Midwest Winter Meets Southerner DEBRIEF

Out to dinner with the team from Brooklyn Park, MN! Love these guys and gals!

Hi there!

Right now I'm sitting at the Chicago airport, patiently waiting for my ultimate flight to New Orleans!! After being gone for so long, a part of me feels like I need to debrief from my travels.

1) What were my expectations? Were they met?
-God raises up new support team members - He did!
-God creates connections between myself and churches/colleges - He did!
-God ignites the desire for teams to come back down to NOLA - He did! For example, the team from Clear Lake IA that usually brings around 9-10 volunteers had SEVENTEEN people sign up to come down! God is soo good!
-God raises up more interns for this summer - Still praying!

2) What did God teach me?
-Trust God to provide!
-Spend daily quality time with God or I'll burn out and run on fumes
-No matter where I am, I am called by God to love and serve Him and His children...even if my trip is extended...there is JOY knowing that God's plans are higher than my plans!
-When going on a trip this long, schedule a day of rest! A day of no appointments, no church visits, no wedding planning, just a day to sit at the Father's feet!

3) What will be different when I go back home?
-the weather (haha yes obvious but true!)
-I will appreciate more how God has called me to do His work in New Orleans and try not to take for granted even a single day I have to serve Him there!
-I will have more reasons to go back and visit Iowa/MN and looking forward to staying in better touch with my Iowa/MN brothers and sisters! Love you guys!
-I will continue to trust God with my time, talents, and treasure and realize everyday my utter dependence on Him!

THANK YOU SOOO MUCH for your prayers for me during this trip!! God has heard them and answered and I can't thank you all enough! THANK YOU to everyone who provided for me on this trip! Anyone and everyone is always welcome in New Orleans!

Love yall!
Katie :)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.
Ephesians 1:3

Mark, Mary, and Me enjoying some New Orleans Mardi Gras beignets in Spirit Lake IA!

Tabernacles, Log Cabins, Internship Programs

Hello Blog Readers!

Praises this week:
Spending time with Prince family who served in NOLA with me!
Reconnecting with Trinity and Brooklyn Park teams!
Having the opportunity to recruit on Northwestern and Bethel's campuses - please pray for good connections and interested students!

One praise comes from my visit to Plainview MN where I hung out with the group from Trinity EFC. I was blessed to stay with a couple Gene and Judy who had built their dream home, a log cabin on the side of a valley...wayyy awesome!

I was challenged the day before about how even though God had given the Israelites a huge to-do list in building the tabernacle, God provided for everything they needed to get the job done. He didn't just give them a monster to-do list but provided the skill, labor, and materials to get the task accomplished.

So after hearing from Gene about what it took to put this log cabin together, log by log...I just sat there in amazement that God not only provided for Gene to accomplish this goal (just like God did for the tabernacle), but God desires to accomplish the task He's set before me and will provide the skill, labor, materials, interns, etc to develop a God-glorifying, kingdom building, disciple-making internship program.

Thank you Lord for not only giving me a vision for the next generation of missionaries, but thank you Lord that you have already and will provide all that I need to accomplish this goal! I pray I will trust you and continue to step out in faith knowing you provide!

Love yall! Thank you for the prayers!
Katie :)

"LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you!" 1 Chronicles 29:16

God knows our needs and provides!

The Son [Christ] is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

God continues to grow in me a heart and mind that completely depends on Him! This trip around Iowa has shown me how much the Lord provides everything I need and I am so blessed to see His hand of provision every single day.

Provision:
food in my belly (and by that i mean AMAZING!! food)
places to lay my head - Sara, Lovells, Allerdings, Leiss's, Jacobsen's, and the story will continue tonight and into next week!
car to drive around in - Thanks jess and steven!
people to connect with - too many to name!
mardi gras party with beignets AND king cake!!
partners in ministry
day to rest
common bonds between myself and people i meet
encouragement and advice from brothers and sisters in Christ
AWESOME weather to drive in

One of my favorite places to visit thus far has been Dordt College. I enjoyed so much getting to spend time with the team from last year, meet the team leaders from this year, and get to stay with 5 wonderful Godly women in their apt on campus. It was so refreshing to hear how God is working in all their lives and I'm praising God for the work He's doing in their lives!

I'm even grateful for Facebook where I can stay in touch with the people I've met on this trip! haha. yes social networking can be a good thing.

So YES in case you were wondering...GOD PROVIDES!!!! He knows us better than we know ourselves and I'm thrilled to serve a God who not only knows me better than I know myself, but desires to provide for me!

Not only does God provide for our physical needs but our spiritual needs as well. He sent His Son, He provided His Son, to be the purification of our sins! Praise God in the Highest!!

The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Hebrews 1:3

Prayer:
1) Continue to ask God to raise up male interns for this summer!
2) Continue to ask God to provide boldness in asking people to become ministry partners to see His Kingdom come in New Orleans and in His ministry.

Can't wait to see how He provides!

Love yall!
Katie :)

God is Great God is Good!

God is GOOD!
All the Time!
All the Time!
God is GOOD!

I've really been blessed and refreshed thus far on this Iowa Adventure! The Midwest winter has been kind to this southerner and keep praying it stays this way! Driving has been going really well and I thank God for His provision of safety! Please keep it in your prayers tho!

Last night I was able to reconnect with Summit EFC and hear how New Orleans played a special part in their lives! Last year when they came down, we showed a video on poverty called "Does Anything Help?" made by Scott Lundeen. They just had Scott from Urban Entry come up to their church to discuss how to love their neighbors as their community is changing with the influx of immigrants. This church is determined to reach outside their 4 walls and love ALL their neighbors! AMEN!

Another praise is God is really working in bringing people alongside me in my support raising efforts. Since I've been in Iowa, I have 3 new monthly supporters! PRAISE GOD! Please keep praying for boldness in asking people to join my team.

Tonight I'm connecting with students from Dordt College and recruiting tomorrow on campus. Please keep praying for God to bring interns to His mission field in New Orleans! Special request for male interns as I don't have any committed yet.

LOVE YALL!

Khooks :)

The LORD is good,
a refuge in times of trouble.
He cares for those who trust in him.
Nahum 1:7

From NOLA to Meriden!

Hi Friends!

I arrived safely in Cherokee IA yesterday after a 3 hour drive across the state of Iowa. Thank you for the prayers as I know God's hand is over me as I drive across snowdrift and in unfamiliar territory.

I wanted to share how the team from Meriden EFC has been challenged after their trip to New Orleans. One of the men from their trip Randy, began a Helping Hands ministry out of their church to find out what needs there were and to communicate those needs to the congregation to help others. Amen for the church reaching outside the 4 walls to love on their neighbors!

In addition, last summer they were hit by flooding and multiple tornadoes. In response to those disasters, they made "We heart U" t-shirts and began showing Christ's love to those in need! AMEN to that!

God is still using one-week experiences in New Orleans to transform people's lives here in Iowa! Praise The LORD for His goodness and grace!

Thank you Ryan, Maureen, Tim, Greta, Jen, Mike, Jodi, and Scott for coming to New Orleans and for sharing with me how God is working in your lives!

Katie :)

Good Morning Iowa!

Hi Yall!

I'm safely in Iowa! Thank you for your prayers to get up to the midwest safely. Things are really coming together for Jessica and Steven's wedding tomorrow and for my upcoming week in Iowa! Please continue to pray for safety traveling and for boldness as I invite people to join my support team.

Cool God Story:
On Monday at 9:30am I got a call while on my way to work in New Orleans telling me I need to get on a plane that day to get up north before the snowstorm. But of course God has all the details worked out...the buddy passes for my flights arrived Monday morning, packed all my stuff, got a ride to the airport, and was able to get on my first flight to Dallas.

Before I boarded in Dallas, I got a call telling me that one of my connections may be full already and getting on stand by would probably not happen. Pressing on anyway, praying all the while for God to get me all the way to Minneapolis, I got off my flight in Dallas and walked up to my next gate.

I asked the lady if I could get on stand by for this flight to Minneapolis which was suppose to stop off in St. Louis first. She took my info and handed me my ticket. Completely shocked I asked if I was still stopping in St. Louis...she said, nope, because of ice in St. Louis I had a direct flight to Minneapolis...GOD IS GOOD!

I found out from my friend that gave me the buddy passes that flying direct from Dallas to Minneapolis was against the airline's policy but for some reason they were making an exception. Isn't it great we serve a God who is bigger than any airline policy! I also told my friend that if we're going to worry, why pray...and if we're going to pray, why worry! God answers prayers! AMEN to that! God is goood!

Just thought I'd share and hope to keep you posted on more exciting news on this God-providing adventure!

Khooks :)