Apparently, God Answers Prayer.

So I was going through some of my old journals this afternoon.
I found this entry from February 2006, when I was 16 and a Junior in high school. I actually remember sitting in my old silver Volvo in the parking lot at Whatcom writing this... but little did I know what God was doing... 

2/13/06
Daddy, I've never had an overwhelming passion for Africa. I never really felt called or wanted to go there. But ever since that night You've started a fire in my heart. I want to make a difference there.  When I found out today that every day 6500 Africans of AIDS and 9500 contract it! How many of those 6500 don't know You? And how many of those 9500 will be part of tomorrow's 6500? Or next week? Or next year? And who will save them? Who will share Your hope with them? I hope it will be me! "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'' - Isaiah 6:8.
Daddy, let Your consuming fire burn in me!  Deepen my brokenheartedness for the people of Africa, give me a broken-hearted love for them. Help me to love them like You do. Help me to love the fatherless and the orphans and the widows. Open up a road that I might take...
I lift up this continent to You. I pray for unity among all of the countries. I ask for healing in the AIDS epidemic. I also ask for the nation of South Africa. God, show Your healing hands and loving heart there. Send people to answer Your call. Provide doctors and nurses and teachers of Your word. Fill this nation with Your glory.  "But the needy will not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the afflicted perish." - Psalm 9:18. "You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; You encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more." - Psalm 10:17-18. 

I love it! I cannot help but just sit here and laugh, grinning from ear to ear. Boy, did God answer those prayers!!! And how about that crazy prayer for South Africa? I didn't know pretty much anything about that country. I had gotten a magazine from Global Expeditions, a ministry of Teen Mania (who I now happen to be about 30 minutes away from in Texas. haha!) and had cut out all the countries they had trips for and glued them one by one in my journal, so that I'd pray for some nations. And yet...  how perfect was it that South Africa was in the right place in that journal. And how I'm even seeing that prayer answered. I just spent time with many friends who answering that prayer. Exactly one month ago today, I was sitting in class at UCT with 200 people who are studying to be doctors in South Africa! This is ridiculous. How amazing is God?!

So, the moral of the story is this... God answers prayer. He is faithful. And His timing? Incredibly perfect. The passion He's put in your heart? It's there for a reason, and if you commit it to Him and ask Him to grow it, He will. It may take a long time before you see it come to fruition, but, man oh man, when it comes...  you'll be blown out of the water!

Constant.

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.

After the Storm

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:

camping out

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.
:)

Your Love Is Strong

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.

risks and dreams

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.

Curveballs..

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

Redemption

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?!

there is no one like You

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!

Burn Us Up

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

"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

Hosea: a lesson in God's faithfulness!

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!

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...

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

Your faithfulness endures... even in London

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!!! )