Hooked on Helping NOLA

Praising God for 74%

2012-02-14T10:20:00.000-06:00

Praise God for thechance to see my girl Laura while in NOLA last week! Praise God for putting herin my life!

Praise God for 74% already committed! $1230/monthstill needed!

Please pray and ask God if He would desire for you topartner with me in His kingdom work! I can’t do this without God, yourprayers, and your partnership! This Kingdom work is meant to: bring God glory;make Christ known by raising up this next generation to live out the callingGod has given them; grow His kingdom; bring Him even more praise; love God andlove His people; see the mission field created in the wake of crisis; humblywalk in obedience; and make the most of every opportunity to show Christ’s lovein actions and in words in those unique opportunities. IT’S ALL ABOUTCHRIST!

Please help me reach 100% support by March 1^st (yes that is in 15 days) and send me backto New Orleans that I may live out my calling to “admonish and teacheveryone with all wisdom, so that I may present everyone fully mature inCHRIST! (Colossians 1:28-29).

Reaching full support by March 1^st will allow methe opportunity to serve alongside the college teams that come. LastMarch, 4 of the summer interns, Justin, Brandon, Jane, and Dustin, committed to the internship after their springbreak trip. I’d love to invest in these college students so that theywould allow God to begin speaking to them about what an internship could looklike. I cannot return to NewOrleans for good until I’ve reached 100% in monthly/annual giving. Iam now back in the Carolinas and will continue to network from here until thegoal is met.

If you know of anyone who may be interested in partneringwith me, feel free to pass this email along to them! Thank you foryour prayers and willingness to get the word out!

Please keep the Quest and myself in your prayers! God can dothe seemingly impossible! AMEN!

Love ya!

Katie :)

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the propertime we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

If you would like to give monthly:
1) Pleaselet me know by emailing me at Katie.hooks@efca.org
2) Hereare the different ways you can give below:

a. Clickhere to give online and type "process this gift monthly" in thecomments box

b. There are forms you can download at http://www.efca.org/give-serve/ways-give to have donations drafted from your bank account or credit card

c. Current monthly givers who would like toincrease your gift can email lisa.theurer@efca.orgwith the amount you'd like to increase to and what month you'd like it tostart.

Help me get back tomy roomies Claire, Jade, Eliza and Mariko (not pictured – she was out of town)

God's Provision Still Blowing Me Away

2012-02-09T23:08:00.002-06:00

I am blessed right now to be typing this post from our office in the warehouse on the back of Trinity Church's parking lot in Covington LA!!

Just seeing God's provision in the sentence above is blowing me away right now:

1) God's provision of technology that I can bring Him glory through this post
2) God's provision of office space to bring Him glory through the efforts behind the scenes that make it possible to go out onto the front lines!
3) God's provision of a warehouse for our ministry that is only 6.5 years old on Trinity Church's property to bring Him glory
4) God's provision of this opportunity to be back in Louisiana!! why? to bring Him glory!

Katie's Quest for Ministry Partners (on a Southwest Airline napkin) since the day of her acceptance to Long Term Career Missions with the EFCA!

God alone is worthy to be praised for everything! "For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together." Colossians 1:16-17

I was extremely blessed to have the opportunity to reconnect with my NJ dads and continue on in my quest for ministry partners in PA too! HUGE shout out to everyone who housed me, fed me, fixed my car, prayed with me, prayed for me, encouraged me...I am thankful to God for each one of you!

On Wednesday night this week, myself, Jen, and Chelsea were able to have dinner at the home of Keith and Kathy. This awesome couple allowed us to use their home last summer to house the girl interns + Jen (and myself on occasion!) This house was a HUGE answered prayer in that we only had to cover utilities and was a place for fun and fellowship throughout the summer. Keith and Kathy will be heading out of town again this summer and offered for us to use the house again! PRAISE THE LORD!! or as my friends know I say...JESUS IS REAL!!!

Please continue to pray for me and our ministry team as we continue to seek God's will for what is strategic for us to accomplish in the next 6 months to continue impacting 100 million people with the Gospel! and yes one of those goals over the next 10 years includes deploying 300 INTERNS! need lots of prayer for that one :)

I am still in search of those who would partner with me in financial giving. I am in need of $1300/month to return to New Orleans for good. Contact me at katie.hooks@efca.org if you'd like more info!

Love you guys!
Katie

Christ is the one we proclaim...

Colossians 1:28-29

The Quest for MPs continues...

2012-01-30T00:00:00.000-06:00

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!

2012-01-22T22:05:00.002-06:00

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...

2012-01-21T20:53:00.001-06:00

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?

2012-01-16T22:35:00.000-06:00

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!

2012-01-09T21:09:00.011-06:00

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

Click Here to Give Online

Grace n Crossroads

2012-01-01T23:38:00.008-06:00

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

Christ Made Us Holy!

2011-12-25T19:29:00.005-06:00

I pray you all had a wonderful day celebrating our Savior's birth! My family (pictured left) spent the night at my parents' house so we could all wake up together on Christmas day. I don't think we've done that since I was in middle school. Praise God for blessed family time!

Tomorrow my friend Matt (worked with TouchGlobal last year) and myself will start the 12 hour drive to NEW ORLEANS!!! I praise God for the chance to serve there the next two weeks and I look forward to seeing friends.

Please pray:
1) We have teams from MD, CA, KS, and IL coming to serve. Please pray for them as God works in them and through them for His Kingdom purposes. They will be serving on Castle Rock's new property, Ms. Cammie's home, and Ms. Valerie Thomas's home. Pray for God to call people to come back and serve as an intern or staff!
2) I will have the chance to see ALL of my summer 2011 interns over these next 2 weeks. Please pray for our time together and that we'd all be a mutual encouragement to each other!
3) I am still in the process of raising support and will be traveling after New Orleans to St. Mary's GA, Jacksonville FL, and up the coast. Please pray that God would open up opportunities to share what He's doing through me and through the ministry and stir up in people's heart a desire to partner with me in His work! If you're in that part of the world let me know! Love to see you!

Thank you so much for praying and for your partnership in God's work through me! I couldn't do this without God and without you all! I'm looking forward to sharing all that God is doing that He might receive all the glory, honor, and praise!

Love ya!
Katie :)

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God

"Welcome to our World" by Chris Rice

click here to give online

God is working after Hurricane Irene

2011-12-19T09:28:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for your prayers while I traveled around NC! It was a blessing to see friends and share what God is doing in my life and in the ministry.

Two cool God Stories from this past week were:

I had lunch with Norm from Greenville NC. I first met Norm after Hurricane Irene went through and pulled up three of his trees..none of which hit his home, Praise the Lord. Norm shared with me how one of his friends we helped and shared with their family the love of Christ has since that visit started to attend church! They were so touched by our willingness to help complete strangers and show them God's love and kindness that they wanted to know more about this faith! We praise God for using this storm to transform people's lives!

I also got to help with One Harbor Church's Crisis Response team this past Saturday. After Hurricane Irene, this church saw an opportunity to reach out to their community and started gathering volunteers from the church to hold work days on Saturdays! You can find out more on their blog: http://ohccrisisresponse.blogspot.com How cool to see the body of Christ have a desire to show His love to their neighbors! God is awesome!

This week I'll be more locally stationed out of my parents' home, visiting with friends and family. Next Monday, I'll be headed down to New Orleans for two weeks! I'm so excited to see everyone, including ALL of my summer 2011 interns!! woot woot! Praise the Lord for a chance to reconnect with them and continue sharing God's love with the people of New Orleans!

If you'd like to give towards God's work in me, click here!

Merry Christmas!
Katie :)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Phillipians 4:4

Go Forth and Invite!

2011-12-14T14:57:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone!

My blog title "Go Forth and Invite" comes from a conversation I had the other day with a fellow long term staffer who is also raising support. We coined it as we shared stories of God's provision when we are obediently inviting people to pray about becoming a ministry partner.

The word "invite" came from the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22:1-14. This guy wants to throw a wedding banquet but no one wants to come so then he sends out his servants to invite anyone they find. But once the people arrive, the king throws out a guy for not wearing wedding clothes. haha. I definitely still need time to process the parable but the last verse is what stuck out to me. It says:

For many are invited,
but few are chosen.

This verse really encouraged me as I remember that my responsibility with support raising or ministry partnership development is to INVITE! I must invite people to pray about joining God's work through me. It is God's responsibility to pick out the ones He wants on the team. He is the one choosing who will come alongside me in His work.

I pray and ask God that He chooses quickly but more importantly in His timing. So please join me in praying that God would give me courage to invite and the Lord would choose exactly who He wants and they would be obedient to His leading!

Love you guys!

Katie :)

By the Power of Christ in Me...

2011-11-25T11:32:00.002-06:00

This has been a really great song for me to hear and sing along to right now. I pray it encourages you as well.

It's Casting Crowns' song "In Me"
you can also watch the video by clicking here

Lyrics below:
If you ask me to leap
Out of my boat on the crashing waves
If You ask me to go
Preach to the lost world that Jesus saves

I'll go, but I cannot go alone
Cause I know I'm nothing on my own
But the power of Christ in me makes me strong
Makes me strong

Cause when I'm weak, You make me strong
When I'm blind, You shine Your light on me
Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability
How refreshing to know You don't need me
How amazing to find that you want me
So I'll stand on Your truth, and I'll fight with Your strength
Until You bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me

If You ask me to run
And carry Your light into foreign land
If You ask me to fight
Deliver Your people from Satan's hand

To reach out with Your hands
To learn through Your eyes
To love with the love of a savior
To feel with Your heart
And to think with Your mind
I'd give my last breath for Your glory

Thankful for Cookies!

2011-11-23T16:01:00.004-06:00

Hi there!

So yes the joke is Katie does not go near a kitchen...I don't cook and have no desire right now to learn. However, because of my great friend Kristen, she showed me how to bake the most amazing cookies ever. So that's what I do, bake cookies, chocolate chip and chocolate chip-less are about the extent of my cookie baking but it's a start.

The reason I'm writing this blog is because I didn't realize how much I loved baking cookies with friends until I had to bake them by myself. It just wasn't the same. This got me walking down memory lane and I started thinking about all the people I have baked them with.

The list goes: (if I forgot you I'm sorry!)
1) The amazing Kristen who taught me how in Colorado and came all the way to NOLA to bake more with me! LOVE YOU GIRL and YOUR AWESOME FAMILY!
2) Kari from Canada and Ross from PA - it was a Sunday after church and we didn't have much to do but felt like baking. haha. Remember we even made one giant cookie and gave it to my neighbors!
3) One time after a block party with Matt, Shelby, Jen, and Jeremy in the LA house listening to Mumford and Sons in the background.
4) This summer at the guy's house on the north shore with Dustin, Keri, Ronnie, Chelsea, Jen, Shelby, and more. I did such a great job of delegating that when I asked "Who hasn't done something yet?" the response in one voice was "YOU!" haha!
5) This past November I made them twice - first with my girl Kim who even stirred in the 5+ cups of flour by hand...she's amazing! second - with Terah and Laura who came all the way from Maryland to hang out! Thanks so much girls!

So yes I'm thankful for cookies that brings friends together and provides fun and laughter and fellowship as we then eat the deliciousness the cookies and of our hard work!

Who will I bake them with next I wonder??

Katie :)

Savoring this week...

2011-11-23T15:16:00.004-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Yes I made it safely back to NOLA. Thank you for your prayers! It was a blessing to see the staff in Haiti along with catching up with some local Haitian friends! I praise God for how He is working in Haiti!

Maxo (pictured above) is a local Haitian who we are partnering with as he invests in the local children by providing education for them and telling them of the hope they have in Christ. Maxo has over 50 students and a heart to reach even more kids with the best education possible and with the Gospel. Pray for Maxo, the teachers there, the students, and our staff members Ashlee and Mario as they invest in the lives of the teachers and students to further God's Kingdom!

I'm savoring this week in New Orleans and not just because it's Thanksgiving but this is technically the last week I'll be in New Orleans until I reach 100%. Yes I am coming back for 2 weeks at winter break but I can't stay after that unless I've reached my support goals.

So I'm seeing as many friends as possible, eating all the best food, and rejoicing in my Lord and Savior who called me to this work in New Orleans. I have a feeling once I return for good, I'll have a renewed appreciation for being here and do my best to never take it for granted. No matter what, I know God is in control, His timing is best, and "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

My prayer is that no matter where I am over these next few months I continue to draw near to my Savior, be content in Him, live each day out of my love for Christ, and obediently follow Hard after Him!

Thank you for your prayers! Happy thanksgiving!

Love you!
Katie :)

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

Praising the God of Hope!

2011-11-13T22:37:00.004-06:00

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Hi Everyone!

I am beyond grateful to God for allowing me the chance to spend 2.5 weeks straight in New Orleans! It was such a blessing to spend time reconnecting with friends and staff! I can't believe sometimes it's been 3 years and 5 months since I've moved here...and I still wonder sometimes "Where else would I live?" I really do <3 NO!

More Praises:
God has blessed me with 4 visitors over the last 3 weekends. It has been so much fun to show them around and spend quality time with them! Thanks to my sis, Kim, Terah, and Laura for making my time in NOLA a blast!

My intern-now staff Chelsea has been recruiting at colleges in PA, MO, and AR for the internship program! Praising God for multiplying me and calling Chelsea to serve longer with us! He knew I'd need her!

From the looks of it my support is up to 50%!!!! This of course is only because of my Lord and Savior who works in people's hearts and allows them to give! I praise Him for raising my support and I praise Him for how He'll continue to show Himself faithful as I strive for 100%!

Prayer Requests:
I leave for Haiti tomorrow and I'm requesting prayer for wisdom and guidance as we seek to partner with local churches/ministries to reach their community for Christ.

Travel Plans after Haiti:
Once I return I'll spend Turkey Day in NOLA, then start my trek back to NC via ALABAMA...going to see the Jones' who took such awesome care of me and my car back in September. Then I leave for Minneapolis Dec 1st and Massachusetts/Connecticut Dec 4th! Please pray for safe travels (and no wild animals running out in the street) and for God to continue to raise up my ministry partners! I'll be in NC from Dec 12th-ish to Christmas! Hope to see you if you're around!

Prayer request for traveling mercies as I'll be driving and flying around lots!

Love you guys! Thanks for praying and for taking the time to read this! Let me know how I can be praying for you.

In Christ,
Katie :)

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Even Missionaries Worry...

2011-10-21T11:33:00.004-05:00

Hello Hello!

I'm currently in the state of Wisconsin (first time ever!) and I am really enjoying this opportunity to meet with friends who God put in my path while serving on the mission field in New Orleans. It has been a joy sharing with them how far God has brought me in my faith and how He has brought me to the place of pursuing long term ministry with the EFCA.

God is faithful and trustworthy! He continues to show Himself faithful by providing TEN new monthly supporters since my announcement of long term acceptance! He continues to show me everyday that I must put all my trust in Him for His plan is perfect (2 Sam 22:31).

Where I struggle is when I forget to trust God and begin to worry about things like "When will I reach 100% monthly support?", "When will I be able to return to NOLA?", "What will happen to the work I'm putting on hold to focus on support raising?", "Where will the next 60% of monthly support come from?", "What does the next 6 months even look like?"....so yes I start to worry and then it spirals to even more worrisome thoughts.

My prayer is that no matter what, I trust God. I pray I remember His faithfulness over the course of my time in ministry and remember that nothing is out of His control. I pray that I trust God "in the dark, when I have no light" (Isaiah 50:10)...meaning when I can't feel His presence or see how He is working...that I still always trust God! God calls me and you not to worry...that worry is a sign of "little faith" (Matt 6:30). So let's not worry, pick up our shield of faith (Eph 6:16), and trust in our Heavenly Father who loves us soo soo much!

Below is scripture I'm holding onto during this time and my prayer is you take one and hide it deep in your heart (Psalm 119:11) that you may too learn not to worry...

Isaiah 50:10 - "Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the word of His servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God."

2 Samuel 22:31 - "As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him."

Matthew 6:33-34 - "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do NOT worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Philippians 4:6-7 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

LOVE YOU!
katie :)

I'm Trusting God...and Going Home.

2011-10-10T11:15:00.001-05:00

Hi There!

I am glad to announce that I have been INVITED to serve as a LONG term missionary with the EFCA. Praise God!!! Just to clarify that I’ll continue to work in New Orleans and on the internship program for TouchGlobal, the crisis response ministry of the EFCA.

Now that I’ve been accepted as a long term career missionary, I have received my updated budget which reveals that I currently have 33% in monthly donations towards this updated budget. To fully focus on reaching 100% support in monthly donations, I will leave New Orleans at the end of November and head back to North Carolina. I will transition from full time ministry with TouchGlobal to full time ministry with raising support. This is a scary decision to step away from the ministry, not knowing when I’ll be fully supported and able to return to New Orleans…but I have to trust in God and trust Him to raise up my ministry partners in His time knowing His timing is perfect.

I invite each of you to pray about what it would look like for you to come alongside the work God has called me to as a ministry partner that I may return to the mission field. I pray this is an opportunity for you as well to trust God with your time, talent, and treasure. Please ask God to raise up a team of people around me who desire to invest in the next generation of Christian leaders!

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me via email, phone, etc.

THANK YOU for your prayers and your continued support of me while I've pursued this plan God has for me! Praising God that He lets me do this!

In Christ,

Katie :)

Trips Planned:

Iowa/MN: Oct 11-16

Hopefully Wisconsin: Oct 18-22

EFCA Internship Lead Team meetings in Minneapolis: Oct 24-25

…apart from me you can do nothing. – Jesus (John 15:5b)

From Short to Long...Praise God!

2011-10-07T13:19:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I am glad to annouce that I have been INVITED to serve as a LONG term missionary with the EFCA. Praise God!!!

THANK YOU for your prayers and your continued support of me while I've pursued this plan God has for me!

More to come with details of "Where is Katie next??"....

Love ya!
Katie :)

"Praise the LORD. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise Him!" Psalm 147:1

He has Overcome!

2011-09-29T22:42:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

I know it's been a while since my last post. I've been sending out more emails instead so if you'd like to be on that list, feel free to send me your email address to katie.hooks@efca.org

So as I'm thinking about what exactly do I want to do with my blog, I thought I'd share some cool song I heard during my Midwest adventure thus far.

I was able to attend a church's worship service Tuesday night and one of the songs they sang by Hillsong called "Take Heart" stuck out to me. Some of the lyrics read:

All our troubles and all our tears
God our hope He has overcome
All our failure and all our fear
God our love He has overcome

What an awesome reminder that anything we're going through in this world, God has overcome! Whatever it is we're dealing with, God has overcome! So take heart!

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John 16:33

Khooks :)

Sweet Hope Alabama!

2011-08-15T10:33:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone!

I'm blogging now from Hope Church in Madison AL. Yes we are still serving here after the April tornadoes. It's amazing to see how God continues to use a tornado to bring about reconcilation and restoration of His people to Himself.

Please pray about joining our efforts here in Alabama! God is at work here and we'd love for you to join us in that work! We are currently roofing a church member's home this week. Come and see what the Lord is doing in Madison AL!

Today I'm off to visit Billy and Pat. They are homeowners we helped take down trees for in June. I'm excited to see them and excited to hear how they've been doing. Please pray for me as I meet with them and continue to show them the love of Christ and speak the truth in love when called to.

After the visit I'm starting my trek through the appalachain mtns to HOME!! Please pray for me as I travel and that me and my car arrive safely!

Love to see you in NC if you're there! Just let me know!

In Christ,
Katie :)

"Come and see what God has done,
how awesome His works in man's behalf."
Psalm 66:5

Bye for Now Interns!

2011-08-08T17:38:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Chelsea my lovely communications superstar boarded her flight today back to PA so I am now resuming my role of posting on my blogs! I hope I can only do half a good a job as she did!

Dustin also left today, he started his drive back to Kansas so please pray for him and for his safety! Ronnie left on Saturday and Keri leaves Friday. It's crazy to me how fast time flies!

I'm truly starting to believe the verse in James that says "our lives are nothing but a mist, a vapor..." it reminds me how precious each day is that God gives me and that I am called to live today FOR HIM!

Last week we had an awesome team of 62 from Fargo ND! This week we have 20 volunteers from Dallas and this will be our last team until October. Please pray for them as they help us finish out some jobsites and pray for the relationships they are building. They were able to share the gospel today with a 15-year old who rode by on his bike. May God continue to work in this young man's heart as he interacts with the team this week!

Love yall mucho!
In Christ,
Katie :)

"...you are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes..." James 4:14b

Dave's Movin' In!!

2011-07-28T17:09:00.004-05:00

Awesome news! Dave moved into his home on Tuesday. The team from West Shore Evangelical Free Church from Pennsylvania was able to meet him and move him and Bridget and Michael in! It's amazing to see how Dave's life has changed since last summer. Praise God!

The teams this week have made great progress on several houses! The interior of Miss Pat's house is textured and the walls are now being painted. Miss Cammie's house is moving along very well as the team from Nebraska is hanging drywall and mudding. Miss Ruby's house looks great too! The flooring is coming along, the walls are painted and we are working on plumbing. God is doing great things in New Orleans! To keep up with how He is working go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/efcacrisisresponse) where we post pictures and stories regularly!

Thank you and God bless!

Chelsea :)

God is Amazing!!

2011-07-22T13:04:00.006-05:00

First off, this week has been AWESOME! :)

We had a great group of teams that came to New Orleans from Illinois, Texas and Michigan. A lot of them are returning teams, so it's always encouraging to see people that come back :)

As the team from Illinois was giving devotions the other morning, one of the members told us a story about a man who came to their block party. He needed a ride to work in the French Quarter and the team offered to give him one. When they dropped him off, they prayed for him. They said that he seemed so touched that they would do that for him. The team is praising God for an awesome opportunity to reach out to someone in need! :)

Also, we received great news this week that Dave acquired his occupancy permit and will be able to move into his house shortly! It's amazing to see what God can do in the span of a year! Everyone on staff in New Orleans is so excited to see how Christ continues to work in Dave's life. Praise Jesus! :)

There are two weeks left for us interns! Pray that we'll finish strong and find rest, peace and endurance in Jesus Christ. Also, please continue to pray the teams that are still planning to come this summer. Can't wait to keep serving Jesus :)

Be blessed!
Chelsea Buffington

Welcome to the Kingdom!!

2011-07-18T11:47:00.005-05:00

God is doing amazing things and we feel so blessed to be a part of it. God brings teams from different parts of the country here and seeing them glorify God is a wonderful experience. Last week, the teams from Pennsylvania and Florida really connected!

One of the team leaders from Pennsylvania really pursued spiritual conversations with the kids from Florida. He gave his testimony and then asked the group for their testimonies. A couple of the teenagers admitted that they did not have anything to share. Throughout the week, this leader continued to share Christ's love with these kids and on Thursday night one of the teenage guys from Florida accepted Christ! He is being discipled now so that he fully understands the incredible change that is taking place in his life.

What a wonderful God we serve! :) We are so happy to have the priveledge of seeing people brought to Christ while serving Him on the mission field! Keep praying that we continue to love others to Jesus, whether its the people in New Orleans or the teams that come down :)

God bless,

Chelsea :)

2011-07-11T14:56:00.004-05:00

Hey there!

Hope this blog finds you all doing well. We have two teams this week in Louisiana: Cornerstone from Pennsylvania and Northwood from Florida. They'll be working on four different job sites: Miss Cammie's, Miss Ruby's, Miss Pat's, and Miss Vida's. Miss Vida's house (pictured left) had a great start last week and we are already working on the painting there. SO excited to see progress made on that house!

Cornerstone has been here before and they started at Dave's house. Hopefully, they will get to see the amazing progress that Dave's house has made! This is Northwood's first time here and we are so excited to have them!

Keep praying for these teams as they work throughout the week. Pray for fruitful conversations with homeowners and other people in the community and also that these two teams will grow in Christ and take home the things they learn.

This past week marks the last month that the interns will be here! We've been so blessed, working with Katie and the other staff members from Crisis Response. We're so grateful for our supporters and those that are praying for us. Please keep praying for us as we continue on with Crisis Response. That God will work in us even more this month and that we will keep spreading the word about what Christ is doing in New Orleans!

God Bless!

Chelsea :)

Busy Busy!

2011-07-08T14:45:00.003-05:00

Hey everyone!

What a week! With 61 volunteers we were able to work on a lot of job sites which makes things busy but that is always an encouraging thing to see! The kids from Grace Chapel were hard workers and we were so pleased to have them come.
On Wednesday, we went on prayer walks as usual but one of the groups had 2 very awesome conversations! One with a woman who told us that she was one of the many people that lived in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. She was so willing to share her story and even invited us to come back later so that she could tell us more!
Another interesting conversation took place with Terry, a man who manages maintenance for an apartment complex located in what used to be one of the most dangerous projects in the country. He told us about how he was raised in the Ninth Ward along with some history of the neighborhood we were in. Earnest, Terry's friend, told some of us about his Katrina story. He was able to leave the city before the hurricane and lived in Colorado for about a year. He told us the thing he missed most about New Orleans was the food. Totally understandable!!
Hearing those stories renews our energy and reminds us why we are here in the first place: To love on the people of New Orleans and let Christ's light shine through us.
Pray for the two incoming teams from Florida and Pennsylvania, that they will come with an energy and passion to serve! Also, please pray for Crisis Response as we are short-staffed in some places and that the Lord will call more volunteers to come and serve!

Be blessed!
Chelsea :)

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Chelsea is invading Katie's blog!

2011-07-04T12:55:00.006-05:00

Hello Everyone!

We are really looking forward to this week and praising God for the team He brought down from Lexington, Massachusetts! There are 61 senior high kids from Grace Chapel and it is their first time down here with Crisis Response! They will be working for Miss Connie, Miss Delores, Miss Pat, Miss Vida, Miss Cammie and the Reveres.
Last week was very exciting for us as we saw God work through the teams that were here from Ohio and Illinios. Dave is still waiting for an occupancy permit, but the team was able to work on the electricity and plumbing at his house. He came to the block party on Wednesday and he was so excited about the progress and the possibility of moving in soon!

Miss Cammie visited her house twice last week and was able to see the amazing development of the inside of her house. The team last week was hanging drywall and finishing the exterior painting. You can't walk through the walls anymore and thats a good thing!

The porch is now painted and it looks GREAT! :) One of the interns has been able to talk to Miss Cammie on a pretty regular basis and she is excited about the relationship that is being built.

Please pray for Dave and his family that they will be able to move into their house very soon. Also, please pray for the relationships being developed with Miss Cammie, the Reveres, and Miss Ruby along with the other homeowners that we will be working with this week. God is doing amazing things in NOLA and we are so glad to be a part of it!

Have a happy 4th of July and a blessed week!

Chelsea Buffington :)

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1: 2-4

One Busy Learning-Filled Month!

2011-06-26T22:02:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone!

First off, I've sent out my June newsletter so if you'd like a copy make sure to send me your email address.

Secondly, wow, this first month has flown by! Three weeks in New Orleans, One week in Alabama, Three girl interns, One guy intern...God has been doing amazing things! It's been a learning experience for me...learning how to be a servant leader, how to guide the interns in ministry, how to encourage them to continue to grow in their walks with the Lord, how to be responsible for 4 people but at the same time trust them in the Lord's hands, how to make time for God, myself, interns, friends, family...I don't think I realized how much I would grow and learn in this new role but I'm praising God for every lesson He's teaching me.

We have two teams in this week: Cornerstone from OH and Arlington Countryside from IL. We are working on Ms. Cammie's, Ms. Ruby's, Ms. Delores's, and Mr. Revere's homes this week. We are also sending a small team to Dave's house to finish up the plumbing and electric along with finding out what else needs completed to obtain the occupancy permit! Please pray for God to continue to provide all that Dave and his family need to move into their home!

Thanks for the continued prayers and encouragement!
Love yall!
Katie :)

"Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say, 'Father, save me from this hour?'
No it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father glorify your name!"
John 12:27-28a

Chelsea IS HERE!!

2011-05-27T10:24:00.003-05:00

HI Everyone!!

Chelsea is HERE!!! I picked her up from the airport Tuesday and surprised her by taking her to Dave's home where she worked last summer. The team this week from Lifesong Community in Chino CA was there working on the flooring! It's coming along really nicely!

Also Chelsea will be taken over my blog for the summer to post God stories and update you all on needs and homes we're working on. She's doing a great job getting our EFCA Crisis Response page on facebook up and ready so be sure to "like" it!

One cool story from the week comes from a team member from the CA team. He confessed that at the beginning of the week, he was not that excited about prayer walks...he wanted to work on the house! But after this week he said that the prayer walks have been one of the biggest blessings thus far! He's gotten to pray for a community he's never seen before and for people he's never met before and God has really moved in his heart this week! PRAISE GOD for continuing to use a storm almost 6 years ago to transform people's hearts!!! He is GOOOD!

Check out www.facebook.com/efcacrisisresponse for updates and photos from Dave's home!

LOVE YOU!! So happy to have you in my life!

In Christ,
Katie :)

"But remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms His covenant, which He swore to your ancestors, as it is today." Deut 8:18

Katie Loves Haiti!

2011-05-17T18:34:00.004-05:00

pictured: half of the Lakewood team + staffers + and local Haitian helpers/friends! This is taken after we finished building one of the Samartian Purse shelters for a very thankful family!

pictured above: Cleisma, Sophane, myself, and Claudia!! Love these girls!!!

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for praying for me during my trip to Haiti! God's hand of protection was over us as we traveled and worked in the hot hot sun! God provided opportunities to build relationships with Haitians and to serve His people!

One of my favorite experiences was hanging out with the orphans at Operation Love the Children of Haiti (OLTCH). I bonded with the toddler room and even though I didn't speak creole, they couldn't really either so we just hummed songs and made noise and gave lots and lots of hugs! I also bonded with one of the nannies in this room, Cleisma. She didn't know English and I didn't know Creole so we spent time just teaching each other how to say different things around the room in each other's languages. By the end of the week she called me her friend and I can't wait to go back to see her!

One of the coolest things was being there the same week as Lakewood EFC who had 3 couples on this trip in the process of adopting children from this orphanage!! Lakewood had come down in October of 2010 and the team members went back and began praying about how to make a difference in Haiti. God has led many families from our Crisis Response teams to adopt 29 children thus far!!!! GOD really is using an earthquake to cause life transformation for these children to be brought up in a home with Christian values!

There is a lot of sadness, oppression, and despair in Haiti but there is also hope, joy, and love! Keep praying for this country and for the Gospel to spread through the arm of compassion ministries here!

pictured: Claudia and I! She's just the cutest!

In Christ,

Katie :)

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

I am BLESSED!!

2011-05-06T16:11:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I was listening to "I am Blessed" by Rachel Lampa crossing the causeway last night and thought how true!! Just what a wonderful reminder that we are blessed!!! Don't forget!!!

I can't believe how fast this week back in NOLA flew by! I leave TOMORROW for Haiti for a week! I'm so excited to go back and see what God is doing through our ministry there! Please pray for safety traveling tomorrow and for many opportunities to share and tell others about God's great love!

In my last newsletter I had some big rocks that needed accomplished and with time running short I had no idea how things were going to turn out.

So here's a few reasons why I'm BLESSED:

1) Through my friend Denise and her connections, we now have housing available for my girl NOLA interns for this summer!! PRAISE GOD! It's a HUGE answered prayer and of course it's another testimony that not only does God have it all taken care of but it was through Denise asking that God provided...so one more lesson for me to keep asking so God can work!

2) I have completed my application for my transition to long term status this week!! PRAISE GOD! Once my application is reviewed, there will be an in-home interview, then I'll hear back about an invitation to REV, the Readiness Event, for training and to further investigate my ministry calling!

3) With the interns going to Haiti, I wasn't sure exactly how to balance preparing/equipping them and have their curriculum set up while they are there and I'm in NOLA. So once again God provided Steve and Sarah on our staff to handle the Haiti pre-field training along with coming up with their curriculum!! God is so good!!

4) Praise God we have a guy coming to serve as an intern this summer in NOLA! Dustin came down on a team from Southwest Baptist University and will be serving this summer for 2 months! He will join Ronnie and Chelsea as my first group of interns EVER! God is amazing!

5) God has BLESSED me in BIG ways in just one week with financial support! I am so glad I serve a God who knows our needs and even when I fail at asking, He still provides! With my transition to long term status, my budget has increased. So I am inviting YOU to come join me financially in what God is doing through me and the internship program. My email is katie.hooks@efca.org if you'd like more info!

There are so many blessings God has poured out on me that there is definitely not time or space to tell you about all of them!

Love you!
Khooks :)

Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
Psalm 103:1-2

I Love You More Than Life

2011-04-24T21:26:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share this song with you! Click here for the youtube video. Great song, Great lyrics!

Artist: Dre Murray
Song: More than Life

Headed up north tomorrow (Monday)! Please pray for safety on the roads and divine appointments with students and faculty!

I love you more than life, more than life
I love you more than life, more than life
I love you more than life, more than life

My soul provider my abba my Father
You pulled me outta the dirt and made me from nada
And now I gotta put you over everything in my life
Even my wife and my momma
I'ma make your name known over the drama
I'ma give you everything inside of me, everything that I got
I dont care if its hot
I gotta be on point for the King
The holy day spring, the bright morning star, he's the reason why I sing
the reason why I rhyme with rhymes about when times will end
and we're done with this world of sin
and eternity begins, we're face to face
with our hands held high to the King of grace
Lord I'm like amazed at the life that you gave
the price that was paid, I was digging my own grave
I was almost in the hole, my heart grown cold
But You sent your only Son to restore my soul
Cuz Nobody knows the pain I kept hid in my heart on the inside
Tears down my face just to cry I felt like I wanted to die
but you came and reversed the hurt
you gave me a new birth and destroyed the curse
now I gotta a new name and I can feel the change is burning in my heart
I'ma show'em with my art
I'ma show'em with my life the love of the Christ
Jesus my LORD I love more than life!!

Jesus I love you more than Life,
More than life!

Katie :)

Connecticut Invasion to College Adventure

2011-04-18T15:52:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for your prayers for my time at home with family! It was truly a blessing to be there for my papaw's funeral and for my parents as they moved into their new home.

I was blessed to return back to the Calvary team from Maryland. I've known these guys since the fall of 2009 and they have become like family to me. Mark the mechanic even brought down an oil filter for my car because somehow he just knows when my car is due for an oil change! Thanks Mark!!

This week we have 3 returning teams from Connecticut:
1) Black Rock Congregational Church
2) Stanwich Congregational Church
3) Crossroads Church

I was able to lead an expectation training this morning with Black Rock and my main encouragement to them was to make sure they are spending daily quality time with the LORD everyday! The priority is "our relationship with God NOT what we can do for God."
Oswald says: “Don’t rejoice in your successful service for Me [God], but rejoice because of your right relationship with Me [God].”

My next College Adventure takes me to................the Southwest corner of Missouri!! YAY!! My plan is to visit John Brown University, Southwest Baptist University and College of the Ozarks next week! These were colleges that came down in March! I'm excited to see these teams and continue letting students know about opportunities for them to serve longer! I'm also hoping to visit St. Louis for the first time ever and see some churches there that have come down! Can't wait! So if you're in the area I better see YOU!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
1) for the teams this week to experience God in new ways!
2) for my travels up to Missouri - I'm driving! woot woot!
3) for the internship program! There is still interest from people to come serve so please be praying for them as they fill out the application to serve and raise support to serve! May God's will be done!

Let me know how I can be praying for you!!
In Christ,
Katie :)

"Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven" —Luke 10:20

God Makes It Grow!

2011-03-23T11:05:00.003-05:00

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:7-9

Hi Everyone!

The week has been going great thus far! We have 84 volunteers here this week! The cool thing about Wednesdays is we have our block parties today and it's the mid-way mark in the week. Please lift these volunteers up in prayer as they seek God for strength and energy to keep serving Him!

The teams are:
1) John Brown University, Arkansas
2) Southwest Baptist University, Missouri
3) College of the Ozarks, Missouri
4) East EFC, Kansas
5) Faith EFC, Kansas

Cool Story from Last Week:
God is raising up people interested in the internship program! There are a few from Dordt College interested in coming back either to serve here or Haiti. Hooray! Keep praying that it is God's will for them to move their interest towards commitment.

Pray for the teams this week that God would prepare their hearts to come serve with us!

Taking it Home:
Also a girl from Dordt college told me that because of our emphasis on prayer walking, that she was making the decision to make every walk from her dorm to her classes a prayer walk!! How cool to see God spark her desire to spend that time in prayer!

NOLA Church Plant Update:
We are now using teams to prayer walk with Eric Holtrop. He is a church planter that has the vision to plant a church somewhere on Magazine Street. Teams will aid him in praying for this street and seeing where God opens a door for Eric to build relationships with people in this community! So please keep praying for the gospel to spread like wildfire here!

Japan Update:
My Boss Mark Lewis is in Japan now assessing the damage there and how we can come alongside the church there to make disciples and plant churches in the wake of this crisis. You can find out more at http://efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com

Thank you for praying and Praise God for all the great things He has done!

In Christ,
Katie :)

So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 3:7-9

Nothing Like Prayer Walking in New Orleans...

2011-03-15T23:23:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to keep you updated on what's been going on with teams this week! For starters, it's been a BLAST getting to hang out with these teams! It's so awesome to hear how God is working in their lives and to see them serve wholeheartedly for the Lord this week!

We really encourage the teams to take time out of their work day to prayer walk around their jobsite. On Monday I was able to take 3 girls from Dordt college around and we were able to stop and pray for Ms. Ruby and Ms. Hazel. I've always loved this characteristic of New Orleans...that even though they don't know me at all..they still let me pray with them! How cool is that!

I wonder if people would be like this everywhere if I would only take the time and ask them what their prayer needs were and if I could pray with them. I have no idea but I definitely LOVE the fact that I can in New Orleans. Maybe you guys in other places can try it out and let me know!

Tomorrow is our block party and please pray for us as we proclaim Jesus Christ to these neighborhoods and pray for boldness as the volunteers continue to step out of their comfort zone!

Love you guys!
Katie :)

"LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:36-37

LOVE this week!

2011-03-13T21:45:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to update you on the teams we have this week serving the Lord in New Orleans!

There is:
1) Greenville College, IL
2) Dordt College, IA
3) Clear Lake EFC, IA
4) Northwest Community, TX
5) Community Church, SD
6) Tri-State Fellowship, MD
7) Stanwich Congregational, CT

This all adds up to 77 workers for God's Harvest here in NOLA this week! Please be praying for these teams and for God to use them in mighty ways to proclaim Jesus Christ to the people of New Orleans!

I'm so blessed to be here and excited to see returning teams and meet new ones! Praise God for bringing His children from all over the country to UNITE and SERVE under His name!

Love,
Katie :)

“LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Kings 18:36-37

Do You Love Him?

2011-03-06T23:45:00.001-06:00

Do I love Him enough to live for Him today?

Do I love Him enough to feed His sheep?

Do I love Him enough to consider my life worth nothing, if only I can finish the race and complete the task the Lord has given me, the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace?

In my devotions by Oswald Chambers, My Utmost For His Highest, he spoke of the verse in Luke 12:8 where Jesus says, “Whoever confesses me before men [that is confesses HIS LOVE by everything he does, not merely by his words], him the Son of Man will also confess before the angels of God.”

What stuck out to me in this devotion is that my love for God should be my motivation for how I live my life each day. Do I love God enough to let that love affect my thoughts, my actions, my words, my life?? Is my love for God just something I talk about or do I actually put that love into action? I want everything I do and say to stem from that LOVE I have for my Father in Heaven who LOVES ME! 1 John says I love because He FIRST loved me.

So the question that has been challenging me each day is “Do I love God enough to live for Him TODAY?” Tomorrow has its own problems and yesterday already happened. So then…do I love God enough to live for Him TODAY?” Where I’ve seen God challenge me with this question is with my newest roommate. I didn’t really know her before she came in January and I had not taken the time to spend one-on-one time with her. So the day God put this question before me, I heard him say, do you love Me enough to make time for Bryn?

I wanted my answer to be yes so I asked Bryn if she wanted to have lunch this week. She said yes and at lunch she opened up to me about what was going on in her life and sure enough, in that moment I knew why God wanted us to have lunch. He wanted me to be there for her, to encourage her to live for Him every day out of her love for Him, and to encourage her to blossom where He has planted her.

I’m so thankful for God for my new friend Bryn, for God given me that question, and so thankful that this time I was obedient to His voice…it always works out better that way.

So my question to you is: Do you love God enough to live for Him today??

Change...

2011-03-03T17:05:00.001-06:00

The only constant in life is change...someone told me that one time and I'm pretty sure they are correct.

So here's to change...enjoy the new blog layout and colors!

More update on my week back in NOLA to follow!

Katie :)

Midwest Winter Meets Southerner DEBRIEF

2011-02-23T14:44:00.006-06:00

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

2011-02-17T22:49:00.003-06:00

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!

2011-02-12T12:52:00.005-06:00

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!

2011-02-09T16:00:00.003-06:00

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!

2011-02-08T09:39:00.005-06:00

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!

2011-02-04T12:01:00.003-06:00

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 :)

Midwest Winter Meets Southerner!

2011-01-28T10:43:00.005-06:00

Hello Hello! Don't cha know! (practicing my midwest lingo, hehe)

I want to share with you all how God has worked in mighty ways for my upcoming adventure!

This adventure is called Midwest Winter meets Southerner! God has allowed me the opportunity to connect with 6-7 different churches in the state of Iowa and with 1-2 colleges in Iowa from Feb 6th to Feb 12/13. I also will be seeing churches in the Minneapolis area (shout out to my Brooklyn Park team!!) during the week of Feb 13th along with seeing my good friends, the Princes! I'm hoping to visit colleges in the Minneapolis area as well! Look out Bethel!

God's provision includes:

Flights to Minneapolis and back!
A car to drive around Iowa and Minneapolis (THANK YOU JESS for trusting your car with a southerner in the midwest winter!)
Awesome churches and colleges who have served in New Orleans who are taking time out of their daily schedule to hear about the vision God has given me for the next generation of missionaries!!
The time, ability, strength, and encouragement to make this journey!
Even a winter coat and heavy duty gloves from my roomie!

How you can partner with me...

PRAYER!!! and this is no joke. I, Katie Hooks, have only driven in snow once or twice in my whole life! I will need LOTS OF PRAYER for protection while driving in this weather. I know my God is my shield and my protector and I know I need Him to make it everywhere I'm going safely. PLEASE PRAY for safe travels for me beginning Feb 1st to the 17th! In addition, please pray for courage (as I mentioned in my below blog) as I invite people to join my monthly support team! Please pray God would begin preparing their hearts now for partnering with me!
If you or someone you know is in the Iowa/Minneapolis area, I'D LOVE TO SEE YOU or meet them! I'm excited about sharing what God is doing in New Orleans and would love to take the time to meet with anyone! Please email me any one you can think of: katie.hooks@efca.org

Thank you soo much for taking the time to read this blog and for all of your love and support!

God bless you!
Katie :)

"To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it...He is the One you praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes." Deuteronomy 10:14, 21

The Golden Question...

2011-01-28T09:49:00.004-06:00

Body Builders Boot Camp - Dallas 2011
(I'm directly in the center of this pic)
Hi Everyone!

I hope you've had a great wintery week! I hear the Northeast is being pounded again with snow...I'm sorry to say but I'm not jealous. haha.

Thank you for the prayers as I attended the Boot Camp last week!

The one thing that stuck out to me was the connection made between my desire to ask people to join my financial support team and my desire to ask people to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If I'm not willing to ask people to start a relationship with Jesus then I'm probably not willing to ask people to join my support team. Both are scary "Golden questions" and can lead to rejection but because I'm called to do both, then I need to pray for courage and boldness in asking both questions! I'm not just asking for support because I want to keep living in New Orleans rebuilding houses and hang out with interns, I'm asking for support because I'm called by God to MAKE DISCIPLES in the mission field that follows crisis.

I'm excited to see who God calls to join my financial support team and I'm excited to see who God puts in my path to share my life and the gospel with!

I pray you are encouraged as well to remember the call to make disciples of all nations and to let that be your motivation for living each day for Him!

Love yall!
Katie :)

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

Warehouse...God House!

2011-01-16T14:18:00.007-06:00

Esther, my new friend from Grace Church, and I at dinner! LOVE her!

Hi Everyone!

I wanted to share that God is good and I'm excited for the year 2011! Next week I'm off to Dallas for a boot camp on how to raise my personal support. I've been working on the homework this week and some verses that have stuck out to me are listed below.

I'll be headed to the midwest the beginning of February for the Droogsma/Kunkel wedding in Des Moines IA so if you live near there call me! I'd love to see you! I also hope to be in the Minneapolis area as well! Please pray for me as I work out the details of this trip and pray for appointments to share the vision God has given me for the future generation of missionaries!

Praises:
We have had awesome teams thus far:
1) I was welcomed back to NOLA by my friends from Grace church! LOVE THEM!
2) Then I got to reconnect the following week with Crossroads church who have a few people interested in the internship program! Praise God!

3) Then this past week we had awesome teams come from PA and CA to work on our warehouse. YOU HAVE TO COME SEE IT!! God did AMAZING things in one week to transform our warehouse into an organized, functional, outstanding warehouse that is ready to respond to the next disaster! ALL PRAISE TO HIM! The newly built tool closets with sliding doors and an upper level for more organization!

Prayer Requests:
1) For My time at the boot camp next week and that God would continue to teach me how best to glorify Him through the gift of raising support! I'm currently at 65% of monthly supporters so if you'd like to hear the vision God has given me and join my support team email me at katie.hooks@efca.org
2) For my time up in the midwest. Prayer that God would orchestrate my time there. For sure I'll be at Valley Church on Feb 6th and I'd love to connect with friends I've made up there so pray I begin the planning process now! Pray for the wedding as well and it's a time of joy and celebration as Jessica and Steven start the new life together! Email me at katie.hooks@efca.org if you're in the area! I'd love to share what God is doing through me and this ministry!
3) For the internship program! Pray I can continue to hash out the details and pray for male interns to come join us this summer in NOLA! Pray God would be working in their hearts now to come back and serve with us for the summer! God has blessed me with two girls for sure and I'm excited to see who He has in store to come down!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this blog and thank you so much for your prayers and support!

LOVE YOU!!
Katie :)

"Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? ¹⁰ Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?" 1 Corinthians 9:7-12

"A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed."
Proverbs 11:25
(a good reminder that if I expect others to give, I need to be generous in giving as well!)

Connecting the dots...

2010-12-02T14:27:00.010-06:00

Happy December Everyone!

I hope you all had a lovely turkey day filled with great food and fellowship with family and friends! I was able to run a 5-mile turkey trot (so yes I still like running...for now) and spend time with Castle Rock families and the McCain Family.

The McCain family and friends (pic right) come down every Thanksgiving to serve a thanksgiving meal at a diner in the 9th Ward. It was through this family that we made the connection with Pastor Gerald of House of Hope and began to work on the church. "What had happened was" (a common nawlins saying), last year Jennifer noticed Pastor Gerald at the diner reading a book on the Holy Spirit. Jennifer was also reading a book on the Holy Spirit and approached him to discuss the book and the conversation went from there to Jennifer emailing us about helping him rebuild his church. It was great for them to see the church and see how their desire to serve the LORD last year created a connection between us and Pastor Gerald that begin the restoration of House of Hope. God is soo cool in how He connects the dots!

A cool bit of fruit from my trip up to PA is that a college ministry I spoke with has now decided to come to New Orleans for their spring break trip! Praise God for moving in their hearts to come serve in NOLA!

Praises:
1) God continuing to provide for my needs at the right time!
2) Excited to head home next week and be around for 2 weeks! Well this is bringing up mixed emotions...my parents have decided to move next year and this will be our LAST Christmas in the house I've lived in my WHOLE LIFE! I'm pretty sure I'm going to cry and I've already asked if I can buy it but it's way out of my price range...haha. No matter what we'll enjoy the Christmas season together!
3) My first committed intern had her interview with the Engage team this week and it went well. Another committed intern has turned in her initial application. There's 2 more who have shown interest so yay God!

Prayers:
1) for safety traveling home!
2) It's easy for me to whine and complain about the workload but that's the opposite of how I should feel so please pray for my attitude towards the work I have on my plate right now:
a) long term application - going to keep moving forward unless God says otherwise
b) equip online course on healthy missions partnership - really neat course on how to build healthy partnerships which is what our ministry is all about
c) the homework for my Body Builders conference which is in mid-January in Dallas on how to raise a healthy support team - I could always use help in my methods for raising support.
d) the internship program - banging out more of the fine details and pray that God would raise up the interns He wants for the program.
3) I really want to grow in my walk with God and get to know Him more and more and use this knowledge to love and serve my neighbors near and far. Please pray that this desire would grow and when I hear the Spirit prompting me to do or say something, I obey right away. I find that in the moments I obey Him, this is when I know more about Him and grow the most.

Thanks for praying and let me know how I can pray for you!
In Christ,
Katie :)

Devo from Oswald Chambers:
To say, “Thank God, I know I am saved and sanctified,” is in God’s eyes the purest expression of humility. It means you have so completely surrendered yourself to God that you know He is true. Never worry about whether what you say sounds humble before others or not. But always be humble before God, and allow Him to be your all in all.

There is only one relationship that really matters, and that is your personal relationship to your personal Redeemer and Lord. If you maintain that at all costs, letting everything else go, God will fulfill His purpose through your life. One individual life may be of priceless value to God’s purposes, and yours may be that life.

Vision to Reality??

2010-11-21T23:27:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone! Hope this blog post finds you well! Sorry for my lateness in getting this out! It was so nice to not be living out of a suitcase I guess I forgot to blog..haha.

Firsts from travel week 2:

1) Went up Mt Washington to see a great view of Pittsburgh

2) Played an awesome game called “things”with the very awesome Walsh family!

3) Saw the Riverwalk and the ALAMO in San Antonio!

4) Ran a Half Marathon in San Antonio in 2 hours 2 seconds!

Recruiting Thru My Cold…

My second week in PA was another amazing testimony of God providing opportunities to speak to students about what He’s doing in our ministry and to catch up with friends I had met in New Orleans. Unfortunately I had a cold the whole time but that didn’t seem to stop people from hanging out with me..haha. I hung out with my friend Kim who is the reason I was in PA in the first place! I’m grateful for our friendship and loved seeing how God is moving in her life in PA! THANKS for everything girl!

One of my favorite experiences from the trip was the chance to share my testimony with InterVarsity at Pitt. I love telling people how God called me to the mission field and how He really can use anyone to do His work! I shared how it’s on us to join God where He’s working so no matter where you are God can use you now! One cool part was my friends Kim and Ross shared how God connected the three of us together in New Orleans, how he allowed our paths to cross, and how He grew us in our faith there. It really is cool to think how because of the call to serve God in New Orleans and my obedience, I now have friends not only in Pittsburgh but all over the country! Thanks be to God!

Howdy Texas!

Another great time on my trip was reconnecting with Ben and Emily in San Antonio..they used to serve with our ministry. I’m also stoked to be in their wedding on Jan 1^st and enjoyed running the half marathon with Emily. She did a great job of pushing me to run faster than I thought I could!

God also allowed me the chance to speak to the youth group at Northwest Community Church and be encouraged by Scott and Ruby, the youth leaders there. It’s awesome to see how their week in NOLA has spurred them on to work in inner city San Antonio! Their desire to take back what they learned on their mission trip reminds me why we host teams in the first place! We want teams to take back what they learn in NOLA and apply it to their lives back home! It’s not just suppose to be a one week experience but a life changing experience that brings God glory!

NOw what?

I’m back in the NO for the next month. While I’m here I’ll follow up with the connections I made in PA and continue to get the word out about our internship program. Let me know if you want any info on the internship program, I’d love to share with you more about it!

I’m headed home for two weeks for Christmas so if you’re in the NC area I better see you!

Please keep praying for:

1) Interns to come and serve in New Orleans, Haiti, and Peru

2) The internship program itself…that it glorifies God and grows the interns closer to God

3) My decision to fill out the long term application and to fully trust God with my future plans

LOVE YOU ALL! thanks for taking the time to read this and thank you for the prayers!

goodnight!

katie :)

Devo from Oswald Chambers that speaks to the internship program and my role in it:

Thank God for being able to see all that you have not yet been. You have had the vision (for the internship program) but you are not yet to the reality of it by any means. It is when we are in the valley, where we prove whether we will be the choice ones, that most of us turn back. We are not quite prepared for the bumps and bruises that must come if we are going to be turned into the shape of the vision. We have seen what we are not, and what God wants us to be, but are we willing to be battered into the shape of the vision to be used by God?

Praying I'm willing to let God mold me, beat me, batter me, and stretch me to make this vision a reality! Praying I don't let the thoughts of inadequacies and inexperience paralyze me from running the race He's marked out for me! Praying I do not turn back!

2010-11-06T15:21:00.007-05:00

Hey Yall!

On the bus right now from Philly to Pitt. I wanted to share praises for how the first week in PA went and how to be praying for next week!

So far I've had a couple of Firsts:
1) saw my first amish horse and buggy!
2) ate scrapple??
3) visited Philly! (got to walk up the Rocky steps, saw the Liberty Bell, and walked around lots!)
4) went to Chocolate World in Hershey PA

God's Provision!
God has really blessed me this week with having food to eat, rides to places, students to talk to, and homes to rest in! As I think back to the last 2.5 years, God really has been working in the midst of the relationships I made in New Orleans to aid me on this trip in PA. Everyone I've stayed with thus far is someone who came down to serve the Lord in New Orleans! I've been able to meet up with a few teams that have been down and it's been so encouraging! It really is remarkable what God can do when we let go of the control and allow Him to work!

As for the college tour...I'm learning LOTS! I've been able to connect with the faculty in the career services departments and had tables in the dining halls presenting our info to the students. Recruiting is not really my gift to be honest. I'm not a salesperson. So this week has definitely been stretching me and I ask for prayer to continue to trust in God to speak through me to the students He puts in my path.

Story from Lebanon Valley College:
While at my table at LVC, I was flipping through my Bible and came across Luke 18:5, "yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice." So as I was meditating on this scripture I began to pray continuously for God to bring people to my table..7 people to be precise. As I was talking with the first couple of students, in my head I was still praying for God to bring people to my table. I think it's easy to forget sometimes how much we need to depend on God because only HE can deliver...I can do nothing on my own. Sure enough the last girl I spoke with (#7) ended up being the VP of the InterVarsity Chapter at LVC. We ended up talking about IV, being a senior, future plans, and before she left she wrote down her email (something she had been reluctant to do at first). I'm looking forward to staying in touch with her to see how God uses her at LVC and post college. God answers prayers people! Just continue to ASK!

So on that note, I'm ASKing you to pray for this coming week in PA:
1) Visiting Chippewa EFC tomorrow and hanging out with my girl Kim!
2) Colleges: Nov 9th - Geneva, 10th - Malone, 11th - Grove City and InterVarsity at Univ of Pitt in the evening
3) safe travels between colleges and to San Antonio then back to New Orleans.
4) pray God would continue to show up on these campuses and many students would commit to serving with our ministry!

Love yall and thanks for your continued prayers!
In Christ,
Katie :)

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

God is IN the Details!!

2010-10-29T04:43:00.002-05:00

So most people know I am the furthest thing from a detail-oriented person that you can get...so planning a 2 week trip to 8 different colleges and meeting up with about 3 or 4 churches is not really my strong suit...once again God has shown himself faithful and has provided many opportunities for me to share what He is doing through this ministry He's given me...THANKS BE TO GOD!

So the details...
This weekend I'll be in Chapel Hill visiting my babies and hanging out with my MATE, the Allie B!! Then on Sunday we'll make our way to VA then my friend Carole will pick me up to take me to PA on Monday!
College Visits:
Monday - Elizabethtown College 4-8pm
Tuesday - Messiah College, seeing Brookfield Church crew
Wednesday - Lancaster Bible College with the amazing Julie S as my sidekick recruiter!
Thursday - Lebanon Valley College, seeing Conestoga Church crew
Friday - possible trip into Philly!
Saturday - making my way to Pittsburgh
Sunday - Chippewa EFC
Monday - hanging out with my girl Kim!!
Tuesday - Geneva College
Wednesday - Malone University
Thursday - Grove City College, speaking at Univ of Pitt's InterVarsity in the evening
Friday - Monday - San Antonio TX to see staffers Ben and Emily and Northwest Community Church...oh and run a half marathon on Sunday :)

PLEASE PRAY!!
1) For Safety and protection as I travel (I'm sitting at the NOLA airport now about to board my first flight)
2) For God to receive ALL the glory and praise!
3) For God to prepare the hearts of the students I'll be connecting with and that He will give them a heart for missions and serving with us in the future!
4) For energy and motivation....that I am spending quality time with God everyday to be refreshed in Him so I can serve wholeheartedly for Him!

Thanks for everyone who helped me gain connections and thanks for your prayers! They mean ALOT!

I'm heading out today knowing that God has gone before me and according to this verse below, He has already led me in a triumphal procession! AMEN!

"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." 2 Corinthians 2:14

I can play the background...

2010-10-21T10:15:00.003-05:00

So God blessed me on Tuesday with an opportunity to go to the Unashamed Movement 2010 with amazing artists like Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, Lecrae, and more. This is one awesome song that just speaks to how we're not meant to take the lead..that is God's place...we just play the background and let God take the lead!

to view the song/video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHnZRZiCYHE

Take time to read the lyrics below!

I could play the background.
I could play the background.
Cuz I know sometimes I get in the way.
So won't you take the lead, lead, lead.
So won't you take the lead, lead, lead.
And I can play the background, background.
And you can take the lead.

Verse 1
It's evident you run the show so let me back down.
You take the leading role, and I'll play the background.
I know I miss my cues, know I forget my lines
I'm sticking to your script, and I'm reading all your signs.
I don't need my name in lights.
I don't need a starring role.
And why gain the whole wide world, if I'm just gon' loose my soul.
And my ways ain't purified, I'll live according to your Word.
I can't endure this life without your wisdom being heard.
So word to every dancer for a pop star
Cuz we all play the background, but mine's a rock star.
Yeah. So if you need me I'll be stage right.
Prayin' the whole world will start embracing stage fright.
So let me fall back and stop giving my suggestions
Cuz when I follow my obsessions I end up confessing.
That I'm not that impressive, matter fact I'm............
A trail of star dust leading to the superstar.

Chorus.

Verse 2
I had a dream that I was captain of my soul.
I was master of my fate, lost control, and then I sank.
So I don't want to take the lead
Cuz I'm prone to make mistakes.
All these folks that follow me gon' end up in the wrong place.
So, just let me shadow you. And just let me trace your lines.
Matter fact just take my pen.
Here, you create my rhymes.
Cuz if I do this by myself I'm scared that I'll succeed.
And no longer trust in You, cuz I only trust in me.
And see, that's how you end up headed to destruction.
Paving a road to nowhere. Pour your life out for nothing.
You pulled my card, I'm bluffing
You know what's in my hand.
Me I just roll to trust you to cause the dice to land.
I'm in control of nothing. Follow you at any cost.
Some call it sovereign will, all I know is you the boss.
And man I'm so at ease. I'm so content.
I play the background like it's an instrument.

I know I'm safest when I'm in your will and trust your word.
And I know I'm dangerous when I trust myself; my vision blurred.
And I ain't got no time to play life's foolish games.
Got plenty aims but do they really glorify your name.
And its a shame the way I want to do these things for you, yeah.
Don't even cling to you. Take time to sit and glean from you.
And its seems that you are patient in my ignorance.
If ignorance is bliss, its cuz she never heard of this.

"But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring EVERYTHING UNDER HIS CONTROL, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." Philippians 3:20-21

SHOUT OUT TO KIM!

2010-10-17T15:21:00.006-05:00

So my blog today is dedicated to my friend Kim! (pictured right...haha she doesn't know I'm doing this! )

Kim is one of my close friends who lived in NOLA last year and we got to know each other quite well! She recently moved up to the Pittsburgh area to get her masters in Reading Education. In her attempt to get me in the Northeast, she has become my agent for Christian Colleges in the PA area. (maybe you want to become an agent in your area??)

She began making contacts with career development offices and right now I'm due to speak/meet with a number of different colleges in the PA area for the first two weeks in November. GOD IS GOOD! Not only do I hope to connect with colleges in the area but churches as well. Please let me know if you're around because I'd love to see you!

I'll start my travels in NC, going to the UNC homecoming football game with my bestest mate Allie B!! GO HEELS! Then spend close to 2 weeks in PA. Then, I'll end my trip in San Antonio TX running a half marathon with another close friend Emily who used to work on our staff in Galveston. YAY RUNNING!

Please let me know if you have any connections at the colleges listed below or around that area. I feel the best way to get the word out is through pre-existing relationships. My boss says that more than likely I'm only one relationship away from connecting with students and professors and maybe you're my one relationship! The colleges I hope to share what God is doing through our ministry and share with them about our positions available for interns and staff are:

1) UNC (of course!)
2) Messiah College - PA
3) Lancaster Bible College - PA
4) Geneva College - PA
5) Malone University - OH
6) Grove City College - PA
7) Univ of Pitt - PA
8) any others you know of!

My friend Kim rocks because there is no way I would've gotten these appointments by myself and it has given me a deadline (a very soon deadline) to get as much squared away with the program as possible before starting my recruitment adventures. I'm very grateful for her and again to God who continually provides the right people in my life to help guide this internship program! There is no way I would've thought to myself to call Kim and ask her to do this but God put it on her heart to help me in this way and for that I'm truly thankful to Him and to Kim, for her obedience to serve the Lord! LOVE YOU GIRL!

PLEASE PLEASE PRAY!
1) Pray that God receives all the glory for my trip to NC/PA and He prepares the hearts of the students, staff, and professors to hear what we're doing and spark their hearts for serving with us
2) Pray and ask God if He would give you the desire to become an agent in your area for my internship program - Kim just started calling Christian colleges to see if they'd be interested. I, alone, cannot call every college in the country but perhaps you could support me by calling colleges or students near you or utilizing the connections you already have to let them know about what God is doing thru this ministry. I NEED your help and this would be a great way to support God's work through me!
3) Continue to pray that God gives me wisdom and direction as I continue to develop the program that He wants!

Contact me at katie.hooks@efca.org if you want more info about the program or want to meet up while I'm traveling!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow and Praise God for great friends like Kim!

Love yall!
Katie :)

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

Take My Life

2010-09-07T09:26:00.003-05:00

ya know when you wake up with a song in your head that you haven't heard in a looong time that maybe just maybe the Lord put it there...this was my song today :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEzbwcMG9Gc (to hear the song)

Take my life and let it be
consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days,
let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands and let them move
at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet and let them be
swift and beautiful for Thee.

Take my voice and let me sing
always, only for my King.
Take my lips and let them be
filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold
not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
every power as You choose.

::Chorus::
Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.

Take my will and make it Thine
it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart it is Thine own
it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord I pour
at Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.
Take myself and I will be
ever, only, all for Thee.

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.
x3

(Take my life, Lord take my life. Take all of me)

Here am I, all of me.
Take my life, it's all for Thee.

Take my life and let it be,

Consecrated Lord to Thee!

-Khooks :)

HOLA!

2010-09-02T23:12:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update:

Me Gusta Costa Rica! The Duggans have been such a welcoming family to stay with and I can't thank them enough for their hospitality and generosity!

This week I've been practicing my spanish with Anna Duggan's next door neighbor Fernanda who is 8 years old. It's been so much fun to try out my spanish and she helps me with vocab and laughs when I say something completely off...which is quite often!

Today Brian took me and Sarah to SonLife ministries. This is an awesome ministry that is seeking to train youth leaders in how to minister to the youth in not just Costa Rica but globally as well. We got to spend the majority of our time with Ernesto who is on staff with SonLife, has a youth ministry, and is a husband and father of 2 cute little girls! He loves youth and desires for the youth to grow closer to God! Please pray for Ernesto who is raising support and balancing his responsibilities to his family and to the ministry.

On the way to SonLife and back, we were able to discuss interns and looking how the internship program could not just be used in NOLA but in Latin America as well. So God definitely seems to be working at expanding the internship program so please continue to pray for wisdom, guidance, and for more hands who have a passion for leading and loving on interns...and pray for interns as well :)

On a personal note, God is showing up big here for me. Everyone knows I'm not a morning person but here, I'm getting up very early to spend time praying to my Father in Heaven and spending time in His word. Praise God and Thank you for those who were praying for that. It's definitely been answered! Reading Oswald Chambers My Utmost for His Highest and Celebration of Discipline have been great in helping me remember that out of my love for Jesus and fixing my eyes on Him comes an ability to "overflow with streams of living water" to others and work on utilizing the spiritual disciplines that will glorify God!

Please keep praying that I would continue to have my heart, eyes and ears open to whatever God is teaching me here. Tomorrow we're off to La Cumbre (mountain retreat place that is 9000 feet above sea level..oh my) and doing more sight seeing next week.

(haha okay maybe this post wasn't that quick...)

paz y amor!

buenas noches!

katie :)

"Prayer doesnt change things...Prayer changes me so that I can change things." Oswald

Costa Rica muy pronto!!

2010-08-27T12:34:00.005-05:00

Katie is off to COSTA RICA on Monday with Sarah who is on our staff in Texas!! I will be staying with the Duggans, a missionary family who is from Charlotte! I will also see Melissa Putney who came down to NOLA back in February to help after I was overwhelmed with NOLA and Haiti responsibilities. I'm excited to be in a different culture, be stretched, practice my very limited Spanish vocab, and see how God is working in Costa Rica.

Brian Duggan is actually the one who got me thinking about interns so getting to discuss with him more of the idea of interns and maybe how interns can be utilized in Latin America will be great!

I will be spending intentional time with God, in God's word, praying, and focusing on Him to determine what this 3rd year in ministry looks like. In mid September our staff will hold our annual Key Result Area (KRA) meeting and I need to rewrite my KRA's that includes interns, NOLA, Support Team Building, etc.

Please pray:

1) for Safety traveling

2) for intentional time with God for wisdom and guidance

3) fun memory making moments

Thanks for your prayers and support! Thanks for being a part of God's work here! It was an awesome summer and I'm excited to see how the fall will unfold so stay tuned...

Love yall!

Khooks :)

Amazing Time on the Hill!!

2010-08-27T11:08:00.007-05:00

Hi Everyone,

I arrived safely back in NOLA after a restful, fun time at the beach and a great time celebrating Alysha and Austin's wedding to find an email in my inbox to come up to Chapel Hill Bible Church and speak at the church services where they were celebrating the 5 year anniversary partnership with New Orleans! It was a huge blessing to thank the church for being obedient to God's call to respond to those in need! I also was able to see my cousin and a few of my fellow 08 grads!

One of my favorite parts of the weekends was getting to spend time with my small group girls (pictured below) aka my babies!! who are now SENIORS!! They were just freshmen when I was their small group leader my senior year and getting to talk to them, encourage them, and laugh with them was just a HUGE blessing! To see how God has worked in them, united them, and grown them over the last 2 years just encouraged me to continue to pour into my teams/friends here in NOLA and teams that come because you have no idea how God is going to work in someone after you're not in the picture.

This trip reminded me of how much I do LOVE the "mentor/mentee" or "discipler/disciplee" relationship which is exactly what I want to do with interns that come to serve with our ministry. I LOVE getting to walk alongside people and encourage them to grow in their walks with God.

ONE HUGE PRAISE: I have someone going through the application process to be an intern next summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot thank God enough for providing my first intern and I just ask for prayer for more interns that God would lead.

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." Hebrews 10: 19-25

In Christ,

Katie :)

BeachMass!!

2010-08-03T22:49:00.002-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Just letting you know I'm off to spend quality time with my family in NC starting tomorrow for a week! Can't wait to see them and the Atlantic! From there I'll be flying up to Mass to support my girl Alysha who is getting married!!!!! YAYA!!

I'll be back in the southland August 16th!

Please pray for rest and refreshment for me while I'm home. Please pray for wisdom as I think about my 3rd year in ministry and how I can use this year to glorify God in all I do!

Praises:
1) There are some people interested in internships next summer! yay God!
2) I had an awesome week in Galveston serving the community there and getting to reconnect with staff and homeowners I'd met before
3) Moving this August down the road to live with my friend Eliza! Can't wait!

Thanks again for reading! Let me know how I can be praying for you all!

Love you!
Katie :)

"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth." 1 John 3:18

Blog: FAQ Style

2010-07-12T14:35:00.004-05:00

Instead of walking through the last couple months I'm going to hit the big rocks...Q and A style!

Q: What is Urban Impact?
A: Urban Impact Ministries began 20 years ago as a ministry to reach the people of Central City New Orleans for Jesus Christ. 10 years ago, the ministry planted Castle Rock Community Church. I'm a member of this church.

Q: What is TouchGlobal Crisis Response?
A: This ministry was birthed out of Hurricane Katrina and seeks to reach those in times of crises with the love of Christ. For the past 2 years, I have served as the volunteer coordinator for this ministry serving not only in New Orleans, but helping with our efforts in Galveston, North Dakota, and Haiti. We partnered with Urban Impact after Katrina to help rebuild their community.

Q: Is there still a partnership between Urban Impact and TouchGlobal Crisis Response?
A: Yes but it looks different from before. We will continue to aid each other in God's kingdom work in New Orleans but it will take two different shapes. Urban Impact will focus on central city New Orleans and continue to host teams like they did before the storm to help reach their community for Christ and (prayers needed) for the renovation of their new church facility. They will host teams in the yellow house and focus on evangelism and discipleship.
TouchGlobal Crisis Response will also continue in the efforts of rebuilding after Katrina and begin focusing those efforts in the outer areas of New Orleans such as Gentily, New Orleans East, 9th Ward, etc. We will also begin focusing on church planting. We've seen God provide the foundation of contacts made after the storm and will host teams to help us build the walls around this foundation and growing the outer New Orleans community closer to Christ. We will host teams on the north shore and hoping to acquire another ministry housing site in the outer New Orleans area. We have partnered with a church in the 9th Ward, House of Hope Fellowship, (pictured below) to come alongside them in reaching their community for Christ. We hold prayer walks in the community and assited them in their first youth celebration Sunday. We've been working on their church since mid-February and the church is still in need of funds to complete the interior. Please pray to our God, the ultimate provider, to bring the funds needed to see this church completed and shining brightly for Jesus!

Q: What does this mean for Katie??
A: I will continue to live in central city New Orleans and attend Castle Rock Community Church. I will continue to love on whoever God puts in my path. I will continue to work for TouchGlobal Crisis Response ministry for who knows how long...This coming year will most likely mean more trips across the causeway (the 24 mile bridge over Lake Ponchatrain) where our Crisis Response office is located. I am still in the process of handing off my volunteer cooridnating duties to whoever God provides. He is FAITHFUL and provided Laura and Allison this summer to host teams and I'm eternally grateful!! He also provided Christine to help with the coordination of teams to Haiti!! GOD IS GOOD!

Q: Is Katie still developing the Crisis Response internship program?
A: Time for honesty....I'm not an initiator...I don't start things...I like to come in after something is already going and make it better and keep the ball rolling. So even more reason why I know God has put this on my heart because I'm very very very unqualified and don't have a clue as to what I'm doing. If and when this does take off, it'll ALL be because of Him and nothing I've done. So yes if you'd like more info on what I'm thinking or can help with ideas all are appreciated..email katie.hooks@efca.org I'm looking for young adults who have just graduated from high school to graduated college (not sure on max age yet) and want to take some time off (either 3 months, 6 months, or a year) from school to serve in our ministry for either college credit or just to gain ministry experience. Come get a taste for working in a crisis response ministry, serving in a cross cultural setting and growing in your walk with God! :)

Q: What's going in the next couple of months in the life of Katie Hooks?
A: Next week we have 84 volunteers in New Orleans...oh yesss! (July 23rd = my birthday!!) Working on the internship program. As far as travel plans: I'll be popping over to Galveston the last week of July to visit our ministry site there, then headed to Sunset Beach NC beginning of August for a family vacation. I'm possibly visiting some missionary friends in Costa Rica in September with a possible trip to Peru to visit our ministry site this fall. And yes all the while learning every day what it means to find my security in Christ and planting my roots in Him so I can bear fruit to show His love to everyone I meet.

I'm very grateful to all of you who have been praying for me. I could tell recently my worries and burdens were greater than usual because I hadn't been asking for prayer. I'm grateful for our friendships and all the more grateful to see how God continues to use a storm to bring us closer to Him!

So Prayer Request:
1) the internship program - that I stop focusing on the fact I'm unqualified and let God use me. That God would bring exactly who He wants to serve as interns for us.
2) to see God as my ultimate security knowing He never changes
3) for strategic church partners in the outer areas of New Orleans who want to see the gospel spread!
4) future traveling plans - safety and provision of rest
5) I'm currently at 85% for monthly supporters...please pray about supporting me for God's work here in NOLA.

and to end...PRAISES!!
1) God is goood all the time!
2) for my awesome hostesses this summer
3) for the teams God has provided to come serve with us! LOVE THEM!
4) time to reconnect with New Orleans crew (pictured below) in Chicago!
5) for all of you who pray for me and who take the time to read this entire blog! you're my heroes! :)

LOVE YOU!!!

Katie :)

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose"

Philippians 2:13

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." Matthew 13:44

Empty Me

2010-07-11T22:27:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't blogged more. It's been an interesting couple of months. Lots of change came my way and more transition is coming my way. All I want through all of this is for God to empty me of anything that is not of Him and is of me...I want to be filled with Him! more details in next blog. Goodnight.

Holy Fire burn away,
my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me.
I want more of you and less of me.

Holy Fire burn away,my desire for anything
that is not of you and is of me,
I want more of you and less of me, yeah.
Empty me,Empty me, yeah,
Fill, won't you fill me,
with you, with you, yeah.

Well won't you empty me,
well won't you empty me now.
I want more, I want more, I want more of you, Jesus.
I want more, I want more, oh.
Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you, Jesus, oh yeah,
Thank you, Jesus, yeah.
Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire, Holy Fire.

Empty Me by Jeremy Camp

For Christ's Love Compels Me!

2010-04-18T22:16:00.007-05:00

[Teams learning the Challenge Circle Cheers!]

Hi Everyone!

Wow I can't believe I have one more week of Spring Break Rush 2010! It's been quite the doozy but o what a blessing! Close to 500 volunteers in 10 weeks! God is good!

Prayer Requests:

1) Need to get my April newsletter out by mid-week.

2) 52 volunteers are here this week, 3 different churches all from Connecticut! Pray they have an awesome week in the Lord!

3) Strength and energy to finish strong in the Lord!

4) For my upcoming time off..i have 3 weeks off then teams the week of May 17th and more time off. Pray I am able to truly rest and refresh myself in the LORD! Not exactly sure what I'll be doing in that time, spending time in NOLA with no teams is one of them...let me know if i can come talk at your church :)

Since I posted last, we had close to 70 volunteers, 60 from IN and 11 from NC! It was a great week and the IN team has already called about coming again this summer! How sweet! Last week we had 50 here from PA, CT, AL, and IA. Again such a blessing to see God use these teams and I was able to venture out on a prayer walk last week and really got to see God at work in the community we're working in. I got to speak and pray with Ms. Veronica who is looking for some volunteer work so hoping to get her connected with us.

[Chris from NC playing with a kid at the challenge circle!]

Let me know how I can be praying for you!

[Praying it out after the block party!]

Thanks so much for your prayers! I definitely could not have made it without them.

In Christ,

Katie :)

[My friend Kristen from Denver came to visit!! We're tag-teaming caulking the siding at House of Hope Fellowship...it's a church we're rebuilding in the upper 9th!]

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service." 1 Timothy 1:12

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!

2010-04-04T21:28:00.003-05:00

Hello Blog Readers!!

I hope this post finds you all well! Last couple weeks have been busy but good! Lots of teams and lots of ministry opportunities! This is now week 8 of 10 for my spring break rush. We have 80 volunteers in this week so please keep praying for them to have flexible attitudes and they'd have their eyes and hearts open to whatever God is teaching them!

Story Time!
Last week we held the block party at Gayle and Brock's home. We are currently painting the exterior of their home. Gayle is a grandma and currently watches 3 of her grandchildren along with having other family come and go. Usually when we have these block parties, it's just hot dogs and chips. Gayle decided on her own to break out her canopy and grill up chicken and ribs and cook red beans and rice for us on the team as well as for the community! Gayle showed me what true generousity looks like. Here is someone who doesn't have a whole lot expressing her gratitude and love in a BIG way! I thank God for Gayle and her example of kindness and pray I can show that same generousity to others I meet!

Praises:
1) 80 volunteers this week and the next 2 weeks of 50. Praise God for sending laborers
2) HE IS RISEN!! It's because of what He chose to do that I can have this personal relationship with Him! Praise the Lord indeed!
3) God is good! all the time!

Prayer Requests:
1) the 80 volunteers this week and the next 2 weeks of 50! please pray for their attitudes and pray God stretches them and teaches them more about Himself this week!
2) for energy and motivation to finish these next 3 weeks well and on fire for God and His kingdom
3) My family member Mary Louise Griffin past away last week. I was able to see her in the hospital when I was home at Christmas and I praise God for the time I had to visit with her before she went home to be with the Lord! Please pray for comfort for her immediate family and praise God she is now in a place with no more suffering and no more pain!

Love yall!
Katie :)

"Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

For He is Good!

2010-03-19T12:04:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope and pray you are all doing well! I'm sorry I haven't blogged sooner.

Katie was in Haiti
Yes I did return safely from Haiti. It was such an awesome growing experience to be able to see firsthand what God is doing in the wake of the earthquake...ministry partners being formed, lives being touched, God's word proclaimed...it was truly a blessing. I really enjoyed being able to worship with other believers at a nearby church on Sunday. We sat out under the trees and sang hymns like "I surrender all" next to a building that was completely collapsed. To see their joy in the midst of something so horrible is such a huge testiment of what happens when our hope is in God and nothing else! We are still taking teams, construction and medical, to help in the relief efforts so contact me at haititeams@efca.org if you want more info. You can also check out this blog: www.lifeatthehaitianqueen.blogspot.com This is an up-to-date account of what is going on at our ministry house in Gressier (also known as the Haitian Queen).

BACK in NOLA
We began our 2 week task called Blight Busters last week...this is where the volunteers have been cleaning up vacant lots in the lower half of the Hoffman Triangle, my neighborhood. Click this link to see the news footage from the Blight Busters. It's been a real visible way to make a difference in this community and there has definitely been life transformations in the community's lives and volunteers' lives as well. For more stories you can check out the Greenville College blog at www.gcneworleans10.blogspot.com Every night at dinner, the teams have soo many stories to tell me of who God put in their path and it's such a blessing to see how much God is using them to love on this community.

Be in prayer for those who have told me they'd like to come back and serve for a longer period of time. It's no secret that I'm recruiting around here, especially with 4 colleges here this week. We have Greenville College, Harvard, Bethel University, and Dordt College. I'm praying for God to raise up His workers to continue loving New Orleans like I do.

Praises:
1) My March Newsletter is complete! Let me know if you want one! katrinarelief@efca.org
2) It really has been a great week! God has really been moving in the lives of volunteers here and us on staff. Praise God for continuing to use a hurricane 5 years ago to transform lives!
3) Looking forward to seeing who God brings back to serve with us this summer or longer term.

Prayers:
1) Continued energy and motivation for the next 5 weeks of teams!
2) MORE Staff!
3) We have 34 volunteers in next week from Wisconsin and Indiana. Please pray for them and that they would be willing to have their hearts and lives transfrormed while serving the Lord here!

Thanks everyone for reading and praying!
In Christ,
Katie :)

"If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing." 1 Corin 13:1-3

Katie in Haiti Day One/Two

2010-03-05T16:46:00.007-06:00

Bon Jou! Como yay? (Good Morning! How are you? - In Creole)

I have safely arrived in Gressier Haiti. I am staying at our compound where we've leased a house and built 2 bunk houses. We flew into Port au Prince and the devastation from the earthquake is throughout the city. One house is sandwiched while the building beside it stands firm. The Haitians have moved into tent city's and they go for miles.

Home completely collapsed

Guys on top of rubble trying to scavange for rebarb wire.

Pictured above is Rick from WI, Trinity from CA, Wes from Canada, and myself in the kitchen after lunch. Rick is down for a few weeks to help with the construction of the bunk houses and help out in anyway. Trinity has been acting as the volunteer coordinator here since mid-February! She's doing a great job but is leaving on Tuesday because she's not feeling well. Please pray for her health. Please pray for someone to step into this role long term! Wes is here from anywhere from 2 months to 2 years and he'll help with digging the water wells and any other construction needs. God is awesome at providing workers for His harvest! Please pray for His continued provision of laborers! Let me know if you're interested in sending a team, haititeams@efca.org

Thanks for your prayers! It's been a blessing to be here! Keep praying and let me know how I can be praying for you!

Katie :)

Katie in Haiti

2010-03-03T23:38:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I completed my first ever marathon on Sunday with a time of 5 hours and 5 minutes! Praise the Lord! I never thought I'd ever say I've done one but I'm glad I did and it's over! haha, Thank you for your support of me through prayers and financial giving. I'll keep you posted on how much God has raised for Ms. Simms but know you can still give if you haven't already. Just make your checks out to EFCA and put "donation to ms. simms" in the memo and mail to:

Katie Hooks
19380 N. 10th St
Covington LA 70433

I'm off to Haiti bright and early tomorrow (March 4th) and return Sunday March 7th at midnight. I fly from New Orleans to Miami at 6am then off to Port au Prince. From there we'll drive 2-3 hours to West Gressier where our volunteer housing is located. Please pray for safety traveling for myself, Sarah, Kevin, and Mark. Please pray God would guide us and give us wisdom as we serve in Haiti. Please pray for open doors for the gospel message to be spread through the arm of compassion. Please pray!

Thanks!
With love,
Katie

"IN HIM, we live, and move, and have our being." Acts 17:28

2 Firsts in 2 Weeks!

2010-02-20T11:49:00.010-06:00

Hi Hi!

Praying everyone is having a great weekend and spending time with God!

I got to spend the week with a returning team, Black Rock Congregational in Fairfield CT. It was awesome! They are such a great group and they had another great week in NOLA. God really taught them the importance of compassion and how to love each other along with the people of NOLA! I'm soo grateful this church is a part of my life! We have 2 returning teams this week: Trinity EFC from Plainview MN and Trinity Western University from Canada! Good to reconnect and please pray for their time here as well!

My momma is coming Thursday! hollerrrrr! Can't wait to spend time with her and I'm glad she's coming to catch me after my marathon! hehe.

yes my FIRST MARATHON EVER IS SUNDAY FEBRUARY 28TH!!! Please please please pray! I got up to 19.5 miles so please please pray God will give me the strength to complete this race He's given me! If you'd like to pledge for my race, there is still plenty of time! Just send me an email at katiehooks@gmail.com

I'M GOING TO HAITI for the FIRST time! March 4th through the 7th! Please pray for my trip! Please pray for my time there. Please pray for protection! Please pray that my trip to Haiti will open my eyes to the sufferings of God's children and will transform me to love God more and love His children more! Pray I will see God's greatness and goodness in my time there! I'll be headed there to train Trinity who is taking on coordinating volunteers and help set up our office. I'm excited to see everything first hand but also realize how challenging it will be as I've never been to a 3rd world country especially not after a major crisis so please pray God would prepare me for what I'll see and experience in Haiti.

I finished my February newsletter so let me know if you would like one! katiehooks@gmail.com

Thanks for being a part of my life and for your prayers! Please Please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Love ya!

Katie :)

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

SAINTS!! Here we come to get YOU!!!

2010-02-09T10:50:00.009-06:00

Hello Faithful Blog Readers!

I have NO teams this week! So you might ask, well what do you do?? Haha, catch up on everything I haven't done yet, like Feb newsletter, thank yous, preparing for the next TEN weeks of teams...and have fun catching up with my NOLA girls I don't see much when I'm working...God has really blessed me with solid girl friends here who I can talk with, vent with, pray with and I'm super blessed to have them in my life! Me and Eliza below after the first Mardi Gras parade of the year! (yes it's a family-friendly parade!)

PRAISE:
1) God gave me the strength to run 19.47 miles on Saturday! There is NO way I did that on my own!
2) SAINTS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!! yayayay!
3) Bringing awesome teams last week, Meriden and Chippewa (pic below)! And for Ms. Jeri, SueBeth, Lori, and Chase who rocked in the kitchen and rocked in general! Loved having them here too! PRAYER:
1) Get my newsletter finished this week!! Write my Thank Yous!
2) I'd be less selfish with my time and more giving of my time to serve God in whatever way He asks.
3) I still need to multiply myself...basically work my way out of a job as my boss says...so please pray for wisdom and guidance as the spring break rush begins that God would begin working in someone's heart to come down and do what I do...releasing me to be involved in other parts of the ministry.

HAITI UPDATE:
We are still developing partnerships and logistics for taking teams to Haiti. Right now our need is for small constuction teams WITH 3rd world experience. contact me at haititeams@efca.org if you can help in this way! Also contact me if you would like more info on how to help in general!

Thanks so much for your prayers! I definitely love it here in New Orleans and I thank God for giving me the chance to be here! More than likely, I will be staying longer than the summer...but pray as well that I give my future to God and allow Him to work out the details!

Saints Superbowl Champs!!! :)

Love,

Katie

"And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6

Never Satisfied But Always Content

2010-02-02T20:51:00.004-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you're all doing well! It has been a crazy couple of weeks and I'm now starting to recover from the mad-rush of coordinating medical teams which we ended up cancelling due to the change of needs...I'm now focusing on coordinating construction teams down to Haiti, with possibly having help from another missionary that is here to help multiply me! If interested in going, please email haititeams@efca.org.

The title of my blog comes from a devotion I did. It says, "While we are never satisfied with our spiritual progress, we're always to be content in Christ." So yes our spiritual walk with God will always be a long process of us realizing we have so much more to learn about God, so much to learn about how we should live, we're constantly pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus (phil 3:14)....BUT we can always be content in Christ no matter the circumstances (phil 4:11). So yes continue pressing on knowing that we can be content in Christ...Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6)

Praises:

1) On Saturday I took 24 hours off from work for probably the first time in a while! It was great! Rest is good! Helps me learn to trust God more because I can't be responsible for everything.
2) Up to 15.5 miles for my marathon..woohoo!
3) God really has multiplied us here on staff and excited to see the body of Christ rise up to help us!

Prayer Requests:

1) the Meriden EFC and Chippewa EFC teams that are here this week! Pray they learn more about God this week and grow closer to Him!
2) My boss Mark Lewis is returning from Haiti tonight...he was there for 2 weeks so pray he can find rest at home with his family and spend time with the Lord!
3) Next week we have no teams, then we have 10 straight weeks of teams...please pray that I would spend next week preparing for how God would use me during this time..that I would be praying for God to work in the volunteers' lives (which may lead some to join us here on staff)...praying the community would come to know Christ and put their hope in Him...praying I would seek God and continue to rely on Him!

Thanks for taking the time to read this and please pray for me and God's work here!

Love,
Katie :)

“However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"" 1 Corin 2:9

Praying, Waiting, and Asking!

2010-01-23T13:59:00.007-06:00

(picture above: people waiting in line to receive medical aid in Haiti)

Hi Everyone!

I'd love to update you on what is going on in Haiti and how it has changed some of my roles here in New Orleans.

I am now the point person on coordinating medical flights to Haiti. We have teams going for a week at a time and if you're medically gifted please contact me asap as we NEED docs and nurses and more!!! email haititeams@efca.org (I check this account) You'd fly out of Fort Lauderdale to Cap Haitien (300 miles north of Port au Prince) to work in a hospital there that has been overflooded with refugees from PaP. PLEASE contact me for more details and give my email out to those interested. I'm putting this in God's hands! It can be hard to wait but I know His timing is perfect and I must trust Him!

ONE of our HUGE needs right now is monetary donations to continue supplying aid and medical relief to Haiti. Please please give to help the body of Christ come alongside those in need! You can click here to give to the Haiti Earthquake relief. Email me if you have any questions. You can also mail donations to:

EFCA Crisis Response

19380 N. 10th St

Covington LA 70433

and write 21709-3970 in the memo.

SECOND I need to multiply myself! God is already proven faithful that if we just pray for Him and ask for help He comes through. First off, Ms. Jeri is here to cook! YAY! I have several friends who have asked to help with data entry and team stuff and I'm very very grateful to them! BUT I'm STILL asking...I need help!!!!!!!!!! Please let me know if you can volunteer your time and efforts here in New Orleans! I need a cook from March 26th to April 26th in the city. We need funded jobs so if you can scope jobs and go around asking people if they have work that'd be super!

Please pray I can balance my responsibilities and find time to rest!

Please pray for the people of Haiti!

Please pray that "the islands will see God's light!"

Asking may be hard to do because it means I can't do it on my own but I know God wants me to ask Him and ask you to help!

In Christ,

Katie

Ministry blog updates: http://www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com/

"I am concerned for you and will look on you with favor; you will be plowed and sown, and I will multiply the number of people upon you, even the whole house of Israel. The towns will be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will increase the number of men and animals upon you, and they will be fruitful and become numerous. I will settle people on you as in the past and will make you prosper more than before. Then you will know that I am the LORD." Ezekiel 36:9-11

"This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. They will say, "This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited." Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the LORD have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it." Ezekiel 36:33-36

Interested in Serving in Haiti..

2010-01-16T22:15:00.003-06:00

At the moment our leaders within the crisis response ministry and the southeastern district of the EFCA are going to try (God willing) to get into Haiti Sunday to make contact with our ministry partners already on the ground. The situation is unstable at best as the entire infrastructure of Haiti is compromised.

TouchGlobal Crisis Response Ministry is a long term recovery ministry and we are formulating what type of response would best suit the needs of the Haitian people. Once a secure base can be established in Haiti, we will be sending teams to help in the long term recovery efforts and more importantly, to show the love of Christ to those in need through the holistic healing of His people.

The most current need right now is funding to support the efforts to establish a base of operations to send teams. Our warehouse in Covington, LA will begin accepting bulk donations when the determination has been made as to what is needed most and a viable method of transportation has been established.

Please be in prayer for our leaders as they also pray for God’s wisdom and discernment on how best to serve His children in Haiti.

We are urging everyone to get the word out about the situation in Haiti through email contact lists, facebook accounts, etc. Money can be donated online at the www.efca.org website with the memo line designating the earthquake relief fund #3970. Please also visit http://efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com to get the most up to date information from our director.

I can add your contact information to our database that has been established if you want to be kept up-to-date on what we're doing. Please stay posted to the website and continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Haiti.

We will contact you as soon as it is a plan has been developed to send teams of volunteers to help in Haiti.

In Christ –
Katie Hooks
Volunteer Coordinator - New Orleans
EFCA TouchGlobal Crisis Response Ministry
office: 985-893-0218

Pray for Haiti!

2010-01-13T22:28:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone,

In case you are not aware, an earthquake registering 7.0 on the Richter scale devastated Port-au-Prince in Haiti. You can find out more info on our blog www.efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com about our response and how to give financially at www.efca.org

My boss Mark Lewis and another staffer Kevin are looking at flying there Sunday to access the damage and discover the needs there. Please be in prayer for their trip and that God would open doors for short and long term recovery efforts to reach His children through the arm of compassion.

PRAY PRAY PRAY!!!
Katie :)

"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
1 Corinthians 12:26

ROAD TRIP!!

2010-01-11T23:02:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I must say today was probably one of the most productive days of my life...I won't bore you with all the details but just know in one day my newsletter was written, envelopes were labled, stamped, and stuffed! Praise God! Remember email me if you want one, katrinarelief@efca.org

Tomorrow bright and early I'm off to Galveston TX. I haven't been there since April 2009 and I must say I am excited to see all the progress and visit with homeowners! I'm also excited to see the staff there and maybe connect with some of the church members from Galveston Bible Church. Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston in September 2008 and I was very blessed to have been on the scene a month after the storm to help set up our office, delegate teams to jobsites for gutting, and help train Sarah who is now the on-site coordinator there. Please pray for safety driving there and for when I drive back on Friday!

Last week we had a team of 6 guys from Wyoming and it was truly a blessing to get to know them and hear how God is working in their lives! Praying they take what they learned home with them and they come back soon!

Please pray I can continue my training in Galveston, need to run 14 miles this week. oooo golly!

Let me know how I can be praying for you and call me if you want to keep me company on my ride over to Texas!

mucho love!
Katie :)

p.s. Go Saints!

"Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young. But set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity." 1 Tim 4:12

Analyzing is Overrated...

2010-01-04T13:18:00.006-06:00

Hi Everyone!

First off thanks sooo much for the prayers last week! Monday may have been one of the busiest days of my life but I got through it and I know it's because of your prayers!

Trust > Analyzing

So I don't know if it's a girl thing, or a me thing, but I probably analyze stuff wayyy too much. It's not like analyzing something to death will make me feel better or feel like I've accomplished something...just wasted time in my head more like. Probably if I analyze everything it's my way of controlling the situation or allows me to hold on to something for a little while longer. I think in the end, analyzing every little moment or every possible moment takes away from trusting God. The verse God has laid on my heart isn't a new one by any means:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Before God can make my paths straight, there are 3 things I must do:
1) Trust Him
2) Lean NOT on myself
3) Acknowledge Him in EVERYTHING!

So by acknowledging Him throughout my day, be it in prayer or spending time in His word or taking 5 min to say hello to my neighbor, I am telling God "I trust You. I depend on You!"
Take time this week to truly put this into practice and give up on analyzing everything, but TRUST God with everything!

Praises:
1) Teams were great last week! Thank you for coming to serve the Lord!
2) Ran 10 miles on Thursday and didn't die
3) For God's Son and that once we believe, we are a new creation in Christ!
4) All the awesome support I've been getting from you all, not just money but prayers as well. I'm very very grateful for each of you! Thank you Thank you thank you!

Prayers:
1) Must write thank yous and January newsletter by end of the week. let me know if you want one katrinarelief@efca.org
2) Possible travel plans next week. I'll keep you posted.
3) I continue to trust God with everything, lean not on myself, and acknowledge Him in everything!

LOVE YOU!
khooks :)

Tires! and Tired!

2009-12-27T23:18:00.002-06:00

Hola faithful readers!

I had a lovely time at home with family and friends! Slept a lot but hey, I won't be getting as much this week so I'm even.

Praises:
1) All the teams have arrived safely and are tucked away in their beds for the night. I'm excited to see friends from last year and make some new ones!
2) Thankful for those that have come to multiply us here on staff: Joe, Bill, Jon, Scott, Nate, Diana, Louis, and Ronnie! God is the ultimate provider!
3) the Lebanon team hooked me up with FREE tires for the mazda! Praise God! God affirming the "ask and you shall receive" verse!

Prayer:
1) the Teams! It's going to be a busy, long, hard week and please please pray that they are open to whatever God is doing in themselves and in the community! Pray they are flexible and truly learn something about God and themselves this week that they can take home with them.
2) the Staff! We're gonna need extra energy this week!
3) the people of NOLA: pray they would come to know Christ and desire a deeper relationship with Him. Pray the volunteers would be bold in pursuing those opportunities to share Christ's love with the people of NOLA!

Thanks so much for the prayers and for your investment in God's work here!
Love you lots!
Katie

But if we walk in the light, as he [God] is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

1 John 1:7

Sweet Home North Carolina!

2009-12-22T21:11:00.004-06:00

Hi Hi!

I'm home! It's soo nice to be around family and friends again! I've slept alot and I'm loving getting a chance to relax!

Please pray:
We'll have around 100 volunteers, 3 teams from CA, 1 MD team, and 1 PA team. Please please pray for these volunteers! Pray they would be patient and flexible! Pray they are willing to be used by God! Pray for us on staff as we work out logistics for next week and work long hours. Pray the people of New Orleans come to know Christ. Pray above all that God receives all of the glory and that His name is praised!

Have a very Merry Christmas and remember the reason for the season! Our Savior is born! Glory to God in the highest!

Peace and Love,
Katie :)

Runner's High

2009-12-14T20:55:00.002-06:00

Hello!

First off thanks for the prayers last week! To follow up:
1) Newsletter is out and on it's way to your mailboxes! Praise the Lord! Please read last paragraph on Running the marathon to raise money for materials! Please please pray about pledging money to help Ms. Simms get back in her home!
2) Worked out Monday thru Friday and again today. Ran 6 miles on Friday and shooting for 7 this week. So please keep praying for motivation! Excited to glorify God thru my running!
3) Teams last week were a huge blessing! They worked so well together and we're stretched in ways they never saw possible! Praise God!

Prayers this week:
1) 13 in from Redmond WA. Please pray they would be flexible, patient, and willing to be used by God to do His work! Pray God would open their eyes and ears to what He's teaching them this week!
2) Going Home Friday (thanks again to Dan and Jane)! Pray for safe travels and a relaxing week at home celebrating the birth of my Savior and spending quality time with family and friends!
3) We have close to 100 volunteers the week of Dec 27th. Please pray for strength and for energy! Pray for flexible teams and for good weather (right now it's been raining like cats and dogs). Pray God would use these volunteers to show this community His heart for them and they are deeply loved and cared for! Pray for logistics and things would run as smoothly as they can and when they don't I continue to rely on God for His wisdom, guidance, and direction!

Quote from Runner's World:
"When the runner's high does set in, usually around three or four miles, my body flows into a smooth rhythm and my mind is no longer conscious of how far or how long I've run or how much farther to go."
I like this quote because it reminds me that this is God's desire for me, for my body to flow into a smooth rhythm of serving Him and for my mind to be more focused on Him and not on any fears or thoughts of what others may think of me, but for my mind to be conscious of Him! The more we seek to obey God, spend time with Him, truly live our daily lives for Him, prayerfully, it'll become less like a chore and become natural to obey Him in everything He asks. Granted yes, we'll still stumble and make mistakes, but seeking to live a life holy and pleasing to Him should still be our desire! It's not about us, it's about Him!

Hope you have a great week and let me know how I can be praying for you!
In Christ,
Katie

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1-2

I'm not a philosophical person...

2009-12-06T22:43:00.013-06:00

Hi Faithful Blog Readers!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog and for your prayers! I need them oh so much and I'm very grateful for them! I can't do anything without Him. I did have a great week with the Athletes in Action staff, got to take them around the city, play card games, and get to know them and hear their hearts for their ministry. Praise God for using us and sports to reach His children! We ran challenge circle (like AWANA circle) in the projects three afternoons and had the Hot Dog Outreach in there as well. Great time to connect with the kids there.

Pray this week:
1) You know what time it is?? Newsletter time! Please pray that I would be able to get my newsletter out by the end of this week. Please pray God would use my newsletter to tug people's hearts to help the people of New Orleans and to give financially to support me here. Let me know if you want one. email katrinarelief@efca.org

2) Marathon training - really struggling with finding the motivation to run or work out. Please pray God would give me that motivation and it wouldn't be for selfish gain but to bring Him glory. I'd like to run for a homeowner, raise money for materials, please pray God would reveal to me who I'm to help and how to do that logistically.

3) We have teams from Hillside Church in CA, Keystone Church in PA, and His Place EFC in Idaho. Please pray God would use them this week to serve Him, to refresh them, and to show His love to the people they come in contact with. Pray God would put them out of their comfort zones and they'd step out in faith knowing He's with them.

Thanks so much for praying! I truly appreciate it and please let me know how I can be praying for you!

Love!
Katie

p.s. So I'm not a philosophical person...but these are some quotes that are challenging me recently and I pray they challenge you as well:

"Such lives are apt to leave you with the idea that God is unnecessary, by human effort and devotion we can reach the standard God wants. In a fallen world this can never be done. I am called to live in perfect relation to God so that my life produces a longing after God in other lives, not admiration for myself. Thoughts about myself hinder my usefulness to God. God is not after perfecting me to be a specimen in His showroom; He is getting me to the place where He can use me. Let Him do what He likes."
Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

"Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it."
"Well why don't you ask Him?"
"Because I'm afraid He would ask me the same question."
-Anonymous

"Don't fail to do something just because you can't do everything."
-Bob Pierce,
Founder of World Vision

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
-Jesus (John 16:33b).

Back in the Saddle Again...

2009-12-01T20:53:00.004-06:00

Hi Everyone!

Well I must say if the Lord calls me to Denver I won't be that upset...it was a great trip. Got to talk about what God is doing in New Orleans and how people can get involved! Got to visit some inner city ministries and see how God is using them to reach the unloved. I pray you'll get involved too by using your time, talents, and treasure to further God's work here and where you live.

God blessed me many times but one story that sticks out is when I got to speak at Eastern Hills. After I spoke at the service, a man came up to me and asked what needs I had...[just before this a lady came up telling me she worked for the airlines and she may be able to get discounted tickets...so I told her that I was looking for tickets to Charlotte for Christmas but her airline doesn't travel there]...so when this guy came up to me, the first thing that popped in my head was tickets to get home for Christmas and sure enough he said he'd take care of them! How awesome is our God! He truly provides! I'm very very thankful to him and God for blessing me this way.

The team this week is some of the staff from the Athletes in Action Ministry and one girl even graduated from UNC a semester after me. I think it's gonna be a good week, can't wait to see how God transforms their lives and uses them to reach His children.

Please pray for me as I get back in the saddle of teams and figuring out logistics for future teams. Pray that I would remember that I'm saved by faith and saved for works. I want to do the good works God has prepared in advance for me to do (Eph 2:10) with a joyful heart.

Praying you all are blessed this week and let me know how I can be praying for you!
In Christ,
Katie

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito." -African proverb

Praises Galore!

2009-11-23T11:31:00.004-06:00

Hello Everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying the start of a short week for most! Happy Early Turkey Day!

God is being soo good to me on this trip that I'd love to share with you what's been going on:
1) I've received some donations from churches and people I've met here which is AWESOME to see God provide financially for me!
2) REALLY blessed to have spent my first week with the Sailsbery Family - Kent, Pat, Kristen, and Brooke! (pictured below) They rock! Kent is the pastor of Northwest Community in Arvada and their family was soo welcoming and soo nice! I felt like another daughter by the time I left!
3) Had interest from youth here and emails I've received about internship opportunities next summer! I would LOVE to have a mini-staff again and be able to see people grow their walks with the Lord!
4) Looks like we'll have TEN straight weeks of teams in New Orleans starting Mid-Feb to Mid-April! God is AWESOME! Please pray about coming down to help cook, supervise teams, and to see God at work during this time! email me if interested katrinarelief@efca.org
5) Scotty V is IN Denver!!! He was my new orleans team leader in March 2008 and I'm looking forward to seeing him and his family this Wednesday!
6) Denise, my boss's wife, is doing an awesome job prepping food for the next 3 weeks we have teams! I can already feel the burden of food coming off of my shoulders! She is my ANSWERED PRAYER!

Please pray as I continue to meet with people and this weekend I'll be speaking to Eastern Hills Community Church in Aurora Saturday night and both services Sunday morning! Please pray God would use me and begin preparing hearts to hear how He's working in NOLA and pray for for boldness as I continue asking for people to come alongside me!

Thanks so much for reading and praying! I know I couldn't do this without God and without your prayers and support and love!

Love yall!
Katie

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1 John 5:14

at Red Rocks Amphitheater

Me with Pat and Kent

Kristen and I after our walk in the snow!

Brooke and I "sitting" on SNOW! :)

100 Crashing Jetliners

2009-11-16T22:11:00.000-06:00

So I'm reading The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, the president of World Vision...he writes for you to imagine you woke up this morning and the headlines read "one hundred jetliners crash, killing 26,500 people." He goes on to say that now imagine this happening everyday...everyday 26,500 people are killed...but the sad thing is it does happen...26,500 kids die everyday of preventable diseases...yet this doesn't make the front page.

I knew this book would probably challenge me but I had no idea it would challenge me like this...to remember that every child, either the child across the street or the child across the ocean, is a child of God and that God's heart breaks when any child of His is hurt...Richard's prayer is that his heart would break for the things that break God's heart, and I pray that for me and us as well...

My trip to Denver has been such a blessing so far..it's been great getting to know the Sailsbery family and they have been soo kind and hospitable! I'm very grateful! The teams were awesome last week too! Ms. Daisy's home is getting ever so close to moving in and the warehouse received its occupancy permit without a fuss...God is GREAT!

Please pray for me this week:
I've got some meetings this week and I'm speaking at Mountain View EFC Thursday night, Calvary EFC on Sunday morning, and Christian Church of Broomfield Sunday night. Please continue to pray that God would use me to let people know how He's working in New Orleans and how they can partner with me to further His kingdom! Please pray for confidence as well as I ask for supporters. Pray too that in everything God's name would be praised and He would receive ALL the glory!

Thanks muchos!
Katie :)

I'm usually not this honest...

2009-11-09T20:13:00.003-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I hope you are all doing well. My Brooklyn Park guys have gone home after a great week of spending time working and getting to know people in the neighborhood along with pretending to be my dad and offering parental advice.

Praise this week: knowing that God loves me and takes care of me

Prayer Requests: I'm usually not this honest but I need prayer!
I really have 3 challenges right now and desperately need prayer for all 3:
1) FOOD - I HATE food...I hate being in charge of food, of buying food, preparing the menu, running to Wal-Mart and Sam's club...it's just too much for me and the fact I don't like food is making me not enjoy my job right now. I need help. I can't do this on my own.
2) SINGLE - I'm single, and right now, I'm finding it hard to be content in my singleness...this comes and goes but it's just a challenge I have right now. I know God has me single for a reason and I need to enjoy being single.
3) FUTURE - I have NO idea what my future holds...I'm with Crisis Response for sure until next summer and I still have NO idea what I'm doing next and because I've been so busy with work I've hardly had time to even investigate my future. I just have no idea what it is God would want me to do.

I was able to address these issues at staff meeting today and looks like we're going to find kitchen help for me. I have teams for 3 weeks starting Nov 30th. Let me know if you're interested.

This week I have 8 from Appleton EFC from Appleton WI and 5 from Northwest Community Church from Arvada CO. Saturday I head off to Denver..please pray as well for God to use me to meet people and I'd have boldness in asking for support.

Thanks everyone for reading this and being willing to pray for me!
Love you guys!
Katie :)

"There is no one holy like the LORD; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God." 1 Samuel 2:2

Imagine what we could do if we were truly united...

2009-11-01T19:51:00.002-06:00

Howdy!

Well last week was awesome! The teams were such a blessing to have around and even enabled me to have Wednesday completely off! I did NOT expect that but God knew I needed it and I praise Him for His provision of rest! I will say Satan was at work last week, causing division between the 2 teams but God is stronger and God is mightier and by the end of the week there was a solid unity between them that only through Christ could have happened! Praise the Lord!

This week I have a returning team from Brooklyn Park EFC and I'm on kitchen duty! Most of my food has been prepped by the awesome cooks last week, Judy and Diana, and tomorrow Robin from Castle Rock Church is going to help me make jambalaya! God is good!

Praise: Teams in New Orleans doing God's work and reaching out to His children!
Prayer: energy and motivation to do God's work to the best of my ability. Also I need to get out my November newsletter this week so please pray I'm able to get that done. Let me know if you want one!

Also I'm headed to DENVER!!! From Nov 14th to 30th! I'm soo excited to see the churches there that have come down and hopefully continue raising support for me to do God's work here! Please pray that I would be able to trust God with all the details and I would go where He leads me.

Thanks so much for reading and let me know how I can be praying for you!
LOVE!
KHooks

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Psalm 133

Haggai and Corn Pops

2009-10-26T00:30:00.003-05:00

So I'm up late, yes i'm a night owl, and eating corn pops that were donated and brought to our warehouse last week! very very yummy. Just read the book of Haggai and I must say, good stuff. The Israelites were soo caught up in the busyness of their lives they didn't notice the ruined Temple of the Lord. Wow...how often do we get caught up in the busyness of our lives we don't notice the ruined Temple in our own hearts?? My encouragement comes from Haggai 2:4-5:

But now be strong, O Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD. 'Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,' declares the LORD, 'and work. For I am with you,' declares the LORD Almighty. 'This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt. And my Spirit remains among you. Do not fear.'

This week:

24 from Calvary Community Church in Columbia MD...first time down with us!

15 from Eastern Hills Community Church in Aurora CO...a returning team for me!

Praise: I HAVE awesome kitchen help and praise for having volunteers back in the NOLA community

Prayer: For flexible and patient volunteers who are willing to set aside their busyness to work not just on homes but on the Temples in their own hearts and in the hearts of the people of NOLA. Pray for me as well...definitely need extra energy and time for rest!

LOVE YOU!

Katie :)

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings - Isaiah 58

2009-10-21T00:18:00.004-05:00

Read Isaiah 58...it's good stuff! Let's fast how God wants and let's fast for the right reasons! Not just because we want God to hear us but simply because we ought to love God and love His children.

Yes I'm back in New Orleans. Safe and Sound. Thank you to everyone who hosted me or helped organize a get together in Mass and CT! Yall are the best!

We have a team of 5 this week from Greenridge Baptist in Maryland. They are helping in the warehouse and doing a great job! Next week we'll have 40 in the city so please pray all logistics of housing and construction sites run smoothly so the volunteers can focus on serving the Lord and the people of New Orleans and pray they'd be flexible and patient when things turn out "just the way we like it..." (a popular saying in our ministry).

Praise: Good times up north! Good connections with people!
Prayer: Don't get stressed or worried about stuff but I trust God more and take my time off that I need to!

Love you guys!
I'll add photos next time!
With Love,
Katie :)

Isaiah 58: 11-12
11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

God is the Ultimate Physician

2009-10-10T20:55:00.004-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Jack is doing good! Well he's still very sore but no internal nor external injuries! God has shown me this week He really is the great physician and nothing is impossible for Him. Not only does He care for us physically but gives us peace when we're suffering emotional stress as well. He loves us and of course wants to take care of us. Becky and I were talking about with all these things happening it'd be easy to get discouraged and be angry but you just have to remember God is in control and everything good or bad always works out for good and for His glory!

I'm safely in CT right now with my friend and old staffer Juan. (Oh yeah, Praise God because the car could be fixed!) Tomorrow I'm speaking at Grace EFC in their 10am service and Beacon Hills EFC at 6pm at an ice cream social. Please pray for me and for God to raise up people to support me in the work He's called me to. Please pray for boldness as I ask people to partner with me...I need His courage!

Thanks everyone!
Let me know how I can be praying for you!
Love in Christ,
Katie :)

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18

URGENT PRAYER

2009-10-09T13:56:00.002-05:00

Hi,

Some of you may know Jack Symmons, he was our Project Manager in New Orleans for a year. Today he was walking across the street and was hit by a car. The car then sped off and Jack had no external injuries but in a LOT of pain. He and Becky his wife are at the hospital now. They gave him a morphine drip and are taking him in for a cat-scan to see if there is any internal bleeding. Please pray!

Pray to our Father in Heaven who is the ultimate physician to put His healing hand over Jack, to put his peaceful hand on Becky and the kids and that through it all God's name is praised! Please please pray for our brother!

In Christ,
Katie

"Pray Continually" 1 Thes 5:17

Praise and Prayer

2009-10-07T08:50:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone...real short updates today:

1) Praise: Julie S is coming back to cook in NOLA this spring!! Hallelujah!

2) Praise: Got to visit Harvard and have dinner with volunteers who came down last spring and got to speak to interested volunteers who are praying about coming down! Wayy funn!

2) Prayer: Jack and Becky's car is still dead...please pray the mechanic can fix it so I can make my way to southern CT to tell the churches there of what God is doing!

3) Prayer: Tonight I'm speaking to Sr. High Youth at Westfield EFC...please pray that God would speak through me and be preparing their hearts for hearing Him!

Love You Guys!

Katie

p.s. The weather up here is gorgeous! Praise God for the beautiful colors leaves can be! :)

Faith like a Mustard Seed

2009-10-03T17:59:00.005-05:00

New Orleans Update:
God provided wonderful teams last week who went above and beyond their call to not just serve those in the community but us on staff as well! I know I couldn't have done all the cooking without them and I know their presence was a huge blessing to Ms. Daisy and Ms. Shirley (the homeowners of the houses they worked on). There is still more that needs to be done so let me know if you're interested in coming down!

Up North for 2 weeks:
I'm now in Massachusetts until Oct 8th and southern Connecticut until Oct 15th. Let me know if you're in the area, I'd love to see you! I'm speaking at Grace EFC in Stamford CT on Oct 11th and meeting up with other churches and teams that have been down. Please pray for me and that God would use me to further His kingdom and begin working in their hearts to partner with me and God's ministry there! Let me know if you want more info too! katrinarelief@efca.org

Manila Update:
Tropical storm Kensata has devastated the Philippines. Please go to http://efcacrisisresponse.blogspot.com for more info and how you can help!

Thanks everyone and I just sent out my Oct newsletter, let me know if you didn't get one!

Have a blessed day and thanks so much for supporting me and God's work through this ministry!

Peace and Love,
Katie

"...I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." Matthew 17:20

Providing Over and Beyond!

2009-09-27T21:40:00.005-05:00

Hi Everyone!

Just a quick update for the week to come:

1) St. Paul's from St. Louis MO and Valley Church from IA safely made it to the yellow house! Please pray they would be open to do what God would want them to do this week!

2) God provided my friend Lacey to go to Wal-Mart with me to buy food for the week and then her and her hubby Ben spent the entire afternoon cooking food for the week! They are my heroes!!! Thank you soooo much Lord!

3) The teams are working on Ms. Daisy Robinson's house (one of the homes that had to be regutted) and Ms. Shirley Green's home...in fact the MO team worked on Ms. Daisy's house last year so please pray they can get a lot done and minister to the surrounding community.

4) Leaving Saturday to fly to Hartford CT where I will spend time in Mass. hanging out with the Symmons family who used to be on staff with us and housed me this summer and speaking to their churches mission board and hopefully going to Boston to see the Harvard InterVarsity team that came down last spring break...then the 2nd week I'll be making my way south to CT to stay with Juan (another ex-staffer) and his family and connect with churches and teams that have been down! God has allowed me to speak at Grace EFC on Oct 11th during their 10am service so please do keep me and that time of sharing in your prayers...let my words be God's words and God's name be praised! So if you're in the CT/Mass area I'd love to see you! Please pray that God would use me to further His kingdom by spreading the word about what He's doing through our ministry, and telling how people can get involved through service, prayer, and financially supporting me to continue to do His work!

Praying yall have a great week too!

In Christ,
Katie :)

"By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:35

God is good All the time!

2009-09-26T17:13:00.003-05:00

Hello Hello!

I’m going up to Connecticut to share the vision of Crisis Response ministry and to seek those God would want to partner with me and His ministry down here...and I wanted to see if anyone had frequent flyer miles that I could use to fly from New Orleans (MSY) to Hartford (BDL) from Oct 3rd to Oct 16th (would need to be back before 6pm on Oct 16th). Please pray to see if this is a way you could bless me and God’s work by providing for me in this way!

In Christ,

Katie :)

God is good all the time.
All the time God is good.

Change Change Change

2009-09-24T16:34:00.010-05:00

Hi Everyone,

So take a look at what's happening this week in the wonderful world of Crisis Response ministry in New Orleans!

God provided 2 pallets of toilet paper, paper towels and napkins! If we can find a truck and truck driver, this same company will give us a TRUCK LOAD of paper products! They're in a warehouse in southern Mississippi! Please pray God would provide and if you can help please email katrinarelief@efca.org

Our offices are MOVING! (My desk used to be right by the door on the left hand side of the photo). We're moving from Trinity Church to the warehouse but our offices aren't complete in the building yet so please pray for God to send laborers to complete the warehouse. I'll be working out of my apartment in the Quad so please pray that this time of "limbo" would only strengthen our staff in their trust in God and unite us even more to do His will!

The Trinity Cares Ministry will be moving too! Trinity Cares runs a Bible Study on Mondays and Wednesdays for people in the community then they get to go through a free store after that. Pictured is the free store (partly moved) along with my fellow staffer, Ms. Ella Miller. Please pray that while the store is closed for 6 weeks the community still come to hear God's word and continue growing in their knowledge of Him!

With the help of lots of people on Monday we layed 9 cubic feet of concrete for the outside of the warehouse! It was great working with fellow staffers and a team of 3 from Grace Community Church in Maryland but boy was it HOT! We still need to lay another 9 cubic feet so please pray for more workers and cooler weather!

We have a team from Iowa and Missouri coming in next week and I'm in charge of food so please pray for guidance and lots of wonderful helpers as cooking is not one of my strong suits...just pray I don't get stressed out in Wal-Mart.

Thanks so much for your continued support of me and let me know if you enjoy the updates on a weekly basis so I keep on doing them!

Love you!

Katie :)

"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession." James 1:17-18

Communication Communication

2009-09-18T14:03:00.003-05:00

Hi Everyone!

I'm sitting in our Annual Planning Meeting and we're discussing one challenge we have is a lack of communication...not just within staff but between us and those we're partnered with...with people like you who read my blog, receive my newsletter, teams that come down, etc. I just want to apologize for my lack of communication and with prayer and God's help, I hope to do a better job of communicating...

Quick Update:

I've moved into the city and I'm living in the quad (pictured above) which is our targeted community! Please pray that I would shine for Christ. It's soo cool walking outside my front door and being planted in my mission field! So please pray for me!

We need teams! Let me know if you'd be interested in coming down. Check out the website: http://www.efca.org/katrina

Praise:

God has provided a family to host a team coming next week and is helping with cooking! We need cooks and God provided this family to help and I'M SOOO THANKFUL!! Let me know if you want to come down to New Orleans and cook for a week or 2 or more!

Love you guys so much and thanks for supporting me! Let me know how I can be praying for you!

In Christ,

Katie

p.s. Let me know if you want to receive my newsletter and prayer card. Please pass the word along! :)

Harney meets Christ :)

2009-06-14T08:56:00.004-05:00

This blog is written by a volunteer who just spent a week in NOLA harvesting God's fields! Kids' names are removed as the school may get in trouble for posting kids' names on the internet.

On Tuesday morning (6/9/09) the girls from our team stopped down at Edgar P. Harney Elementary School to see if we could volunteer. We were waiting on a few things at the worksite, so we thought we would use that time to see if we could help out somewhere else. The school was very eager for our help and indicated that they would love help each day from 11:30-2:00 while the kids had play time and recess. We hadn’t envisioned on helping after that morning, but felt it was a door that we should eagerly walk through.

Before we began our official work at the school, we went back to the worksite and spent time in discussion and prayer regarding how we could be a light within the school. Coincidentally, or by divine providence, John (from EFCA) happened to stop down right before we left for the school and encouraged us to pray that God’s spirit would work in us. We prayed that God would “give us the words” so that we might be prepared with an answer when the children inquired as to the source of our hope and love.

I am so thankful and blessed by the team I served alongside. Throughout the week and our time at the school, I watched them joyfully love and serve the children as they ran, hopped, skipped, and carried kiddos in the hot sun. I am most blessed by the reality of the truth my time never lost sight of…. they took every opportunity they could to share with the children the source of their love- whispering in little ears that they were loved by a gracious and loving God, laying out in child-like terms the story of Christ and what it means to make Jesus your “personal friend,” and lending a tender ear to the hurt and sadness plaguing their hearts. I really cannot tell you how many spiritual conversations took place at the school this past week because there were so many and, I am sure, even more that my team never shared with me.

As far as the children that made decisions to invite Jesus in to their life. Here is their story:

Josh and I had been working in Mrs. H’s first grade classroom all week. On Thursday (6/11/09), when our team arrived at the block party, we immediately spotted a student from our classroom. I approached her to say hello and she introduced me to her older sister, a 4th grader. I offered to help the girls get some food and they “pal-ed” around with me for a little awhile. After a little bit, they asked me to walk them home, which was just across the street, so I did.

I didn’t see them again until the end of the evening, when one returned and asked if she could have some drinks. I told her “sure” and retrieved the drinks. After doing so, I asked her if she knew why my group was “here” (at the block party) and why we had been visiting her school. She indicated that she didn’t know, so I told her we had come because we believed God loves her and, so, we love her, too. I asked her if she knew who Jesus was and she said she did. I asked her if she knew that Jesus wanted to be her friend and she said she did not know that. When I asked her if she wanted to know more about how to ask Jesus to be your friend she smiled from ear to ear and said she did.

Thus, her and I sat down and I explained to her, in very simple, child-like terms, the gospel. I explained that we were created and loved by God and that we all sin and need forgiveness. I explained that Jesus died to pay the price for our sins and he\wants us to have forgiveness.- the way we receive forgiveness is by inviting Jesus into our life to be our friend.

I asked her if she had ever asked Jesus to be her friend and she said “no, but that she wanted to.” She and I held hands and we prayed together. I prayed first and she repeated the words after me. I have to tell you, after we prayed, She was beaming!! I went on the explain, that now that Jesus was her friend, she could talk to him any time she wanted and he would always be there to love her and protect her…. Even though one day her body would die, she is protected because she will live forever in heaven with Jesus.

When I started to tell her that, as she prays, she should know that Jesus might not talk “out loud” back to her, she cut me off and said, “but I will feel him in my heart- like I she just felt Jesus in my heart.” I told her what a bible was and when she said she wanted one, was able to find a Mountview member, Sylvia, who so graciously gave up her own personal bible so that she could have one. So that is her story!

Since I spoke with you originally, there are a few updates to share….

The next day at school (Friday 6/12/09) when Josh and I returned to Ms. H’s first grade classroom, the girls immediately inquired about the bible her sister had received and asked if she could have one. I told her “yes” and I would explain what it meant during her lunch.

So, come lunch time, I sat with her and shared the gospel with her. She was very enthusiastic and said she wanted to invite Jesus to live into her heart to be her friend. She and I prayed together.

As she and I prayed another child wanted to know what we were talking about and asked if I would share with him. He wanted to invite Jesus in his heart, as well, and also wanted to know if I could tell him why he has “those nightmares” about Freddie and Jason (from the horror movies) killing him. We talked about it and we also prayed that God would take away his bad dreams and give him peaceful rest. Cordell also wanted a bible.

As he and I prayed, another boy wanted to know what was going on and called me over to his lunch table to talk with him. When I asked him if he knew who Jesus was he said that he did not. I offered to share with him and he was very eager to hear. As we discussed the gospel, his face looked stunned. When he found out that Jesus was willing to take on the punishment we deserved and suffer himself so that we didn’t have to, he looked astounded and exclaimed, “wow, God is nice. God is so nice!!!” He very much wanted to ask Jesus to be his friend and after we prayed, he shared that he looked forward to giving Jesus a big hug when his body dies one day and his soul goes to heaven.

There was another student that listened while the boys and I talked and prayed. I am not entirely sure whether or not he understood everything that was explained to him, but he kept butting into our conversation and insisted that he needed to pray, too. After he commented about hugging Jesus, he shared that he would give Jesus a kiss when he arrived in heaven. A little side note, he pinched another child shortly after our prayer and I reminded him that, even though God would forgive our sins and take on our punishment, he would still have to face the consequences for his bad choices on earth. He seemed to understand that. He is a cute, but feisty little rascal! He wants a bible, as well.

I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to be present for these moments in the lives of these children. I believe they understood the choice they were making and my prayer now is that God would complete the good work he is starting in them by bringing mentors in their lives who can teach them in more detail how they might grow in their faith and live out their relationship with God.

I am so encouraged and over-joyed, as it sounds like teams will be returning to the school in the coming weeks. I don’t know that I have ever had the blessing of being in such fertile harvesting grounds before. These children want to know who Jesus is!! Not only that, the staff knew that we were there for a much greater mission and we had their full support! I am an elementary school counselor for my job and have worked with several, both urban and suburban school districts- in my experience, it is not even close to acceptable in the eyes of school officials to share the gospel or bring up the topic of Jesus with students.

Katie, Mountview and my team was blessed beyond measure by your staff, the people of New Orleans, and most importantly our Lord this past week. Please let us know if we might serve or support you in any way as you continue in your ministry.

*** these particular children may only be at the school until July 2nd, when this session of summer school ends.

I am sorry this email was so long, it was just such a blessing to witness God at work and I wanted to share as much as I could.
Thank you again, Katie! I am so thankful for the work you do.
God bless!
Sarah from Mountview Baptist

Beauty Among the Waters

2009-05-08T10:47:00.008-05:00

(flooding over a field)

Hi Everyone...

Wow I can't believe I'm actually blogging right now...been wayyyy tooo long! Anyways I am in North Dakota. Haha yes I can't believe it either. Just when I think God can't surprise me anymore he sends me north.

In case you're not aware, there was some major flooding in this area due to a very very rainy fall season and a very very snowy winter. There was just too much water and it flooded for miles upon miles. Thousands of sandbags were put up to protect homes and now that the flood is over, homeowners could really use help in removing those sandbags and Eagle Valley EFC and SonRise EFC are willing and ready to take volunteer teams to help in those efforts. Please be praying that God would raise up His workers for this harvest field. The churches definitely see this as a ministry opportunity to reach out into their communities (communities that are spread apart where it's only one house for miles) to share with them God's love.

(hundreds of sandbags around this home)

(flooding over a driveway....the homeowners use a bobcat to get across)

One of the sad affects of the flood is that the fields have not dried up yet...which means the farmers (which make up most of the working class here) cannot plant their crops and will suffer financially. This is a crisis. Please be in prayer as well that the fields would dry up and the farmers could begin planting.

I will say this...for its flatness, it is beautiful up here! You can see all the way to the horizon and watch the most gorgeous sunsets. God is truly amazing and He has put everything in its exact place and is in control of all of it.

(gorgeous sunset from Eagle Valley EFC)

Hope to keep you better informed!

-khooks

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;

the LORD is enthroned as King forever.
The LORD gives strength to his people;

the LORD blesses his people with peace.

Psalm 29:10-11

Just Give Up Already...

2009-02-23T16:59:00.003-06:00

I know that title may seem a little strange but I feel it's what needs to be done but not in the way you're thinking....

I need to give up on trying to control my life, doing things my way, relying on myself to do everything, and seriously just give God control....this time in New Orleans I know is for Him. He's the one that brought me down here...and He has a reason! I need to know that He is in control and His plan is for the best! No matter how afraid I am of what's next, no matter how scared I am that I'm gonna miss out on something...He KNOWS what's best! He not only sees the big picture but he sees and knows every detail, down to what you're thinking at this exact moment! Who can do that but our God! I'm reading the Old Testament right now and God tells Moses in Leviticus 25 that every 7th year no one should grow anything! So of course the Israellites are like,

You may ask, "What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?" I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.

Because God knew that if he didn't they wouldnt have the fields ready to be harvested since they can't do anything in that 7th year...He provides not only for the 7th year but for 2 more years...He sees the BIG picture and works out EVERY detail! wow! The Israellites were only concerned with that one year, praise God that He knew better!

My application to stay longer is complete! Everything is in and now I'm just waiting for them to review my application and let me know what's next....I thank you all BIG time for praying with me and for me to get that done! I survived my first half marathon with a time of 2 hours 17 min...pretty happy with that! So again BIG thanks for the prayers!

I know God is not done with me here in New Orleans...I feel He is still growing me and using me here to be a light for Him...no matter what I just want to give Him glory and no it's definitely not all about me and what can I get from my experience here...it's about God! plain and simple! It's about giving Him glory and living each and everyday for Him! Pray I can allow God to work in my life, that I let Him work out the details of my life because I know He sees the big picture and knows what is best!

Let me know how I can be praying for you all!

LOVE YA!

-katiehooks :)

Everything is coming to a head!

2009-01-25T23:01:00.002-06:00

Hi Everyone!

I was just wondering if I could throw out some prayer requests and get yall to be praying for me:

1) Ms Beatrice a lady who came to be a part of our family at Castle Rock Community Church has passed away. Please be praying for her family right now and that they would know she is with her Father in heaven and feeling no more pain. Pray that they would grow closer together as a family during this time and closer to God. That they would feel His peace that surpasses all understanding..especially when they may be asking why.

2) Ms Mike, another lady that we have helped has been in the hospital for the past 8 days and isn't doing well. Please pray for a speedy recovery from whatever is going on and that she would know that God is with her and taking care of her. Pray for wisdom for the doctors to know what is going on and how to treat her.

3) Finally finishing up the theological part of my EFCA application and wanting to get it done and all turned in by Jan 31st. Please be praying for continued motivation to see that to its completion and that whatever happens that God's will would be done in my life.

4) We have teams in this week and I'm on breakfast patrol and I just really need help with being a morning person and getting the rest I need to as my other prayer request is for my half marathon that is a week from today...please pray for God to provide me with the strength I need to complete the race and that this race is not about me at all but bringing God glory through His love and provision of strength and endurance!

5) Finished my newsletter and I want to email it out by the end of this week as well. I need to begin actively seeking financial support for my time here. God has been so awesome at providing thus far for my time here and I want to continue to rely on Him for the rest but need to do a better job of seeking those He would like for me to partner with to become a part of His work here in New Orleans.

Okay I think that is all for now...You don't have to pray for all of them, take one that's fine with me! But just pray! :)

Also PLEASE let me know how I can be praying for YOU! It's not about me telling you all about my life but you telling me about yours so we can entrust our lives to the Lord!

Have a blessed evening all! I'm going to sleep!

LOVE YOU!

Katie :)

this is how it should be...sha sha, sha doo

2008-12-28T17:50:00.002-06:00

Hello Hello and Merry late Christmas everyone! Hope you're looking forward to the new year and thinking of ways to make this year better and pondering on all the good times of 08!! I know I had some! :)

But anyway, the point of the title of my blog today is a song by Ben Kweller called "How it should be" and it came into my head after hanging out with my good friend Joe who is down here for 2 weeks and was one of my summer staffer buddies! Seeing him and Alysha (also here for 2 weeks and was a summer staffer) has just brought back so many wonderful memories from the summer but also reminded me that this should always be my mission field. I think I've gotten too comfortable and after talking to Alysha about how coming here gives her this confidence to talk to strangers, I know exactly what she is talking about, I'm realizing that this is how it should be...I want to be about seeking and saving the lost, making disciples of all nations and where better to start than in New Orleans...or better yet, you can start exactly where you are. I just hope and pray that 09 for me is a year that I suffer for the sake of the gospel!

Happy "early" New Year!

LOVE YA!

-khooks

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 1 Peter 4:12-14