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.