Well, we made it, guys. Here we are, on the last day of 2016. Tonight, people will be partying and celebrating with family and friends as we usher in the new year.
To be honest, new years has never been my favourite holiday. I just don't see the appeal in staying up until midnight just to say "Happy new year!" and then go to bed. I very much enjoy sleep, so I'd be 100% ok with skipping the festivities and hitting the sack at 10 o'clock!
However, new years is a really good time to reflect on the year that has passed, and to look forward to a new year. 2016 has been a good year for me. It started with me living in Madison, running the preschool (man, I miss those children!), and it is ending with me back home, working at the greenhouse. It has been a year with the good and the bad -like every year, I suppose. My Opa passed away in February, and I had to move away from a really great community (and roommate- oh how I miss Kenzie!). I grew in my relationship with God and my brother got married (and I therefore finally have a sister!). All in all, it was a good year.
Back in January, I sat down and asked God what 2016 held for Him and I. Looking back on that list, it's cool to reflect on how I can see each item and how God was faithful to what He said. For example, one of the things was "Learning how to grow with God independently, without having classes and YWAM community."
This was a big one for me. Growing up, I had a quiet time every morning after breakfast; it was part of my schooling, really. But as I got older, quiet times grew harder to have. I would skip them more then I'd have them. Then I went to DTS and quiet times were scheduled into our daily schedule. This was a time of great growth for me, and my relationship with God definitely grew because of it.
Then I went back home after DTS and my quiet times basically stopped again. When I returned on staff and was living with the DTS, I again started to grow in my relationship with God because not only did I have quiet times in my schedule again, but I also was attending DTS classes again. Learning how to grow in my relationship with God independently was something that I had no idea how to do.
I can't say that I have a "quiet time" every day, but I definitely talk to God every day. My job offers many opportunities to spend time with God while I'm working alone. And while I still have a lot of room to grow in this area, I definitely can see how far I have come in the past year. I am able to sit down and read the Bible and really learn from it, without having someone there to tell me what it means.
Another item on the list was "Grow in confidence". I totally can see this in myself this year. I've never been the most confident person. I'd always second guess myself. I do this so less often now! God has definitely given me a confidence about who I am and who He is. Because I know my identity as His daughter, I am able to stand firm in that. One area where I really see this most is at youth group. God asked me to be a youth leader at my church this year, so of course I listened and am doing that. To be honest, teenagers kinda scare me and the are definitely not my favourite age to be around. But God has given me the confidence to be a youth leader and to stand firm in the things I believe. It's been cool to see!
On the list of things God told me would happen during 2016, it also said "Searching". This is so true! After coming back from Madison, I was searching for who I am, for my worth, for what God wanted me to do next. I've spent a lot of time this year searching, and God has given me a lot of answers -although definitely not all! I've made discoveries about myself and about God and it's been pretty terrific!
So yeah, 2016 has been a year of growth for me, and a year where I have really seen God's faithfulness. It's been a year where I have really put my trust in God, and He has not failed me. I'm looking forward to this coming year, and seeing what adventures and lessons God has for me in the next 365 days!
Blessings,
Katie
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Thursday, October 20, 2016
God is Faithful
Being back in Madison for this week, I have naturally have had many (terrific) memories coming to me. Yesterday, I spent hours with a friend from my DTS, and over the course of our time together, we laughed and remembered the good times we had back when we were DTS students living in the TC. We remembered the time that some friends put chickens in our rooms in the middle of the night. We remembered planning escape routes for running away from hard talks (let's just say that we weren't the best at being vulnerable, and while I still have a hard time with it, I definitely have grown in vulnerability over the course of the past couple years!). We remembered racing each other to try and get our favourite spot in the classroom. Rachel and I have lots of good memories of our times in DTS, both together and with others.
As we were talking about outreach, I recalled how when I went to DTS, I was sure that I would end up going to India for outreach. I knew that Madison often sends teams there, but there was no reason for me to assume that that was where I would be going. However, my logic behind that assumption was that I really did NOT want to go, thus I would probably end up having to go.
As I said this to Rachel, I realized something: that was my view of God back then. In my mind, He would send me to the places that I did not want to go to, and He would make me do the things that I really didn't want to do. My idea of who God is was so skewed! How was it that I thought that God's character was so... so not nice? How could I think that my God was a God who would use his power and authority to make people do things that they don't want to do? How did I have such a messed up idea of the character of God? And how did I forget that I once thought that?
Reminiscing about my DTS, I remember how it was a season where God really focused on teaching me how much He LOVES me. He loves me simply for who I am. I had thought that I knew that, going into DTS, but during those six months, I really learned how deep His love for me goes. And I thought that was so cool and awesome and amazing.
Now, looking back on those lessons that God taught and showed me, I see that it was about so much more than God assuring me that He loves me beyond measure. I mean, yeah, He wants me to know that and it was something I needed to really understand, but it was about more than me knowing God's love. It was about changing my whole view of God. Without me even realizing it, God showed me -through focusing on His love for me- how deeply wrong I was in my view of Him. He showed me how different His character is from what I had thought. By stressing His love for me, He showed me who He really is, and how GOOD He is. It was the stepping stone for me learning how to truly trust God, which was something that He really focused on last fall.
The lessons I learned in DTS were so much more than I thought they were. They went so much deeper than me simply being a beloved daughter of the King. God used that time as a foundation for the lessons I have been learning over the year and a half since I graduated from my DTS. And it wouldn't surprise me at all if the lessons that I learned during my DTS will continue to be a part of the lessons I will learn in the future.
God is faithful, and He is so committed to me -and you! When He says something, He means it. But more than that, when He speaks to us about things and reveals things to us, it goes beyond the current time and place. It goes beyond that moment!
Our God is truly amazing. He is incredible. I'm in awe of Him, I truly am! DTS was two years ago, and I am still having revelations and insights from that time! I am still learning from things that were said or taught to me during that season of my life. God knows me so well that He knows when to teach me certain things, and when to reveal things to me.
God, you are a good, good Father. You are an amazing, wonderful, loving, powerful, gentle, and kind God. You... there are simply not words that can describe You, no words that can truly show how amazing you are!
Blessings,
Katie
On Sunday, Kenzie and I went on a hike north of Madison -so beautiful!
During our hike we left the trail fairly quickly and just followed the creek, clambering over rocks and crisscrossing the creek too many times to count. But neither of us fell in, yay!
Rachel and I attempted to take a picture at the end of our visit
When I first arrived in Madison on Friday night, Kenzie had placed a small Canadian flag on my bed in welcome -awwwww :) Then she pretty much just passed on halfway on her bed, halfway on mine. Soooo pretty much a normal day in our lives!
Friday evening Kenzie and I were trying to decide between seeing people and chasing the sunset. We decided on chasing the sunset, but as we were driving down the road, one of our friends spotted me in the car and ran into the street to stop us. And so we ended up socializing for awhile -I had a lot of people to say hi to!- before sneaking off to chase our sunset. It was almost done by the time we got through the mental institution to the lake, but was still beautiful!
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
I'm Back!
Wow, it has been awhile! And now here I am, sitting in Cool Beans, drinking a Mocha Slide, while typing up a blog post... just like the old times, except today is Tuesday and not Wednesday, which was my normal Cool-Beans-and-blog day!
Yes, I am back in Madison, but only for a visit. I arrived on Friday evening, and I will be heading home again on Sunday morning. I'm only here for just over a week, but it is so so so so so good to be 'home'. So good to see everyone again! Kenzie and I have been having quite a lot of fun, being reunited and sharing a room again! She had yet to remove my mattress from her bedroom, so that made for an easy set-up of my old spot on the floor! :)
The weekend was filled with laughter and fun, and ice cream, of course. I plan on going to the new kindergarten someday this week, to see my old preschoolers. I got to see Micah on Saturday night, when I went over to his house to deliver a few Canadian treats for his parents -and he ended up tackling me for about half an hour. Just like the old times. It was great! I miss that kid so much! At one point, I ended up going downstairs to visit with my friends who live in the basement apartment, and Micah said "But, you're going to come back, right T? Come back before you leave!"
Oh Micah James <3 He is going to be a big brother come December, and I am so excited! Even though I won't be here...
Yesterday, Kenzie took the day off of work, so we went to the TC, the place where DTSes are run, to join the DTS for worship. I can't believe that this is the second fall DTS since my own! Crazy how fast time goes! It was amazing to be able to worship with a DTS again -those are always great times!- and after that, Kenz and I sat in on the first little bit of class.
While sitting in that class, God really showed me how far I have come since the two years ago that I first stepped foot in YWAM Madison. I vividly remember back when I sat in that classroom as a student, soaking in the teachings. God has taught me so much in the past two years, and I have grown so much in my relationship with Him. Often, I don't feel like I have grown very much, like I don't really know much of anything about God. But during those fifteen minutes in class yesterday, God not only confirmed to me where He has asked me to be right now, but he also showed me that I have indeed grown so much! I still have so much to learn, but I'm definitely not in the same place that I was a couple years ago.
Speaking of that, I have a totally awesome story of God's faithfulness to tell you, but I'll save that for another day :) Once it is official.
So I guess that's it for now! I've gotta go enjoy Madison while I still can!
Blessings,
Katie
Yes, I am back in Madison, but only for a visit. I arrived on Friday evening, and I will be heading home again on Sunday morning. I'm only here for just over a week, but it is so so so so so good to be 'home'. So good to see everyone again! Kenzie and I have been having quite a lot of fun, being reunited and sharing a room again! She had yet to remove my mattress from her bedroom, so that made for an easy set-up of my old spot on the floor! :)
The weekend was filled with laughter and fun, and ice cream, of course. I plan on going to the new kindergarten someday this week, to see my old preschoolers. I got to see Micah on Saturday night, when I went over to his house to deliver a few Canadian treats for his parents -and he ended up tackling me for about half an hour. Just like the old times. It was great! I miss that kid so much! At one point, I ended up going downstairs to visit with my friends who live in the basement apartment, and Micah said "But, you're going to come back, right T? Come back before you leave!"
Oh Micah James <3 He is going to be a big brother come December, and I am so excited! Even though I won't be here...
Yesterday, Kenzie took the day off of work, so we went to the TC, the place where DTSes are run, to join the DTS for worship. I can't believe that this is the second fall DTS since my own! Crazy how fast time goes! It was amazing to be able to worship with a DTS again -those are always great times!- and after that, Kenz and I sat in on the first little bit of class.
While sitting in that class, God really showed me how far I have come since the two years ago that I first stepped foot in YWAM Madison. I vividly remember back when I sat in that classroom as a student, soaking in the teachings. God has taught me so much in the past two years, and I have grown so much in my relationship with Him. Often, I don't feel like I have grown very much, like I don't really know much of anything about God. But during those fifteen minutes in class yesterday, God not only confirmed to me where He has asked me to be right now, but he also showed me that I have indeed grown so much! I still have so much to learn, but I'm definitely not in the same place that I was a couple years ago.
Speaking of that, I have a totally awesome story of God's faithfulness to tell you, but I'll save that for another day :) Once it is official.
So I guess that's it for now! I've gotta go enjoy Madison while I still can!
Blessings,
Katie
Monday, April 25, 2016
Where I Am Now
I've been home for just over two weeks now, and I realized that I have not even updated this blog to let you all know that I am back in Canada safe and sound!
It seems crazy that it has only been two weeks. Seriously. I feel like I have been home for forever. I feel like Madison was eons ago, yet at the same time, it feels like I just left (and really, I did). Kenzie and I were talking and saying how that first weeks just dragged on and on and on.
While it is great being home, and seeing my family and friends here, I really really miss Madison. I miss my YWAM Madison community. I miss my roommate. I miss my children. I miss preschool. I miss America.
My time is now occupied by working at the greenhouse. I work six days a week, which makes for a busy life, yet at the same time, I am still growing in my relationship with God. That won't ever stop! One thing I really love about working at the greenhouse is the conversations that I am able to have with people. Some of my good friends work with me, and I have had some really great conversations about God with them over these past few weeks. Since I'm so used to being in a Christian community, and talking about God, it is awesome to have these people who I can continue that with. :)
So that's my next step- returning to the greenhouse, working there for the summer. I know what God has asked of me, and I know that it will take a lot of trust and constant communication with Him to do it, but if there is one thing that I have learned over my eight months on staff with YWAM Madison, it is that God is completely, utterly, and absolutely trustworthy, and He is always faithful.
Tonight, during my quiet time, I pulled out a letter that I wrote at the beginning of my time on staff. I had forgotten about it until now, and so I read it and spent time with God, just reflecting over the seven months of preschool. A few of the questions I had written to ask God included "How were lives changed?", "How and where did I see God's faithfulness?", and "What have I learned in my time on staff with YWAM Madison, and through the preschool?"
It was really great to reflect on these questions and see that God indeed answered them. The lives of those children were changed. MY life was changed. I saw God's faithfulness in SO many ways, just one being the provision for preschool and the continuation of it. And I learned to much about trusting God -this really was a whole season for that lesson!- not to mention I learned even more about His love for me, and His trust in ME (crazy thought!), and much, much, much more!
So now here I am, away from all my life was for the past eight-nine months. I'm away from YWAM Madison, away from my seven wonderfully amazing preschoolers, away from my hilarious roommate (and one of my closest friends), away from all that. Yet God is still with me, and He is still teaching me things, and He is still showing Himself to be faithful, to be trustworthy, and to be good.
I can't wait to take my next steps with God (no matter how scary they are!)
Blessings,
Katie
It seems crazy that it has only been two weeks. Seriously. I feel like I have been home for forever. I feel like Madison was eons ago, yet at the same time, it feels like I just left (and really, I did). Kenzie and I were talking and saying how that first weeks just dragged on and on and on.
While it is great being home, and seeing my family and friends here, I really really miss Madison. I miss my YWAM Madison community. I miss my roommate. I miss my children. I miss preschool. I miss America.
My time is now occupied by working at the greenhouse. I work six days a week, which makes for a busy life, yet at the same time, I am still growing in my relationship with God. That won't ever stop! One thing I really love about working at the greenhouse is the conversations that I am able to have with people. Some of my good friends work with me, and I have had some really great conversations about God with them over these past few weeks. Since I'm so used to being in a Christian community, and talking about God, it is awesome to have these people who I can continue that with. :)
So that's my next step- returning to the greenhouse, working there for the summer. I know what God has asked of me, and I know that it will take a lot of trust and constant communication with Him to do it, but if there is one thing that I have learned over my eight months on staff with YWAM Madison, it is that God is completely, utterly, and absolutely trustworthy, and He is always faithful.
Tonight, during my quiet time, I pulled out a letter that I wrote at the beginning of my time on staff. I had forgotten about it until now, and so I read it and spent time with God, just reflecting over the seven months of preschool. A few of the questions I had written to ask God included "How were lives changed?", "How and where did I see God's faithfulness?", and "What have I learned in my time on staff with YWAM Madison, and through the preschool?"
It was really great to reflect on these questions and see that God indeed answered them. The lives of those children were changed. MY life was changed. I saw God's faithfulness in SO many ways, just one being the provision for preschool and the continuation of it. And I learned to much about trusting God -this really was a whole season for that lesson!- not to mention I learned even more about His love for me, and His trust in ME (crazy thought!), and much, much, much more!
So now here I am, away from all my life was for the past eight-nine months. I'm away from YWAM Madison, away from my seven wonderfully amazing preschoolers, away from my hilarious roommate (and one of my closest friends), away from all that. Yet God is still with me, and He is still teaching me things, and He is still showing Himself to be faithful, to be trustworthy, and to be good.
I can't wait to take my next steps with God (no matter how scary they are!)
Blessings,
Katie
This. Just this. It's SO TRUE!!
One upside of starting work at 7am is that when I leave the house, the sun is just rising. And it is BEAUTIFUL!
My preschooler's parents went together and bought me a travel mug with pictures of my kids on it :) It came in the mail last week!
My last Madison sunset. I miss those :(
Oh Kenzie. She snuck a note into my bag when I left. So I got home and was unpacking when I found this envelop. I was like "Awwww Kenz is so sweet!" Then I opened it X) I MISS my dear, dear roomie! Thankfully we can -and definitely do- text! :)
Friday, April 8, 2016
Goodbye
On September 15, 2015, I walked into the freshly prepared preschool room, nervous but (kind of) ready to greet the seven students I would be spending the next several months with. Over the time since then, I have had the honour of teaching these kids, praying with them, laughing with them, and getting to know each one. These seven kids are each so special and I know that God is going to take them to some amazing places as they continue their lives. I'm blessed to have spent the past several months with them, and I thank God for entrusting this job to me. I love them, and today I said goodbye to them as we had our final preschool class. I miss them already!
On Wednesday, at staff meeting, the leaders prayed for me as I depart, but my kid's parents also surprised me with the CUTEST video of the kids, and they are giving me a travel mug with photos from our class on it. However, since I'm the one who has taken all the pictures, they decided to send PD's wife, Amy into our class yesterday so that we could get some photos with me in it. That made for the perfect opportunity for a class photo! It was the perfect day, since it was Judah's day to be there, and all the kids were there :) So these are my goofballs! I love them! I can't stand goodbyes, but today, I had to say so many, to some pretty precious people! :(
Tomorrow, I pack up and then on Sunday, I head back home.
Blessings,
Katie
Wednesday, April 6, 2016
The Last Week
Wow. I'm writing my next blog post, which I always do on Wednesdays at Cool Beans. Since I'm now writing it, that means one thing: This is my last time doing this. This is my final time sitting in Cool Beans, drinking a Mocha Slide while I update you all on what is happening here in Madison. This afternoon, it will be my last time going over to the GMC for Worship and Warfare, and then it will be my final staff meeting with YWAM Madison. On Sunday, I'm going home.
It's crazy how fast time passes. It really feels like it was just a month or two ago that I first arrived in Madison, after that craziness of trying to cross the border, and ate ice cream on Kenzie's cloud bed. Yet that was 8 months ago already! When I first arrived back in Madison, I knew that my time on staff would go by fast, but I still don't understand how it is already at the end!
This week is bitter-sweet for me. I'm glad to be going home; I know that God only called me to Madison for a short time, and that I am supposed to go home now. I miss all of you back in Canada, and I'm so excited to see you all again (for more than just a short visit)! At the same time, just the thought of leaving Madison and my 'family' here makes my heart hurt. I love my people! I don't want to say goodbye!
Yesterday, at preschool, one of the children was talking about me leaving. "Miss Katie," he said, "You're leaving, but you won't forget us. And we can think about you and what we learned at school!"
Man, I love them!
Yesterday, for the first time in awhile, I ran preschool all by myself; ever since he took over for the couple days while I was home for Opa's funeral, PD has joined us at preschool. And for the past two weeks, he has been the one to teach the Bible lessons. It's kind of like I have a placement student, which is kind of strange but also really nice (the extra help, I mean). Anyway, it was really great yesterday, leading circle -I mean Oval- again. I didn't realize how much I missed doing that! We talked about how Jesus told Peter to take care of his people, and how we also need to do the same. And then the kids listed off ways that we can take care of people.
Later in the day, we made some clay dough, and the kids were playing with it. One child didn't have a roller stick thing, so I went to get him one when he asked. Meanwhile, another child gave the first child his roller. When the other children and I realized, one of the other children piped up "Justin was taking care of him!"
It was cute :)
Now, we only have two days of preschool left. Two days. That's it. Two. Days. HOW are there only two days left?! How do I only have two days remaining with these terrific, adorable, sweet, funny kids?! Seriously... I don't understand how time passes so fast!
So Friday -April 8- is our final day of preschool for the year. After I leave, a lot of YWAM Madison's staff are going down to Missouri for the DNA conference, which is about the heart/history of YWAM with some of the speakers being Darlene and Loren Cunningham, the founders of YWAM. PD is one of those going to the conference, so while he considered keeping preschool running for a few weeks longer after I left, that is not going to be happening. Once I leave, it will be finished for the year.
However, just because I am leaving does not mean that preschool is over for good! In September, it is looking like there will be a FULL TIME kindergarten (which PD will be running) as well as a part time preschool like we had this year. God is faithful, but even if this preschool was just for this one year, it would have been worth it. We talked about that in our last intercession time. Greg, the one who had this vision for YWAM Madison in the first place, and the father of one of my preschoolers, was saying that even for one year, the preschool was worth it, because you can see a difference in the children.
And it's true. Looking back to September, when the children first entered the cheery blue classroom, they were different. Of course they knew Jesus and were good kids, but I can see how they have grown in their faith and knowledge since then. Just in the way they interact with each other and treat each other has changed. Yes, they are still four and five year old kids, so they have their arguments and struggles, but in general, they share more, they are more compassionate towards each other, and they welcome everyone. And that's just a tiny bit of how they have grown!
My heart hurts so much knowing that I have to leave, but I know that God brought me here for a reason, and I know that God will be faithful to continue to be with me and show me what He has for me.
And when I'm home, I'm still going to be working alongside YWAM Madison for a short while -in the evenings, I suppose, since I'll be working all day at Zomers again. I have been helping work on the database, since they are completely re-vamping it. All this is done independently, on a computer, and since it is just Kenzie and I helping out the main person (who is also a full-time mom of two young children) on this, I offered to continue to do so after I go home.
So here I am, sitting at Cool Beans for the last time, only days from my departure from Madison, Wisconsin. I'll miss this place (Madison, not just Cool Beans!) and these people, but I know that I will see them again. I've already got a visit scheduled! :)
See you all in a few days!
Blessings,
Katie
It's crazy how fast time passes. It really feels like it was just a month or two ago that I first arrived in Madison, after that craziness of trying to cross the border, and ate ice cream on Kenzie's cloud bed. Yet that was 8 months ago already! When I first arrived back in Madison, I knew that my time on staff would go by fast, but I still don't understand how it is already at the end!
This week is bitter-sweet for me. I'm glad to be going home; I know that God only called me to Madison for a short time, and that I am supposed to go home now. I miss all of you back in Canada, and I'm so excited to see you all again (for more than just a short visit)! At the same time, just the thought of leaving Madison and my 'family' here makes my heart hurt. I love my people! I don't want to say goodbye!
Yesterday, at preschool, one of the children was talking about me leaving. "Miss Katie," he said, "You're leaving, but you won't forget us. And we can think about you and what we learned at school!"
Man, I love them!
Yesterday, for the first time in awhile, I ran preschool all by myself; ever since he took over for the couple days while I was home for Opa's funeral, PD has joined us at preschool. And for the past two weeks, he has been the one to teach the Bible lessons. It's kind of like I have a placement student, which is kind of strange but also really nice (the extra help, I mean). Anyway, it was really great yesterday, leading circle -I mean Oval- again. I didn't realize how much I missed doing that! We talked about how Jesus told Peter to take care of his people, and how we also need to do the same. And then the kids listed off ways that we can take care of people.
Later in the day, we made some clay dough, and the kids were playing with it. One child didn't have a roller stick thing, so I went to get him one when he asked. Meanwhile, another child gave the first child his roller. When the other children and I realized, one of the other children piped up "Justin was taking care of him!"
It was cute :)
Now, we only have two days of preschool left. Two days. That's it. Two. Days. HOW are there only two days left?! How do I only have two days remaining with these terrific, adorable, sweet, funny kids?! Seriously... I don't understand how time passes so fast!
So Friday -April 8- is our final day of preschool for the year. After I leave, a lot of YWAM Madison's staff are going down to Missouri for the DNA conference, which is about the heart/history of YWAM with some of the speakers being Darlene and Loren Cunningham, the founders of YWAM. PD is one of those going to the conference, so while he considered keeping preschool running for a few weeks longer after I left, that is not going to be happening. Once I leave, it will be finished for the year.
However, just because I am leaving does not mean that preschool is over for good! In September, it is looking like there will be a FULL TIME kindergarten (which PD will be running) as well as a part time preschool like we had this year. God is faithful, but even if this preschool was just for this one year, it would have been worth it. We talked about that in our last intercession time. Greg, the one who had this vision for YWAM Madison in the first place, and the father of one of my preschoolers, was saying that even for one year, the preschool was worth it, because you can see a difference in the children.
And it's true. Looking back to September, when the children first entered the cheery blue classroom, they were different. Of course they knew Jesus and were good kids, but I can see how they have grown in their faith and knowledge since then. Just in the way they interact with each other and treat each other has changed. Yes, they are still four and five year old kids, so they have their arguments and struggles, but in general, they share more, they are more compassionate towards each other, and they welcome everyone. And that's just a tiny bit of how they have grown!
My heart hurts so much knowing that I have to leave, but I know that God brought me here for a reason, and I know that God will be faithful to continue to be with me and show me what He has for me.
And when I'm home, I'm still going to be working alongside YWAM Madison for a short while -in the evenings, I suppose, since I'll be working all day at Zomers again. I have been helping work on the database, since they are completely re-vamping it. All this is done independently, on a computer, and since it is just Kenzie and I helping out the main person (who is also a full-time mom of two young children) on this, I offered to continue to do so after I go home.
So here I am, sitting at Cool Beans for the last time, only days from my departure from Madison, Wisconsin. I'll miss this place (Madison, not just Cool Beans!) and these people, but I know that I will see them again. I've already got a visit scheduled! :)
See you all in a few days!
Blessings,
Katie
Kenzie texted this to me the other day. Thus sums up our relationship :P Also, ignore her name on there, I promise it is a joke, because her mom called her a Lardo while we were visiting, and she is completely NOT. Kenz thinks its hilarious that when people see her name, they will think that I'm a horrible person. :P
The couple that Kenzie and I are living with are currently in the process of being licensed for foster care (the home study was on Monday, so they're almost done!). So they now have my old bedroom set up as a nursery, with a crib, change table, and toys! It is so cute and happy! The other night, I sat upstairs talking to Kelly for like 2 1/2 hours while we built towers. Such fun!
On Instagram, I follow YWAM memes. They're pretty great and when you are in YWAM, you definitely completely relate to most- if not all- of them! I really like this one, cause its so true!
Thursday, March 31, 2016
For the Sake of the World
"I'm laying down my life
I'm giving up control
I'm never looking back
I surrender all
I'm living for Your glory on the earth
"This passion in my heart
This stirring in my soul
To see the nations bow
For all the world to know
I'm living for Your glory on the earth
"For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me
Light a flame in my soul for every eye to see
For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me
"For every knee to bow down
For every heart to believe
For every voice to cry out
Burn like a fire in me
For every tongue to confess
You alone are the King
You are the hope of the earth
Burn like a fire in me"
-For the Sake of the World by Bethel
(To listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAS0936wkBw)
For the past.... well, few MONTHS, it seems, this song has been in my head. And I love it. And have started listening to it on repeat (Joel would not be surprised). So I thought I would share it with you all :)
Blessings,
Katie
I'm giving up control
I'm never looking back
I surrender all
I'm living for Your glory on the earth
"This passion in my heart
This stirring in my soul
To see the nations bow
For all the world to know
I'm living for Your glory on the earth
"For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me
Light a flame in my soul for every eye to see
For the sake of the world burn like a fire in me
"For every knee to bow down
For every heart to believe
For every voice to cry out
Burn like a fire in me
For every tongue to confess
You alone are the King
You are the hope of the earth
Burn like a fire in me"
-For the Sake of the World by Bethel
(To listen to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAS0936wkBw)
For the past.... well, few MONTHS, it seems, this song has been in my head. And I love it. And have started listening to it on repeat (Joel would not be surprised). So I thought I would share it with you all :)
Blessings,
Katie
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
The End Stretch
Every Wednesday, I spend the morning at a cute little coffee shop, Cool Beans. Man I love that place (today, I actually stayed home because I'm not feeling too great, but I miss it!)! And Wednesday afternoons, all of YWAM Madison gathers for something called Worship and Warfare. We spend about forty to forty-five minutes in worship, followed by about twenty minutes to half hour of prayer, focused on a different thing every week. Last Wednesday, Worship and Warfare was focused on the upcoming US Presidential election. My friend and I were a bit curious as to how the leader would pull that off -I mean, politics is often a topic that people have strong opinions on- but it was really well done. We spent most of the time worshipping and praying for the Church, and that the CHURCH would step up and pray for the government, that the CHURCH would be unified, and so forth. It was a really good time of intercession for the church in America, as well as across the globe. Near the end, we also prayed over those who will be elected, not praying that specific people would (or would not) be elected, but that those who would would be prepared by God and led by Him.
Last week was a short week, obviously, with Good Friday. I spent most of that day at the home of one of my preschoolers. His mom asked me to come over and give her a hand with her four kids, because she had a lot to do, and things were pretty hectic at their house. So I got to play with some cute kids and cuddle an adorable 5 month old for several hours :) I enjoyed myself. And it was really good to be able to be there and lend a hand where it was desperately needed!
On Easter Sunday, Kenzie and my "parentals" as we call James and Kelly had Easter dinner for those in our YWAM community who had no other plans. So we had a full house :) It was a good time of fellowship with people I don't really see too often, plus Kenzie and I had a lot of fun playing with three year old Eliana, an extremely energetic girl with QUITE the personality! Kenzie lived with that family all fall, and since I was there every weekend, Eliana knows both of us and I think she had quite a fun time playing all afternoon :)
Last night, I was talking to Kelly. Her and James are in the process of becoming licensed for fostering, and on Monday they have the home inspection, and she was just letting me know (also, they are baby proofing the house right now in preparation for this, and Kenzie is hopeless when it comes to baby locks, so when she was out, we put one of the doorknob cover things on the front door. Good times!). So that got me thinking about how they could potentially have a child shortly after I leave, if the home inspection is so soon. And then I realized: next week is my LAST WEEK. I have been of the mindset of having two weeks, or just under two weeks left. I had yet to think "Next week is my last week." But it is. Two weeks from today is my first day back at work. Its crazy. How has time flown so fast, that it is already so close to the end of my time on staff with YWAM Madison?
I'm blessed to have two places that I can call home -Georgetown and Madison. I'm blessed with amazing communities and family in both places. But that also means that I have the sucky part of missing the people from one place while I'm in the other.
Blessings,
Katie
Last week was a short week, obviously, with Good Friday. I spent most of that day at the home of one of my preschoolers. His mom asked me to come over and give her a hand with her four kids, because she had a lot to do, and things were pretty hectic at their house. So I got to play with some cute kids and cuddle an adorable 5 month old for several hours :) I enjoyed myself. And it was really good to be able to be there and lend a hand where it was desperately needed!
On Easter Sunday, Kenzie and my "parentals" as we call James and Kelly had Easter dinner for those in our YWAM community who had no other plans. So we had a full house :) It was a good time of fellowship with people I don't really see too often, plus Kenzie and I had a lot of fun playing with three year old Eliana, an extremely energetic girl with QUITE the personality! Kenzie lived with that family all fall, and since I was there every weekend, Eliana knows both of us and I think she had quite a fun time playing all afternoon :)
Last night, I was talking to Kelly. Her and James are in the process of becoming licensed for fostering, and on Monday they have the home inspection, and she was just letting me know (also, they are baby proofing the house right now in preparation for this, and Kenzie is hopeless when it comes to baby locks, so when she was out, we put one of the doorknob cover things on the front door. Good times!). So that got me thinking about how they could potentially have a child shortly after I leave, if the home inspection is so soon. And then I realized: next week is my LAST WEEK. I have been of the mindset of having two weeks, or just under two weeks left. I had yet to think "Next week is my last week." But it is. Two weeks from today is my first day back at work. Its crazy. How has time flown so fast, that it is already so close to the end of my time on staff with YWAM Madison?
I'm blessed to have two places that I can call home -Georgetown and Madison. I'm blessed with amazing communities and family in both places. But that also means that I have the sucky part of missing the people from one place while I'm in the other.
Blessings,
Katie
A couple of weeks ago, we talked about Heaven. One child got super excited by the fact that there will be no sun because God is there, and so he was like "That means we don't have to sleep in Heaven!" He really liked that idea and for the next few weeks, that was always what he was thankful for.... Meanwhile I'm thinking about how much I love sleep... :P
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Surrender
I know people who are doing/have done some pretty amazing things. Seriously. I have friends who have worshipped God in the Tiger's Nest (a Buddhist temple) in Bhutan. I have friends who have travelled to North Korea with their eight month old baby. I have friends who have trekked through the mountains of Nepal, staying in remote villages. I have friends who have stayed overnight in the red light district in India, in order to pray throughout the night. I have friends who have ridden water buffalo to church. I have friends who have had dinner with men from Al Qaeda. YWAMers do crazy, insane, amazing things, let me tell you! Those are just a few of the things my friends here have done.
It all comes down to God. I mean, what are the chances of a couple of American Christians sitting down for dinner with members of Al Qaeda. Really. That doesn't generally happen. But for my friends, on their outreach, it happened. If we just surrender our lives to God, we can do crazy, insane, amazing things and experience things that we never would have dreamed of experiencing! Take me, for example. I never, ever would have thought that I would be standing in Mexico, chatting with a member of the Mexican Mafia. Like really. Yet that happened. I never, ever would have thought that I would be living in America -especially not Wisconsin- literally building a preschool from scratch. Yet here I am.
When we surrender our lives to God, our lives go places that we never ever would imagine.
Over the past few months, I have been meeting with a couple other members of YWAM Madison staff to pray for the preschool and pray into the future of it. As you know, I'm leaving soon to go back home, and I won't be coming back (well... I will be coming back, but for visits, not to join staff again. Okay. Well. I can't say I WON'T join staff again, because if God asks me to, of course I will. But at this point, I don't foresee that happening). So the question that we have been asking God is what next. He called me to come here and start this thing, and I felt like I was supposed to pass it on to someone else after a short time. But it was January, then February, and we still had no one who was going to take over. I was leaving, and it was looking like that was it. That would be the end.
Would I be angry if I came to Madison, started this preschool, left, and then that was the end of the YWAM Madison preschool? Would I be angry if what I pioneered ended with my commitment to it? No, because I know that I was obedient to what God asked of me. And I know that these current preschool children have benefited from it. If the only reason that God wanted this preschool was for these seven children, then it was worth it.
Of course, we believe that God doesn't want the preschool to just end in two weeks, when I go home. We believe that this is something that God wants to continue and grow.
And after our most recent prayer times, we have a much better idea of what God wants to do with this preschool next. No, it is not going to shut down after this one year -PD, the one who took over for me while I was home for Opa's funeral, is going to be heading it up next year!- which is no surprise to me.
What IS a surprise to me is exactly how much God is growing this thing!
During our prayer times, each and every one of us felt like we needed to take the next step, and we all felt that the next step was a full-time kindergarten next year. Every day, all day. Alongside a part time preschool, just like this year.
When a couple of the parents had first mentioned to me their wish for a kindergarten next year, I laughed to myself, thinking 'Good luck, cause that is BIG. There is no way THAT will happen!' Yet here we are, praying more into a kindergarten and looking into what that entails and preparing for it.
God is taking this small, seven-kid, part time preschool that He started through me, and He is taking it places already.
God is faithful, and God is good, and God is ambitious, and God can do it!
Blessings,
Katie
It all comes down to God. I mean, what are the chances of a couple of American Christians sitting down for dinner with members of Al Qaeda. Really. That doesn't generally happen. But for my friends, on their outreach, it happened. If we just surrender our lives to God, we can do crazy, insane, amazing things and experience things that we never would have dreamed of experiencing! Take me, for example. I never, ever would have thought that I would be standing in Mexico, chatting with a member of the Mexican Mafia. Like really. Yet that happened. I never, ever would have thought that I would be living in America -especially not Wisconsin- literally building a preschool from scratch. Yet here I am.
When we surrender our lives to God, our lives go places that we never ever would imagine.
Over the past few months, I have been meeting with a couple other members of YWAM Madison staff to pray for the preschool and pray into the future of it. As you know, I'm leaving soon to go back home, and I won't be coming back (well... I will be coming back, but for visits, not to join staff again. Okay. Well. I can't say I WON'T join staff again, because if God asks me to, of course I will. But at this point, I don't foresee that happening). So the question that we have been asking God is what next. He called me to come here and start this thing, and I felt like I was supposed to pass it on to someone else after a short time. But it was January, then February, and we still had no one who was going to take over. I was leaving, and it was looking like that was it. That would be the end.
Would I be angry if I came to Madison, started this preschool, left, and then that was the end of the YWAM Madison preschool? Would I be angry if what I pioneered ended with my commitment to it? No, because I know that I was obedient to what God asked of me. And I know that these current preschool children have benefited from it. If the only reason that God wanted this preschool was for these seven children, then it was worth it.
Of course, we believe that God doesn't want the preschool to just end in two weeks, when I go home. We believe that this is something that God wants to continue and grow.
And after our most recent prayer times, we have a much better idea of what God wants to do with this preschool next. No, it is not going to shut down after this one year -PD, the one who took over for me while I was home for Opa's funeral, is going to be heading it up next year!- which is no surprise to me.
What IS a surprise to me is exactly how much God is growing this thing!
During our prayer times, each and every one of us felt like we needed to take the next step, and we all felt that the next step was a full-time kindergarten next year. Every day, all day. Alongside a part time preschool, just like this year.
When a couple of the parents had first mentioned to me their wish for a kindergarten next year, I laughed to myself, thinking 'Good luck, cause that is BIG. There is no way THAT will happen!' Yet here we are, praying more into a kindergarten and looking into what that entails and preparing for it.
God is taking this small, seven-kid, part time preschool that He started through me, and He is taking it places already.
God is faithful, and God is good, and God is ambitious, and God can do it!
Blessings,
Katie
This weekend, I went with my friend to Illinois. She has family there, and her mom was in town (from Oregon, where they are from), so we went to visit. On Sunday, they were my tour guides through Chicago. It was a beautiful day!
Right by Millennium Park, they have a fairly new playground and it is SO MUCH FUN! Best playground ever! Kenz and I had a lot of fun on those slides :) We could have spent the whole day just playing!
This slide. It was a bit small for us adults, but Kenzie and I were determined to go down it and it was so fun! LOVE this playground :)
Before we left, Kenzie's mom made Easter baskets for both of us and hid them for us to hunt for in the morning. Apparently, at 11:30 at night, this looked like a good hiding spot to her... :P The other one was not much harder to find...
On Friday it was bring-your-own-cup day at 711, so Kenz and I went for it! We never ended up even getting CLOSE to finish all of this slushie... But what we did have was delicious!
In Chicago, right by the pizza place where we ate lunch, we found the "Honorary Canada place". I couldn't NOT take a picture! :)
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Seeing Jesus
I think that every single time I go to preschool and spend time with those kids, I see their growth more and more. I can look back and remember who they were when preschool began back in September, and they aren't the same kids anymore. I can see reflections of Jesus in each and every one of them. I mean, obviously I could in the beginning, too, but the more I get to know them and the more they grow and learn, the more ways I see it.
Don't get me wrong, the children aren't perfect! I still can get frustrated sometimes when we are talking about God or something and a child raises their hand and says something completely off-topic. But they've 4/5 years old. That's normal.
Every day, when we have circle time, the children have to pick a letter to sit on. Its an easy way to have the children sitting on the edge of the carpet. Micah always sits on the letter M, and the other children always sit near him (he is quite popular, apparently...). Except Ethan. Every day, Ethan sits alone on the letter E, with no other children around him.
Until last Friday. Micah sat down, as usual, on the letter M. The others sat beside him, except for Bennett. Bennett and Micah are best friends, and Bennett ALWAYS wants to sit beside him. He always wants to do everything with Micah. So it was surprising when Bennett sat beside Ethan instead. Dorian was thrilled because that meant that she got to take Bennett's usual spot beside Micah. And then one of the kids asked Bennett a question: "Why are you sitting over there today?"
"Well," Bennett shrugged, "Ethan is always all by himself. I thought he might be lonely, so I decided to sit by him today."
The kids thought that was a great idea -they didn't want anyone to be lonely!- so they ALL ended up moving over to sit around Ethan.
It was so amazing to see Bennett, and then all the others, looking out for their friend. Thinking about someone else before themselves. That's not something that happens a lot with kindergarten aged children. It was an amazing reflection of Jesus in them, and I was so proud!
Of course, Ethan likes having space, so he ended up moving so he was sitting alone again, which confused all of the other kids (I explained that sometimes people just need some space, and they were like "But he ALWAYS has space!") but it was the thought, the compassion of those kids that made me really see Jesus that day.
Then yesterday, I was reading a story to a couple children while PD (fellow staff member who helps me out now, and it is terrific!) was playing dinosaurs with the others, and they were chatting about nightmares. I couldn't help but listen. PD asked them what they do when they have a nightmare, and they replied that they will pray to Jesus, usually with their parents. PD asked them if that helps, and they said yes. Once they pray, they aren't scared anymore.
I love those kids. So much.
Over the past seven months, I've had the amazing privileged of walking beside these seven children as they grow in relationship (with God and each other) and understanding. I have been blessed by each child, and I can't thank God enough for asking me to come to Madison and do this. I may not know why He picked me, of all people, but I will be grateful for the rest of my life!
Three and a half weeks to go....
Blessings,
Katie
Don't get me wrong, the children aren't perfect! I still can get frustrated sometimes when we are talking about God or something and a child raises their hand and says something completely off-topic. But they've 4/5 years old. That's normal.
Every day, when we have circle time, the children have to pick a letter to sit on. Its an easy way to have the children sitting on the edge of the carpet. Micah always sits on the letter M, and the other children always sit near him (he is quite popular, apparently...). Except Ethan. Every day, Ethan sits alone on the letter E, with no other children around him.
Until last Friday. Micah sat down, as usual, on the letter M. The others sat beside him, except for Bennett. Bennett and Micah are best friends, and Bennett ALWAYS wants to sit beside him. He always wants to do everything with Micah. So it was surprising when Bennett sat beside Ethan instead. Dorian was thrilled because that meant that she got to take Bennett's usual spot beside Micah. And then one of the kids asked Bennett a question: "Why are you sitting over there today?"
"Well," Bennett shrugged, "Ethan is always all by himself. I thought he might be lonely, so I decided to sit by him today."
The kids thought that was a great idea -they didn't want anyone to be lonely!- so they ALL ended up moving over to sit around Ethan.
It was so amazing to see Bennett, and then all the others, looking out for their friend. Thinking about someone else before themselves. That's not something that happens a lot with kindergarten aged children. It was an amazing reflection of Jesus in them, and I was so proud!
Of course, Ethan likes having space, so he ended up moving so he was sitting alone again, which confused all of the other kids (I explained that sometimes people just need some space, and they were like "But he ALWAYS has space!") but it was the thought, the compassion of those kids that made me really see Jesus that day.
Then yesterday, I was reading a story to a couple children while PD (fellow staff member who helps me out now, and it is terrific!) was playing dinosaurs with the others, and they were chatting about nightmares. I couldn't help but listen. PD asked them what they do when they have a nightmare, and they replied that they will pray to Jesus, usually with their parents. PD asked them if that helps, and they said yes. Once they pray, they aren't scared anymore.
I love those kids. So much.
Over the past seven months, I've had the amazing privileged of walking beside these seven children as they grow in relationship (with God and each other) and understanding. I have been blessed by each child, and I can't thank God enough for asking me to come to Madison and do this. I may not know why He picked me, of all people, but I will be grateful for the rest of my life!
Three and a half weeks to go....
Blessings,
Katie
Kenzie and I were feeling active on Saturday, so we went out. Spent an hour at the pet store (sadly the puppies were all behind glass :( but we had fun watching the birds!) followed by some time at Barnes and Noble, where we read children's books. The Dr Seuss book was amazing.... that line though. "Kid, You'll move mountains!" Its true. If you just trust God, you will do incredible things. Just look at where I have been so far! God really speaks through children's books :)
The weather last week was INCREDIBLE -it was 15 degrees at 9:30 in the morning one day- so Kenzie and I went for a nice walk at sunset. It was beautiful!
This weekend, I moved downstairs to Kenzie's room. Our house "parents" are in the process of becoming foster parents, so they need the room I was staying in to be empty. Kenzie and I are now in the middle of our "29 day sleepover" as Kenz describes it. Everyone is concerned for us, and keeps asking me how it is going. But we get along quite well ;) Seriously though, I love Kenzie. She's an amazing friend, and a highly entertaining person, if you know her as well as I do...
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
Having Fun
This past Saturday, the Fall 2015 Discipleship Training School, that wonderful group of Jesus-lovers who I lived with all fall, graduated. They returned from outreach while I was home in Canada. It is so good to see them again and hear a little bit about their trips. Now, most of them have returned to their homes, although there are about thirteen students remaining and doing a week long fundraising seminar at the GMC.
I'm so proud of that group. I wasn't technically their staff, but I lived with them for four months, and I watched them go from a group of awkward strangers to a big, loving, amazing family. Each and every one of them is on fire for God and I'm excited to see where they go next.
Preschool, however, is NOT over.... thank goodness! I love my time with those kids. I still live in amazement at how God took a dorm room and turned it into this happy place filled with the laughter and noise of seven 4-and-5-year-olds. Seriously. It's incredible!
Ever since I returned from Canada, fellow staff member PD has joined me at preschool. He's the one who took over for me while I was away, and he is praying about taking over next fall. In the meantime, he has been coming to help out and observe how I run the preschool. While I was away, he was kind of thrown into it, since he hadn't ever spent time in the preschool before. It is great to have the extra set of hands, and starting next week, PD is going to try to take over a bit of the leadership by leading a circle or another activity.
Yesterday was a particularly fun day at preschool. It started with just Micah and I playing dinosaurs before the other kids arrived. I mentioned how I miss playing dinosaurs with him during Focus Nights, which is what we did all fall. He nodded, "Yeah, we don't get to do that anymore, and not ever again. But maybe we can play dinosaurs when you come back for a visit!" So cute :)
During circle, we talked about encouragement and how we want to use positive words, words that are kind and loving. Last week we talked about being thankful, and making sure we actually say thank you when we feel thankful, so it seems like God wants these kids to learn how to speak life over people :)
It was an absolutely GORGEOUS, springlike day yesterday, reaching 19C by the afternoon, so we stayed outside for quite some time. The kids had a blast chasing PD around and playing with the balls and swinging on the swing set.
Our activity yesterday was making playdough -it was long overdue! The children always have fun measuring things and stirring, so they enjoyed the process. And then had even more fun playing with the playdough once it was done :)
We have fun. We really do. I'm going to miss this!
Blessings,
Katie
I'm so proud of that group. I wasn't technically their staff, but I lived with them for four months, and I watched them go from a group of awkward strangers to a big, loving, amazing family. Each and every one of them is on fire for God and I'm excited to see where they go next.
Preschool, however, is NOT over.... thank goodness! I love my time with those kids. I still live in amazement at how God took a dorm room and turned it into this happy place filled with the laughter and noise of seven 4-and-5-year-olds. Seriously. It's incredible!
Ever since I returned from Canada, fellow staff member PD has joined me at preschool. He's the one who took over for me while I was away, and he is praying about taking over next fall. In the meantime, he has been coming to help out and observe how I run the preschool. While I was away, he was kind of thrown into it, since he hadn't ever spent time in the preschool before. It is great to have the extra set of hands, and starting next week, PD is going to try to take over a bit of the leadership by leading a circle or another activity.
Yesterday was a particularly fun day at preschool. It started with just Micah and I playing dinosaurs before the other kids arrived. I mentioned how I miss playing dinosaurs with him during Focus Nights, which is what we did all fall. He nodded, "Yeah, we don't get to do that anymore, and not ever again. But maybe we can play dinosaurs when you come back for a visit!" So cute :)
During circle, we talked about encouragement and how we want to use positive words, words that are kind and loving. Last week we talked about being thankful, and making sure we actually say thank you when we feel thankful, so it seems like God wants these kids to learn how to speak life over people :)
It was an absolutely GORGEOUS, springlike day yesterday, reaching 19C by the afternoon, so we stayed outside for quite some time. The kids had a blast chasing PD around and playing with the balls and swinging on the swing set.
Our activity yesterday was making playdough -it was long overdue! The children always have fun measuring things and stirring, so they enjoyed the process. And then had even more fun playing with the playdough once it was done :)
We have fun. We really do. I'm going to miss this!
Blessings,
Katie
During circle a couple weeks ago we talked about how powerful Jesus is (so we don't need to be afraid!). We wrote down what Jesus has power over. I like how they said hedgehogs and flies :P
The sunset over the GMC one day. The picture really doesn't do it justice!
Prayer requests last week. It warmed my heart when one child prayed for the Fall DTS (who were travelling home from their stateside trips that day) to have safe travels.
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
No Regrets
As you probably know, my 95 year old Opa, Willem Roest, passed away almost two weeks ago. My parents kindly paid for airfare for me to come home. It was really wonderful being back home with my family for a few days, although now looking back, it kind of feels like it was a dream.
It was so surreal stepping off that plane at the Toronto Pearson Airport. I was trying to figure out how in the world I had ended up there. Most of the trip there was kind of a blur.
One thing I do remember, though. I was sitting on the plane, gazing out the window into the darkness below, and just talking to God as I thought about life and death. And that's when I realised that if I were to die right now, I would have no regrets. Then I thought that there must be something that I would regret, so I concentrated on trying to think of it. I thought and I thought. And I literally couldn't think of a single thing that I would regret if I were to die right now.
I have followed God where He has called me. I have done things that I never would have thought I would be comfortable doing -and I wasn't comfortable, but I did them because God asked me to. At this point in my life, I don't regret anything that I have done, and there is nothing that I haven't done that I wish I had.
I mean, are there things that I still want to do in my life? Absolutely! But they aren't things that I need to be happy. I'd love to see more of the world, and to do many other things. However, at this point in my life, I wouldn't regret not doing them. Maybe if I'd had the opportunity and said no, I would regret it right now, but I haven't had the opportunity to do these things yet, and so I can't regret not doing them.
So I hope that I continue to live my life this way. I hope that each day, I intentionally make decisions that leave me with no regrets at the end of the day. I hope that when God asks me to do something, I will continue to say 'yes' in spite of fears and questions and insecurities.
In order to live this way, I have to choose it, though. I have to CHOOSE to say yes to God. And while that may seem like the obvious thing to do -I mean, He is God!- it can still be hard to say yes to Him sometimes. I'm rarely comfortable doing the things He asks me to do. I usually don't believe that I can do it. I'm usually full of fear. So these are the things that I need to (continue to) fight every single day for the rest of my life.
I am living for God now. And I pray that I continue to do that -to follow His calling in my life- for the rest of my days.
Blessings,
Katie
It was so surreal stepping off that plane at the Toronto Pearson Airport. I was trying to figure out how in the world I had ended up there. Most of the trip there was kind of a blur.
One thing I do remember, though. I was sitting on the plane, gazing out the window into the darkness below, and just talking to God as I thought about life and death. And that's when I realised that if I were to die right now, I would have no regrets. Then I thought that there must be something that I would regret, so I concentrated on trying to think of it. I thought and I thought. And I literally couldn't think of a single thing that I would regret if I were to die right now.
I have followed God where He has called me. I have done things that I never would have thought I would be comfortable doing -and I wasn't comfortable, but I did them because God asked me to. At this point in my life, I don't regret anything that I have done, and there is nothing that I haven't done that I wish I had.
I mean, are there things that I still want to do in my life? Absolutely! But they aren't things that I need to be happy. I'd love to see more of the world, and to do many other things. However, at this point in my life, I wouldn't regret not doing them. Maybe if I'd had the opportunity and said no, I would regret it right now, but I haven't had the opportunity to do these things yet, and so I can't regret not doing them.
So I hope that I continue to live my life this way. I hope that each day, I intentionally make decisions that leave me with no regrets at the end of the day. I hope that when God asks me to do something, I will continue to say 'yes' in spite of fears and questions and insecurities.
In order to live this way, I have to choose it, though. I have to CHOOSE to say yes to God. And while that may seem like the obvious thing to do -I mean, He is God!- it can still be hard to say yes to Him sometimes. I'm rarely comfortable doing the things He asks me to do. I usually don't believe that I can do it. I'm usually full of fear. So these are the things that I need to (continue to) fight every single day for the rest of my life.
I am living for God now. And I pray that I continue to do that -to follow His calling in my life- for the rest of my days.
Blessings,
Katie
My Opa loved animals -especially dogs and cows- so it was fitting that a couple of the bouquets at the funeral had plastic cows!
Wisconsin has BEAUTIFUL sunsets!
Our house dogsat this dog for a week, which was such fun! I'm not usually a little dog person, but Estrella is the cutest!
On Sunday, it was my friend Rachel's -we did DTS together- birthday, so we got together for coffee :)
These boys absolutely LOVE dinosaurs. Like, love is probably an understatement...
While I was home, I got to hang out with my siblings. So that was fun!
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
#Life
The other day, I was looking at my calender for various reasons. And I realized that we are more than halfway through February already, so I decided to count how many weeks of preschool we have left.
Eight. The answer is eight. Only eight weeks of preschool left, and one of those weeks is halfway done already.
That is craziness! How is it that the number of weeks of preschool that remain is in the single digits?!
It really feels like my time on staff with YWAM Madison just started. I feel like it was just a month or two ago that I was in Sault Ste Marie, not allowed to cross over the border (and oh how that makes me smile, now that it is in the past! Makes for a good story!). I feel like it was a couple days ago that the Fall DTS arrived at the TC, and now they are literally days away from coming back from outreach! It feels like it was just yesterday that I got back from Christmas vacation, yet that was almost two months ago now.
I knew that my time here was short, that I would be back in Canada before I knew it. But time is going by so fast! When you are standing at the beginning, it the end seems so far away, even if you know that time will go by fast. When you are standing this close to the end, looking back, you realize that you should no longer blink, because when you do, months go by.
Last Wednesday, Micah and his family got back from their three weeks on the West coast. I picked them up in Milwaukee, and the very first thing Micah said to me when he saw me was "We have school tomorrow!"
He's so cute :) They all are.
It is good to be back in the groove again. Between "snow" storms and sickness, preschool was very small for a week and a half. I felt like we basically had a break, because I only had up to three kids at a time. Now everyone is back in good health and at preschool, and it is oh so good to have them all back again! It is loud and crazy and so much fun!
One child wasn't there yesterday (but I still had seven children because the sister of one of my kids joined us. She often does, so much so that her name is on the wall with everyone else's. She is a year older than my oldest kids, and she absolutely loves coming to our preschool). His mom emailed me last night and asked what Bible story we read, saying that he wanted to know so that they could read it at home today.
Like I said, they are so cute! :)
Blessings,
Katie
We don't have sleds, and have to rely on having parents bring them for the day. On the days when we have no sleds, the hill -which was basically ice before our last snow- the kids slide down on their bellies like penguins. They LOVE it. Its so cute!
During circle on day, we talked about how we need to be like Jesus. But in order to do that, we need to know what Jesus is like. These were some of the kid's responses to that question.
It snowed one night, with beautiful big fluffy flakes that added up quickly. So Kenzie and I went out, borrowed a couple sleds, and played in the snow for awhile. So much fun!
I love carrots. I eat them like, every day. So Kenzie sent me this "Valentine". She knows me too well!
This is Kenzie again. We spend a lot of time together, living in the same house, being basically roommates. We have both been super tired lately. So tired that she apparently couldn't make it down the stairs to her bedroom :P
We have the most random conversations, so we have taken to writing down each other's quotes to share with the rest of the world. Because everyone should have the pleasure of hearing some of our conversations!
#lifewithkenzie
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Simple Obedience
Last year around this time, rather than sitting in cold (though really not as cold as it could be) Wisconsin, I was in Mexico. It was an amazing time of my life, one that I will never forget! And I saw God work so much during my time in Mexico.
My time there ended in Mazatlan, on the western coast of Mexico, doing evangelism at the Carnival (their Mardi Gras party, and one of the largest parties in the world. It is full of drinking and drugs and human trafficking).
Carnival was really really hard for me, but I also saw God do amazing things while we were there. Like when we prayed for that man in the Mexican Mafia, who was about to kill a family before he called us over to pray for him. Another thing that I saw God do was heal. He healed a lot of people during that week, including a man called Roberto, who had a bad back (here is a link to my post about that, if you want to know that story http://ktwalkingbyfaith.blogspot.com/2015/02/our-god-is-greater.html).
Well, Carnival 2016 has just come to a close, and the YWAM base in Mazatlan again did this outreach (they do it every year, and have to many years now). I have some friends on Facebook from my time there, including a man who isn't in YWAM, but who takes time off of his job every year in order to participate in the Carnival outreach. And whenever he prays for someone (and he is fearless when it comes to evangelism and prayer, and he hears God very well!) he will take a picture with them and post it, talking about what God did. He was in the group of us last year who prayed for Roberto. He was actually the one who God told to find him, the "man with the big mustache".
This morning, Jeff posted a couple more pictures, including one of Roberto. He wrote that he was able to see this man from last year again. His back is still fine, and his business has grown. And as soon as he saw Jeff, his face lit up. It has been a year, but he did not forget the face of one of the people who obeyed God and prayed for him. He is still praising God for what he did last year, still giving Jesus the glory.
It was so awesome to see that post, and to know that the people that God touched last year, either using me or others, still praise God for it. Its the legacy of Jesus, and through simple obedience, lives can be touched and changed forever!
And it is in simple obedience that I want to continue living my life.
Blessings,
Katie
My time there ended in Mazatlan, on the western coast of Mexico, doing evangelism at the Carnival (their Mardi Gras party, and one of the largest parties in the world. It is full of drinking and drugs and human trafficking).
Carnival was really really hard for me, but I also saw God do amazing things while we were there. Like when we prayed for that man in the Mexican Mafia, who was about to kill a family before he called us over to pray for him. Another thing that I saw God do was heal. He healed a lot of people during that week, including a man called Roberto, who had a bad back (here is a link to my post about that, if you want to know that story http://ktwalkingbyfaith.blogspot.com/2015/02/our-god-is-greater.html).
Well, Carnival 2016 has just come to a close, and the YWAM base in Mazatlan again did this outreach (they do it every year, and have to many years now). I have some friends on Facebook from my time there, including a man who isn't in YWAM, but who takes time off of his job every year in order to participate in the Carnival outreach. And whenever he prays for someone (and he is fearless when it comes to evangelism and prayer, and he hears God very well!) he will take a picture with them and post it, talking about what God did. He was in the group of us last year who prayed for Roberto. He was actually the one who God told to find him, the "man with the big mustache".
This morning, Jeff posted a couple more pictures, including one of Roberto. He wrote that he was able to see this man from last year again. His back is still fine, and his business has grown. And as soon as he saw Jeff, his face lit up. It has been a year, but he did not forget the face of one of the people who obeyed God and prayed for him. He is still praising God for what he did last year, still giving Jesus the glory.
It was so awesome to see that post, and to know that the people that God touched last year, either using me or others, still praise God for it. Its the legacy of Jesus, and through simple obedience, lives can be touched and changed forever!
And it is in simple obedience that I want to continue living my life.
Blessings,
Katie
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
Who God Created
A couple of weeks ago, I read a devotion about how we need to be who God created us to be (http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/be-who-god-created-you-to-be/). The writer talks about how we should do what God created us to do. It is a part of us, and it should come naturally. It shouldn't exhaust us. It might be hard, but it should also come naturally. She writes (reflecting on Job 37:5-6) "So God says to the snow, "Fall on the earth." That's it. Just do one thing. Just fall. And then He says to the rain shower, "Be a mighty downpour." Essentially, He's saying: Just do the thing I've actually created you to do. You're rain.... so rain. You're snow... so snow".
It got me to thinking about what God created ME to do. As you know, I am leaving Madison in April and going back home. For good, this time. My time on staff with YWAM Madison was never going to be a long-term thing; it was just temporary. I felt God calling me to come and start this preschool, but I never felt like it was my role to continue in that for a long time. I felt called to start it and then pass it on to someone else.
So what, then, am I called to do next? I'm about to head into a time where I don't know what I will be doing. I don't know exactly what the next steps will look like. I have a few ideas about what I feel God is calling me to do with my life, but I don't know how that looks practically in the now.
The author says to "Think about your adolescent self, your child self, the "you" you've always been. God imprinted a sacred, beautiful collection of passions and capacities right onto your heart. What do you love? What does your passion bubble over for?"
When I look back on my life, I can see a few things that remained strong through all times. Things that when I was a child I still have passions for. Like orphans. Ever since I was a little kid, I had a heart for orphans. I always wanted to go help in an orphanage. A few times at Christmas, we would each pick something from the World Vision list of things (such as a goat for a family), and I would always pick the one that helped the orphan. That's the whole reason I ended up in YWAM. I was looking into volunteering at an orphanage, and I ended up in the Children At Risk DTS. Because those are the people who have always been on my heart! (And by the way, I did end up working at an orphanage while on outreach).
Another thing I always wanted to do was be a missionary. I remember being eleven or twelve years old, and I was having my quiet time. It was when I really accepted Jesus. I told Him how much I love Him and that I would do anything for Him. I told Him I would be a missionary for Him, I wanted to do that, and I felt pulled to do that. And now here I am. I'm not a missionary in the sense of living in a third world country telling people about Jesus, but I am a missionary. I am living in a foreign country (albeit America) teaching people about Jesus (the children of my preschool). I have gone evangelizing and helping the poor in other countries. I AM a missionary.
So it is these things that I know are my passions, and that I know will continue to be a part of my life. How, I might not know yet, but I know that they will continue to be themes in my life, just as they have already.
Besides, I might not know exactly what my future looks like, but God does. And He is always faithful to tell me what is next. And He does it in His time, not mine. God is rarely early, but He is always on time!
Blessings,
Katie
It got me to thinking about what God created ME to do. As you know, I am leaving Madison in April and going back home. For good, this time. My time on staff with YWAM Madison was never going to be a long-term thing; it was just temporary. I felt God calling me to come and start this preschool, but I never felt like it was my role to continue in that for a long time. I felt called to start it and then pass it on to someone else.
So what, then, am I called to do next? I'm about to head into a time where I don't know what I will be doing. I don't know exactly what the next steps will look like. I have a few ideas about what I feel God is calling me to do with my life, but I don't know how that looks practically in the now.
The author says to "Think about your adolescent self, your child self, the "you" you've always been. God imprinted a sacred, beautiful collection of passions and capacities right onto your heart. What do you love? What does your passion bubble over for?"
When I look back on my life, I can see a few things that remained strong through all times. Things that when I was a child I still have passions for. Like orphans. Ever since I was a little kid, I had a heart for orphans. I always wanted to go help in an orphanage. A few times at Christmas, we would each pick something from the World Vision list of things (such as a goat for a family), and I would always pick the one that helped the orphan. That's the whole reason I ended up in YWAM. I was looking into volunteering at an orphanage, and I ended up in the Children At Risk DTS. Because those are the people who have always been on my heart! (And by the way, I did end up working at an orphanage while on outreach).
Another thing I always wanted to do was be a missionary. I remember being eleven or twelve years old, and I was having my quiet time. It was when I really accepted Jesus. I told Him how much I love Him and that I would do anything for Him. I told Him I would be a missionary for Him, I wanted to do that, and I felt pulled to do that. And now here I am. I'm not a missionary in the sense of living in a third world country telling people about Jesus, but I am a missionary. I am living in a foreign country (albeit America) teaching people about Jesus (the children of my preschool). I have gone evangelizing and helping the poor in other countries. I AM a missionary.
So it is these things that I know are my passions, and that I know will continue to be a part of my life. How, I might not know yet, but I know that they will continue to be themes in my life, just as they have already.
Besides, I might not know exactly what my future looks like, but God does. And He is always faithful to tell me what is next. And He does it in His time, not mine. God is rarely early, but He is always on time!
Blessings,
Katie
Saturday, January 23, 2016
The Shiniest, Reddest Car
There is a boy in my preschool class who has the same prayer request every single day. "The shiniest, reddest car!" When he says it, his whole face lights up into a huge smile. His favourite colour is red, and his family desperately needs a car. His parents tell me that at night, when they pray before bed, he doesn't let them pray for a new car, because he has taken it upon himself to pray for it.
That boy is now away for three weeks, on a fundraising trip back in Seattle. So the past two days, he has not been at preschool. Yesterday, the other kids and I were sitting in our circle. I asked if anyone had any prayer requests. One little boy -the one from the community- raised his hand. "I want to pray for the shiniest, reddest car for Micah," he said.
It just warmed my heart. That family needs this car, so the son prays for it every single day. And when he isn't around, the other kids pray for it for him. They know that his family needs the car, so they want that for them. It made me smile so much! They are thinking about each other, and about the other's needs.
A new car is a big thing. It might seem like an impossibility for that family to get a new car, let alone a red one. They are missionaries. They live off of support, and sometimes, that can barely be enough to cover normal expenses, let alone a new car. So it can seem like an overwhelmingly impossible prayer. But those children fully believe that God can answer it. That boy faithfully prays for that car, and he believes that his prayers will be answered.
Its that childlike faith. I know God can do it; I have seen him to bigger things than providing a car for a family. Yet at the same time, it can be so hard to believe that it actually will happen. Micah has been praying for this the entire preschool. Meaning this prayer has been going on since September, if not before. Yet he hasn't given up hope. He is persistent in prayer, not giving up because it hasn't happened yet. How often do we give up on a prayer because we have been praying it for a month, and nothing has happened? I feel like all too often, we think that God isn't going to answer simply because He didn't answer right away. Yet this five year old boy has been praying for the same thing every single day for the past five months, and he hasn't given up hope. He believes that God will answer his prayer! I want that kind of faith. Faith like the little children, just like Jesus said we need.
Blessings,
Katie
That boy is now away for three weeks, on a fundraising trip back in Seattle. So the past two days, he has not been at preschool. Yesterday, the other kids and I were sitting in our circle. I asked if anyone had any prayer requests. One little boy -the one from the community- raised his hand. "I want to pray for the shiniest, reddest car for Micah," he said.
It just warmed my heart. That family needs this car, so the son prays for it every single day. And when he isn't around, the other kids pray for it for him. They know that his family needs the car, so they want that for them. It made me smile so much! They are thinking about each other, and about the other's needs.
A new car is a big thing. It might seem like an impossibility for that family to get a new car, let alone a red one. They are missionaries. They live off of support, and sometimes, that can barely be enough to cover normal expenses, let alone a new car. So it can seem like an overwhelmingly impossible prayer. But those children fully believe that God can answer it. That boy faithfully prays for that car, and he believes that his prayers will be answered.
Its that childlike faith. I know God can do it; I have seen him to bigger things than providing a car for a family. Yet at the same time, it can be so hard to believe that it actually will happen. Micah has been praying for this the entire preschool. Meaning this prayer has been going on since September, if not before. Yet he hasn't given up hope. He is persistent in prayer, not giving up because it hasn't happened yet. How often do we give up on a prayer because we have been praying it for a month, and nothing has happened? I feel like all too often, we think that God isn't going to answer simply because He didn't answer right away. Yet this five year old boy has been praying for the same thing every single day for the past five months, and he hasn't given up hope. He believes that God will answer his prayer! I want that kind of faith. Faith like the little children, just like Jesus said we need.
Blessings,
Katie
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Change
This morning I am sitting in Cool Beans, my favourite coffee shop here in Madison. Kenzie and I have come here for the morning to work. It is nice to get out and work in a different environment; so much easier to focus here, even though there are obviously quite a few people. Its not the preschool room, where I usually do my work, so that's all I need!
Yesterday was a fun day in the YWAM preschool. Following our typical schedule, as the children arrived, they played while waiting for everyone to show up. I usually let them play for the first ten or so minutes after arriving. Then we have our circle -er, our OVAL, as the kids always correct me. I read a Bible story and have some sort of discussion. Yesterday was about obeying our parents, and God. How Jesus obeyed His Father, God.
After this, we went outside. It has been quite cold here for the past four or five days, usually reaching a high between -15 and -20 (Celsius, because I still haven't got this Fahrenheit thing down), but yesterday it reached a mild -13! One of the kids had brought two sleds, so the kids had a blast taking turns sledding down the hill in our yard. That has been something really awesome- even though the YWAM preschool still has no sleds in our possession, it seems that every day one parents brings one or two sleds. Never the same parent on the same day, though. But I'm pretty sure they don't discuss who is bringing it on what day. So God has been faithful to provide sleds every day!
After about twenty minutes outside, we head inside to eat snack. After this, the kids get to play again. After maybe fifteen minutes of play, I gather them together for our other activity of the day. On Thursdays, we have a craft/art activity, on Fridays we learn something academic, like something with the alphabet or numbers. On Tuesdays, we always had music, but our music teacher, Lucy, who was so good with the kids, cannot come anymore. Now I have turned Tuesdays into Science day.
So yesterday, I took small cups of ice and put them in a muffin tray. We had five different things to pour on different ice blocks: hot water, cold water, oil, sugar, and salt. We talked about what we thought would melt the ice fastest. Then we poured the different things on the ice.
It was really fun! The kids loved it and after I dismissed them to play again, I left the tray of ice on the table. Two of the kids spent the rest of the day touching it and pouring more water and salt on to melt the ice more.
So that was our day yesterday. It was great!
On Monday, my friend Kenzie and I moved out of the house we were living in into the house of another YWAM couple. I will be living there until my time in Madison is done. It is such a blessing to be living there, especially since the cost is significantly cheaper than I was anticipating paying. As in less than half the price! The couple, Kelly and James, are leaving tomorrow on a three week trip to Asia, so Kenz and I will have that time to settle into the house, which we are quite grateful for! Right now, I am staying upstairs in the guest room, but for reasons that are currently not public knowledge, once they come back from Asia, I will be moving downstairs and sharing Kenzie's room with her. The only reason I am able to stay at their home for the rest of my time on staff is because Kenzie likes me enough to be willing to share her room. Something she didn't have to agree to!
So that's my update. Tomorrow, I will be driving to Milwaukee to bring Kevin, Tiff, and Micah to the airport; we leave at seven in the morning. Yikes! They are going home for a fundraising trip for three weeks, so I will have one less preschooler for that long. We will definitely miss him!
Blessings,
Katie
Yesterday was a fun day in the YWAM preschool. Following our typical schedule, as the children arrived, they played while waiting for everyone to show up. I usually let them play for the first ten or so minutes after arriving. Then we have our circle -er, our OVAL, as the kids always correct me. I read a Bible story and have some sort of discussion. Yesterday was about obeying our parents, and God. How Jesus obeyed His Father, God.
After this, we went outside. It has been quite cold here for the past four or five days, usually reaching a high between -15 and -20 (Celsius, because I still haven't got this Fahrenheit thing down), but yesterday it reached a mild -13! One of the kids had brought two sleds, so the kids had a blast taking turns sledding down the hill in our yard. That has been something really awesome- even though the YWAM preschool still has no sleds in our possession, it seems that every day one parents brings one or two sleds. Never the same parent on the same day, though. But I'm pretty sure they don't discuss who is bringing it on what day. So God has been faithful to provide sleds every day!
After about twenty minutes outside, we head inside to eat snack. After this, the kids get to play again. After maybe fifteen minutes of play, I gather them together for our other activity of the day. On Thursdays, we have a craft/art activity, on Fridays we learn something academic, like something with the alphabet or numbers. On Tuesdays, we always had music, but our music teacher, Lucy, who was so good with the kids, cannot come anymore. Now I have turned Tuesdays into Science day.
So yesterday, I took small cups of ice and put them in a muffin tray. We had five different things to pour on different ice blocks: hot water, cold water, oil, sugar, and salt. We talked about what we thought would melt the ice fastest. Then we poured the different things on the ice.
It was really fun! The kids loved it and after I dismissed them to play again, I left the tray of ice on the table. Two of the kids spent the rest of the day touching it and pouring more water and salt on to melt the ice more.
So that was our day yesterday. It was great!
On Monday, my friend Kenzie and I moved out of the house we were living in into the house of another YWAM couple. I will be living there until my time in Madison is done. It is such a blessing to be living there, especially since the cost is significantly cheaper than I was anticipating paying. As in less than half the price! The couple, Kelly and James, are leaving tomorrow on a three week trip to Asia, so Kenz and I will have that time to settle into the house, which we are quite grateful for! Right now, I am staying upstairs in the guest room, but for reasons that are currently not public knowledge, once they come back from Asia, I will be moving downstairs and sharing Kenzie's room with her. The only reason I am able to stay at their home for the rest of my time on staff is because Kenzie likes me enough to be willing to share her room. Something she didn't have to agree to!
So that's my update. Tomorrow, I will be driving to Milwaukee to bring Kevin, Tiff, and Micah to the airport; we leave at seven in the morning. Yikes! They are going home for a fundraising trip for three weeks, so I will have one less preschooler for that long. We will definitely miss him!
Blessings,
Katie
The view out of the front window of our old house, looking at another YWAM family's house
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
God Loves Bad Guys
I have been back in Madison for just over a week now (although it kind of feels like it has been forever), and I'm pretty much back into the rhythm of things. Now that the fall DTS is on outreach, I am living in town with my friend Kenzie. Next week, we will be moving from the house we are currently in to the house of another YWAM couple, where we will be living for the remainder of my time here. Its really good to have that settled, because up until Monday, I knew that I had one week left here at the Applegates, and I had nowhere to go after that.
Preschool is totally back into the swing of things. Last week, it was a fairly mild day, and we had access to a sled for once, so we spent quite awhile outside, sledding on our backyard hill. The kids had so much fun! I'm hoping to be able to buy a few cheap sleds, rather than having to depend on parents bringing one in for the day. Even if I have to pay for it myself, I think it would be worth it.
On Tuesday, I talked to the children about how much God loves everyone. It is something that I was pondering on my own during quite time the past few days, and so I thought maybe I should talk about it again. I read about King David and how God loved him very much. "Do you think that David was God's favourite?" I asked the kids. They all chimed "Yes!" :) So I told them that God loves all of us, and He doesn't have a favourite person who He loves more than anyone else. Then we talked about who God all loves. "Do you think that God loves someone who is a robber?" I asked (one fairly consistent prayer request is that no bad guys or robbers destroy our city). They all shook their heads, emphatically saying "No!" So I told them that God definitely does love the bad guys and the robbers, He just doesn't love what they DO. This apparently kind of blew their minds, because today at our staff meeting, we were telling each other what God had said to us while we were thinking about what 2016 holds. The father of one of my students went, and he started by saying "Well, my son just told me that God loves bad guys but not the things that they do."
It made me laugh a lot :) And it reminded me again that the children are learning things!
I love preschool. And I am so excited to hear where it will go even after I leave. On Mondays mornings, I will be meeting with a few other staff members to pray about the preschool and where God wants to take it.
One other thing -something I never thought I would have to do!- that happened today. Tiff, my one-on-one, came to pick me up to go to Starbucks. They don't own a car right now, but one of the staff who is on outreach is letting them borrow hers. So Tiff doesn't usually drive around in the winter. When her car pulled into my driveway, the front windshield was totally covered in frost still (she lives just down the street, so I guess it wasn't THAT unsafe...). "I was running late already, and I didn't realize I had to defrost the car," Tiff said, "So I figured we could wait here until it is defrosted." Then she looked behind her and saw the brush "Oh, maybe I could try the scraper thing!" she said. She grabbed it, very lightly tried it on the window, and then shook her head, "Nope, I guess we will have to wait." I laughed and held out my hand. I scraped the windshield. Tiff was like, "Oh! It doesn't scratch the glass?!"
Yes. Today I had to teach a nearly 29 year old woman how to scrape the car windshield...
It isn't her fault, I suppose. She is from Mississippi.
Blessings,
Katie
Preschool is totally back into the swing of things. Last week, it was a fairly mild day, and we had access to a sled for once, so we spent quite awhile outside, sledding on our backyard hill. The kids had so much fun! I'm hoping to be able to buy a few cheap sleds, rather than having to depend on parents bringing one in for the day. Even if I have to pay for it myself, I think it would be worth it.
On Tuesday, I talked to the children about how much God loves everyone. It is something that I was pondering on my own during quite time the past few days, and so I thought maybe I should talk about it again. I read about King David and how God loved him very much. "Do you think that David was God's favourite?" I asked the kids. They all chimed "Yes!" :) So I told them that God loves all of us, and He doesn't have a favourite person who He loves more than anyone else. Then we talked about who God all loves. "Do you think that God loves someone who is a robber?" I asked (one fairly consistent prayer request is that no bad guys or robbers destroy our city). They all shook their heads, emphatically saying "No!" So I told them that God definitely does love the bad guys and the robbers, He just doesn't love what they DO. This apparently kind of blew their minds, because today at our staff meeting, we were telling each other what God had said to us while we were thinking about what 2016 holds. The father of one of my students went, and he started by saying "Well, my son just told me that God loves bad guys but not the things that they do."
It made me laugh a lot :) And it reminded me again that the children are learning things!
I love preschool. And I am so excited to hear where it will go even after I leave. On Mondays mornings, I will be meeting with a few other staff members to pray about the preschool and where God wants to take it.
One other thing -something I never thought I would have to do!- that happened today. Tiff, my one-on-one, came to pick me up to go to Starbucks. They don't own a car right now, but one of the staff who is on outreach is letting them borrow hers. So Tiff doesn't usually drive around in the winter. When her car pulled into my driveway, the front windshield was totally covered in frost still (she lives just down the street, so I guess it wasn't THAT unsafe...). "I was running late already, and I didn't realize I had to defrost the car," Tiff said, "So I figured we could wait here until it is defrosted." Then she looked behind her and saw the brush "Oh, maybe I could try the scraper thing!" she said. She grabbed it, very lightly tried it on the window, and then shook her head, "Nope, I guess we will have to wait." I laughed and held out my hand. I scraped the windshield. Tiff was like, "Oh! It doesn't scratch the glass?!"
Yes. Today I had to teach a nearly 29 year old woman how to scrape the car windshield...
It isn't her fault, I suppose. She is from Mississippi.
Blessings,
Katie
Before Christmas, the children decorated snowmen. They loved it!
For our Christmas party with the DTS, we had "waffle doughnuts". I ran out and bought all 60 of the doughnuts. I have never felt more American in my life!
One day we were hanging out at the TC when someone told us all to go look at the rainbow that was over the TC. It was directly over it, and so cool!
Being home for 2 weeks at Christmas was great! I love my family! Kyle with his mathematical equations trying to figure out how a game was made, and Joel with his Star Wars kid puzzle!
It was a long drive back to Madison last Monday. I stopped at the Oasis just past Chicago, as I always do. The sunset was super pretty!
My dear friend and housemate (to be roommate), Kenzie. She had never had jello before, so we made some in a mini-muffin tray. She decided to try and slurp the jello out. So much laughter that night!
My friend Keisha is crazy talented at drawing and (especially) writing. I bought this plain brown notebook, and she decorated it for me. After 23 years, I still can't draw a good maple leaf. Keish can first try! Sheesh! She's in Latvia right now, on outreach, so keep them in your prayers!
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