After what seemed like an endless rhythm of land, change planes fly for 8 hours, land, change planes, fly for 8 hours I finally arrived and set foot on Nigerian soil Sunday night. I stood in line to be processed by immigration for an hour, and then found myself greeted by a sweltering evening in Abuja, the capitol city of Nigeria.
I had the opportunity to see pieces of Abuja this night as we drove from the airport, but I’ll admit I felt rather comatose and incapable of processing much. Forty minutes after we left the airport we arrived at a mission hostel that would house us for the one night we would spend in Abuja. I was pleasantly surprised by the hostel, which afforded me a bed, toilet, and tub for a bucket bath (A bucket bath is a bath wherein you fill the bucket with water and proceed to bathe by this bucket)…yet, what really made me smile was the fridge. Yes, my room had a tiny fridge, and as I proceeded to open said fridge to cool my bottle of water I was greeted with a weak breath of cool air (cool compared to the heat of the room), and behold, my fridge sang as I opened the door. Indeed it belted out a music-box tune (Green Sleeves, I believe was the song) with a ferocity that belied its attempt to actually cool the interior of the fridge. I had to chuckle as I thought, “Welcome to Africa, Katherine.”
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Wish I Had Frequent Flyer Miles
I am currently in Chicago, and much like Minnesota, it is cold. Go figure.
Yet, I am here in the Windy City briefly. On Wednesday, the 18th I flew into Chicago for the express purpose of meeting one of my ministry partners, providing us with the opportunity to get to know each other. On Saturday, the 21st the two of us will fly from Chicago to Frankfort, Germany, and then from Germany to Abuja, Nigeria, (Yes, folks. Get out your globes-that’s on the other side of the world and 8 time-zones away). God willing, I will be on African soil come Monday morning…And then another two days of travel…I shudder to think on it, therefore I’ll tell you about this journey AFTER the fact. I will be in Nigeria for 6 weeks in order to observe and participate in this HIV/AIDS prevention and family care ministry.
My hope is to be able to update this blog at least once a week, if not twice while I am there. Of course these updates are entirely dependent upon internet access and available electricity. We shall have to see.
Well, friends, with luck my next post will be from Gembu, Nigeria. Till then, fare thee well!
Yet, I am here in the Windy City briefly. On Wednesday, the 18th I flew into Chicago for the express purpose of meeting one of my ministry partners, providing us with the opportunity to get to know each other. On Saturday, the 21st the two of us will fly from Chicago to Frankfort, Germany, and then from Germany to Abuja, Nigeria, (Yes, folks. Get out your globes-that’s on the other side of the world and 8 time-zones away). God willing, I will be on African soil come Monday morning…And then another two days of travel…I shudder to think on it, therefore I’ll tell you about this journey AFTER the fact. I will be in Nigeria for 6 weeks in order to observe and participate in this HIV/AIDS prevention and family care ministry.
My hope is to be able to update this blog at least once a week, if not twice while I am there. Of course these updates are entirely dependent upon internet access and available electricity. We shall have to see.
Well, friends, with luck my next post will be from Gembu, Nigeria. Till then, fare thee well!
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Knee-Deep Snow and 8 Below
I spent the past week and a half investigating life in sub-zero temperatures…I do believe I now know what it feels like to live in a freezer. I and my ubber-thin Arizona blood had great fun at a retreat in Farmington, Minnesota courtesy of Converge Worldwide. In between bouts of counseling (Despite my great concerns they still think I’m fairly sane), and training, I had fun traipsing around in snow up to my knees. I have never beheld so much snow in my life! I even got to walk around in snow-shoes; you know those funny looking shoes that resemble tennis rackets strapped to your feet…? And I only fell three times! If it were not for my hapless and seasoned Minnesota guides, Tim and Amy, I might very well still be stuck in that last hole. Good thing they only laughed for a few minutes before dragging me out.
After the retreat I had the opportunity to spend five days pursuing meetings with churches in the Twin Cities area. I was fairly discouraged at first, I’ll admit, as only one church responded. However, another church who’s Pastor and missions committee I have been blessed to get to know well invited me to spend the weekend with them. As always, what ensued was God’s provision, (You’d think I would just come to expect it). It was this church who found a family for me to stay with, as well as invited me to several events where I had a splendid time getting to know members of the congregation. I watched the Super Bowl at the Pastor’s house. (I was so sure the Cardinals were going to make it!) In the end I had such fun, and I was wonderfully blessed by this giving church family who just poured out a generosity of time and kindness. I thank God for them and their Servant’s heart!
Now I am back in sunny AZ and I am preparing for another trip….
Stay tuned, my friends!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Spanish Prayers
I am only recently home from Basconcobe, Mexico where I spent a week with a team of ten individuals on a short ministry trip. Basconcobe is the seat of a much loved ministry of my heart known as RAVAH. This ministry serves pastors and their congregations in southernmost Sonora, Mexico.
The two weeks leading up to this trip found me on my knees before the LORD. Why? I was filled with doubt, insecurity, and fear. My prayer to God was simply, “Please, Daddy. Please give me some confirmation that I am doing what You called me to do, that I am indeed following the right path, that yes, I am to go to Nigeria and serve in the ministry I have been striving for.”
I went with the full expectation that God had something to tell me in that dusty agricultural village.
Full of the anticipation that God would speak, and speak in such a way that I would hear I waited for God’s voice. I did not wait for long. In fact, I heard from God on the subject of my heart the very first day.
Here is the story:
Our first evening there, in Basconcobe found our team working to serve 30 pastors and their families at a social gathering. The pastors and their families (200 people) were there to receive thanks from RAVAH for their faithful service to their congregations and communities. We supped together, laughed, and prayed together, two cultures and two languages living for and loving the one true God.
Rather abruptly I heard my name called to the center of the crowd. Intimated, as I had not a clue what was going on, I found myself the sudden attention of 200 people and surrounded by 30 pastors. As one pastor spoke to the group of 30 men surrounding me I caught two words: Missionary and Africa.
My first thought was that the pastors were seeking to hear my testimony. I’d give it, and gladly. But instead of being asked to speak I was touched by each pastor. Then as one, each pastor began to pray a different prayer in Spanish. Oh, how to describe the thrill that ran down my spine and the sudden clarity that their words were spoken as the breath of God…As they began to pray, with their hands on me, I was overcome with weeping by the gift from my Heavenly Daddy. Their prayers washed over me as a tide of God’s voice.
They finished, and still weeping I shook their hands and choked out my thanks, “Gracias. Dios te Bendiga” (Thank you. God bless you). I walked away to compose myself and to stand in awe of my LORD for a moment.
I spent the remainder of the short mission trip unpacking what God had said in that moment: In the midst of a sleepy village, surrounded by shepherd pastors and their families, I was commissioned by God, again. Now, it is a world movement of the body of Christ, the Church as one. I have been commissioned: “So, just go, Katherine. The details will work themselves out; they are not unknown to Me, my beloved. Go, I shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace, daughter.”
The two weeks leading up to this trip found me on my knees before the LORD. Why? I was filled with doubt, insecurity, and fear. My prayer to God was simply, “Please, Daddy. Please give me some confirmation that I am doing what You called me to do, that I am indeed following the right path, that yes, I am to go to Nigeria and serve in the ministry I have been striving for.”
I went with the full expectation that God had something to tell me in that dusty agricultural village.
Full of the anticipation that God would speak, and speak in such a way that I would hear I waited for God’s voice. I did not wait for long. In fact, I heard from God on the subject of my heart the very first day.
Here is the story:
Our first evening there, in Basconcobe found our team working to serve 30 pastors and their families at a social gathering. The pastors and their families (200 people) were there to receive thanks from RAVAH for their faithful service to their congregations and communities. We supped together, laughed, and prayed together, two cultures and two languages living for and loving the one true God.
Rather abruptly I heard my name called to the center of the crowd. Intimated, as I had not a clue what was going on, I found myself the sudden attention of 200 people and surrounded by 30 pastors. As one pastor spoke to the group of 30 men surrounding me I caught two words: Missionary and Africa.
My first thought was that the pastors were seeking to hear my testimony. I’d give it, and gladly. But instead of being asked to speak I was touched by each pastor. Then as one, each pastor began to pray a different prayer in Spanish. Oh, how to describe the thrill that ran down my spine and the sudden clarity that their words were spoken as the breath of God…As they began to pray, with their hands on me, I was overcome with weeping by the gift from my Heavenly Daddy. Their prayers washed over me as a tide of God’s voice.
They finished, and still weeping I shook their hands and choked out my thanks, “Gracias. Dios te Bendiga” (Thank you. God bless you). I walked away to compose myself and to stand in awe of my LORD for a moment.
I spent the remainder of the short mission trip unpacking what God had said in that moment: In the midst of a sleepy village, surrounded by shepherd pastors and their families, I was commissioned by God, again. Now, it is a world movement of the body of Christ, the Church as one. I have been commissioned: “So, just go, Katherine. The details will work themselves out; they are not unknown to Me, my beloved. Go, I shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace, daughter.”
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
What if I'm Not Content?
I celebrated my 25th birthday on December 12th. As a result of this occasion, I will now say something that will have many rolling their eyes: I feel old!
Now, I do not necessarily feel old in body, but in the sense that the passage of time does not jive with the age my driver’s license says I am. Am I really 25? It seems that I was just finishing high school and moving on to college.
Such ruminations bring about a question many of us have pondered and many of us cringe at: Is this where I wanted to be? You know what I am talking about; the moment in which you pause in the midst of the monotony of your day and you wonder, “Is this it? I mean, really? Is this where I am supposed to be? This is not what I had planned for my life.”
I need to confess, being single, living at home, and currently jobless at 25 is NOT where I planned to be. I think many in the Christian community, myself included, operate under the misconception that being called to such an adventure as overseas missions as a single individual calls for a perfect contentment with the lack of a mate. Allow me to be candid in saying that being a missionary does not mean I am fully content to put my romantic desires on hold. I’m coming out of the closet! Yes, I want to get married.
I want a husband who loves God. One whom I can build a partnership and a family with.
But marriage and family roots is not where I am currently at.
Now, now, I know some of you are saying, “For goodness’ sake, Katherine. You are 25! You have plenty of time to get married!” My rejoinder: “I know!” Think about it though: I’ll be gone for 3 years, and the odds are against me finding a husband in rural Nigeria. I will be 28 when I come home, utterly broke, and still living at my parents’ house. Seriously! Can I not be a bit daunted by this?
Yet, regardless of whether I come home and get married, the fact remains that I, at 25, am not where I wanted to be. I pause and ask, “Am I content?”
The answer: “ Yes.” Do I still desire what I currently do not have? “Yep.” Is this okay? Can I still be in love with serving God as a single woman, moving to Nigeria to work with little girls, and still want…something more? Why in the world not, I ask you? God knows my heart and desires. He very well might never give me what I want (I.e. a husband and children of my own), but I am still madly in love with Him, and I will still follow Him to the ends of the earth and into the yard of hell should He lead me there.
Even if this is not where I anticipated being at 25, I do know this: I am exactly where God has called me to. I’m in the center of His will. Is it always fun? Nope. Is it safe there? Certainly not. But I go with Him, and what better Partner could I ask for? (Rhetorical question there.)
I have peace and purpose, so I praise the LORD and live by this:
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing! Zephaniah 3:17
Now, I do not necessarily feel old in body, but in the sense that the passage of time does not jive with the age my driver’s license says I am. Am I really 25? It seems that I was just finishing high school and moving on to college.
Such ruminations bring about a question many of us have pondered and many of us cringe at: Is this where I wanted to be? You know what I am talking about; the moment in which you pause in the midst of the monotony of your day and you wonder, “Is this it? I mean, really? Is this where I am supposed to be? This is not what I had planned for my life.”
I need to confess, being single, living at home, and currently jobless at 25 is NOT where I planned to be. I think many in the Christian community, myself included, operate under the misconception that being called to such an adventure as overseas missions as a single individual calls for a perfect contentment with the lack of a mate. Allow me to be candid in saying that being a missionary does not mean I am fully content to put my romantic desires on hold. I’m coming out of the closet! Yes, I want to get married.
I want a husband who loves God. One whom I can build a partnership and a family with.
But marriage and family roots is not where I am currently at.
Now, now, I know some of you are saying, “For goodness’ sake, Katherine. You are 25! You have plenty of time to get married!” My rejoinder: “I know!” Think about it though: I’ll be gone for 3 years, and the odds are against me finding a husband in rural Nigeria. I will be 28 when I come home, utterly broke, and still living at my parents’ house. Seriously! Can I not be a bit daunted by this?
Yet, regardless of whether I come home and get married, the fact remains that I, at 25, am not where I wanted to be. I pause and ask, “Am I content?”
The answer: “ Yes.” Do I still desire what I currently do not have? “Yep.” Is this okay? Can I still be in love with serving God as a single woman, moving to Nigeria to work with little girls, and still want…something more? Why in the world not, I ask you? God knows my heart and desires. He very well might never give me what I want (I.e. a husband and children of my own), but I am still madly in love with Him, and I will still follow Him to the ends of the earth and into the yard of hell should He lead me there.
Even if this is not where I anticipated being at 25, I do know this: I am exactly where God has called me to. I’m in the center of His will. Is it always fun? Nope. Is it safe there? Certainly not. But I go with Him, and what better Partner could I ask for? (Rhetorical question there.)
I have peace and purpose, so I praise the LORD and live by this:
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with singing! Zephaniah 3:17
Friday, November 28, 2008
Hey, go Figure...
So, I am having an absolute blast with God’s providence…and why are we amazed when God answers prayer? Well, maybe it’s just me.
Background…
In September I was talking with God when I had a random thought, and I talked it over with Him for a moment. My thought was, “Hey, LORD, what if I pray for strategic dates where I have a certain amount of my budget?” (The deal with the budget is that I must have people and churches commit to give a certain amount of money every single month in order for me to live and minister in Nigeria. When I have this full commitment I will be at 100% of my monthly budge, and I can go.) So, I said, “God, I want to be within Your time-table for me to leave to Nigeria. If that means it takes me 5 years to get to 100% of my budget, I’m okay with that. So, within Your will, and because I want to pray big, I’m asking for a certain amount by these dates:
• November 40% of my budget taken care of…
• December 50% of my budget
• January 60% of my budget
• February 70-80% of my budget
• March 31st 100% of my budget…buying my plane ticket, God!
“So, my Father, if it’s Your will, I’d love to meet these deadlines. Amen.”
Thus I prayed, and then promptly put this in the back of my mind. I would not think on these dates and deadlines again until November (good thing I wrote them down, huh).
November…
Fast forward to November 4th. I was talking with my boss over the phone when he told me that I had reached 41% of my budget. I remembered my prayer and list. My Response: “What!?!” Are you serious!?!”
November 21st…
I was talking again to my boss when he again informed me of my budget status…47%.
Astonished…
God is really doing this! My quick and forgotten prayer delivered to my LORD three months ago is coming about. Now I sit in anticipation of 50% on December 1st, 60% on January 1st, and so on, ‘cause you know what, my friends? My God is big enough to do this.
Background…
In September I was talking with God when I had a random thought, and I talked it over with Him for a moment. My thought was, “Hey, LORD, what if I pray for strategic dates where I have a certain amount of my budget?” (The deal with the budget is that I must have people and churches commit to give a certain amount of money every single month in order for me to live and minister in Nigeria. When I have this full commitment I will be at 100% of my monthly budge, and I can go.) So, I said, “God, I want to be within Your time-table for me to leave to Nigeria. If that means it takes me 5 years to get to 100% of my budget, I’m okay with that. So, within Your will, and because I want to pray big, I’m asking for a certain amount by these dates:
• November 40% of my budget taken care of…
• December 50% of my budget
• January 60% of my budget
• February 70-80% of my budget
• March 31st 100% of my budget…buying my plane ticket, God!
“So, my Father, if it’s Your will, I’d love to meet these deadlines. Amen.”
Thus I prayed, and then promptly put this in the back of my mind. I would not think on these dates and deadlines again until November (good thing I wrote them down, huh).
November…
Fast forward to November 4th. I was talking with my boss over the phone when he told me that I had reached 41% of my budget. I remembered my prayer and list. My Response: “What!?!” Are you serious!?!”
November 21st…
I was talking again to my boss when he again informed me of my budget status…47%.
Astonished…
God is really doing this! My quick and forgotten prayer delivered to my LORD three months ago is coming about. Now I sit in anticipation of 50% on December 1st, 60% on January 1st, and so on, ‘cause you know what, my friends? My God is big enough to do this.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Back from Chicago, and Winded.
I just returned from Chicago, and what a whirlwind week it was. We were there for training.
The “we” are the 14 missionary appointees who were all commissioned in June together, myself included. We come from all parts of this great nation, and we are called to all parts of the globe, and we are all following the same path: We are on a journey to follow the will of God in prayerfully discovering whom He has called to partner with us in our perspective ministries…and they are all just as weird as I am, if not weirder.
Anyhow, it was so much fun to be together again...Late nights. Computer chats when we should be paying attention during discussions and lectures. Cameras and waaaaay to many embarrassing pictures. Objects in Katherine’s nose, and more pictures. Food and beanies. Hilarity ensued.
All in all, I’m feeling relaxed, refreshed, trained…and tired :). So, I’m taking a day off and getting ready for more God-stuff to happen.
…And a support update: 41% of my budget raised and counting!!!
The “we” are the 14 missionary appointees who were all commissioned in June together, myself included. We come from all parts of this great nation, and we are called to all parts of the globe, and we are all following the same path: We are on a journey to follow the will of God in prayerfully discovering whom He has called to partner with us in our perspective ministries…and they are all just as weird as I am, if not weirder.
Anyhow, it was so much fun to be together again...Late nights. Computer chats when we should be paying attention during discussions and lectures. Cameras and waaaaay to many embarrassing pictures. Objects in Katherine’s nose, and more pictures. Food and beanies. Hilarity ensued.
All in all, I’m feeling relaxed, refreshed, trained…and tired :). So, I’m taking a day off and getting ready for more God-stuff to happen.
…And a support update: 41% of my budget raised and counting!!!
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