ONE MORE DAY!

Wow this semester flew by super fast! I cannot believe I am heading home tomorrow for winter break already! Though I have not been able to post much this semester, I cannot even describe how thankful I am for how much God has been working in my life. Through so many changes, God is continuing to shape me and use me in mighty ways.

After the mission trip to Bolivia in August, I now still fully believe mission work is more of a desire in my heart than it ever has been before. I just read the monthly newsletter from Nacer Ministries that I worked with, and it still breaks my heart knowing how unfortunate these children are, but are still being blessed daily by following God. Two homes I worked with will be moving this month. The girls home was lost due to government issues, so they are being forced to leave and are going to be staying on the new property. This property that I helped with over the summer is great for them, but their new home is yet to be built. They will stay in little huts that are already there, so it will be a tight squeeze until the construction of the new home is complete. I really wish I could go help them myself, but know that is probably not going to be able to happen. I pray that many will be able to assist in the construction there to help them get it up even faster.

This semester was a challenging one, but a good one to say the least. My classes were pretty tough, so I had to force myself to get into better studying habits. I raised pretty much all of my classes a full letter grade.  Thank you Jesus! I have completed 3 of my 5 finals this week. My last two, world civilization and statistics, is tomorrow...then I'm off to St. Louis until I come back for spring semester which is not until Feb. 2nd! I can't believe I have almost 2 months off! I will be taking an online accelerated class in January, and I got my job back at the Magic House, so I will have things to keep me occupied.

I feel so blessed to be here at Union. I know it was definitely in God's plan to get me here. My roommates have been one of the biggest blessings of all. They are all so sweet, understanding, and supportive. I love spending time with them and getting to know them. I have also made many great friends here. So many have amazing hearts for serving God. City Fellowship, the church I have started attending, has also been a great place of worship. I will elaborate on my experience there some other time.

Christmas is approaching fast. The weather here finally feels like winter...it's refreshing actually. I am so excited to go home and do all the Christmas festivities with my family and friends that we do every year.

Love and Peace
Katlyn

F.R.O.G.

FROG (Fully Rely On God)...remember that old saying? I used to write that on everything when I was a kid in the 90's and looking back on it, I don't think I really comprehended or really followed the true meaning behind that saying. I don't even though why I just thought of it now, but I guess it has to do with how God is really working in my life again and I really just need to rely on Him while He takes me through the next steps I'm going through. Lately, I've been really struggling again with my future. I feel like Union is definitely where I'm supposed to be and I know that God has called me to nursing, I am just having a hard time seeing myself making it there. I'm worried about my classes that I'm getting ready to take next semester. Classes this semester are pretty rough, and next semester is going to be sooo much harder and it freaks me out--a lot! I have to take microbiology and pathophysiology which will be hard in itself, but I might have to take 18 hours next semester to get into nursing school next fall. Ahhh I know it sounds crazy! But I have to get these classes done to get in the nursing school. Also, I need to make sure that I have a good enough GPA to get in as well. Right now, my grades are okay, but they could be better. Anyway, I know that this is in God's plan for me, and I will be a nurse someday no matter what it takes, but it's just a little scary and overwhelming to imagine it.

On a brighter side of my life lately...a lot of things have been going on that make me so thankful for the people God has put in my life and the experiences He has allowed me to go through. My roommates and I have begun decorating for Christmas already which is funny to most people considering it's only the beginning of November, but really we only have one full week of classes left after Thanksgiving then finals before Christmas break so we want to enjoy the decorations a little longer than that. We also decided to decorate early to cheer up one of my roommates who went through a break up with her boyfriend this week. Hopefully we finish tonight. I will put up pictures when the job is finished. :) I'm so excited for Christmas season to get here! Last night, our Lifegroup went to buy stuff to make two boxes for Operation Christmas Child. It was so fun going and picking out toys and essentials for children in need. Our whole campus is getting really involved in making these boxes...again such a blessing to be on a campus that does this kind of stuff. I got to experience the joy that comes from these boxes when I went to Bolivia over the summer and saw a little girl carrying around her box and playing with everything that she got. She especially loved the Princess Jasmine tiarra in it. So adorable! Speaking of Bolivia, I have really missed it a lot and have been thinking about all the children lately. I pray that everything at the four orphanages I helped with are doing well.

A week from today is going to be amazing! My roommates and I are roadtripping to St. Louis for the premiere of New Moon at the Mega Screen (the biggest movie screen in the midwest)! We are such dorks, I know...but it's going to be so much fun! I cannot wait!!!!

Tonight I'm going to be going to the school's musical called The Zombies From Beyond. It looks like it's going to be really funny so I'm looking forward to it. So I better get going.

Peace,
Katlyn

Life is Precious

I am super stressed out with life right now with a lot of tests to study for, papers to write...gotta keep my grades up for nursing school. In the midst of my crazy, chaotic life I have found comfort in just knowing that I can rely on Jesus in all things. I find it hard to go back to Jesus sometimes because I've chosen to not let Him consume me like I should. The guilt I have is sometimes overbearing, but I know I am forgiven and I have to just keep doing my best. I have not written in awhile because of the messiness of life, but I hope to start writing more often again. Right now, I am studying for a statistics test that I'm praying I will do well on because I really need a good grade in there! Motivation has been lacking the last few days...probably because I got so distracted from the Halloween festivities over the weekend! I had a really great Halloween. Two of my roommates and I dressed up as obnoxious teen Twilight fans. We made shirts for our teams...haha I was Team Edward! It was hilarious. Here's some pictures for you to enjoy! I will leave you here and catch up again as soon as I can. --Katlyn

It's Fall!!!

I love the fall. The weather is beautiful here in Jackson today. I would really love to just lay outside all day...but I can't because I have work to do. Since my last post, I have completed my first round of tests. I did not do too bad. I need to keep working though because the classes are getting tougher. Geez procrastination is really trying to overcome me, but I can't let it!

Anyway, I have some exciting news. Last night, I found out that I am going to be the new Vice President for the Student Nurses Association at Union! I could not believe it! The position opened up and I applied a couple weeks ago after being encouraged to do so by my roommates (all of them are officers as well). I did not really think I would get it considering I'm new here, and I'm an underclassman. But...I was chosen. Sharon, my roommate who is the president, said she went over all the applications with the staff advisor. She said my name came up first because the advisor really liked my application. Sharon told her that I was dependable and kept the fact we're roommates on the down low so it would not look like she was biased toward me. I was still chosen by the advisor. I beat out 2 juniors, which is why I'm still shocked. Wow, God really works in mysterious ways. This was a great boost for me to be motivated and work hard. I want to fulfill my responsibilities as VP and as a student and succeed.

I got to go home this past weekend. I wasn't planning to originally, but I decided to go back for the first time since I moved to school. It was nice to be home and relax. I got to hang out with my brother and my mom a lot. My brother and I always have a lot of fun. We played the Beatles Rock Band and watched movies all weekend. He had homecoming on Saturday night and was even nominated for homecoming court. He didn't win, but I was psyched to hear of his nomination. My mom and I got to go out for Vietnamese at a new place we'd never been too that was good!

I have so much that I could write about, but time is not on my side so I better continue another time.

Much Love,
Katlyn

It's All New

New Beginnings, New Changes, New Friends...I've been at Union University in Jackson, TN for about a month, and I'm really glad to be here. Back in January, I had no idea why God was sending me here and did not know what would happen. Well, now I'm here and I definitely know that this is where God wants me to be. Though I truly miss my friends back at SBU and love them very much, I am totally content here and am adjusting to life here very well. Union has been treating me very kindly since I arrived. Though I have some difficult classes, the professors are all such great examples of Christ and each have been more than willing to kindly assist us if we ever need help. Also, I've been very impressed with the activties and events that are offered to us. The first week, they had a Howdy party for all new and returning students to see each other and hang out with music and free drinks. During labor day weekend, they had something different offered each day for those who stayed on campus. Last Friday, I saw Star Trek in our campus coffee shop called Barefoots Joe for free and it's not even out on DVD yet! Last night, all the girls' dorm RA's hosted a progressive snacking where each RA had a different snack that we could eat...like s'mores, puppy chow, queso, and chocolate covered pretzels! u So as you can see, they keep us very entertained. I really don't leave campus unless I need groceries because I have so much that I can do here.

Starting out, I got here and moved into my apartment dorm before my 3 roommates arrived because I had to go through the new student orientation weekend called Focus. The weekend was kind of boring as far as workshops and stuff go, but I was in a group of all transfer students and I got really close to all of them. For the first week, we probably hung out everyday and now we still hang out whenever possible. The dorms here are sooo nice! It's an apartment with a bedroom for each girl, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, washer/dryer, and a living room. I love having a kitchen where I can cook and bake...I've already made brownies, a cake, and I even made chicken curry for dinner one night. Also definitely loving having my own room...it's so nice to have a place of my own for privacy and studying alone.

I am so thankful for the 3 roommates that I've been blessed with. From the first time I met them, they made me feel welcome. When I found out that two of them are sisters and they were really close to the third girl, I was a little nervous that it would be awkward and that I wouldn't fit in with them. They are all nursing majors like me and all so sweet. We've had a lot of marathons watching all the seasons of the Office which is a lot of fun! I thank God everyday for blessing me with three amazing girls that I can be myself around and rely on. I love hanging out with them and look forward to continue to get to know them.

I have joined a Life Group, which is a program for new students that meets weekly to hang out. My group is mostly transfers and we get along great. We have a lot of fun! I have gotten pretty close to my leader...she lives in the building next to me so I've been hanging out with her a lot. A couple weeks ago, we all went to the West Tenn. Diamond Jaxx minor league baseball game. It was fun! Last week we had a scavenger hunt on campus against the other transfer group and we won so that was exciting. I don't know what we'll do this week, but I can't wait to hang out with them some more.

God has been so good to me since I got here. The only thing I need to work on now is studying and making sure I spend time in the word daily...been slacking a little. I have been finding myself to be a little stressed (especially since I have 4 tests and a quiz this week!).

Well, I hope this was a good update on my life and I pray that God is working as abundantly in your life as he has in mine.

In Christ,
Katlyn

My trip to Bolivia!

It has been awhile since my last post, and I have a LOT to write about. The end of my summer was amazing! I went to Bolivia with a team of 10 other students and myself to serve for two weeks. God used me and taught me a lot while we were there. I probably won't be able to express everything that happened, but I'll do my best. The trip started on my birthday, July 30th, around 4:30 in the morning. We headed out of the Kansas City airport with some layovers in Dallas and Miami, with final destination of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It was a long day, but we made there around 11:30p.m. and then had to wait to get our visas which took like 2 hours! Victor, the missionary we worked with that is from there, picked us up with his wife and daughter. Now let me just say now how much I (and I know the rest of my team) came to love Victor and his family very much. They took us in like we were their own children and were wonderful blessings to us. They took us to a seminary where we stayed most of the trip. It was very nice...a lot nicer than sleeping in an orphanage on cots (which is what we all imagined). Knowing very little details of what we were actually going to be doing, we met the next afternoon with Victor and Andrew (who moved to Bolivia from the US about a year ago). Andrew works with Nacer Ministries, which has four different children's homes. I was very excited to hear that we would be visiting all four homes, and also working on a land they purchased to build a new girls home. We were being blessed in our time there from the very minute we arrived. I immediately saw the suffering that the people go through in this country. Driving around Santa Cruz, it is very common to see people trying to sell you something on the streets or washing your windows because they need money to make a living. Though the country is dominantly Catholic and some protestant, you can definitely see the need for Christ.

Our first weekend, we helped with an Awana ministry in a nearby neighborhood. The children have families and homes, but it was definitely not a well developed area. We played relay games with them, and I worked with some kids and their weekly memory verses. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to understand them, but I actually could. The only real difficulty I had was communicating effectively with them because my Spanish speaking skills are a little rusty...but I managed!

We started out our week going to the Niñas (girls) home, which is the only home of the four that is in the city. The girls there were so adorable and all of them just wanted and needed to be loved. They would all hug on you, and sit with you. Even though we couldn't communicate very well, we could still show them the love of Christ through our actions. The girls make crafts like metal crosses with beads, scarves, jewelry, and cards to help raise support...so I definitely bought a lot! A great thing we got to do was go to the market one day and split up to buy vegetables and fruit for the four homes. The money exchange rate is 7 Bolivianos to 1 American dollar. We only spent like $150 for all four orphanages! I felt so convicted after hearing this considering that here people (myself included) spend that much on meaningless stuff that we don't need!


Probably the most challenging and most rewarding experiences of the trip for me was our journey out of Santa Cruz to visit the other homes. We went to Nacer(an older boys home that's for street boys) and the niños home. Both are very close to each other and about an hour away. We had a lot of fun with all the boys. 5 hour trek up a mountain... in the rain ... in a bus ... with like 17 people. We were warned that it could be dangerous because rain could cause mudslides and we would risk getting stuck. Well, we did get stuck once and we had to get out and walk a ways up the mountain to get out of the way. It wasn't looking too good so our leaders were coming up with alternatives to what we could do (one option was walking like 25 miles up the mountain in the dark!). One of the girls on our team, Jessica, prayed a really dramatic prayer that apparently worked because the bus tried one more time and was successful! We got to the little town of Postrervalle, and met the kids at the home. This home is for brothers and sisters that they don't want to separate. It was freezing up there! We knew that it was winter there, but none of us were prepared for like 40 degree weather! Another great opportunity that we were able to do after praying about it a lot was to provide Bibles and a coloring packet for every child in each home. When we got to Postrervalle, the couple who direct there told us the children had been praying for Bibles for months! What a blessing to see God answer prayer! It filled my heart with joy to see the faces of the children as we called out their names and gave them their own personalized Bible. They immediately opened them and started to read. We had one night that weekend that gave us quite a scare that I'm sure I will never forget. God persevered and protected us though so we definitely are grateful that nothing serious happened. It's a very long story and maybe I'll write about that sometime, but not now. On our way back to Santa Cruz, we stopped at Samaipata to see the Incan Ruins there. It was breathtaking to see all the mountains and the amazing scenery!

We got to spend some more time at the girls home our last week and also worked a couple more days on the land as well. I hauled a LOT of rocks those 2 days. It was fun though because my friend Anna and I are good at keeping ourselves entertained. Our last days there were a lot of fun. One night, we drove back to the Nacer home (it was definitely an adventure for a lot of my team)...and 3 homes were there to have a farewell party for us. Raina, a one of the little girls, stayed with me most of the time. She even sat on my lap while we ate. It was so sad to say goodbye to all of those kids.

SO overall, this trip changed my life. I have been called to missions and am so thrilled that I got the privelege of spending a couple of weeks in Bolivia. I hope that I will get to return there someday...maybe even as a nurse! I know they told me healthcare is slim there and not very good. I would love to be able to help them in that way. Anyway, please keep Bolivia in your prayers...specifically Victor and his family, Andrew, and Nacer Ministries.

This Summer is Flying!

I have completed week two of the summer mission work I've been doing in St. Louis and it went very well in spite of some challenges that I know the enemy tried to hinder my focus with. This is my weekly report I had to send in to the MBC...it's pretty much exactly what I would be writing anyway so I figured it would be okay to recycle it :)

I unfortunately am now working alone since Shawnee, the other summer missionary left, so that was sort of a shock and kind of a downer, but I'm completely at peace and content with it now.

I have accomplished a lot in my work at Oasis International refugee ministry. I am enjoying every minute I spend there and developing an even deeper passion for this ministry than I ever imagined God would place on my heart. I am continuing to meet new refugee families everyday I am there. In the last week, there were 3 new families that just arrived from Iraq with nothing to live with. They came in asking for furniture and whatever else could be provided to help get them started. It still amazes me at how happy and joyful they are in spite of their circumstance. I definitely believe that God is using them in my life as much as He is using me in theirs. I am continuing to tutor Dina, an Iraqi woman who just moved here in May with her family from Baghdad. I get along so well with her and her husband, Anwar. Anwar speaks very good english for not being here very long. He and some other Iraqi men are always making jokes with Jenna (an intern from IL) and me. They are also teaching us some Arabic, too. They all find it quite entertaining when I greet them with "Shaku Maku", which translates sort of like "What's up?" here. On Wednesday morning last week, we went to the farm that they are working on with refugees in Columbia,IL. My dad even got to come help out. I helped harvest some of the crops like cucumbers and zucchini while the other did weeding and plowing. It was a blessing to be a part of that day working together to help prepare the produce for selling at a stand they have set up by the local McDonalds. We have used opportunities where we are all together to share that we believe God is blessing us. As they are mostly Muslim, they respect us for being follower of Christ. I have not yet been able to fully share the gospel with any of them, but I pray that God will open opportunities for me to do so.

I have not yet spent a lot of time with International students. We did not have any Washington University students show for our Wednesday night outing to Botanical Gardens which was a bummer. I hope this week we have better luck in building relationships with the students there on campus. I want to hopefully plan a few extra fun events this week and next week to continue getting to know them.

I was in my best friend's wedding as her maid of honor on Saturday so that took a lot of energy out of me, but I feel pretty well recovered after resting. It was amazing to see so many faces that I've not seen in years there come together like old times. The Filipino ministry that my dad started in the early 90's is still going...even without a pastor right now. I got to attend a service/fellowship Sunday afternoon to hear their hearts for plans to continue trying to spread the good news to the Filipino community in St. Louis. I pray they can be successful in their attempts and I hope I can be a part of that too.

I can't wait to see what God will do this week as I continue to serve.

In Christ,
Katlyn

Jeremiah 29:11

Well, I have been through one week of my summer missionary position. It went very well...along with a few exceptions. God is definitely working some crazy stuff in my life right now and I'm trying to let Him be in total control.

I love working at Oasis (an International Refugee ministry). I'm going to be tutoring an Iraqi woman in English for 4 hours a week! She is very nice and have definitely enjoyed that so far. Oasis did a Thanksgiving meal on Thursday that was really cool...it was just to show how thankful they are for Oasis being a blessing and the people they have been able to encounter. I am glad to be a part of this. I have also started working with some International students from Washington University. We went to Botanical Gardens for the free concert on Wednesday. I met some students there. On Thursday, we had Culture Junction, which is a conversational English time with students. We talked about Independence Days in different countries...although we only had 1 student so it wasn't a big learning experience, but still informative. Friday consisted of prayer walking on the campus. I am definitely going to like working this summer. The one negative to this week was that I have just been informed that my other co-worker is also not going to be able to continue working with me, so now I am doing this job solo. We started this summer with 3, now it's just me. I guess I have to have faith that this was in God's plan all along and trust that I will be able to handle everything on my own. It scares me a little, but I believe it will work out for the best. I will not let the enemy bring me down!

On another positive note, I got to go to the Fray and Jack's Mannequin concert this past Friday. It was probably one of the BEST concerts I've ever been to in my life! The Fray definitely gave an excellent performance. I also am glad I got to attend with my friends Angel and Justin, and also my brother. It was so much fun. I'll never forget it!

Yesterday, we celebrated my brother's birthday (which is actually today). We had a LOT of food, which is normal for us Filipinos :0). I am so blessed to have such a great family that I can have fun with. Some friends got to come too!

Well I've got a lot going on this week. My best friend Angel is getting MARRIED on Saturday, so I have many maid of honor duties to tend to.

Gotta Love It

So my summer has gotten increasingly better everyday and definitely better than my last post. I was having a very off week to say the least. I had a lot of weird emotions and stress going on that prevented me from really being my usual self. I'm definitely better. All the feelings I had of being stressed out or frustrated with have diminished by the grace of God. I am so thankful that God has humbled me and continually reminds me how wonderful and extroardinary my life is and how I need to cherish every moment instead of dwelling on tiny, miniscule details. I cannot wait for my summer missionary position to officially start this weekend. Yes, I will lose a lot of free time, but that is a price I'm willing to pay. There is nothing I want more than to be in this particular mission field. I know there will be struggles, but I will have to keep reminding myself of the bigger picture that I'm ultimately trying to further God's kindgom and there is no greater thing I can do on this Earth than that.

This week has started with a lot of fun! Yesterday, I hung out with my brother and then went to hang with one of my best friends from high school, Jenny. We had a random adventure just driving around doing silly things like we used to and it was a lot of fun! Today, I went to Chesterfield Valley with my mom and brother for breakfast at the Original Pancake House...which is quite tasty! Then, we went shopping and ended up getting to hang out with my friend Justin there for awhile which was also quite entertaining. Tonight, I got to hang out with one of my great friends Eric. We've been friends for so long and we rarely get to hang out anymore so I'm glad I got to spend time with him as well.

I have a lot more in store for me this week. A major event going on this weekend is Christian Family Day at the Cardinals game. Over 3000 underpriveledged children get to come and have a day of fun and I get to help make it happen. After the game, there will be a concert by the Christian band Newsong and a message from some of the Cards players like PULJOS and others!!! I'm pretty stoked!!!!

Peace Out!

Trying to Find Peace and Understanding

Yes it has been a very interesting week to say the very least...very busy, difficult at times, and stressful even. On Monday, I registered for classes at Union University in Jackson, TN. I felt very odd there still I think mostly because that day was mostly filled freshman and something I did not really care to experience again. I believe that the school will be excellent for my education none the less and hope that my experience there will be great as well.

On Tuesday, I started helping out with VBS at my church. I hadn't gotten to help the last couple years because of working, so it was kinda fun to be around all the kids again. I didn't really work in one spot like usual though...I helped with bed babies 2 days and 3&4 year olds today. On Wednesday, I taught the missions class! We learned about missionaries that work in Columbia. I enjoyed that a lot, too.

I also got to hang out with friends this week that I enjoy hanging out with a lot so that was good too. I am very blessed to have friends like I do to rely on and have a good time with.

On the more down side, I have been struggling with something that is not even really my own issue. I tend to worry about others and their problems sometimes even more than my own. I just found out that my friend who was going to be working with me this summer doing International Student Ministry is no longer going to be working it. This is not about me just wanting to work with my friend all summer, because I know we'll still see each other (hopefully). I guess I'm just a little discouraged because he had already made the commitment to it and we went through training and a conference in LA, and he's decided not to do it only a week before the job starts. My dad and I both thought he would be able to help this ministry and really receive the blessing I think God is going to be working in it this summer because he wants to do mission work and displays some great leadership qualities. He really had some issues with the way our weekly schedule was laid out. On our schedule we were given in description to what we'd be doing...it did look full and had 5 days/week laid out for us. Honestly I really don't think he understood that it's not going to be the same schedule every week. I highly doubt there will be one week this summer that I work the amount of hours he thought we were going to work, but oh well. Yeah, there is a bit of a time commitment, but it's a ministry and we're just doing fun stuff like the whole time. I really think I'll probably end up working 3days a week, then having one bigger event planned for the weekend or maybe like 2 smaller things. For me, I know that I want to see my family and friends this summer, too...but I also know that God has called me to missions so I will have to find a balance between them now just as I'll have to learn how to in the future as well. But mission work and family/friend time doesn't have to always be separated either. I mean, the whole reason I became so interested in International Student Ministries in the first place was because of my dad including me in this ministry all these years. I definitely plan on inviting my friends to come to our fun events too so they can experience how God is working and also gives me more time to see them! So I guess my purpose for ranting about this is mainly because I guess I'm a little confused about all of this and why it's happening to me, and also feel bad for him because I think this summer will be amazing, and I just wish my friend would have been able to experience it. I understand his reasoning, but still don't think he gets the full picture of what we're doing. Hopefully he still gets a great summer experience in whatever he ends up doing. This summer is going to be big I know, because God is big and he will do great things in this ministry.

I know that God knew this was going to happen. I hope and pray that everything else this summer goes great. I'm no longer going to let this situation discourage me because I know that God will make everything ok.

Did You Know?

This is a video that was shown to us at the ACMI conference in LA. It is very interesting and kind of scary to say the very least.

Great Start To The Summer

I just got back yesterday evening from Los Angeles. It's way hotter in St. Louis than it was there!

I had quite an experience in my little over 4 day trip...full of conference stuff that wasn't all that bad, and we got to go touring too. I got to see some pretty amazing stuff! On Sunday afternoon, my friend that lives in LA picked my friends and me up from Azusa and took us to Santa Monica Beach! It was beautful! We got to try some authentic Mexican tacos, and ate dinner at In and Out burger which was also really good! I'm super glad I got to experience this awesome stuff!

As far as the conference goes, it was good overall. I mean there were some boring moments, but I also learned and experienced a lot. One morning, we worshipped in the Hindi language to Indian sounding music and it was so amazing! I had never experienced worship in that way before and I loved how I could feel God's prescence in music that was so foreign to me in the worship sense. It kind of amazes me to see how this organization called ACMI has come so far working in International Student Ministry (ISM). Not so long ago, I thought my dad was one of the only ones who had a passion like that to reach out to the international college students. I cannot wait to start my summer missionary position this summer to find out what ways God will use me to minister to internationals and refugees. God is definitely starting a fire in me....I can feel the enemy trying to hinder it, but I am striving to keep him out and letting the light stay shining.

I feel like my summer is really starting at home now because I was only home for 2 days from school before I left for Hannibal then L.A. Definitely glad to be home now. I cannot wait to see all my friends that I've been missing while away at school. This week is already full of plans to see them! I plan on making the most out of my summer and not wasting a single minute.

LOS ANGELES!!!

I'm in L.A. right now with my dad and our St. Louis International Student Ministry family for the annual ACMI (Association of Christians Ministering among Internationals) conference. We get to learn about the different religions/cultures and the new and current ways to reach out to Internationals at our campuses. We are staying at Azusa Pacific University and it's beautiful here! The campus has a lot of really awesome landscaping and flowers. On Thursday afternoon when we first arrived, we went with the NAMB group downtown. We toured with our busdriver as the guide...he also hit a car with the ginormous charter bus and knocked off the guys side mirror...kind of scary :) We went to see some cool places like Grauman's Chinese theatre with all the celebrity handprints. There are also a lot of people that dress up as movie characters that walk around there hoping to make some money off of you if you take a picture with them. I got my picture taken with Edward Scissorhands haha! So I'm having a great time so far. I wish we had more time to tour! My unofficial Bolivia team leader lives in LA and he took Justin and I up the mountain through Azusa Canyon which was alot of fun! Which reminds me, I'm thankful that I have Justin to hang out with this week. It wouldn't be the same without him here...we're goofy.

I won't officially start my summer missionary term until the end of June. I can't wait to see what God has planned for us this summer. It's going to be busy and I can imagine that there will be a few struggles/complications that the enemy will try to attack us with because I can already feel it, but I have faith God will work all of it out because He's just cool like that. I'm also totally excited about going to Bolivia at the end of July! We will be leaving on my birthday...so I'll be turning 20 on one of the 4 planes we'll be riding to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Well, I'm off to go hang out with my ISM fam until bedtime! Check back soon for more about my experience here and pictures too!

In Christ,
Katlyn

I'm Not Ready

I just got out of my last final. I am officially a sophomore and also no longer a student at SBU. I am sitting here in my now very empty room feeling almost that same sense literally in that I feel empty.

I'm not ready to go.

Yes, I know it is God's plan for me to move to Union, but I cannot describe the pain I feel right now from having to say goodbye to my roommate and my close friends. As I write this with the non-stop tears streaming down my face, I reminisce over the past two semesters that have changed my life forever. I love my friends here so much and wish I could understand why God has made this happen to me....I guess I'll find out someday and I'll definitely be rejoicing. I will be eternally grateful for the relationships I have formed with some of the most amazing people I have ever met in my life.

I felt awful when I had to say a quick goodbye to my roommate that I have become so close to. God truly blessed me with the most amazing roommie anyone could ever ever ever ask for. I am pretty sure my new roommates next year will never live up to what Jana and I have. I loved how honest and pure she is and loved being able to talk to her about everything. We had some crazy fun times and those moments will be cherished for a lifetime. Thanks for being you Jana! I love you!

I know this is not the end of any of these friendships, though. My friends here have become my family and we will find ways to see each other. And for when we don't, we still have our wonderful internet to keep in touch on and stalk each other. :)

As I have continually said in my last posts this semester, I am following God's will for my life and even though I'm still fighting Him to see it, I know He knows when I come into the light out of this dark and heartbreaking time for me.

As for right now, I have to finish packing up my car and then make the most of my last moments here in BoMO before I head home tomorrow after seeing my best friend graduate.

Final Days

Well I'm approaching my last days here at SBU. I took my psych and english compII finals today, now I only have A&PII and old testament history until I'm finished. It's so bittersweet for me. I've had a wonderful year in Bolivar and I'm thankful God blessed me and my time here.

This past weekend was so fun! My roomie and my other really close friends had a suprise party for me on Saturday night at El Rodeo, the Mexican restaurant in town. No one has ever thrown a suprise party for me before, and I must say, I was truly touched by it. My roomie also made me a cake that was a-mazing! We took a lot of really fun pictures too. I'm definitely going to miss all of them so much.

On Sunday, I attended what may have been my last Sunday ever at Springhill Baptist. I have fallen in love with that church and have been blessed to be a part of the body there for the past 9 months. Pastor Kevin's message was like he was talking directly at me and no one else! It was entitled "God's Best For You"....such a God thing for this to be the last message I heard there! Basically, he described my whole semester and what I've been going through the last few months in about 30 minutes. He told us that God's best for us may not be what we expected and it sure won't be easy at times, but God will fuel our passion for it and guide us without ever leaving us astray. My main struggle with transferring was because I was questioning my motive and my wants over seeking God's best for me. Kevin also said that it's a fight to get there, but we will need to commit to following Him. This semester has been one of the hardest fights I've ever gone through with God. I was so reluctant to accept what God was putting me through because I wanted it to work out exactly the way I wanted it to. Consequently, I am following Him even though it has been a struggle. I was moved so much by this I started crying...which has been going on a lot lately and I fear it will continue. I was really crying mainly because this was a wonderful confirmation for me that everything will be okay and I don't have to fear it because I am not alone.

Okay, so enough of that. I need to get back to studying and then head to my last Bolivia team meeting!

Uplifted by Christ,
Katlyn

You Don't Mess With Texas

I just got back from a great weekend with 4 of my great girl friends on a road trip to Texas. My friend, Christina, is from Denison, TX, so we decided a while back to take a trip to see where she's from. It was my first time to Texas, and it was a lot of fun. We got there Friday night and hung out at her house with her parents (who are super sweet!). On Saturday, we went to Dallas and Frisco...we ate at South of the Border and shopped at a mall. I didn't buy much--but did get some amazing North Face flip flops! These girls are probably the craziest, funniest, and sweetest girls I have ever met in my life. God really blessed me with such good friends here at SBU, and I'm going to miss them soooo much next year.

My final days at SBU are approaching. We only have 3 weeks of school--that's only 2 weeks of classes and 1 week of finals! I'm glad that school is going to be finished, but starting to get really depressed that I am leaving everyone I love here. I don't think I will be excited about going to Union until I actually get there because I'm so sad about not coming back here. I know it's where God wants me, and I'm trying to trust in Him that everything will be okay, but it's so HARD! I know in a few years I will look back at how I feel right now and say "Wow, I should've just trusted in you God!" But I guess I will just have to wait for that day to come.

I am super excited about my summer coming up. There are going to be a lot of new things I get to experience and I cannot wait! I probably have written about all of these things in my past posts, but I would love to share it again.

• I am going to be a summer missionary in STL under my dad's ministry and work with international students. I am thrilled to be doing this because I love people and I just pray that God will open many doors in this ministry. I get to do this as a job which is amazing because I actually will be enjoying what I do. This job comes with many benefits! I don't have to work at The Magic House anymore! I get to go to Los Angeles for 4 days to attend a conference! Also, my very good friend Justin will be working with me so not only will I get to do something I love, but I get the priveledge of working alongside a great friend who loves God and loves serving Him.
• Another big thing I'm looking forward to is going to Bolivia on a mission trip with a team of 13 students! We will be working in orphanages and helping in various community service projects as well. I cannot wait to get on the mission field in another country!

Well, I have some things to do before I sleep and go to class tomorrow morning.

Peace and Love,

Katlyn

What a weekend...

Well, it has been quite the weekend experience for me. I went to visit Union University in Jackson, TN. Friday, I left Bolivar and drove 3 hrs to STL, then went from STL and drove the 4 hrs to Jackson with my family. I do honestly believe that God is leading me to go there, and I don't really have any other choice anyway. The town is very cute and a lot bigger than Bolivar. That's besides the point, though. One thing I think God has taught me (once again) is that I really need to just trust in Him that this is where He wants me. I was kind of expecting that once I arrived on the campus, that I would be so in love with it that I would not have any doubt that my place was to be at Union, but that wasn't really what happened. I ended up feeling an immediate force of doubt come over me...like "What if this isn't the right choice? Why did I decide to come here?" etc...and I also realized how much I have become attached to SBU. But really after much thought and prayer, I think that Satan was attacking me more than anything because I was letting the doubt bring on a fear that I know was unnecessary. Yes, I am comfortable at SBU because I've already been through almost 2 semesters there and I love pretty much everything about our community we have and the relationships I've formed, but I know that Union is going to be the place I need to go to prepare me for my future and career. It will be a struggle and challenging going to a new place and having to re-live those first-year nerves, but I have faith that God will help me get through it.

I did absolutely fall in love with the town, dorms, and science building! I was amazed at how wonderful the technology is for their nursing program there. I just got even more excited to become a nurse. Also, I heard that the nursing students do mission trips! So that was a major plus considering that's what I want to do! The student-faculty ratio is like 11:1 which is amazing so I'm pretty stoked about that too. I think the more personal setting will be better for me. The dorms are flippin' sweet! Every dorm is apartment-style each complete with a kitchen, washer/dryer, living room/dining room, 2 bathrooms, and 4 bedrooms! The bedrooms are like closets, but I'm glad I will be able to have some privacy. There were a few down sides....like their rec center. I feel like our wellness center at SBU is like heaven compared to Union's, but the town makes up for it since there are a lot of parks and trails I will be able to run on. I also loved how everyone there is super friendly. And...the campus has over 35 other countries represented in the student body which is awesome.

After we visited the campus, we drove to visit Memphis for ahile and hung out on Beale Street. It's only like an hour away from Jackson! I love Memphis a lot!

Other stuff going on lately...
I went barefoot all day on Thursday for TOMS shoes to raise awareness for what they do. TOMS is an organization that makes shoes and for every pair you buy, they send a pair to a child in need. Going barefoot was a very humbling experience for me. Though I know a lot about poverty, it was difficult to go only go barefoot one day and know that people all over the world go without shoes everyday. I was complaining that my feet hurt after only a few hours walking on concrete. Knowing people go all over, walking long distances on less-than sanitary surfaces is truly heart-breaking to me. I love this cause and my TOMS shoes and will definitely be supporting them again soon with another purchace! Check them out http://www.tomsshoes.com/

Well I'm going to get ready to head back to Bolivar, so I'll check in later this week sometime!

In Christ,
Katlyn

Bored

I hope that everyone had a pleasant Easter weekend. I ended up going home to St. Louis, even though I had not been planning on it. I'm glad I did, though, because I got to spend some quality time with the family. I got to go to the Cardinals game on Friday night. It was cold, but fun and I was psyched to be going to a game during opening season week...and we won so that's really all that matters! :)

I have a crazy week ahead of me. I have an Anatomy and Physiology test on Wednesday and a Psychology test Friday...so not really looking forward to all the studying that is going to be going on. Then, after the week comes to a conclusion, I am heading home again and then going to straight to Jackson, TN.

If you haven't been caught up in my life...well, here's a little update for ya. I am not coming back to Southwest Baptist next semester. Though I love the community and the college life here at SBU, I have decided that I am going to transfer to Union University in Jackson, TN. The main reasons for my decision were that 1) The nursing program here is not as suitable to me as I thought for many reasons like the last 37 hrs are online. 2) If I did stay, I would not be able to receive the SBU scholarships I receive here on the Springfield campus---which is totally lame because I would still be an SBU student, just not on the Bolivar campus. I am super sad to be leaving everyone here. I have begun to tell everyone about my leaving...I have already cried a few times telling friends. I will miss all of my friends for sure. God has blessed me with some amazing friends that I know will last a lifetime, no matter the distance. Consequently, I have found that Union is very appealing and I would get many good scholarships. I love the Christian campus community and am looking forward to what God will do in my life there.

Well I guess I should go back to attempting to listen in my psychology class...haha.

I hope you have a blessed week!

In Him,
Katlyn

Well...

I have survived half of my first week back to school. It's going okay for the most part. I'm doing pretty well with studying actually. I have a big Anatomy Lab test on Friday that I'm a little worried about, but not too bad. Feeling pretty confident about this one...hopefully getting the grade to prove my confidence. ;)

So God is still doing some crazy stuff in my life right now. I'm a lot more at ease with all the stress that I've been dealing with. I have to admit I was beginning to get a little doubtful and weary, but God proved faithful...He always does. Thanks Jesus!

Summer is getting closer everyday...I can almost taste it! I'm going to be working as a summer missionary in St. Louis with International students and other mission opportunities. I cannot wait to see what God does this summer! Only 6 more weeks of school after this week!

I should probably get going because I have to work on a paper and want to get it finished before the caffeine in me wears out. haha.

In Christ,
Katlyn

*Sigh*

So I really don't want to go back to Bolivar tomorrow. For some reason, I'm just totally not thrilled about school at all. I am pretty sure it's because of all the work I have to do. I'm thinking about maybe dropping a class just so I can concentrate better and make sure all my grades stay up. Also, since I know I'm transferring, I guess that is adding a lot of stress. My Bolivia team fundraising is also stressing me out a little as well. I've been praying a lot about all of this, but I'm having a hard time just givin it all up to Him. I want everything to just fix it on my own or if it could fix itself that would be nice too. But....I have to have faith that God is in control. He knows what will happen with all of this and He will take care of me.

Spring break went by too fast. I didn't really do much. I got to shop a little, but didn't buy much. I mostly hung out watching movies and caught up in my t.v. shows. I also had to study some because I have an A&P lab test when I get back to school (UGH!). I ate and made some really good food like THAI! Oh I wish I could eat that everyday.

I may not be posting much in the next few weeks. I'm trying to stay away from internet totally unless I really need to use it. I mean, I only checked facebook like 3 times over break which is like amazing lol but I realized how much time I waste on the internet...I am going to be studying a lot instead because I really really need to make good some better grades. They're not all terrible or anything, but definitely need to improve. Anyway, should probably get going because it's my last night and I have stuff to get done before I head back tomorrow. I'm also going to make sushi with my mom...yummy!!

God Bless
Katlyn

IS IT BREAK TIME YET?!

So I have been completely overwhelmed with school. I have had a ton of tests, and I'm not finished. Luckily, this will be our last week and then we have spring break! Thank God! I'm so ready to take a break....ugh. Anwyay...life has been decent other than the stressfullness of college work. I have gotten to do a lot in the last weeks.


On the weekend of February 27th, I went home and took my friends Christina and Katie to a conference called Engage. It was a lot of fun to hang out with them in my hometown and worship Jesus together. I got to meet some cool people, and I learned a lot too.

Then, last weekend (March 6-7), I got to lead my first Disciple Now in Steelville, MO. It was a great experience! I lead a group of 6th grade girls with my roommate. They were so funny and full of energy! I wished I could stay up all night and still be able to be all hyper the next day too. Haha yeah I guess you could say they made me feel old. One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to lead one of the girls in my group to the Lord. We had an invitation at the end of our service Sat. night and she came up to me and said she wanted to be saved. I was thrilled! It was definitely an emotional night to say the least. I could write a lot more about that weekend, but I will refrain for now and move on.

This weekend was good as well. On Friday, didn't do anything except watch movies with my girls all night and eat junk food. Oh, and we went to a show here called "Battle of the Air Bands". It was great! Yesterday, I studied and worked on my paper, then I got to hang out with my friends. My friends Tricia and Jennifer came in from St. Louis for their spring break. We watched a couple movies--one of which was "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas". It was definitely one of the most depressing movies I've ever seen about the Holocaust. Then today, I went to 2nd Baptist church in Springfield with my friends. That church is huge! I thoroughly enjoyed the service though. The music was awesome, and the message was touching. The pastor spoke about how when life crashes, we have to be able to still turn to God and know He is there watching over us and guiding us.

Other news--

• I am pretty sure that I will be working for the MO Baptist Convention this summer as a summer missionary to work with International Students in St. Louis. So yeah, I guess I'll be seeing my dad a lot this summer. Haha just kidding...I can't wait!
• I am getting more and more details about my trip to Bolivia. Fundraising is going well so far, and I learn more about the trip every time we meet. I'm so excited!

Hasta La Vista!

Katlyn

Jai Ho!

If you don't understand my title, then you're missing out! Haha j/k. "Jai Ho" (which means "It Rocks" in Hindi) is the Academy Award-winning song from the Academy Award-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire...which is my new favorite movie. The music is amazing and I have that song stuck in my head.I have seen it twice now, and loved it just as much the second time. I would highly recommend checking it out.

So I'm writing late, once again, because I'm a little high on caffeine right now. I went to IHOP with Katie and Christina around 9 for National Free Pancake Day! Nina and I drank a whole pot of coffee. Now I'm too awake to sleep....but I'm going to have to make myself because I have an 8:00 Old Testament class! Yay!

God is slowly, but surely continuing to provide me with humbleness and humility that I have been seeking. It has been a rough couple of weeks getting into this semester and I know it's not going to get any easier. Oh well, I will live through it...hopefully haha.

Oh! I got an updated list of my progression in fundraising for my trip to Bolivia...and I'm super blessed to be about half-way to my needed amount! I am so thankful for the kindness and generosity of our close family friends. Praise Jesus!

I had a great weekend in Oklahoma with my roommate. It was definitely nice getting away from the dorm for a bit. I got to see Grove, where she is from and meet a lot of her family. They were all super nice and made me miss my family, too. Grove is a really cute town. I like the smaller town atmosphere a lot!

Anyway, I would love to keep writing but I should probably get some sleep!

Stay Tuned,
Katlyn

Impatiently Waiting for Weekend Arrival!

So I have taken 2 quizzes, 2 tests, and have one more in the morning bright and early at 8! Seriously I think all my professors got together and schemed to give me a week from that fiery place down there. Okay, so maybe I'm a little bitter and upset about it...but now I'm mostly brain-dead and exhausted! At least I get to take a brake and go to Oklahoma with my roomie this weekend! I have never been to OK before and am totally excited to spend it with Jana.

Anyway, as for other aspects of my life, there is not really anything new. Today I got to take a study break and go to a florist with Angel. I'm super excited to be getting into more wedding plans with her! She told me today that the wedding is in 142 days! I'm still considering the transfer to Union next year. I am a little indifferent right now. Just seeking God's will for me and which path is going to be the best for me. He knows what it will be, so I guess I should be satisfied with that for now and just let it happen in His timing instead of being so impatient.

I actually have some more great weekends coming up that I'm anticipating as well. Next weekend, I will be going home to StL with 2 of my friends here for a student leadership conference called Engage. Though it has only been a little over 3 weeks since I've seen the fam, I am ready to see them again. They've been making me jealous of all the fun stuff they've been doing there. Or not...haha last weekend they went to a dog parade! But I was super jealous to find out that my mom made sushi for the first time tonight. *sigh* haha oh well...

I better get some sleep so I can be alive and alert for my Old Testament History test bright and early tomorrow!

In Christ,
Katlyn

Busy Busy Busy!

I have been super loaded with work! (Which is why I haven't been writing a lot) I have 3 tests next week in Old Testament History, Psychology, and Human Anatomy & Physiology II. Ugh! I'm definitely dreading all of them. I also have to read a lot, work on a project, and write a paper! Basically, I should not have any life for the next week! I have probably been taking too much social time already (the weather has been super nice so I've been getting a little distracted)...so I need to get down to business and work.

On the fun side of college life, I have been having a lot of fun with my roomie and my 2 other girl friends Christina and Katie. We are making t-shirts for Valentine's Day which are going to be super cute and hilarious. I just finished mine. On the front, it reads "No Valentine? No problem...(see back for details)" and on back it says "I Got Jesus (He was single too!)" Haha I love it!

As far as my decision I have to make for whether or not I transfer to Union, I have yet to figure it out for sure. After a lot more research on Union, it keeps getting more appealing, but I'm still trying to decipher which voice is God's and which is mine. Only God can let me know for sure what I'm going to do because He already knows. Ugh...I love it at SBU so much, but since I'm going to have to change campuses for nursing anyway I guess it really does not matter because I'm leaving next year anyway...it would just be farther. I did find that Jackson, TN is 270 miles from St. Louis and it's about 210 to get to Bolivar so distance really won't be that bad either. I pray that I let God fully lead me in the right direction, whatever it may be.

Stay Tuned,

Katlyn

Something New To Deal With

So it's super late here in Bolivar, but I'm still pretty awake from a dance party I just had with my girls! I haven't written in awhile...mostly because I'm busy, but also because God is doing some crazy things in my life again. He just started speaking to me a few days ago. This is really hard for me to even talk about this time. Basically, I am thinking that even though I love it here at SBU and everything, I am not sure that this is where God has called me to be after all. Ugh, I feel so bad because I hate it when I worry and think about stuff a lot.

So I was sitting in Old Testament history a few days ago, when all of a sudden I felt this overwhelming feeling that I can't exactly describe that immediately had me thinking about my major and what's to come of my future. I know that God has given me a passion for other cultures and I still have every intention of doing mission work in my future...and as a nurse, too. But I have felt since that morning that I may not need to necesarily major in missions (the intercultural studies major) and nursing. First of all, God has already called us to be missionaries....we should feel led to do so once we have been taken in by His grace and love...so I do not really need to major in missions because really ICS is just a fancy title for becomming a missionary. Nursing is already a mission field anyway! Secondly, I do not know if I would like how this program is set up (3 semesters in Bolivar, then 2 yrs of nursing classes in Springfield, then 2 semesters back in Bolivar, then a semester abroad). Lastly, I don't like how the regular bachelor's nursing works either. It would take me 5 years too! Ugh! Anyway, this really got me concerned about how things would work out. For some reason, I kept thinking about my original first choice school, Union University, and how much I thought I wanted to go there to do nursing or intercultural studies too! I pulled up their site and long story short, they have a 4 year BSN that I think looks very appealing and if I would want to do MSN for nurse practitioner; they have a 15 month program that seems promising! This whole time, I'm just thinking "Why is this happening now, God? Why not before I chose to come to SBU?" Anyway, So after getting really upset and frustrated with myself and even God a little-I talked to my parents, roommate, and couple other friends about it.

So now I am a little stuck in this situation. I am working things out, weighing out good and bad things, and really praying about this. I don't want to leave SBU because I love it, but if God wants me to go to Union, I will go. I cannot fight Him...I've already tried...you lose everytime. I have been humbled a lot since Thursday morning, but am still scared/nervous/anxious. I'm desperately awaiting to hear more from God on this one!

I have faith that everything will be okay. I believe that God sent me to SBU as part of His plan and do not regret coming here, even if it ends up only being for a year. I have had a wonderful experience. I will write more about this soon, but I should probably get some sleep now.

First Week Back!

So I have been back to school for almost a week. I am slowly but surely re-adjusting to waking up early and going to classes every morning at 8:00. Other than classes, I've been hanging out with my friends, working out, and catching some of my tv shows. I think it will be a good semester, rough for sure, but good. I have 6 classes...all of which require a lot of reading so I will be spending most of my time reading up for them. It has been good to see all of my friends. I missed them all a lot over the month and a 1/2 we had for break.

There are a few exciting things coming up too! Next week, I start weekly team meetings for the mission trip to Bolivia I'm going on. I am going to be working a merchandise table for the band Remedy Drive during Welcome Back concert here at SBU Friday night...so that should be fun! My roommate and I are also going to rearrange our room, which may not sound exciting, but I'm looking forward to it.

Also, I'm currently in progress of starting an SBU chapter of the ONE Campaign. ONE is an organization thats working to end poverty. Around a week ago, I became the campus leader to SBU for ONE as a part of the campus challenge. If you can, I'd encourage you to check out our page...and please sign up to support ONE through SBU. We get points for every person that supports it through our school...so please help us beat our competiting schools!
Here's the link....http://www.one.org/campus/mycampus.html?school_id=1944 Thanks!

I pray that this will be a great semester. I can't wait to see all God has in store for me.

In Christ,
Katlyn

Inauguration Day

I got to see history made today (well yesterday since it is early morning now). I watched 44th President Barack Obama sworn in as the first African American President of the United States. To be honest, I really didn't think it was going to be worth my time, but in reality, I am very glad I watched because it was really eye-opening. There was a lot of things that went on at the ceremony that I believe were great. Rick Warren said the opening prayer...he got to declare Jesus' name to the entire world. I know that God has a plan for Obama this country. He is an All-Knowing God and even though all of my views do not totally match President Obama, I have faith that he is a good and generous man that will do great things with this country. I was very pleased and impressed that he used scripture in his speech, and that he spoke about the need to help poverty. I signed a petition for the ONE campaign ensuring that he did. I even sent him a thank you through ONE to express my appreciation for his commitment to helping our world's increasing problem in poverty. I will end my post with he had to say about it...because it was great and important.

"To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it." -President Barack Obama--Jan. 20, 2009

My Last Week!

I can't believe it's my last week of winter break....I'm not complaining though because it's been almost five weeks since I've been in BoMO. I do miss it actually. I have been struggling a bit with some stress over some random things, but God is good and He has already been humbling.

Matthew 6:34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own".

I am looking forward to what God has in store for me this semester. I will be starting weekly team meetings for the Bolivia mission trip I'm going on once the semester begins. I believe I will learn and grow a lot through my fellow team members.

I am very thankful for the time I got to spend with family and friends this break!

The ONE Campaign

If you don't know that I'm all about raising awareness of the increasing problem of poverty in the world today, then you don't know me very well. A friend of mine introduced me to an organization that is working to end poverty called the ONE Campaign. It took me awhile before I really got into it, but now I feel that I should take a part in this more than ever! We talk about how low our economy is every day, but in reality there are far worse environments and living situations around the world today. More than a billion people live on less than a dollar a day. How sad is that? I spent around 10 bucks on coffee this week, and that would be like what a family lives off of in like 2 weeks! Ugh, man do I feel a little more than guilty after letting that one sink in! Anyway, I would like to invite you to take action with me by learning more through their website, http://www.one.org/.


Thanks for reading!

Katlyn

It's Been Awhile

So it's been a bit since I last posted. I have been hanging out and doing some pretty fun stuff. I got to go on a scavenger hunt my dad created for my friends and I which was awesome. My team (called Jesus' Favorites), won! Haha yeah it was a blast! I also got to go to Blue Springs, MO for 3 nights to work Team Spirit, a leadership conference for high schoolers to promote safe driving. I love my team spirit family and am super glad I got to see them since the only other conferences we have are in the summer and I'm not even sure I will get to attend this year because of Bolivia. :^/

Not much more exciting-ness has been filling my time. Just work and hanging out. I have gotten to see some friends I haven't seen all break, and then said goodbye to some as they left and went back as well. It's been quite a break I'll say. I still have over a week left! Yeah I think I'm starting to feel a little anxious about going back. I love my friends at school and I really miss them!

I do want to share that God has yet again touched my heart to remind me that even in the midst of all the things I have to stress about, I shouldn't because there is so much to be thankful and happy for. And...He will always be there. So yeah, keep me in your prayers that I may be able to continue to follow His path for me.

I believe this is going to be a great year filled with blessings!

Hello 2009!

I can't believe it is 2009! I hope everyone had a great New Year celebration. I had to work New Year's eve and day so I didn't really do much. I spent time with the fam...which is fine with me. We ate a lot of food (haha what else is new) and played Bingo. :0)

So far I've had a decent break! At the very beginning, I got to go to an International Student Banquet at a new International ministry in St. Louis called Oasis. There were around 50 internationals there. My friend Justin came to hang out and we went back to my house afterward to have a cookie decorating competition with my brother. It was definitely a good time (probably one of the highlights of my break so far). Christmas was great! God is good! I got to hang out and spend some quality time with my family. I got some sweet gifts (gift cards & an ihome are among the many). I didn't even ask for anything. The only thing I actually asked for, I got early since I knew it was coming. I got Tom's Shoes...for every pair of Tom's you buy, they send a pair to a poor child in another country. I love them! They're navy blue and have the Gandi quote "You must be the change you wish to see in the world". LOVE!

As you can see in the picture...our tree fell down the day after Christmas. Ha oh well we still have 5 other trees in the house. :)

I still have many plans before I go back to SBU on the 25th. I will be in Kansas City the 7-11 for a Team Sprit conference. I will be facilitating a group of high schoolers to create an action plan to promote safe driving at their school. I love my Team Spirit family and can't wait to see them! I also have quite a few friends I plan on seeing while I'm home and can't wait to hang with them! 9