Starting the Journey

I'm sitting in the Ft. Lauderdale airport waiting for zone 1 to be called. I flew in today at 9:35 am and my connecting flight leaves at 11:00 pm. What a day. The sun was enjoyable(we didn't stay in the airport all day). I can feel the heat and humidity difference though because I've had a dull headache all day. Although, that may be from a lack of sleep as well. The flight to Managua is suppose to be 2 1/2 hours. We will arrive 12:30am, central time zone, and have to leave for our next flight to Bluefields at 6:00am. I'm trying to get some shut eye anywhere I can. I kind of feel like i'm on the amazing race:)...just no prize money at the end. Well, it looks like the airline attendant is ready to board us. Hopefully I can get some sleep and be rested for tomorrow. We have church and a meeting with the sunday school teachers. We will also be planning and preparing for the camp. Gotta run....

And the whirlwind has begun....

To catch you up on the last few weeks (since I was determined to be a more consistant blogger in 2008):) I will write the abridged version, so not to bore you, and then look ahead to the future.

My bringing in of the new year was lovely. I was able to spend it with my family and friends. I then focused my attention for one day on the sales. The sales, mind you, were not to benefit my wardrobe, but the play I am directing in D.C. in March. I love to look for set items, props and costumes and what better time than during the sales!

Shortly thereafter, I flew to Maryland for auditions. I'm directing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. When I wasn't listening to kids sing the Oompa Loompa song(which I now have memorized) I was working on the ministry podcast for Prayer Stations (which will hopefully be out sometime late summer). I flew back 5 days later and you are now up to date with the first few weeks of my new year.

Tomorrow I will be running around like crazy, packing, writing, working and getting things squared away because I'll be gone for about 3 weeks. I leave on Saturday for Nicaragua. I'll be co-leading a trip to Bluefields where we will direct a children's musical in Spanish. Now, I know the next question that popped into your mind was, "Does Katie speak Spanish?" No. Well, a little. Enough to get around and understand people...somewhat...but not enough to teach the musical. That's what our brilliant translators are for!:)

After a week in Nicaragua, I'll fly to LA, rest for part of a day, and get on a plane for Chaing Mai, Thailand. My parents and I are going to speak at Grace International School for the spiritual emphasis week. We are there for about 2 weeks doing ministry.

As always, I'll try to get online when I get out of the country, but that proves to be difficult most of the time, so i'll journal and then update when I get back.

Reason to Live

I came across this video and think it's a great example of the struggles teenagers are going through today. Praise God that we have a Christ to save us from everything our sinful nature chooses to do.

I'm one step on the road!

I had a great meeting with a family friend tonight. He took all of the ideas about Urban Arts that were swirling around in my head and created a packet of information that will inspire others to catch the vision. I gave Craig the information a few months ago and he nailed it! I'm so excited to show people. This packet helps paint the picture of the ministry in such a way that I don't have to say much. (Although, we all know that won't happen:)

I am also in contact with an acquaintance from college who works in graphics. He is starting to brainstorm with me and work on a logo design for Urban Arts.

This is such a long road to walk on, but I am so excited to finally see the pavement!

Summer Plans in Detroit

I've been working hard this last month. Obviously neglecting my blogging, but I now have something worth blogging about:) I have been working with a friend of mine on developing a ministry called Urban Arts. Working with at-risk children in the inner city of Detroit through various mediums of art. I have met with 3 different ministries who listened, encouraged and showed interest in partnering with Urban Arts this summer. There is one ministry that I am very impressed with and will hopefully be doing more work with on a regular basis.

This Friday I meet with a lawyer about all of the legalities and paperwork to get a non-profit going. It's necessary, but not something I'm looking forward to. He has agreed to meet with us at no cost as well. What an answer to prayer!

I will be spending the weekend in a prayer and planning retreat with my friend, Renee as we look ahead at the summer and beyond. Lot's to do!

Denver-days 2,3,4

So much has happened the past few days I haven't been able to get onto the computer! Yesterday was a pretty neat day. We drove to Orchard Road Church which is where Marylin Hickey's ministry is located. The church use to be an indoor mall and the inside has been transformed into a beautiful church. We walked in and began filming without any problems. The only problem that I was running into was the quality of sound. (That's always an issue!) We realized that we needed a boom mic. Now, where in the world would we find one?

SIDE NOTE: I actually looked online for a while before we came out here to try and find one we could borrow or rent and came up with nothing! Several contact didn't come through, so we decided we would go without.

Obviously, we needed one. Especially when we began to tape outside. Half of the the day was gone, but my dad and I got on our phones and began calling through the yellow pages. My dad was referred to a company in Denver that rents the type of equipment we needed. When we got to the warehouse, I realized that is was a very reputable business. They had serviced people in the movie and television industry. And here we come, little peons, asking to rent a boom mic and the instructions. As we were filling out paperwork, we realized we may have a problem. Our flight out of Colorado is on Sunday. They aren't open on Saturday and Sunday. It was Thursday afternoon that we were getting the equipment. The owner, Dean, said, "That's ok, I'll give you my cell and home number and you can call me and I'll meet you somewhere on Sunday." Plus, we also found out that the other guy who was helping us is a Christian.

God sure does work in neat ways, just when we need them!

We then went back to the church and taped outside and inside with the new mic.

Today, we drove to the hotel where another part of the documentary was to be filmed. We walked into the lobby and began filming. There were a lot of business conferences going on, but everyone was very pleasant. As soon as my mom finished her last take, we heard a lady shout, "Hallelujah!" from a nearby room. My mom, dad and I all looked at one another with wide eyes. This lady had been listening to my mom through her different takes and said that she was just so filled up with the Lord! I'm just amazed at how God uses different situations and people to encourage one another!

Denver-Day 1

I'm in Denver, CO right now. I'm filming for a future documentary for Widow's Might Ministry Int'l. Yesterday we went to the World Prayer Center and Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs. Yesterday evening I met with a pastor and his wife for dinner. We talked about all of the ministries my family is involved with and I was able to share my vision of the Urban Arts Center. They seemed interested in it! Exciting.

Make Up Counter Meeting

My mom and I went to Nordstrom's today for me to exchange some make up. You know how they always have people standing in the aisles wanting to do your face? Well, I typically try to avoid eye contact so as to avoid being swayed into a makeup chair. On our way out, it didn't work. I made eye contact. I smiled. I said "sure". I sat in a chair. I felt make up going on my face. Now, after all of that, I am a girl and do love new stuff:) Sooo, it wasn't as bad as i'm making it sound. But here is the point of my story. No, I didn't by anything. BUT, as I was talking with the 20-something, make up girl, she asked what I did. I went on to explain my purpose and passion in life. Including the vision of the inner city arts program I am starting. She just lit up like a Christmas tree. She is an industrial designer and loves to create sets, work with kids, and grew up in Detroit. What a 'God meeting'. So, I have a phone number and interested future volunteer for our camps this summer!

Podcasting

I spent another long weekend in Indiana taping Ruth Shinness for our podcast. I'm actually getting pretty excited about what I now see for the final product. It was 4 long days of standing, recording, re-recording, etc. But I know that there is some really good content that will come out of the tapes.

I'm so thankful for a great friend who is letting me use her REALLY nice Sony minidv camera for all of this filming. It's been such a huge blessing! We actually have several more interviews set up over the next few weeks that will continue to give us content for our podcast. I have some editing to do, but I'm looking forward to that. I love the "production" side of ministry.

Silly momemts on a mission trip.

Well, you see me at my finest moments. That is, if you go on a mission trip with me:) This was our last day in Ireland. I'd been there a total of a month with a few weeks in between back in the States. It was quite a trip!

One Year Older

My birthday has come and gone since I last made an entry. I'm one year closer to 30 and don't feel any different:) I guess that's a good thing. Although, sometimes I get annoyed that people think I'm younger than I am. When I was little, it was the opposite. That annoyed me too. I just have to get over it. Ok, i've decided i'm over it:)

Well, things have been pretty busy over the past couple of weeks. I spent the last week in Ohio and Indiana. Not at the same time of course. I was in Colerain, Ohio at Real Life church
where they hosted a banquet to raise money for the brick machine for Widow's Might Ministries. I don't know if I've mentioned the brick machine yet. It is a cool invention that uses dirt, cement and water to create interlocking bricks to create a building without the use of mortar. The company is based in South Africa, so it's on the same continent that we need it to be on. Therefore, shipping will be less expensive! The goal is to purchase this machine to build the Widow's Center. It can put out 1600 bricks a day, I believe. The cost is $20,000. We are now on our way to having almost 10% of the cost. So anyway, after the banquet on Friday night, I filmed my mom and the pastor's wife, Joyce. They both went to Belarus together a few years ago to work with widows. Hopefully that will be some footage I can use to put together the next DVD for Widow's Might. On Sunday, the Widow's Might DVD was shown in church, my mom presented the ministry and I played my violin. It was a good day.

After Ohio, my mom and I drove to Anderson, Indiana. We met with Ruth Shinness. She is a lady who wrote a prayer book called Prayer Strategies. We took two days to film her teaching on different topics regarding prayer. Our intent is to use it for a podcast.

It was sure a full week! But worthwhile for the Kingdom:)

Trips!!

Here are some updates--I'm going to Nicaragua in January! I'm going with my parents and 5 other people. We are going to be working with the children in Bluefields. My mom will also hold a widow's conference there. My dad will be working with the pastors. I'm very excited!

Then from Nicaragua, my parents and I break off from that team and fly to Thailand via Los Angeles. We are the speakers for a missionary school's spiritual emphasis week. It will be very different for me since I've never experienced the East.

Live a Life Worthy of the Calling

I have been studying the relationship of Paul and Barnabas lately. What an intriguing friendship. I've also had the opportunity to listen to a few speakers and pastors in the past few months speak on these men in the Bible. These men are examples to me of what it means to live a missional lifestyle.

I ask myself the question on numerous occasions, How to we 'recruit' missionaries? or How do I get people on board? How can we create passion for Christ and spreading the message? I think that if we look at the lives of Paul and Barnabas we find our answer. Paul was a 'developer of people'. He took Barnabas and helped rekindle, refine, and refocus him to be a better missionary.
In Turn:
1. Barnabas listened to Paul's story to become a better missionary. I need to listen to this generation's story to gain perspective.
2. Barnabas looked beyond Paul's past to see the future. I need to look beyond, not ignore, but to see the potential of individuals.
3. Barnabas linked with Paul to serve with others. Just look at them in Antioch. I need to look for individuals who have a passion for the ministry that I serve in. Link with them. Train them up. Learn from them.
Live a life worthy of the calling. Rekindle. Refine. Refocus. On Jesus.

Building a South African Playground

Last summer('06) I was part of a team that worked in a township outside of Cape Town, South Africa. We accomplished what we thought was going to be impossible. We built a playground for the local, township pre-school. The plan was to build a balance beam, a monkey bar set, and a swing set. We also built a fence to go around the playground area. I came across some short clips that may give you an idea of the work we did.

After we had just cleared the ground of trash, rocks and other unnecessary things, we measured out the playground area. After we had done that, we started digging holes for the posts. Once the holes were dug, we began getting the supplies together to make the playground pieces.

This clip is an example of how we had to drill ever hole to attach our pipes and other pieces of wood together.

In this clip we are trying to get the metal poles to stay in the holes we have drilled for the monkey bars. It's not as easy as 1,2,3.

The next clip is after we got the monkey bars up. I am sawing off the metal pieces to make it safe for the kids. Rachael is taking a piece of lumbar to get drilled.

We had to mix our own concrete to fill the holes. The clip below shows a few township boys who showed up to help us work. This is a great thing! Typically the teenage township boys are into so much trouble or are very lazy. These two boys decided to help us and it made a big difference in the community, as they acted as examples to the other kids.

Our completed swing looked like this-(we actually used tires for the seats):
Here are the famous monkey bars:

We also built the balance beam and the fence, put a brick walk way in, and built a roof on a store.
The time that wasn't used for labor was used for love. We ran kid's camps and loved on the kids in two different townships.

Local Newspaper recognizes Widow's Might Ministries

A local Michigan newspaper wrote a great article on the ministry that I work with, Widow's Might Ministries, Int'l. The focus was on the ministry and the Garden Walk Fundraiser. You can read the article online by clicking here.

Garden Walk Fundraiser

The effort of many men and women over the past few months has paid off! The "Bring a Friend Garden Walk" Fundraiser for Widow's Might Ministries, Int'l. was held on Wednesday, August 15th. Over 300 people came through the garden and listened to the presentation of the ministry. I was in charge of getting the promo packets together, creating the posters, making sure the video/tech stuff was set up and worked, and then of course playing the violin for a bit. We raised about $5000 to put toward the W3 Project. The goal of the W3 Project is to raise enough money for the Watertower, Well, and Wall for the Nigerian Skills Acquisition Center for widows and their children. This was our third fundraiser this year and we now have enough money to fund the W3 Project! Praise God. Here are some pictures from the event.

Get your hands dirty!

I had a pretty neat dinner meeting a few nights ago with a couple who went on their first mission trip ever last January. I led a group to Nicaragua with START Ministries. I haven't done a great job of staying in touch with them over the past few months, but out of the blue, I got an email from them saying that they felt God was calling them back to Nicaragua this upcoming January to serve. They wanted to get together to gather information, advice and insight on how to go about everything.

Their vision is to produce a childrens musical production at the end of a week. Of course, it would be in Spanish and there would have to be translators and a lot of work, but wow! what a vision! As I sat in their living room discussing the logistics and details of what would need to happen to make this work, the thought kept fleeting through my head, 'wow, isn't it amazing that because of one mission trip, this couple is now on fire for God in a totally different way!' I love it!

You can't really get it through people's heads how missions work affects individuals until they experience it on their own. I know that some are called to go, some are called to pray and some are called to support. But consider stepping out on a limb one day, getting out of your comfort zone and getting your hands dirty for Jesus. Just look what one week in January to Nicaragua did to this couple.

Perspectives

As I was browsing through some pictures that other team members had taken on the last Ireland mission trip, I was amazed at how much I didn't see when I was there. Maybe it wasn't that I didn't see it but that it wasn't 'new' to me or I consider it to be a worthy picture. It is interesting how we all have different perspectives in life and how that carries through into the smallest details of something like taking pictures. I'm so glad God made us to see things differently; to appreciate different things. Looking through those pictures added a whole new dimension to my appreciation and love for Ireland.

Office Rat

If you wonder what I do when i'm not traveling...let me give you a little taste of what I look like at the end of a long day (11:30pm) in the office.....ok, so let me explain:) I am working on creating a packet for Widow's Might Ministry (you can check out that blog at widowsmightministry.blogspot.com) and had run into some difficulty with the printer. How hard is it to print an envelope? Well, according to the HP Photosmart 7260 printer and my Dell computer it is very difficult. Plus it doesn't like 'invitation' size envelopes. HINT: Use a pair of tweezers when small pieces of paper are stuck. (Ok, so maybe it's me)...but no worries! Mission accomplished! 400 envelopes printed(after some bribing to the printer and computer)

And yes, that is a typical day at the office:0

...and back again!

Did I ever mention that I love Ireland and the people of Ireland? Well, it should be obvious now, because I went back this summer. A little over a week after I returned from leading my 7 amazing "kids", the Lord impressed upon my heart the need to go back and work with my parents' team as well as finish the painting on Fran's house. My first thought was..that's crazy! I should have just stayed in Ireland! But as I continued to pray and think about it, I started getting serious and realized that the only set back was that I had no money! This is where it get's good though-as I was praying, I felt the Lord keep saying, just trust Me. Six days before my parents' team was to fly out I checked my support account and I had all but $200 to cover the second trip. Unbelievable! That was my first though, because stuff like this never happens to me. I am barely able to cover the full amount of trips that I go on. Then again, the Lord is so faithful and he has ALWAYS provided! So 6 days before the second team flew out I booked my ticket and started repacking for Ireland..again!
This time I was there for 2 weeks. I was able to spend the first week with 2 other servants who helped finish painting Fran's house. The second week I was more involved with the team helping with kids' camp, street evangelism and drama in the city. I am so glad I was able to go back and be a part of God's kingdom in Ireland this summer!