/ Kottomor work, but we lost power, so it happened on Thursday instead. Friday night we had worship night.. it was lots of fun... there were some good songs. Tim & Ryan taught us motions to "Days of Elijah" and they are hilarious!! Saturday afternoon we (10 of us) had planned to walk down to "the Lake" (Victoria) but Emma told us that we couldn't go with out a Staff (there are crocodiles in the lake & he didn't want us to get eaten!) so instead we hiked up the hill.. in 104 degree heat! (now, that may not be entirely accurate... but I'd say it was pretty close to that.. ) the view was spectacular and we got to go through a boarding school and walk around. Then as we were leaving, some guy came and talked to Steve (from Uganda) and we waited for him. Bernard, Ryan & Judith started walking back down the hill because Bernard was cooking supper and needed to be back. Steve came back and told us that the guy he had talked to had had a dream that people from YWAM would come and preach to them. Then they wanted us to come and preach the next morning! We were all a little unsure.. (we had nothing prepared..) but we said we would pray about it. (later steve received a call that this Sunday would not work... so maybe we could come back another time. ) that said we were all relived. Then it rained and several people went out and played in the mud on the volleyball courts.. ( I missed out, but have vowed that next time it rains.. I will SO be there!)

Sunday was the most amazing day ever!! I went to the most amazing church. There are two guys on our DTS who are orphans who grew up in an orphanage just outside of Jinja, Steve & John Mark. They invited us to come to the church that they have at their orphanage.. and boy was it AMAZING! Steve & John Mark basically run most of the service, and so we were invited to go to church with them. OH my GOODNESS. How amazing! I had missed playing with kids so much.. and here were tons of them! We all piled in the car (8 of us!) and drove to church. The minute I got out, I was hugged by like 5 people and heard "muzungu!!" (white person). It was so much fun. Then we went inside (the building wasn't entirely "finished" the walls were mostly open.. but it serves it's purpose!) and prayed and then the service started. Jesus opened my eyes... THIS was why I had come to the other side of the planet.. THIS was why I was in Uganda... THESE kids. THESE Orphans. Wahoo! I was just so overcome with JOY.. I couldn't stop grinning from ear to ear.. my face actually started to hurt! And then I was just overwhelmed.. to tears... so many orphans... so in need of God's love... and I just wanted to pour out His heart on to each child.. I wanted to take each one, hold them in my arms and declare the love and promises of God over them. I wanted to give them each a big kiss.. and tell them that they have a Father who loves them and has great plans for their lives! Then we went on a tour of the orphanage.. there are a lot of kids there. It's usually about 16-17 kids a room! Oh how amazing. Steve has asked me if I would work with them after DTS, and I am definitely praying about it. The kids were so sweet, they grabbed on to us (Tim & I were the only Muzungus, and thus ridiculously popular) and wouldn't let go. Oh, how precious are these children. (I took lots of photos and will upload them Saturday (we are going to an internet cafe in town with fast internet!) It was the best day in Africa so far!

quick a minute..

2008-03-12T01:39:00.000-07:00

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=98745&l=1f2bc&id=821100507

more photos! these are my friend Bernard's. BUt, there you go!
I gotta run..
long update coming
my last one got eaten..

LOVE YOU ALL!

Week 4

2008-02-28T17:42:00.000-08:00

week 4 (So far):

This week our Speaker is a guy named James. He is great...very animated and interesting. We have been learning about relationships. Monday was spent talking about personality types and figuring out which ones we were and how to relate to people of other types. We used the DISC test.. I am an S CI. Sweet! Tuesday we talked more about the different types and Special relationships. Today we learned about communication and dating. All interesting stuff. Tomorrow we start Praise & Worship. sweet! This week also we have had to learn a long memory verse (Romans 12:1-2 NIV) and then be in groups of 6 and make a song out of it! So last night our group got together and wrote our song. (I offered the God Rocks version of the song.. but they decided to "take it in a different direction") we are doing it in a really funny way. Verse 1 we sing in a traditional hymn style.. then we bust into "in the jungle the mighty jungle.." tune for verse two!! I will try and get someone to video tape it!! They told us we could pick our own groups, but to "choose wisely" meaning (not all girls or not all Ugandans or whatever) So in our group we are representing 5 different nations (Holland, Uganda, Kenya, Canada & the US) woot woot.

Yesterday they also announced to us that the locations for mini outreach have been chosen and we need to pray about where God wants us to go. We are supposed to have the answer by Friday. A little scary... but they are all good locations.. so I really don't have a preference as to where. Besides, it doesn't matter where I want to go.. it is all about where God wants me to go. We will be either going to Fort Portal (in the West of Uganda) Wairaka (a small town on the way to Jinja) or.. one other town I can't remember the name of that's about 20km east of here. Please pray that I will find where God wants me to go.. and for our teams!

One of the biggest struggles we have been having here is disunity. With so many cultures and backgrounds.. it has just been hard. So today for intercession we prayed for ourselves... asking the Lord to remove any cultural barriers and to pray for our cultures themselves. As I was praying God really opened my eyes to cultural biases I have had for many years at home. It is rather popular while living in Whatcom County to scorn the Canadians... and living in Lynden (or close enough) what matters is weather or not you are Dutch. God has a really funny sense of humor, considering that on my DTS are two Dutch people and three Canadians!!! And in getting to know these people, they are all wonderful and have awesome hearts... and are nothing like the sterotypes! (I knew that already.. but getting that from my head down to my heart took some time!) So.. the moral of the story is... God loves ALL of His children, no matter what country they come from, and he wants us to look at them with His eyes. So as far as practical application goes.. no more Canada jokes.. and no more flaunting the "i'm proud to not be dutch" card. Who cares?! I challenge you to consider what stigmas you are holding on to... take them to the cross... it's amazing how liberating it is!

Tonight we are having coffee night to raise funds & prayers for Kottomore. And Friday I get to learn to make Chapattis! WOHOO! Ok, time to go. Worka duty is calling!

LOVE YOU ALL!

Miss you so much!

Week 3- Recap

2008-02-28T17:41:00.000-08:00

week 3 recap:

This was a hard week. I was feeling sick.. still am a little (my digestive system is all out of whack.. quite possibly from the water being funny and the lack of fiber in our diets) and class was hard. We were learning about Prayer & intercession, a topic I was excited about. However, the first 3 days were really boring (they were mostly basics but apparently compared to here, we in the West get a LOT of basic teaching & discipleship) and then the last two days were hard, when we finally got to intercession because our teacher had some FUNKY doctrine that most of us disagreed with. His points were all valid, but the logic he used to get to them was totally wrong and had us all up in arms. Combining that with lack of sleep (my stomach pain wakes me up in the middle of the night) personality clashes and miscommunication in the dorms.. made us all VERY eager for Friday afternoon to arrive. And it came, PTL! Saturday was the FCD (Foundations in Community Development school)'s graduation.. so we went to graduation, which was supposed to start at 10 and actually started at noon!! And then we had a FEAST! Goat (which is AMAZINGLY fabulous tasting!!!) Pig, rice, carrot rice, and greens.. and Soda! SOOO SOOO good. We were all stuffed (lunch wasn't until 3pm.. so we were starving when it was served) and so for dinner we had the same fare as breakfast (two rolls and a cup of tea). My dear friend Judith also was amazing and braided my hair! It has been so much cooler and much more managable, It took several hours.. but has been great! Then on Sunday.. Kristine (Michigan) got really sick. They took her to the clinic. We found out that she has a bad bacterial infection and was dehydrated. We had been planning, and Kristine was keen to come, but obviously couldn't... to go to Kingfisher, a resort outside of Jinja on Lake Victoria for a day of rest and relaxation and bonding. So we went.. and it was AMAZING! First we all walked down to the main road and caught two taxis.. (Mirijam, Mathijs, Bernard & I squished into the back seat of this funny van taxi) and then met up with the girls (who took a different taxi) in Jinja. On the way to town, we ran out of gas, by the grace of Jesus, RIGHT in front of the petrol station!! Our driver, instead of making us get out and push, used the starter motor to drive the car off the road and next to the pump. Didn't know you could do that with a vehicle... but now I do (don't worry Dad, if I ever run out of gas, I promise not to do that!!) Anywho.. so we met up with the girls (Cady, Catherine, Kendra, Meg, Katy Saunders, & Penny) in town. Then we caught a private car to Kingfisher. (There were 7 of us, plus the driver crammed into the car.) 3 of us sat in the back and Cady & Bernard sat on our laps. Then we stopped for gas and the driver told us that we were going to go through a traffic checkpoint and apparently it is illegal to have more than 1 passenger in the front seat, but it doesn't matter how many are in the back seat. So Catherine ended up on our laps too.. it was quite hilarious. Kingfisher was GORGEOUS! I had never been to a resort before.. and let me just say.. wow! The swimming pool was amazing!! So wonderful! SO nice to cool off! We met and played with some kids from England who had been in Uganda for a year and 1/2! We also ate some AMAZING food and had time to just relax. Then we were waiting for the taxi to take back and we found a jackfruit tree!! (So cool!!)) and a play ground with SWINGS! (that right there was enough to make my day!) we took a million pictures so I'll upload some of them someday!

"day in the life.."

2008-02-27T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hello!! Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. We have lost power once or twice but more than that things here are SO busy. It feels like nearly every minute of the day is scheduled with something. Speaking of that, why don't I give you a typical day in the life of Kati Rose.

6am wakeup (Meg is our amazing, cheerful, and gracious alarm clock!)
6:05-7:05 quiet time, outside the DTS classroom on the porch in my PJ's.
7:05-7:20 Get dressed and ready for the day
7:21-7:30 walk to dining hall and wait for breakfast
"7:30"-8:15ish Breakfast!
8:15-8;30 collect my things and go to class
8:30-9:00 Monday morning meeting with entire base (prayer & worship & announcements & short message) (Tuesday & Thursday is praise & worship which we take turns leading in teams) (Wednesday & Friday is Intercession) (Thursday & Friday we also spend time to recite/.present our memory verse)
9:00-10:30 Lecture
10:30-11:00 Break Tea
11:00-1:00 Lecture
"1:00"-2:00 Lunch
2:00-2:30 Rest/nap
2:30-3:30 M, TH, F :"Small" group (ours has 12 people in it.. and yes, they are mixed groups!) Tues: "Bible study" (so far we have only talked about how to do it... ) Wednesday (free time)
3:30-5:30 M,T,W, F : Worka Duty (I have been pulling weeds :D) TH: Sports (we all go play volleyball or soccer)
5:30-6:30 Volleyball/ bathing M: (one on one with Alex)
"6:30" -7:30 Dinner
7:30-10:00 worship or bible verse practice or movie or pineapple or meeting or game or, if the power is out: Stargazing!
10:00 Lights out
10:30-10:45 actually quiet in the dorm.. until someone's cell phone rings...

Saturdays are our free days... we can go to town.. or not. Sunday is church.. and usually time for homework.

On a sunny Monday afternoon in Uganda...

2008-02-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

Hello!! It's Monday. Life at Hopeland is amazing, as usual. God has been doing SO much in me this last week, as well as doing lots at the base. We have had some crazy times, and some not so crazy times. We have had massive rainstorms, with LOUD thunder, HOT days.. TONS of mosquitos (who are eating me alive) some injuries: Guy from South Africa was playing rugby and tripped and broke his collar bone. Steve from Uganda was playing soccer and collided with a Tongan and ended up with a broken foot. We have also had some nummy Pineapple (which I carried around in my purse!!) (my new favorite fruit) which we always manage to eat after dinner when the power is out. We sit on the porch, in the dark, and by the light of flashlights, cut a pineapple with a swiss army knife. Glorious. Amazing pineapple! I also had a jackfruit, which is amazing and tastes like candy! We had CHICKEN.. which was delicious, but also was just like hello, the entire wing of the chicken was just placed on my plate! Power outages and internet outages are still quite common, though the water situation has not been bad. PTL! We are also reading 10 chapters a day from the Bible. today we are on Numbers 4-13. As well as reading "Is that really you, God?" and "Daring to Live on the Edge" both of which I have read, so I am waiting until someone is done so I can skim their copy. We have played Uno a couple of times, and I learned a new card game last night called "sevens" though it is really called "cheat" for obvious reasons.. hahaha. I did laundry, african style, all by myself yesterday, and it came out well. On Saturday I was cooking, which, if you cook on the weekends, means you cook all 3 meals... it was fun, but I don't feel like I did much. We peeled "Irish" (regular potatoes" for two hours with large blunt knives (So blunt the had problems with cutting tomatoes) without handles.. which was quite an adventure. Last week we learned about quiet time and Bible meditation and hearing the voice of God. Our speaker was Margaret, and she was amazing. I learned SO much. This week we are learning about prayer and intercession. Our speaker is a guy named Jonathan. He is cool. We (Hopeland) sent a team to Kotomore, an IDP camp in the north last week. This morning we heard testimonies from the camp, it was amazing. God did amazing things there, and many people were saved. We are continuing to support the "baby" christians there, and several of us on DTS are praying that we will get to go there (God has given us hearts for the IDP camps) for our mini-outreach (next month, we will go somewhere for 2 weeks, so I will prolly be out of communication for that time) or even for our big outreach. Please keep that decision in your prayers! Umm. what else? Mark from Canada finally got his luggage (it had been lost on his flight over, about 2 weeks ago!) God has just been blessing us in so many ways, speaking and breaking down so many things in me. It's been quite exciting. We also have had several birthday parties ( Mercy took video for me. so I will show you when I get home. because good luck uploading a 30 minute video onto youtube with this internet connection!) it was crazy and fun. Yes, yes. life here is good. I am enjoying it, and growing in the Lord. We also started work duty, so I get to pull weeds for 2 hours almost every day. It's actually pretty enjoyable. I was thinking all about DTS while doing my homework yesterday, and I was reminded of a Worldview analogy: "it's like drinking from a firehose". SO true. SO much happening at once.. and so hard to communicate it all to you folks back at home. I hope I am doing an ok job of it. But, back to the firehose analogy.. that reminded me of a movie clip.. if you have ever seen the movie, UHF, you should know what I am talking about!! :D Oh, what more can I say? God is so GOOD and I am learning and growing SO Much. I have uploaded a few more pictures.. more to come.. so check this link again in a few days, hopefully there will be more.. but other than that.. i only have 10 minutes left until class starts and i should do a couple things.. if you have emailed me.. I am working on a response.! http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29628&l=4105d&id=505165798 and I don't know if I already gave you this link yet.. so have this one too: http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28782&l=beae1&id=505165798

Prayer Requests:
* DTS Unity. We are 37 strong, soon to be 38, some guy arrives from Nigeria today (why late? not sure)
*Mosquito bites.. my feet are disgusting, and they are starting to hurt
* I will be ready and available to recieve what God has for me
* outreach & miniout reach destinations.
* Healing for Guy and Steve
blessings!

an update... finally!

2008-02-10T10:10:00.000-08:00

Hello! Sorry that it has been so long since I updated.. we've been without power off and on for the last several days and every time the power goes out, the internet must be reset. Actually, apparently we are without power right now. (2:00 pm Friday). Yesterday we were without water, which made life interesting.

So, a review of my week. Monday we started classes, it was not too bad, we had a tour of the base, which of course we did not finish. We continued to receive students. Kristine from Michigan got stuck at the airport Saturday night and by the grace of God, was brought safely here safely Sunday in the middle of the night! Tuesday we spent learning the YWAM values. Then we went to Jinja town. That was exciting. It is quite large. We also played the African game of "Stuff the Taxi". Basically we put 20 YWAMers and the Driver into one "taxi" which was basically a glorified mini van. That was pretty sweet. Then we walked around town and got a tour, looking hilarious, a group of like 15 Muzungus (white people) and then some Africans. Then, I almost got run over twice. Once a taxi almost backed into me, and the second time I was a little too close to the road, and ended up with a car bumper 6 inches from my leg! Praise the Lord that I was safe. So we finally all pile back into the taxi and then suddenly, I look up and a random african man was sitting on my lap. Turns out he worked for the taxi company. So I am just sitting there feeling extremely awkward in a taxi crammed full of people, with my friends behind me laughing at me. Random African Man was there for quite some time until we got to a fuel station. He hopped out and pumped the Petrol, and then hopped back onto my lap. Eventually we discovered the reason he was there.. he was the conductor and was collecting all of our fares. Hahaha. Well, pretty much, TIA (This Is Africa). Wednesday after more YWAM values + all the DTS rules, I had another good African experience, Laundry! My friend Judith, from eastern Uganda, showed me how to wash in a bucket. She is a pro! This girl is amazing, she can do an entire load of laundry by hand in 30 minutes!! Thursday was YWAM's monthly international prayer and fasting day. We spent from 9am-3pm worshipping, interceding, and listening. It was pretty cool, minus the fact that I was desperately in need of some peppermint tea... it was an amazing day. Then we had an amazing dinner, complete with MEAT ( two bite sized pieces ) rice, and M____, which is this kind of mashed banana stuff. Not too bad.

So I've also played a lot of volleyball, and watched several movies. It rained last night and we had massive thunder and lighting, which I was blessed to wake up and see. They have also started us reading 10 chapters of the Bible everyday, which means that by the end of DTS we will have read the entire Bible! It's kind of intense, but it helps to get a bigger picture Our DTS class is 35 people, the biggest this base has ever had! We have students from Uganda, Kenya, The US, Canada, Tanzania, South Africa, Bali, & The Netherlands. It's an amazing group. I've had lots of fun talking to the Canadians, they remind me so much of home, for whatever reason I can't put my finger on it. But I am becoming an expert in Saskatchewan culture... though most is stuff I already knew, living so close to Canada.

I've also had to change my name. There are 3 "katies" on base.. though we each spell our names differently: Katy from Ohio is on staff, then there's Cady from South Africa, who sleeps on the bunk above me, and then there's me: Kati. So I am Kati Rose to help keep things from getting too confusing. Did I mention that there is also, in our room, a Catherine, a Kendra, and a Kristine?! It can get a little confusing! So, If you send me mail (hint, hint, hint) please address it to Kati Rose (with my last name of course). Thanks.

The last two days we have been learning about Discipleship. I have another lecture in about 8 minutes or so! Yesterday I also got to meet Teresha, the lady I will be working with at Spring Of Hope after DTS. Sounds like I will get to do home visits, where I go to the house and visit the children & their families and I will also get to work in the school helping with the education program! Yahoo!

[EDIT: It is NOW 9:12 pm Sunday night, and we've only just gotten internet & power back! Still no water, but it rained a little today, so we have some on base, just not in our dorm.] I will write more later, but the mosquitos are eating me alive!! Just to let you know, I am not trying to be a snot if you don't hear from me for a while, it's just that things like power, water, and internet are rather unpredictable around here. I love you all and miss you all terribly, I love love love hearing from you all, so please write back! ok. time to go! good night! love you all!

it begins!

2008-02-04T06:50:00.000-08:00

ok. so this will be fast. I literally have 2 minutes of battery left. Things here are fabulous. God is SO Good. We started our DTS today.. there are like 40 people all arriving in the last 36 hours. In that same amount of time our dorm has gone from 5 to 17! Crazy! ok.. got to run! Pray for Kenya! Blessings!

chillin... in africa... actually it's more like roasting!

2008-02-02T03:14:00.000-08:00

Hello! Life in africa is fabulous and HOT! Our DTS class is now 9 strong. Over night we added Penny (from South Africa), Mirijam & Matthijas (A married couple from the Netherlands), and Ryan and Tim from (Saskatchewan). Wohoo! My gmail is not working at the moment... nor has worked all day... so... please be patient for me to respond to emails. Well, yesterday afternoon I was finally able to upload some photos.. I just put them on Facebook because that is easiest. So if you follow these links, you can see them. I will try and add more later. http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28697&l=5a25f&id=505165798, http://hs.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28698&l=94a1d&id=505165798.

Last night we also had a few more adventures. We had my now favorite meal.. Chapatis (fried tortillas), rice, beef, and pineapple. YUM. Then just after I had finished washing my plate, post dinner, the power went out. Praise the Lord, none of our computers were plugged in at the time! The power was only out for 15 minutes or so (yay!) so then I went to the Common Room with Rachel (staff), Anthony (ABC student), Kendra (on my DTS) and Catherine (also on my DTS) to watch a movie. We decided on Dream Girls.. but after about 20 minutes I was suddenly exhausted and went to bed. Apparently the movie was not a favorite among other people as well. Oh well. We're going to try and watch another after dinner tonight.

Today I had amazing devotions! (YAHOO!!) And then headed for breakfast with Katy (staff) and Penny. Then I ended up talking to Jeffery (From Kenya, here for SBS) and Valence (from Uganda, also here for SBS). Valence is HILARIOUS, and super cool. He asked me a million questions, but he just has such a heart for Jesus and seeing people, especially young people, becoming disciples and discipling others. Anyway so we got to talking and then over breakfast (which was fresh buns made by the Tongans and my new favorite breakfast!!) Jeffrey started talking about Kenya and everything that is going on there. He was there for a couple weeks over Christmas.. and what is happening is just sick. Most of it is not reported on the news or anything like that. So if someone says there is "peace" in Kenya.. they are very very wrong! Please join me in praying for peace in Kenya and the healing, peace, and justice that only comes through Christ. One of the coolest things that Jeffrey was saying was that he was having a hard time dealing with all the atrocities he has seen, things happening for no reason, and he was crying out to God about them. And he was reminded that God is GOOD. And He is the God of Justice. We have hope, because one day, He will make all things right! PTL!

After breakfast we went for a walk. we started out showing Penny around.. and then ended up going and trying to find this spectacular vantage point of Lake Victoria that we had heard about. We didn't find it, but we saw a lot of beautiful things anyway. We met Jane, a widow taking care of 6 grandchildren who are orphaned. She was amazing. She asked us to come back and pray for her soon. We also met James who is a guard for a school, and this girl and her brother Emmanuel.. (I wish I could remember her name)... who lived in this amazing house. I'll try and post pictures soon.

Alright..well it is just about time for my afternoon nap. then we are going to play volleyball before dinner. Hope everything is wonderful with all of you!
(if you scroll down two posts, there is one all about day 2 or was it three?) ha ha .

Ok..
blessings to you all!

If I never said another word...

2008-02-01T06:35:00.000-08:00

these poems are for Kelsey, my absolutely astoundingly amazing little sister.

If I ever moved to Africa, I'd miss my amazing sister because no one else but Jesus knows why "yule log" makes me laugh so hard, and I'd like to keep it that way.

If I ever became an astronaut, I'd like to buy a toothpick bird because I found Ursula's scrunchie and I like rhubarb pie.

If I ever visit Namibia, I'd like to put Betty Cracker on TV because Suudzu is amazing and i like making fun of Jude Law.

If I ever actually got a million dollars and a pony, I'd like to be a lumberjack because they aren't really going to shoot a helicopter with a stick of dynamite and if Padre shaves off his mustache, I am not coming home.

If I could go to Trader Joe's I'd like to drink water that is big-like lake because Kurt Browning used to live in my closet and I like back to school shopping.

If I ever had a four foot baby I'd like to buy you a Coldstone cake because Ranger Vickie is from "Oregon" and I want to blow stuff up with my mind.

If I never turned on Axton road again, I'd like to tell Tim Gunn his outfit was fierce because I remembered that your shark's middle name is Andre and I like it when clerks at Walgreen's ask you if you're getting married.

Die To Self- the adventure!

2008-01-31T23:50:00.000-08:00

Ok. So I will catch you all up on what has happened since i last posted.. which was Wednesday night.

Catherine & Kendra are here.. they are from Ohio, and are amazing and so much fun! Today more people should be coming, Ryan & Tim from Saskatchewan, and Penny from South Africa. Wohoo!

Yesterday, Rachel, a staffer from England, gave us the official tour, and I took lots of pictures. You can pray though, because iphoto is not working at the moment, so they are all stuck on my camera. For breakfast we had this amazing rolls, they are fried a little, and hard boiled eggs (which I abstained from). For lunch we had potatoes (YUM!), Posho, it's that mystery white stuff, which is actually corn ground up into a flour and mixed with water. Then it hardens into something that is not very fun to eat.. but there isn't much choice. There was also cabbage, which I tried, and was not a huge fan of, and eggplant soup, which I will try next time. For dinner we had sweet potatoes, not too bad, with g-nut sauce (which is like peanut soup). That was acutally amazing. Then we went to discovery center and watched the news. which was al-jazeera! That was a little unnerving at first! But actually it wasn't freaky terrorist news.. it was based out of somewhere and the news anchor had a cool accent. Then we came back and chilled in our room. Oh, yes, and yesterday afternoon we all took long, glorious naps.
Finally we all went to bed.. and none of us slept very well. But it was all for a good reason...

so.. i have not been feeling very at home here.. things are just so different. and I just didn't feel like I belonged. So last night I had a wrestling match with God. I told Him I had given up everything to come here; family, friends, work, ministry, and the stupid things like cell phones, washing machienes, and my own bed to sleep in. But here's the thing.. I had given up all of that. but I was not... how to explain.. everything was still all about me. i was tired, I was hungry. I missed my friends. blah blah blah. Jesus, just lovingly and tenderly showed me, that that was not the right attitude I needed. "DTS does not stand for Discipleship Training School,"a very wise YWAMing big sister once told me, "it stands for Die To Self." Which is exactly what I needed to learn. So, none of us were sleeping well, and I awoke around 5:45 to hear singing and praying coming from the common room across the courtyard. So after some deliberation. I got up and joined them. And oh how amazing it was! The presence of the Lord was there very strongly. So we all prayed and sang... and prayed and sang. Some of the staff shared words that they had received which was exactly what I needed to hear. I know this description does not do the morning justice.. but you will just have to imagine it. Then we went and got water, and headed back to our room. How amazing is God! Finally, I am at rest here. All is His, and in His hands.

Breakfast was rolls and eggs again. I had an egg.. it wasn't too bad.. not amazing either, but hey, protein is important! Then we spent an hour or so washing chairs for our classroom. We had sticks and we de-spiderized the bottoms of them.. spiders like to lay eggs, who knew? ha ha. So we took sticks and got all the eggs and spiders and gunk out and then washed them. we had the help of Mattie, an adorable 6 year old boy, who enjoyed getting spiders for us, though we got a fair share ourselves.

I am noticing that I am becoming more and more brave as time goes on. So far I have eaten lots of new foods: Posho, cabbage, hard boiled eggs, sweet potatoes. g-nut sauce.. etc. Squatty potties are no big deal. we have lizards that like to chill in our bathroom.. and they are cool. I spent the morning killing spiders with a stick! Etc. And it's only been like two full days of being here on base! Crazy!

The days go slow here.. we get up early and go to bed late.. but they are wonderful. I am so excited to start school soon. I think we start on Monday!

Thank you all for your prayers and emails.. they bless me so much!!

So in short. I am loving it here, finally feeling like I am actually on DTS and part of the base. I am resting in the joy and hope of my amazingly faithful God who cares most about the condition of my heart! Dit

First day in Africa!

2008-01-30T21:58:00.000-08:00

So.. Uganda is amazing! Where to begin? It is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS here! And they have the most amazing trees I have ever seen. I'll try and add pictures later.

So we arrived in Entebbe at 8:45 this morning.. and stepped off the plane into a very new kind of air. (i've never had this much humidity...(which is actually not very much compared to what Phil & Amanda described in Ghana!) but I am still getting used to it.(it feels like I am perpetually stuck in the aquatic center locker room, minus the chlorine smell!) After standing in a line to get our visas (3 months for now) we got our bags (the shoulder strap on my big green one broke and narrowly (like 1/4 of an inch narrow!) missed hitting me in the eye! Thank you Jesus for Your protection!

Then we (Meg & I) were picked up by the two Emmas (both on staff, both men, one of whom is our school leader) and Charles and had a three hour car ride back to the base. Ugandans are crazy drivers! (The guys from the couches would love to come and drive here I am sure!) They drive on the other side of the road.. and constantly pass one another. Pretty much, it looked like there are almost no actual traffic laws... and there is definitely no right of way. But, it kind of makes sense.. that way you are not waiting in traffic so much. But cars drive within inches of each other, and people just run across the road. Then there are the Boda Bodas (motorcycles for hire) who just weave through traffic constantly. It was quite the experience, but interesting and just makes me glad that I don't have to drive here (I would never get anywhere!!) I have to say that Charles is a great driver... and actually I came to notice that people aren't exactly as reckless as they seem, they all pass with care! Also in the city no one uses turn signals.. they just stick their arm out the window when they want to pass you. But when you are going around an extended curve in the road (like the Pole rd s-curves or even longer) you put your blinker on! Random. But kind of cool I guess!

We drove first through Entebbe, then through Kampala and then some other smaller towns before we got to Jinja. We haven't actually even seen Jinja proper yet, because the base is off in another direction. The cities are interesting. there are people everywhere. And always along side the road. They wear all sorts of clothing... some very modest and some not as modest. Mostly though there is a common thread.. skirt or pants. But pretty much everything you could imagine they wear. The buildings are really interesting. It's pretty much always that you see a nice building (what I would consider a nice building for being in Africa) next to a shack. They also paint advertisements for things on the tops of buildings, where we would usually put the name of the store, though they do that too. Because Uganda is a "christian" nation there are stores like : Jesus is Lord -dairy or the like. There are cell phone ads everywhere!

The base itself is up this hugely long dirt road (approx 3 times the length of Zander dr. all the way to the Roosendaal's house) and is huge and beautiful! I am staying in a dorm, with 7 sets of bunk beds, plus one more (which makes for 15 beds) and they will all probably be full. Meg and I were the first to get here.. so we got first pick ( my bed is a bottom bunk between two windows, and it's high off the ground (room for all my stuff!!) and has an outlet, so that Mac can power up whenever he needs to. Two more girls, Catherine & Kendra will be arriving tonight, hopefully in about 20 minutes. Then we headed for lunch (baked beans, spaghetti noodles with some kind of sauce, and some funky like riced potatoes that were a couple of days old.(gross.. everything else was good though!) I ate as much as I could... but then I wasn't so hungry. So after I set up all my stuff, and figured out how to hang my mosquito net (it came with loopholes but no string! . So I made string out of duct tape!) I took a long nap and missed dinner (oops!) and then went for "Fellowship" which is kind of like a small group.. but with sporadic attendance. I have also already braved and rather quickly adjusted to ( to my surprise) the squatty potties. They really aren't that bad! We also can't drink our tap water... so tomorrow they will give us a tour and show us where to get water from.

The people here are amazing. So friendly and hospitable, and just welcoming. Everyone seems delighted we are here and excited for us to go through the school! Speaking of which, there are way more people on the base than I had previously thought. Our DTS may end up being about 30 people!! Crazy! And Emma said a rough estimate of the number of people on base could be 150! So crazy!!

I am getting used to all the accents too. There are a lot of british people here on base. Tonight I spent time with Alex and Rachel, two amazing girls who are on staff here, and I almost had the urge to pick up their accent!

Something else, that's interesting is that sunrise us not until around 7 am... and sunset is exactly at 7pm. weird! I know you all want to see pictures, I took one of my first African sunrise (from the plane, and from the ground) but uploading pictures pretty much eats the entire internet access for everyone else.. So as soon as i find a time when I can take over.. I'll add pictures!

Ok, Prayer requests:
*no more Jet lag... 11 hours is a big time difference to maintain!
*get used to the humidity
* adjustment easily to so many new things and new people
*unity and bonding of our DTS class
*bonding with other people on base (it will take me a few days before I can really start to adjust and make new friends)
* safe travels for all of the other arriving students

love you, miss you. blessings!

(PS. sorry that these are all in past tense postedness.. but that's the way it may be.. i'll try and post in present tense soon. FYI is 9am here on Thursday! So I'm guessing that makes it 8pm on Wednesday in Whatcom County? let me know if that's wrong! )

Your faithfulness endures... even in London

2008-01-30T04:13:00.000-08:00

Hello! So I am currently in England... chillin at Heathrow waiting to go on to Uganda! And what an adventure it has been thus far! My flight from Sea-Tac to London went well.. long.. but not bad. I had an entire row to myself so I got to stretch out and sleep.. or attempt to. I got really excited as soon as i looked through the clouds and realized that the land I saw was England! The plane could not land fast enough! (I saw Buckingham Palace.. and this weird building that I think you should find out about. It was shaped like a black artist's palate sitting atop a pie tin filled with teal something. (if it were a pie, it would be jello, but this was a building so obviously some sort of building material..))

Then I got to London, and this is where my faith was put to the test. I was supposed to meet Megan, a fellow DTS student, here before our flight to Uganda. We had planned to meet at our departure gate. The only problem is, Heathrow does not give out departure gate numbers until around two hours beforehand. Thus with an 9 hour layover in a HUGE airport we were in major trouble. I looked and looked and looked and looked and couldn't find her anywhere. Then I tried to use my laptop to see if she had emailed me.. and all the internet costs money. So I tried to pay for some.. but my funds for my trip that were in savings haven't been transfered yet! So I couldn't use the internet. Then I tried to use my phone card to call home, several times.. but the pay phones here don't work with pre-purchased phone cards! I had even gone to the airline's customer service desk and had them page Megan. I stood and waited for ten minutes, but I was pretty sure she hadn't heard. So here I was all alone wandering in this HUGE airport.. with no Euros... no debit card.. no phone.. no email... and no Megan. Yikes! But what I did have was God! Finally, hot, sore, and exhausted (it was about 4am Pacific time.. and I had gotten about 6 hours of sleep in the past 36) I sat down and poured out my heart. And just then, a louder announcement came over the intercom.. paging Megan. So I grabbed my stuff and hurried to the desk as fast as I could. Finally... there she was! A traveling buddy!

Things have still been a little sketchy here.. I ordered a 12oz Soy Chai Tea from Starbucks and it cost $8.00!! (this further reaffirms my support in Wood's.. yes, Starbucks, I will remember how you ripped me off in London when I return to whatcom county!) And to use the internet it's a Euro (which is a lot more than a dollar!) for "ten minutes", But, God is SO good and so faithful to me! On the plane ride here I was just overwhelmed so many times at just how awesome and powerful and majestic and huge He is! I am just reminded over and over that He is all I need- He is my everything!

and get this: in 4 &1/2 hours... I will be on a plane headed for Uganda! YAHOOO!!

love you, miss you, Blessings!!

[edit: I am now actually in Uganda.. I will update more later... but I have to recharge the battery before I can post more!)
(PS. IT'S AMAZING HERE. AND I AM TOTALLY JET LAGGED!!! )

Here I Go!

2008-01-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

So.. I leave in less than 24 hours! CRAZY! I am still packing and getting things in order. But it all doesn't seem real! I've had some crazy last two weeks, jam-packed with all my amazing friends, crazy family, and wonderful "adopted" families! I'll share more of my adventures later.. but, my next blog will, hopefully, be from another country! (London or otherwise!) Thank you for all the amazing prayers and support! You all bless me SO much!
Prayer Requests:

Safe Travels:
* No SNOW for the drive down
*restful flights
*an easy connection in London (I am meeting a girl, Megan, from Colorado in London. We have the same flight to Uganda!)

Goodbyes with my family

Cultural Adjustment

SLEEP!!

Blessings on you all!

Faith or Fear?

2008-01-24T13:14:00.000-08:00

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."- Hebrews 11:1

Getting ready to go on this big of an adventure certainly has its ups and downs! I am so excited.. but this is a big big big jump. God asked me to, and so I have faith that He will catch me. This whole going to Africa for 7 months thing, is so beyond my comfort zone, I can't even see it anymore! Which is amazing, and I know it will produce HUGE growth in my life, to make me more like Jesus and to KNOW Him more! YAHOO! But it is so easy to let the enemy persuade me that things will be horrible.

These last couple weeks have been a battle with clear lines between the Truth and a lie. Truth is winning, but it is amazing to see the immense onslaught that the other side is putting up! Every time I begin to panic, I just fix my eyes upon Jesus. I go to the Word. I worship. And the peace of God that passes all understanding is right there. God is with me! "So do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." -Isaiah 41:10

In Kid's Place a few months ago, we had a "compass point" that said "When fear starts to rise, refocus your eyes." I have learned that it is not the size of ME that matters, it is the size of MY GOD that matters. Because it is all by His power anyway!!! "'To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?' says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing. Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary, His understanding is unsearchable." Isaiah 40:25-26,28

There is SO much left to do this week, I can't believe it. But God is using this. It's the beginning of the whole learning to rely on Him for absolutely everything lesson I get to learn. And I am SO excited! I can't wait to go! I am learning to walk out that definition of faith from Hebrews: I am sure of what I hope for [God will catch me when I jump! And He will take me on a whilwind adventure with Him that will be beyond amazing!] and CERTAIN of what I do not see [God!!]. So I will leave you with this: "Know you what I love best about the story of David and Goliath? David had victory not because he fought well, but because he believed well." - Esther in One Night With the King.

And I find myself blessed beyond my own understanding...

2008-01-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

This is my Tour Guide. His name is Leo. See my friend Danelle did not want me to get lost in Uganda, so she found me someone who is from there to give me directions in case I need them. And well, considering we all know how good I am with directions, I think he'll get some good use!

This is Danelle. And a balloon. She took me Value-Villaging and we found some great deals on clothes for Africa! Then she came over and we did a "practice pack" because I knew that there would be way too many things I would want to take with me! See, my checked bag can only weigh 51 lbs! Which is definitely not much for 7 months of living in Africa! But it is the beginning of the letting go and relying on God for everything Process! I am so thankful for my amazing friends who are walking me through this process and helping me prepare! I could definitely not do this all on my own!" And I find myself blessed beyond my own understanding.." with friends who love me like Jesus does!