Hi my name is Katie and I'm an accidental pharisee.....Hi Katie.

First off, my apologies for my severe time lapse between posts.  I recognize when I fail to communicate what is going on in my life, I'm missing my chance to praise God for all He's done and ask for continued prayers in the work He's called me to.  Sometimes it is hard to write a blogpost when nothing stands out to share...however, I want to be a dedicated communicator of all things God puts on my heart to share and I pray with your forgiveness and God's help, I can be just that.

Secondly, so I read this book.  I had my doubts about reading the book Accidental Pharisees written by Larry Osborne because the tagline is "avoiding pride, exclusivity, and other dangers of overzealous faith."  I've never seen myself as having an "overzealous" faith (at least not the overzealous that comes to my mind).  And exlusivity...I hope I'm not an exclusive person rather an includer of all peoples.  Okay, pride...now that one and that one alone sold me.  I know I struggle with pride because when you are given the title "missionary" you can't help but easily accept the pedestal that comes with it and forget that all believers are called to missions in some shape or fashion.  So I bought the book and read it.

The result: Hi my name is Katie and I'm an accidental pharisee....Hi Katie.

The book highlighted many things I was doing that wasn't projecting an "unworthy servant" lifestyle but a "pharisee" lifestyle. I wanted praise for my obedience, I was finding pride in my "missionary" status, I was looking down on others who weren't walking with the Lord as closely as I am (or what I thought I was).  I was incredibly guilty of gift projection..thinking everyone who is a follower of Jesus should have the same calling as me, the same excitement level and be stretched the same way I am and should be just as talkative about their faith as I try to be.  However, I forgot that God is way more creative than that. Just the sentence underlined "A servant who obeys has done nothing special." whack! My obedience isn't to earn me praise..it's a "byproduct of loving Jesus!"  Lord forgive me.  Remind me that I'm an "unworthy servant; I have only done my duty." (Luke 17:10) 

Jesus spent his time preaching to thousands who would hear what he'd have to say and turn around and leave.  He wasn't preaching to the super committed, strong willed, all out servant hearted...this book reminded me his audience was to the weak-willed, uncommitted, struggling in their journey of who is God and who has He called me to be.  His disciples even argued about who would be the greatest in the Kingdom and yet He kept with them.  He didn't look down on them or judge them.  He loved them and encouraged them. He taught them how to pray, how to remain humble, how to minister to hurting people...all the while knowing they would desert him at the cross.  If Jesus had wanted to preach to only the super committed, strong willed then he would've preached to the Pharisees but we know how He felt about them and we know how they felt about Him.

I say all this to say...I need to get off my high horse.  I need to love the people God puts in my path right where they are at, despite their background, commitment level, or passion for what I think they should be passionate about. 

Lord I pray that I can say instead, "Hi my name is Katie and I'm an unworthy servant...Praise the Lord!"

Family Schrieber to the Rescue!

plan for the day: Baltimore to Miami to port au prince to gressier!!

God's plan for the day: Baltimore to Miami to...that's it. 

We always talk about expectations and my travel expectation for the day was not met. However, another families expectation for the day wasn't met either. The Schrieber family woke up today with one goal in mind. They were spending the day as a family moving a shed from their neighbor's house to their backyard. This involved emptying the shed, dismantling the shed, carrying the pieces across the street, and reassembling the shed. 

However around 9am, Nic receives a call from me asking if he can host my 4 Haiti interns and myself in Miami until Wednesday due to a cancelled flight. Not knowing what he was getting himself into, their whole family came in two SUVs to rescue us from the airport. 

Praise God for His plan is best!! We are enjoying the company of a family who loves The Lord and loves to host random people! And don't worry, not only did they meet their goal of shed relocating, they had 5 extra set of hands to help! 

Again I'm forever grateful for the body of Christ!  It would be easy to fixate on the fact that we all are "stuck" in Miami but The Lord is turning this "sticky" situation into a time of bonding, fellowship, fun, and service all for His glory! I praise God for the fantastic four (Andrew, Andrea, Megan, and Hannah) who have modeled adaptability, flexibility, patience, and joyful spirits throughout the whole day! 

Granted we will fall asleep tonight still in the USA and still one day away from Haiti, we are thrilled to see how God will use this for His glory and teach us about Him and each other! 

The plane blocking the runway in Haiti

The fantastic four patiently waiting for all their bags!

Working on the shed

Shed complete!

All Over the Place!

After a month of travel, I am praising God for His provision of safety and fruitful connections He gave during my travels.  After visiting six states this month, I'd like to share some of the highlights from the trips. 

Highlights from my first trip to San Antonio:
- I was able to reconnect with Ben & Emily, previous Crisis Response staffers and share life with them.
- I was blessed to reconnect with the volunteers of a church who has come to NOLA.  The youth pastor and his family have recently started a church plant in San Antonio and while I was there, they held their first service in the building God provided!  Praise the Lord for His faithfulness!

Highlights from my 2nd trip to the Frozen Tundra (aka Minnesota & Iowa):
- I survived driving in snow!!
- I got to enjoy a New Orleans team reunion with Dordt College!!! It was awesome!
- I attended the North Central District conference.  Out of 300 people, the one guy who sits beside me at dinner is one of the ORIGINAL volunteers right after Katrina!  The gentleman told me story after story of how God worked in those beginning days after the crisis.  As he spoke, tears came into his eyes as he shared about a homeowner they worked for and prayed with.  He said when the Louisiana pastor said they needed "men with chainsaw" he knew the Lord was talking to him!  How amazing!!

Highlights from my 3rd trip to Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Arkansas:
- Getting to road trip with my intern Katie!  The Lord allowed us to get to know each other more and share this adventure together!
- The chance to reunite with supporters who I hadn't seen in a while was a huge blessing!!
- I attended my 2011 intern Chelsea's bridal shower and couldn't be happier for her and Dustin as they begin their life together as a married couple on May 25th!
- The chance to reconnect with college students at Southwest Baptist, John Brown, and College of the Ozarks was amazing!  Thank you Lord for this next generation you are raising up of men and women after your own heart!
- Last but not least is Libby.  Libby is 10 yrs old and the daughter of a youth pastor we got to stay with on our travels.  After dinner, we all got to play wii and Katie & I are pretty competitive people.  The one thing that really stood out to me was Libby's complete humbleness and encouragement to us even when she'd win.  She didn't once rub it in our face that she had won and continued to lift us up even when the natural thing to do is gloat.  I was completely struck by her and when I asked her what she wanted to do when she grew up, she replied "missionary."  I praise God that I had the chance to meet Libby and how much she taught me about encouragement and putting others before myself. 

Huge shout out to everyone who prayed for Katie & I on our travels along with fed us and housed us.  I am continually blown away by the generosity of the Body of Christ!   Thank you for your partnership with me in furthering the Gospel wherever He calls!

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