The Quest for MPs continues...

The Grace Team Reunion!!

I cannot argue that God has me on this quest (thank you Zak for my new word choice) for a reason.  I don't know if I will ever know the reason in full just yet but here are some pretty cool reasons God has given me thus far:

1) The chance to see and hear how God is working EVERYWHERE!! I am always amazed at how small I make God out to be and forget just how BIG He is...and for some reason it takes me traveling around the country to remember HE truly is working everywhere!  The Body of Christ is working everywhere through the wisdom and strength God provides to reach out to their neighbors in love to share the Good News! How awesome is He!

2) The chance to encourage and pray with those God has put in my path.  When I left New Orleans in January, I knew I wanted to start praying more in the moment and God has given me the desire to live that out.  I have prayed with the people I stay with, meet up with, and anyone I talk to on the phone.  I want the desire to lift up my brothers and sisters in Christ and remind them of God's faithfulness, hope, love, and joy. I praise God for the chance to communicate directly with Him through the sacrifice of His Son.

3) The chance to see God provide for all my needs...not just financial.  He provides places for me to sleep, food to eat, people to share with, safety traveling, my starter being replaced in the Ford, and yes He has provided ministry partners (MPs) as well! I am around 68%!! God is the ultimate provider! Everything comes from Him! 

I'll be in Maryland until Tuesday and making my way north to the New Jersey area on Wednesday.  I'm hoping to stop off in Hershey PA on Sunday before making my trek south to Chapel Hill NC next Monday.  Please check out the other pages on how you can pray for my quest and myself along the way!

Your sister in Christ,

Katie :)

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18

What a difference a week makes!

Last week I was beating my head against my table, completely baffled on how this next month was going to look, where I was going to go, who I was going to see, and how I was going to get places.  PRAISE BE TO GOD who comes alongside our complete inadequacies and in His great mercy, equips us and qualifies us to do the work He has prepared for us in advance.

So this is just how great God is with planning:
I knew I had one dinner scheduled on Thursday this week, so I called one couple to see if they were free on Friday and THEY WERE! And not only were they free but they are willing to host a dessert get together for the volunteers I've met in the past!  Then I called another team I wanted to see on Saturday and THEY WERE FREE! Then I called a pastor of a church who said I could come share in their youth group and in the service on SUNDAY! Then one couple has volunteered to host their team on Sunday and Monday evenings that I may share with as many people as possible!  Then I called a team leader from a church I met in 2009 and I'll share with him and a few others on Tuesday night!


I am just completely overwhelmed and in awe of my LORD and SAVIOR who helps us in our time of need and goes above and beyond anything we could ask or imagine!  I am excited for what God has in store during this next traveling adventure!  All Glory and Honor to God for working out the details of this adventure!

Be sure to check out my other pages for prayer requests, support updates (close to 70%!), and more specific travel plans (hope to see you if I can!)!

IN CHRIST!
Katie :)

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our “God is a consuming fire.”" Hebrews 12:28-29

God is opening up a door...

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to spotlight a NC church's blog that just shows how God is working in Eastern NC and how the Body of Christ is prayerfully taking steps to proclaim Christ in actions and in words!

The blog is http://ohccrisisresponse.blogspot.com/

Please continue to pray about how you can get involved in this effort along with praying for God to open up a door in your own community for you to show Christ's love through actions and with the truth of the Gospel!

Let's make Christ Known!

Katie :)

What will be different when I go back home?

When volunteer teams come down to serve in New Orleans, we take time on the last day to debrief the teams on their experience.  There are three questions we ask:

1) What expectations did you have? Were they met? 
2) What has God been teaching you this week?
3) What will be different when you go back home?


I usually didn't have to think much on question #3 in the past because I wasn't leaving New Orleans.  However, this last visit I knew I'd be leaving after two weeks so I began thinking about what would be different when I go back home to North Carolina.  By different, not just the weather, but what in my daily life, perspective, outlook, activities, will be different.

This is my list:
Pray more in the moment: So many times I tell people I'll pray for them but don't stop right then and do it, or I have a decision I need to make and after agonizing about it first, I then pray.  I want my life to be full of prayer and utter dependence on my Heavenly Father.


Open my eyes to opportunities to proclaim the Gospel: I don't want to forget the purpose of my life.  I want to make sure that Christ stays the center and the message of my life.


I am re-energized to get back asap to recruit for and invest in the next generation.  Spending two weeks with the summer 2011 interns and hearing how God has worked in their lives has strengthened my calling and my excitement to return and invest in the summer 2012 interns and all who follow.  


Thanks for taking the time to read this!  I was blessed today to meet up with a volunteer who I'd met in New Orleans and to hear how New Orleans was the start of her pursuing missions full time was just a huge testimony of God continuing to use a storm 6 years ago to transform lives! 

 Justin, Brandon, Me, Jane, Ronnie

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." 1 Peter 1:3

(don't forget to check out the other pages)

Check Out TouchGlobal's Blog!

http://touchglobal.wordpress.com/

TouchGlobal, the crisis response ministry of the EFCA, has started a new blog (link above). My summer intern Chelsea (pictured below, who is now on staff) is able to live out her calling by bringing God glory through writing stories about what He is doing in the ministry. The latest blog is about our intern 2011 reunion in New Orleans! I praise God for the opportunity to see all of the interns and hear how God is transforming their lives through their experience! I am blessed to be a part of this Kingdom work and I thank God for your prayers and partnerships to live out the calling God has put on my life! Thank you for your investment in me and in this upcoming generation!


God bless you!

Katie

http://touchglobal.wordpress.com/

"CHRIST is the one WE PROCLAIM..."
Colossians 1:28a


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Grace n Crossroads

One of our focus groups as a ministry is the volunteer teams that come down to serve. We desire to intentionally invest in them and provide an opportunity here that allows God to transform their hearts and lives. This blog is dedicated to ALL VOLUNTEERS who have come to serve, give up their vacation time, raise support, pay money, give up comforts of home, drive or fly hours upon hours, sleep and eat in tight quarters, step out of their comfort zones, step out in faith, do construction, go on prayer walks, talk to strangers, pray with strangers, get up early, stay up late...ALL for the sake of sharing God's love to whoever He puts in their path! As a ministry, we know we could not exist without God's provision of these precious volunteer teams! So yes PRAISE GOD for VOLUNTEERS!!


Pictured Left:
This is the team from Grace Community Church in MD who have come down every winter break since the storm! Terah, the girl behind me, has become a dear friend who came to visit back in November. This team is a joy to serve alongside and seeing their boldness in stepping out in faith was such an encouragement to me! Thanks Grace for not just your partnership in the Gospel but your friendships!

Pictured Right:
This is the team from Crossroads Church in California. They too have come down the last 3 winters to serve God and serve the people of New Orleans. Their flight was delayed until 4am but that didn't stop them from getting up 3 hours later to work a full day at the Porch, Castle Rock's future home. Their team leader Jeremiah made it a point everyday to give his team personal quiet time before they could head to the worksite. Thank you Crossroads for the reminder to start off each day with the Lord because it makes a huge difference on the rest of the day!

This week we have Trinity International University and the Mosher family here to serve! Please pray for them and God would work in them and through them this week! Also pray and ask God to raise up more workers for His harvest field as there is still physical and spiritual work to be done here and we have weeks of no teams coming up.

God bless!
Katie :)

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:9-14