Prayer?

I haven't had much time to blog lately with all the VBS's, mission trips, job searching, and other various events going on lately.

I spent this past week working at Glenview's VBS, in the second grade class.
Once you get past dealing with 10+ kids constantly asking to ride on your back, than it's a pretty cool class. All but two of the kids in my class were ones I'd never seen before, so it was interesting getting to know them and attempting to remember their names(I think I remember 14 out of 22 or so).
Overall, the week was a success. The parent's night program turned out better than I expected(even without attending, but I watched all the VBS kids practice their performance yesterday afternoon).

InOtherNews:

I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon for Glenview's middle school mission trip to San Antonio. I'm serving as a "chaperon" for the week. As far as I know, I'll be working with the 8th graders as they lead several VBS groups in various apartment complexes. The 7th graders will all be working together in service projects. The whole group will be feeding homeless one night, and probably(hopefully)evangelizing to them as well.
Who knows what else God is going to do. I guess we'll see.
Please pray for the whole group though. If you want, you can go back to my Mexico Prayer Request blog to get specifics of what to pray for as we are in San Antonio.


Thanks,
and God Bless.

The coolest thing...

.
So...
My grandparents just gave me their really fancy Marriage/Genealogy Bible, the large one I've seen sitting in their living room nicely for the past 16 years.

I don't really know why they chose to give it to me (or my house), but that's pretty groovy.

The weirdest thing is...
It's never been written in, so I don't even know who's marriage Bible it is.

Hmm... Maybe I should ask about that.

Mexico

.

I'm back from Mexico.

I've gotta say, it was one of the best mission trips I've been on. God orchestrated every single thing that happened to fit according to His plan and purpose, and I'm in awe of just the things I witnessed.
One team's translators accepted Christ. The amount of gifts or materials was exactly proportional the amount of people who showed up... on several occasions. A Man who couldn't move or walk was prayed over, and instantly healed. Teams walking through sewage mud and water, carrying kids on their backs just to go to VBS. Not only did they sacrifice for the kids, but they sacrificed themselves for their teammates(shout out to Justin, who carried me through poop mud when my shoes broke so I wouldn't get glass in my feet). By the end of the week, I was completely overwhelmed by what God had done and shown to me. On top of that, God spoke to me personally about how I live my own life, and I how I handle some circumstances. This week gave me a great opportunity to trust in God completely and humble myself before other people. God revealed answers to me, and he gave me patients, and wisdom, and many other things that I would not have gained had I not gone to Mexico.





Thank you God!

Fasting

.
Like I mentioned before, Mexico Mission Trip is leaving this Saturday morning.
Normally, Bill would schedule a fasting day in preparation for the summer mission trips, but apparently it was never planned this year.
Considering life's circumstanced right now, I really think I need it anyway, so I'm having my own fasting day tomorrow(Thursday).
If you'd like to join me, then cool. That's fantastic. Let me know, and I'll give you a huge hug.


If you don't want to fast, than just simply pray for the trip in general.
Here are a few specifics though, if you want them:


Travel Safety - "If it can go wrong, it will go wrong".

Chances to evangelize - You know, we're stopped at a whole lot of fast food places and stores. Might as well talk to somebody about Jesus, eh?

Strength - Most of us are really getting out of our comfort zones. Pray that physical comfort will not be an issue. Also, a whole lot of us have a real hard time sharing our faith, or maybe just talking to strangers. Pray that we will all be filled with God's strength to disregard our own fears.


Words and wisdom - People ask tough questions. Pray that we will always know what to say, and that every word that comes through us will be wholly and completely from Christ, whether we're out at the work sites, or just socializing with each other at the hotel.

Spiritual light and hope - Pray that we set a great example to those who live in Mexico. I want them to see the gift we have(that is, our forgiveness through Christ)... and want it more than anything.

Language Barriers - It's hard communicating with people who speak Spanish.. when you don't. Translators are a gift from God, but it's still rather difficult.

Group unity - The majority of the youth are being put into groups with people they are unfamiliar with. Pray that each group will grow together like a family and will be able to work together as a team to share the gospel. Pray that every actions is done selflessly, and that we will constantly encourage one another in every situation.

Distractions. - It's a mission trip. Satan's loves to mess people up by bringing it distractions from home, or from friends close-by. It's very difficult to get out of it once Satan's pulls you down, so please, pray that distractions will be far away and each youth(and adult) will be alert and focused on his or her purpose.

Safety/theft - Pray that nobody will get hurt in any way. Mexico is not a very safe country. Also pray that nothing gets stolen or lost!

Readiness - Pray that each youth will be fully ready to share to gospel. Pray that none of us will "wear out", but be ready to get up and go every single day. Pray that joy will full us, so that it will fill others. Cranky attitudes don't help, and doesn't at all glorify God. Pray that we will all be filled with the eagerness to speak and share God's love.


Open ears - Pray for the people in Mexico! A lot of them may not have ever heard of Jesus, or maybe, if they have, they follow a different "religion", or maybe just simply never heard more. Pray that they won't show bitterness to the gospel, but open their ears and hearts to what God has to say through us. Pray that Christ will move in each of their hearts. Pray that if any of them have questions than they will willingly ask and not be afraid. Pray that new believers will talk to others. Pray that our words will not stop at the end up the week, but rather be spread continuously in Mexico for long after.



The list could go on and on, but I'll just leave it at that for now. If you have anything to add, than please post it in a comment. It'd be much appreciated.

God Bless,
Katie

Yay

.
I passed the Accuplacer with freakin' FLYING COLORS!!


...Except for the College Algebra section... but everyone bombs at that, so it's ok.

:-)

Accuplacer Test

.
I took the Accuplacer at TCC on Monday afternoon.
I only passed the writing...
(Yay.. but.. not good enough.)

I have to retake the math and reading sections in the morning, so please pray for me! or else, if I fail again, I'll have to take it again, and I'll have to pay the fee myself. *shrug*