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
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
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 unde
rstand 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.
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 unde
rstand 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.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
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
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
Sunday, May 3, 2009
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.
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)