She's a part of the family now!

Katie, Katie, and Holly!

I first met Holly when she came to New Orleans on a short term mission trip in 2010.  It's funny thinking back to that week as we both know we met each other but we hardly spoke.  It wasn't until March 2012 when she returned on another team where I got to connect with Holly more.

Holly's trip in March led to another one-week trip in April then another visit in July.  Holly, like me, could not get New Orleans and Crisis Response out of her system and every time she came down she felt the Lord revealing more of Himself to her.  So when she came down again in December over winter break, we had the opportunity to get coffee.  It was this week that she felt the Lord calling her to commit to serving with us for the month of March.  Even though Holly had never left home before, she trusted the Lord with this plan and followed through! Praise God!

Holly with girls from Southwest Baptist

I had no idea how much of a blessing she would be to us as Holly increased our capacity with teams and also provided another girl around for intern Katie!  Holly's quiet spirit and serving diligently in the face of trials I know taught me TONS!  Praise Be To God for bringing her here!  Pics of Holly serving with Dordt, Southwest Baptist, and with the Katies.

The cool part of this story is that Holly had asked the Lord to reveal her next step while serving with us for the month of March.  Holly wanted to be involved in ministry in some capacity but didn't know what that would look like.  (Of course God knew!)  While being here, the opportunity of serving on our team in Staten Island, NY arose and Holly began praying about it.  Holly prayed and sought Godly counsel from friends and family and agreed to apply to serve on our Staten Island team for an extended period of time! WOOHOO! PRAISE THE LORD!!

Holly with dordt college

Holly decided back in January to put aside any fears and follow wherever the Lord leads.  She knew coming to New Orleans for the month of March would be an opportunity to serve the people of New Orleans and she'd have the chance to grow in her walk with the Lord.  Even though she had no idea that Staten Island would be her next destination she committed her plans to the Lord and allowed Him to guide her every step!

I pray that we all can follow Holly's example of obedience, trusting the Lord, and take step #1 in faith even when we don't know what step #2 is at the time. 

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to be apart of Holly's life!

 (Yes Holly you are now officially apart of our Crisis Response family! Love you and miss you!)

"Used to be a killin' zone"

Wednesday afternoon wasn't much different than any other Wednesday with teams.  We had picked the week before where to host the block parties and I was set to lead the one at Brother Larry's home.  Brother Larry's home is right behind House of Hope Church in the upper 9th ward which is where we've worked since 2010.

Brother Larry & Pastor Rod from Clear Lake IA

One community resident Kevin begins to share with us through tears what this community used to be like.  He tells us how in his words "this used to be a killin' zone; this was the Florida projects, 9th ward."  He goes on to show us bullet wounds and that someone of my "color" would never have been accepted here.  

The once 'Florida Project' has since been demolished and the empty lot that now remains sits across the street from House of Hope.  I've heard multiple times from Pastor Gerald how this used to be the most dangerous project in New Orleans.  According to Wikipedia, it was one of the most crime-ridden areas and:

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,604 people, 399 households, and 346 families residing in the neighborhood.  As of the census of 2010, there were 6 people, 2 households, and 2 families residing in the neighborhood.

getting set up! Thanks Dordt!

Giovi from Dordt with community resident Ms Ruby!

So yes the neighborhood has indeed changed (where have all these families gone??) and the obvious emotional scars that Kevin among many other residents have still resides.  So what can a NC girl who grew up in the suburbs with 16 volunteers from Iowa do for our brother Kevin?  We pray with him.  We pray for him and he prays for us.  We fellowship with him.  We let him know God has not forgotten him nor his community.   We break bread with him (well hot dogs but you get the gist) and Kevin even runs home to bring out cans of chili and a pot for us to make chili dogs.  We share with each other all we have and show each other love of Christ!   

Community resident Sean with Chipper from IA

Kevin's willingness to not only stop by but to bring friends, to accept prayer and pray for us, to open his heart to complete strangers, to let his guard down and be vulnerable with his brothers and sisters in Christ is something I pray I can imitate in my own life.  Kevin wasn't afraid to stop and meet us right where we were...how many times am I too afraid to stop and meet someone right where they are?  Kevin was willing to take a chance on us...am I willing to a chance on others?

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to meet Kevin.  Thank you that this encounter has challenged the context of the purpose of Christ in me.  Thank you that we all come to the cross in need of a Savior, in need of redemption!

"How good and pleasing it is when God's people live together in unity." Psalm 133:1

We're March'in on!!

Well Hello March 2013! We've been waiting for you!

Before I start out with what March has in store, February was a great month too!  Intern Katie has been on the ground for 2 weeks now and has received lots of training on what does a crisis response ministry look like and where she fits.  She'll be starting this week with coordinating the volunteer teams coming and investing in them while they serve on the ground.

As a ministry we were able to gather together last week and it was GREAT having everyone together again!  Our staff from New Jersey came along with our remote team that is scattered throughout the nation.  It's always such a blessing to see everyone face to face and be encouraged by what the Lord has done in us and through us.  Also it's a time to plan and dream big about what does next look like for us.  My takeaway from the week was the reminder that while serving in the wake of a crisis, our end result is not just the home being rebuilt, but about establishing reproducing faith communities.  Our goal is not just to build physical homes, but play a part in God's redemptive plan in the areas we serve!

NEW ORLEANS UPDATE:
We have a team of 5 from Praise Christian Fellowship in PA.  One is a 3.5 year old boy who while boarding the plane last night sang "Jesus loves me" for all to hear.  God can use anyone no matter how old or how young to share the story of Jesus's love! I praise God for how He'll use this team to hang sheetrock and mud at Mr. Willie's home but also how He'll use them to further His Kingdom in the lower 9th and beyond!

CASTLE ROCK UPDATE:
Last week, two teams who I've met in the past, Bible EFC (Tomah WI) and Church at Charlotte (NC) served at my church Castle Rock to renovate the old sanctuary into a Youth Community Center!  It looks AMAZING!! They are praying to have all the work completed by May!  There will be hip-hop services held there and its purpose is to allow youth a safe place to gather where they can hear the Good News of Jesus and allow Him to transform their hearts and lives! Praise God for the lives that will be impacted by this facility. 

Please pray for:


March will be a busy month of teams and more teams.  There are 4 colleges coming to serve this month and my prayer is that God would work in their hearts and raise up interns from these groups!  We have 4 interns approved for Haiti this summer but not any for New Orleans.  Please pray that God would work in their hearts now, they walk in obedience to His Spirit and desire to serve with us this summer and beyond!

Katie meet Katie!!

Praise The Lord!! On Saturday, He brought our staff the awesome intern Katie for the next 3 months! It has been such a joy to spend time with her and get to share with her all that God is doing in the world of TouchGlobal and show her around!

She has enjoyed getting to know the volunteers this week (who are amazing) and seeing their excitement for serving The Lord in New Orleans! This week she is shadowing me and getting a taste of what volunteer coordinating looks like so she can take on this role!

Katie has never been down here before but her church has and that's how she found us. In July she felt God leading her to apply for our internship program and began the application process. She was approved then moved on to the support raising phase where she grew in her trust and faith in God's timing and provision. Amen to that!

Please continue to pray for Katie as she transitions from PA to LA. Please pray she will not feel anxious but rest in The Lord as she is absorbing lots of information and taking in a whole new environment and culture. Please pray for me as I mentor her: that our friendship would grow, that we both would grow closer to The Lord and that God's spirit would lead me and guide me as I invest in Katie!

So yes we do have the same name...we are looking for suggestions on how best to differentiate our names so we don't always both look when someone says "Katie." Suggestions are welcomed!

So far we have:
Katie and Katie K
Old Katie and new Katie
Big k and Lil k (I'm big k)
Katie and Kepko (her last name)
Boss k and intern k

Thanks for your prayers and please pray the rain holds off this week so we can have a block party and share Gods love with the neighborhood!

In Christ,
Katie (Hooks)

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (Psalms 37:5, 6 NIV84)

Happy Happy Happy!

If you watch TV show Duck Dynasty (filmed in W Monroe Louisiana), you know that one of the famous sayings from the show is "Happy Happy Happy."

Well today I'm Happy Happy Happy for a number of reasons...
One - it was an absolutely gorgeous day outside and it was one of those days I felt like I could run forever.
Two - after being on vacation for a week I was able to get caught up on emails and voicemails! yippee!
Three - I got to have a valentines lunch date with my girl Laura and a dinner date with my roomy Mariko! Love these ladies!
Four - I was able to catch up on the phone with my fellow staffer Laura Jean and my fellow missionary Kacie who are both raising support to serve on various mission fields (let me know if you'd like to support them! they are great!)
Five - I got to have some sweet fellowship with the Lord today which is always needed and a blessing!
Six - my spring intern Katie left PA today and is on her way to Louisiana after visiting family in Florida! She'll be here Saturday for a three month internship!!
Seven - my amazing Valentine Mark gets out of the woods tomorrow! (if you don't know he works for a wilderness camp for troubled boys and literally lives in the woods with the boys 5 days out of the week so we talk the other 2 days)

New Orleans Team Update
We have two teams from IL arriving this weekend! Please pray for their safe arrival and their time serving with us.  Feb 25-27 is our semi-annual ministry planning meetings where all TouchGlobal staff meet up in New Orleans to discuss the ministry's mission and goals we want to see accomplished to fulfill the mission. Please pray for God's will to be done, safety for those traveling here, and for unity among the team.  P.S. WE NEED YOUR HELP IN MARCH!! We have 4 weeks straight of teams in March and could use help cooking, leading construction sites, volunteer management, and everything in between! Let me know if you can come!(katie.hooks@efca.org)

Thoughts on Valentine's Day
Yes today is Valentine's Day and a day to celebrate the ones we love but I also want to emphasize how God is love and We love because He FIRST loved us (1 John 4:19)!  He tangibly shows His love to us everyday and how He gave us His one and only Son that we may not perish but have eternal life!  God loves you!  Let us not forget to imitate His love to those around us.  If you have questions about God and this unconditional love, please feel free to contact me (katie.hooks@efca.org)

From the Bible: 1 John 4:7-21
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. ⁸ Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. ¹⁰ This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹ Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. ¹² No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
¹³ This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. ¹⁴ And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. ¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
¹⁹ We love because he first loved us. ²⁰ Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. ²¹ And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.