Once. In a Blue Moon.

2012-02-01T14:13:00.000-08:00

What's with this. Kat? updating? Never.

Inspiration comes from strange sources sometimes. The inspiration to update this time came from a friend studying abroad in England who himself is keeping a blog and his witty, humorous, well-written post that I read this morning has been, I believe, the catalyst for my own entry.

Some other time I will bear my heart online, at least my spiritual heart, but for now I will simply do what I tend towards too often (apologies), and that is: to link you elsewhere.

The good news is my links always lead to (in my opinion) worthy rabbit trails.

The other good news is if you read this blog, which is about me, myself and I (SHEESH. how narcissistic can our culture get), the links usually lead somewhere that is also related to...me, myself and I. Ha.

This time the link will lead you to the Global Shore ministry webpage, especially to a link on the current house project that we are doing down in Guatemala. A family donated the dollars to fund this house project and I am just returning from leading a two-week long missions trip down south (January 16 - 27th) where we tore down the existing cornstalk structure and began the ground work for a new, block home. I wrote the update for that page so it's sorta like me blogging...right?

It's good stuff building homes for people.

That project will be completed early March.

I'll be heading south again on the 17th with a young adult group to carry on with it and other God-honoring goodness.

Check it out! Germana's House.

2011-11-04T21:55:00.001-07:00

Winnipeg.

2011-09-29T10:36:00.000-07:00

I spend my life surrounded by cool people.

They are just cool.

And only cool people check out my blog.

So I would like Cool-abroad to meet Cool-local.

And you can experience some of the coolness that I too am witness to every Sunrise/Sunset.

2011-09-07T10:54:00.000-07:00

I feel a real spontaneous urge to update The Blog.

Let's see....

The best phrase I have heard in a long time that has wiggled it's way into my heart, mind and theology is this:

POSITIONED BY DESIGN.

right?

amen?

that will for sure make it into, I'm sure, several conversations in the both near and distant future.

it came in the form of B.Bradshaw with Hiebs and myself, "just me and the speck, shooting the breeze" by the Mission river the other night, eating Cobbs' apple strudel, fireside, and sharing the Deep of our summers together.

and it was noted that we are, as Christians, "positioned by design."

Here is a song that although not directly related, represents the New on my music scene and should be on your scene too. Infinite thanks to M.Froese for zipping me an email from Berlin with the head's up on Will Reagan and United Pursuit. See the sidebar.

2011-06-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

Here we are! A Saturday night. those are beautiful things. relaxed on a very impressionable couch, half a mind here, half a mind on the Return of the Jedi. Man; '80's "monsters" look like muppets. Brutal. what is the big deal.

Here is an odd thing about the asparagus barn that I just cannot get over:

at the end of the day, the barn "DJ" staff have appointed a song as the "end-of-day" song, meaning, 10 minutes before the end of each work day, this song is played. The closest thing in my experience to the end-of-the day song of the barn is the reaction of swimmers in a wave pool.

West Edmonton Mall. All the little families paddling away in the pool and suddenly!

GOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGG!

The bell is tolled, a collective scream arises, and the much-anticipated waves are artificially generated from...somewhere....and....yeah. That is what the barn is like.

"Waving Flag" by K'naan strikes the first chord on the sound system spread throughout the packhouse and that collective scream goes up. Teenage girls high-five each other mid-bunch of asparagus, production goes up, smiles alight, voices cue in on the chorus to sing along and Kat goes into a confused stupor; her production goes down, she is neither smiling nor frowning but rather assumes a slightly glazed and (dazed) look, her bunch of asparagus lies idly and forgotten in her hand, mid-way to the conveyor belt and she is stuck in a surreal moment wondering: am I in a movie right now? seriously. this is staged. this has to be staged. nobody responds like this. what is going on in this moment.

really surreal is the only word to describe my own personal feelings at this moment of 10 minutes to closing time on those days when I happen to be in the barn at that precise moment. Really, perhaps my teammates hit a '3' on the Surreal Spectrum and I am around a '9' and as a result, I am sure that I alone appreciate the truly bizarre nature of this daily event.

We aborted Star Wars and went instead to a Lord of the Rings trilogy. I hope to stay awake until the Lothlorien scene and perhaps re-awake for the theme music of Rohan in the sequel. and the exorcism.

you should listen to the K'naan song. I feel you will understand this post better if you do. see the right-hand column.

Guatemala: 11 days!

2011-06-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Hey HEY!

well, wild, folks, not enough time in the day to do everything. i just wrote a wicked long blog entry for our ministry website. go there. it's a powerful testimony. Praise the Lord I was able to be part of what He was doing that night. The Lord is just doing so much unbelievable, unprecedented, off-the-charts, awesome, Spirit-of-God stuff that I don't even know where to start. but i wrote one testimony out. and put it on the ministry blog. Man. Worship is powerful. don't ever be fooled into thinking you're just working your vocal chords to a pretty song. Noooooo. Way more is going on there, or at least, the potential for way more to go on during worship is definitely available. BELIEVE!

http://www.globalshore.org/2011/06/freedom-in-worship/

2011-05-30T05:18:00.000-07:00

What she said:

http://karlamponce.blogspot.com/2011/05/toronto-adventures.html

I would only add that $5 sunglasses stands at Kensington Market are the bomb, as are specialty cheese stores, specialty bread stores, Colin's new faux glasses and the general variety of people and ethnicity that make up the Toronto down-town core.

And seeing as the only sporting event this girl has ever gone to was a BC Lions game, and seeing as I am generally disgusted by the obsession that sports seem to bring on (especially a certain national game that is rather violent), I was delighted, de-lighted, with my first ball game and couldn't have been with a better group for my initiation. GO JAYS!

2011-05-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

It's funny when you actually nab a minute to write a post, it's hard to write about anything that is not currently occupying your mind. Try and summarize two months--impossible!

so, what is currently occupying the mind of Kat....

Well, the reason I have a second to write anything at all is because I am exporting some iMovie videos that I've put together, and that means sitting here twiddling my thumbs for a few minutes. They are five short 1-2 minute movies of some of our students from Guatemala and the transformations that they've undergone in the last number of years. Pretty impacting. I called my boss up to review the content and made him tear up during the very first one! In this case, that was a good thing. If you are from BC and reading this, and furthermore from Northview and will be at the Global Connections weekend the church is soon to host, stop by the "Global Shore" booth manned by my lovely family and check out some of these said videos which will be looping around on a laptop.

Do you know what is a fact and not fiction? The time it takes to disciple people. That is a looooooong process. It's a long process in my own life and has been a long process in some lives that I've had the opportunity to walk alongside. It doesn't happen overnight. It doesn't even happen over a year. It just plain takes a really long time.

It is all very worth it though when one does understand a truth and their life begins to change to reflect that. Sometimes I catch myself reacting in a certain way to a situation or a person, reacting in the "old way," losing patience or getting frustrated, but more often than not it feels a little out-dated even to my own skin. Like I almost have to conjure up that old reaction because it's not quite in me anymore to just default to it, the "former self" reaction and yet I'm not quite fully swinging the other direction either where there is an automatic, full embrace of this new and better response. It's like I've outgrown something, not because it's too small, or even that it was excessively immature, but because I'm just not the same anymore and I see that as a mild and subtle form of something fantastic and it's the molding of character as only Jesus can do.

and those are my random thoughts this day of May 5 at 4:51 in the afternoon.

2011-02-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

This past week, a house in Houghton Centre was demolished. That's pretty big news when there are only 8 houses total.

Rumor has it the house was around 100 years old, however, far from being a prized historic site by the local municipality it was...condemned. As I passed it en route to work, there were all kinds of dump trucks around and I wondered what they were up to. When 12pm hit, and I drove home for lunch, the house was gone! Just a pile of rubble.

Warmer weather hit us this week and the many drifts of snow began to melt. I hadn't realized the birds had stopped singing for a few weeks until all of a sudden their voices were back, riding the morning rays.

It was a glorious week of birds, sun, diminishing snow, and slop.

Speaking of birds, I have this theory that the little sparrows in these parts, during the winter time, get a wee bit frozen in their wings and joints, slowing their take-off when in flight from on-coming vehicles. Several times a week, I exclaim in horror as I almost, again, take a little life that was slow to take off and too close to my windshield.

One day, a number of weeks ago, one little birdie didn't make it. It was heart-breaking.

I hope the arrival of the sun will help to thaw their little wings a bit better.

"And those are the latest headlines from BBC world News."

2011-02-12T07:55:00.000-08:00

Here is my opinion on Christian books:

There is a lot of stuff filling Christian bookstores that is a waste of time to read and contains bad theology, likely because it is based on personal bias/opinion that the author brings to Scripture and is not a result of revelation from the Spirit. This is obviously problematic. The broad spectrum of people claiming to be Christian is likewise represented in a broad variety of published works which are just as broad in content, theology and doctrine as the people who write them. One must be cautious in what they "eat."

Now, there are also many fantastic books that are excellent, worth reading, and point us to Jesus and an accurate understanding of Him and His word.

How to know the difference?

Perhaps a bit tougher to know. Certainly discernment is needed, but that is an easy phrase to throw out yet harder in reality to practice.

My feelings are as follows: truly, time is short, and when it takes hours to read a book, those hours are better put to use reading the true stuff and not the stuff that will ultimately lead to confusion and foster religion.

Jesus himself can teach us through his word. The scripture attests to the Spirit being a teacher and this I have found to be true. I will never forget one particular year when the Lord taught me through his Word, connected passages to me and brought revelation through the text. I would then find that as I picked up a book, an author would explain and cover concepts that I already knew because the Spirit himself had taught me. Amazing!

That was the best way to learn. (granted, we should still bring our learnings to the table with stable, true and trusted Christ-followers, so we do not run the risk ourselves of contorting a truth with own human bias.)

So, what should we spend our time reading?

1. The Bible.

2. Testimonies. The life of Jesus at work in other people's lives is incredibly faith-stirring and I have come to value the regular dosage of such testimonies in my life. It leads one to worship, to marvel and to exalt the name of Jesus. Hallelujah! Wow, Jesus does some pretty remarkable things in people's lives and has some incredibly powerful witnesses in His Kingdom. They are worth reading. (granted, there are likely many testimonies that are also contorted that although true, may not be attesting to the power of a Holy Spirit, but a very different spirit all together. How to know the difference? By it's FRUIT. Gage a testimony against the accuracy of Christ's teachings himself and if they line up, that life is a testimony to the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah.)

Some recommendations from the past year:

a) "Tramp for the Lord." Corrie Ten Boom's autobiography. Who knew she was a world evangelist? Unbelievable testimony.

b) "The Heavenly Man." Brother Yun. Likely to be supplementary reading for the student team this summer, this book will shame you as you read of the suffering church in China and their great efforts in evangelism. What a read. Incredible. Wow.

c) "The Red Scorpian." Rami Kavisoli. Gangster turned Christ-follower, I am halfway through this right now. Clearest example of a possessed-man liberated by the power of Christ. Hallelujah. Almost unbelievable, but, it's real. Crazy.

d) Jason Westerfield. I'm not really sure where this is available, I was sent a document from a friend. It was only a part of his greater testimony. I'm sure if you googled him, you'd find it.

e) "Visions beyond the Veil." H.A. Baker. This is really what kick-started a lot of things, and is somewhat of a curriculum for our staff in Guatemala. The common ground: Children. H. A. Baker was a missionary in China, working with orphans. It sites an out-pouring of the Holy Spirit that took place back in the '50's.

f) "Akiane." An artist in the States who was supernaturally gifted in the arts as a toddler. You should see what she paints. Her origins are clearly Christ and her testimony in her publication "Akiane" attests strongly to this. Although currently in her teenage years she seems to have swayed more new-age, her origins are true and we'll just claim her coming back round full circle. A-men!

g) Heidi Baker. I have not read an actual autobiography by her, although it wouldn't surprise me if it exists. Having read various accounts of her testimony and seen some interviews with her, she is a fireball taking the nation of Mozambique with her husband Rolland Baker who is, you guessed it, related to the above H.A. Baker. Rolland is his grandson.

Well, that is a good start. I am anticipating the arrival of Afshin Javid's recently published autobiography, which although not yet available for purchase through Amazon, is available at this site: http://www.afshinjavid.com/ It is the testimony of one radical Muslim surrendered to the Lord. Hallelujah. What a declaration of Jesus. Hurry up and read it Mom, and send it to me! I had the privilege of receiving two enormous hugs from this man and I'm sure, if you visited his church in North Vancouver, you would receive the same.

Happy reading.

Right, now that you have lost yourself in these recommendations, let us review what, in my mind, is worth reading:

#1: the Bible

#2: testimonies

#3: Israel. New to my understanding of Christianity has been a look at Israel's place in history, her current place, and her place in the future. For most of my life, Israel and the Jews have been a mere historic point referenced frequently in the Bible. I really had no understanding in connecting the historic land/people of the Bible with the current nation and people. They say a third of the bible is prophecy and yet I know little of the Lord's second coming. I am enjoying catching up on my years of ignorance. I have no recommendations here, as I am still navigating this new terrain which again has many eager enthusiasts in opinion, but definitely not all are to be trusted.

Peace and discernment to you as you wade your way in search of truth. A-men.

2011-01-29T09:23:00.000-08:00

I discovered the most remarkable thing just now in my studying.

Book of John. Jesus encounters Nathanael, gives him the word of knowledge of, “I saw you under the fig tree” (Jn 1: 48) which stuns Nathanael and elicits the response, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (:49) to which Jesus responds, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these…Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Now we are all very familiar with this passage, but when the study notes from my “Excellencies of Christ” course made the statement that Jesus depicts himself as a ladder in this passage, my response was, “what? Where? I don’t see the word 'ladder' anywhere.”

But then of course, we are drawn back to the reference of the story of Jacob in the Old Testament (Gen 28:10+). Jacob sees angels ascending and descending upon a ladder and the Lord in this dream declares his faithful presence with Jacob and that through his offspring, all the families of the earth would be blessed.

This must have been quite a comfort for Jacob to hear considering he was hiding away from his murderous brother Esau.

Fast-forward again to Jesus, his use of the same language, and you see that he truly IS calling himself a ladder: “you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” (emphasis mine.) This open heaven that Jesus speaks of is the same open heaven that Jacob dreamed of: The direct line of heaven touching earth, only with the arrival of Jesus, He himself became the direct line through which this open passage of the Kingdom of Heaven coming down to the earth was/is made possible.

He is the Mediator of the Kingdom.

He, the Divine Son of Man, is the ladder.

He is the one bringing the divine activity of God down to overthrow the kingdom of darkness with the very finger of God.

Amen, Hallelujah.

Post accompanied by, "What does it Sound Like." Bethel Live (see "Toons" list on the right)

2010-12-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

I promise this will not become a blog of links. but i had to steer you in THIS direction:

Beauty in the Back Row (and the other articles too)

Marcus Yoars, editor of Charisma magazine, penned a number of articles on the move of our Risen LORD in Kansas City; aka: that place that I keep taking courses on that keep changing my life!

definitely worth reading all of the posted articles. You will smile and laugh at the sheer God-ness of God.

Today I seem especially in love with Jesus. I couldn't hold back from lip-synching this song on the plane: "Beloved."

2010-12-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

What I was up to in November: Guatemala Service Trip

and a story from our trip: Ruined Gardens

2010-12-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

"Beholding is Becoming."

I forgot how impactful this song was on me a couple of years ago because of that line.

I was reminded in my studies in the course "the Excellencies of Christ." They called it the "beholding/becoming principle."

Why Religion Kills: we submit again to works and not grace. We're saved by faith through the person of Christ, but somewhere along the way we take our eyes off Christ and fall into works again. We forget that the sanctification process happens in the same way that salvation happened: keeping our eyes on Christ and keeping faith.

Whatever you behold, you will become like.

Beholding Christ is becoming Christ. Behold! Behold.

"If you can see what Paul saw, you can live like Paul lived."

post accompanied by "Captivated." Vicky Beeching

2010-11-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

PRELUDE: I am standing on the shoulders of the Song of Solomon as I write this. For some background reading, and more insight into the corresponding song and lyrics, read that book.

I am taking a course through the International House of Prayer’s eschool and it is called, “The Excellencies of Christ.” O my O my O my.

Before I share with you a very provoking insight, answer me these questions, based on your understanding of the events in Genesis and without looking at your Bible:

1. Did God create Adam in the garden or outside of the garden?

2. Was Eden the name of the garden itself or was it the name of the region in which the garden was planted?

I will tell you what my answers were:

1.In the garden.

2. The name of the garden.

Wrong Kat. And…wrong.

Ummm…come again?

Genesis 2.

Okay, recap first. God created everything…minus Adam & Eve. It was good. God then formed Adam out of the dust. (note that He did not speak man into being, but rather “formed” man into being. Hmmmm, interesting.)

Enter Adam. And THEN…

“…the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.” (1:8).

OH-hhhh.

Too much to explain, I will rather drop a series of one-liners, and you can ask the Lord to enlighten the eyes of your heart, connect-the-dots and bring you to a place of AWE and AMAZEMENT and WONDER.

What to keep in mind:

- What exactly did it mean to “tend a garden” in a pre-fallen world?

- God created this garden especially for man. but….why?

- Man is the only created being that God breathed on with the breath of life making man a living creature.

“The garden became the place of pleasure, ENCOUNTER and delight, where hearts are refreshed and love is exchanged in the cool of the shade.”

“Man’s primary task was to tend the place of pleasure. Delight was humanity’s main occupation. He was to nurture the place of encounter, to feed the place of passion, to weed its beds, and to aid it’s seasons of beauty.”

“The foundational work of man is to nurture the place of encounter with His Maker.”

(and then sin entered. And then man was exiled from the garden. Exiled from encounter with God because of the obstacle of sin. But then….many hundreds of years later…a New Adam came to earth and his name was….

JESUS.

Who, through a broken body, made possible again the fellowship and encounter and walk with God again that existed in the garden.

“…do you ever wonder what spiritual disciplines do? They don’t earn us more favor with God, or climb us higher on any ladder, for it is by GRACE that we are saved and nothing of works. So what then are the benefits of spiritual disciplines? Prayer, worship, fasting…these things tend the garden of our hearts, nurturing the place of Encounter with our God.”

ENTER STUNNED SILENCE AS THE TRUTH OF THIS STATEMENT HITS A HOME-RUN IN KAT’S HEART

Post accompanied by the song: "Garden." Misty Edwards.

2010-10-01T11:53:00.000-07:00

Just click on the image to enlarge it.

To read those stories alluded to in my letter, go HERE.

2010-09-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a Toons List. Check out the side-bar. Toons you should check out because they are Impact.Full. Probably my favorite thing to gift a friend is a custom-burned disc of Jesus tunes that they've never heard. Even as I write this, I am burning two sets of 4 discs for some dear people in my life, to fill them with Inspired Music. Yes yes yes. And so, in an effort to also share with you, virtually that is, herein lies the inauguration of said Toons List. I'll also make a little mention in my posts as to why a particular song makes the List. (it's an exclusive list. only the best of the best.)

To begin with then. "Awakening." A little background.

I've started reading the Narnia series by the beloved Clive Staples Lewis here on my days of chillin' in Mission. I was lucky to score beautiful, old printed editions of them that I found at our local Hemingways. I'm on book 5, and although the series is very excellent and Clive clearly wrote them through the inspiration of the Spirit, there is one scene that has stayed with me since book 1 and it is that of the Founding of Narnia. And excerpt then:

------------------

In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it...

'Gawd!' said the Cabby. 'Ain't it lovely?'

Then two wonders happened at the same time. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale: cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second wonder was that the overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars. They didn't come out gently one by one, as they do on a summer evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out - single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world. There were no clouds. The new stars and the new voices began at exactly the same time. If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves which were singing, and that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing...

...The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time, began to get fainter. And now something else was happening.

Far away, and down near the horizon, the sky began to turn grey. A light wind, very fresh, began to stir. The sky, in that one place, grew slowly and steadily paler. You could see shapes of hills standing up dark against it. All the time the Voice went on singing...

...The eastern sky changed from white to pink and from pink to gold. The Voice rose and rose, till all the air was shaking with it. And just as it swelled to the mightiest and most glorious sound it had yet produced, the sun rose.

Digory had never seen such a sun....You could imagine that it laughed for joy as it came up. And as its beams shot across the land the travellers could see for the first time what sort of place they were in. It was a valley through which a broad, swift river wound its way, flowing eastward towards the sun. Southward there were mountains, northward there were lower hills. But it was a valley of mere earth, rock and water; there was not a tree, not a bush, not a blade of grass to be seen. The earth was of many colors: they were fresh, hot, and vivid. They made you feel excited; until you saw the Singer himself, and then you forgot everything else.

It was a Lion. Huge, shaggy, and bright, it stood facing the risen sun. Its mouth was wide open in song...

...The Lion was pacing to and fro about that empty land and singing his new song. It was softer and more lilting than the song by which he had called up the stars and sun; a gentle, rippling music. And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass....
-----------

A teaser.

And then I heard this song for the first time: Awakening. And it is as if the two, the prose and the song, were meant to go together.

A very profound word: Awake.

awake awAkE AWAKE.

2010-09-03T08:47:00.000-07:00

I am sitting on the front porch of my folks' place, BC, awkwardly positioned so I can keep the screen of my computer in the shadows in order to see it. Worth it though, the weather is gorgeous and I want to sit outside with a nice cup of coffee in the morning sun.

I just heard a train chug-a-chug-a by.

Last night we heard coyotes in the field.

I'm sure sometime soon I will hear the Abbey bells toll.

There's the train again.

Well, the summer is over. I can only imagine the mayhem that my ovejitas are experiencing as they scramble between end of summer, visiting family and packing up for school. It's tight.

There's the train again.

It was a truly magnificent summer. To read little blurbs from the students on their experiences, go HERE. There's simply too much to say in regards to the summer and my mind has wandered elsewhere to the plane-ride home, so I will write about the latter instead of the former and merely say, "ask me about it sometime."

So, the plane ride home. Nothing hugely profound, just a series of observations.

The man next to me on the plane, probably early sixties, kindly looking, maybe in the business sector of some kind, watched a PPV movie on the flight and then as we were starting our descent, pulled out his current read: How To Find Meaning in the Second Half of Life.

Somewhere in that flight, I got up to use the bathroom and it is always interesting to stand in the aisle, waiting, and, especially on a Westjet flight, you can see what everyone is watching on their little personalized television screens. Many, myself included, were watching an epic match between Andy Roddick and Ta**************** (long, foreign name) at the US Open (I never saw how it ended????? anybody??????), and then back in the corner was this young black guy, beer in hand, watching boxing. It was just funny. I liked him.

And I should make a comment on the US Open itself because Roddick lost it near the end. Was literally having it out with the ref over a call that had been made. I was glued to the screen as everyone was exiting the plane and only at the last possible moment, yanked my head phones out and left myself. Roddick's opponent, when trying to refocus on his game after losing a few plays, would put his hands up by his head, like making blinders to see straight with no distractions. The commentators were doing their job well, commentating, and they said our friend Ta************* is a big Nietzsche follower and lives by some of those re-focusing techniques and 'mind over body' philosophies. They said that somewhere beneath that jersey of his, Nietzsche quotes are tatooed.

and then the guy beside me with his How to Find Meaning in the Second Half of Life.

anyways. yada yada yada. i don't have any philosopher stamped on me, and no book like the above, but what I do have is someone's blood running through my veins who died on a cross a few millennium ago. And it was He who said, "I am the way, the truth and the Life."

2010-08-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

I pretty much wake up every morning thinking on the Lord. Isn’t that wonderful? And I fall asleep every night hoping I will dream on him, but to date, I cannot remember my dreams. But I will, hallelujah, in His time. And I probably am dreaming of Him, somewhere deep in the land of REM, but like many things, just because I am not cognitive of my dreams does not mean that they do not exist. And so I choose to believe that Jesus-sleep time is going on. Because I ask that of Him, and it is a very excellent thing to ask for and cannot possibly be outside of God’s will to want more of Him. And so I dream of Him. But do not know it. But that doesn’t negate anything.

A few days ago I went to a church retreat. It was called “Fervent in the Spirit” and I learned a lot and experienced more of the Lord. I went in wanting and asking the Lord to burn things out in me; that sounds kind of violent and to be honest, I wanted something violent. When it comes to me and the Lord and my life in him, I am not interested in comfort. I am interested in being processed, being refined and knowingly praying difficult prayers like, “refine me. Discipline me Lord, where I need discipline. Break me Lord, and then put me back together, more like You.” Those kinds of risky prayers.

The fire of God is a literal manifestation down here. Three summers ago, I watched my Guatemalan brothers and sisters jump around flapping their arms, shaking something off of them and I stood there observing them as they clearly looked at something on the ground in front of them, something that I could not see. Fire on the ground. Supernatural fire that I couldn’t see, but they could, supernatural fire that was hot to their skin. But not to mine. (I would, at this point, re-direct you to read the account in 2 Kings 6: 15-17 of how the Lord opened the spiritual eyes of the servant. Hmmmm, yes, our senses are also under the sovereignty of the Lord and there is much going on that we do not pick up on in the natural.)

I wanted the Lord to burn unbelief out of me. It has been bothering me for a while now. And by a while I mean several months. It is an interesting thing, because I have seen the miracles of the Lord and experienced supernatural things and on one hand I have tremendous faith and I know the Lord is growing that in me. On the other hand, there is this unholy unbelief. I do not know if that is from within me, is a result of my culture or if it is a dart from the enemy that has taken root. Either way, I wanted it burned out.

Although I did not ignite like my brothers and sisters, something else did occur, a very strange manifestation that has happened twice before. And after yesterday, the count is up to four. It might be a “Canadian” fire as my good friend and hermana en Cristo, Julianna, received something similar. I look forward to learning more about it. I have had this discussion with a few on my team already, that the reality within my life is that I will often experience something first and then the teaching follows. I rather prefer this teaching style and it is a safe one to follow when you are learning under the safe teacher of the Holy Spirit.

Wrapping up schedule this week as we’re attending a spiritual retreat with our students Wednesday/Thursday/Friday. Thanks for your prayers for that.

Kat.

p.s. who wouldn’t want to face-lift their blog for the 17th time when there is a flying-bird backdrop available? And when one has a photo of a cloud forest? I like, I like.

2010-07-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

9:52.

Successful movie night: Toy Story. great movie, in Spanish to boot.

Yes Leaha, I DID buy that camera. I've been impressed with it, especially the fish-eye lens function that it has. (what????? when did cameras become like that?)

It's been a great two weeks. (already???) yes. too much sickness, it is a bit discouraging, but our bodies will adjust. and God is a healer! and he will heal me from my cough/laryngitis. Lost it mid-worship on Sunday night, kinda interesting..... anyways, something to pray about. I love to worship the Lord in song, and I haven't been able to. Better by Sunday, that's what we're praying!

The group is doing super. What a group of all-stars. I don't want to make a long list of everything we're involved with, just know that there's a lot, a lot of new ministry venues, and everything is going well and getting better.

Definitely a high-lite for me in the week is Tuesday nights. It's where I take off and go to the church for a leadership meeting. It's not really a meeting, it's more a night for leaders to refresh themselves in the Lord and be ministered to. We start off with a call to prayer and about a half hour of everyone just individually praying and worshiping the Lord. It is a wonderful time. This last week I was a bit under the weather and feeling tired, but I beat my body into submission and went to refresh my spirit. And I'm so glad I did! I am learning to hear the Lord better (hallelujah!) and I received some interesting revelation on scepters and Jesus with a scepter, and me with a scepter and it was definitely a theme throughout the night in my spirit. Yesterday, I spent some time looking up scepters in the Bible and discovered that Jesus is called a scepter in Numbers and again in a few other places, and my understanding is deepening.

praying for a good night sleep tonight....maybe I'll dream about the Lord.

2010-07-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking about buying a camera tomorrow; one of those little purse ones. that way i could be a little more diligent in capturing life.

I'm thinking about getting on a plane at 6am on Saturday morning and flying away to Guatemala. and being in an atmosphere of faith. for TWO MONTHS. (hallelujah).

I'm thinking about faith and belief. and how it is folly to the world, and even to many in the church. I read a quote recently that said, "Faith is imagining something that is not as though it were."

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

I am working on having more faith. For there is much to have faith for.

I told a team member today that I cannot have one foot in the supernatural and one foot out. I want to move and operate in the supernatural. There is much to learn. I want to learn to free people in Christ, because He came to bring freedom and there are many who love the Lord and live for the Lord, but do not have freedom in the Lord. I will learn to operate in that. I am either crazy for Jesus, and look totally different from this world, and am dead to the world and the chains of it and alive in Christ, or I am not.

I watched a recent testimony by Heidi Baker and in one experience that she had with the Lord, she was filled with the fire of God, raging all through her, so intense was it that she cried out, "Lord! I am going to die! I am going to die!" and she was serious. She thought she was going to die.

And she heard the Lord say, "Good, I want you dead, so that I can raise you up in my power."

The same power that conquered the grave lives in me, lives in me.

2010-06-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

Two bits of news I wrote for our website that you'd probably be interested in. Thanks for your prayers.

Pacaya Eruption

Posted on May 28, 2010

Many of you who monitor this site have visited us in Guatemala and have more than likely hiked the volcano, Pacaya. Yesterday it erupted. So far reports only confirm one death, but several dozen have been injured, the airport has been temporarily closed due to ash falling, and four villages have been evacuated. This event has not directly affected our ministry at all, but it is certainly sobering news for the country and will undoubtedly affect livelihoods depending on that tourist industry.

Tropical Storm Agatha

Posted on June 02, 2010

Following the eruption of Pacaya, tropical storm Agatha rolled in and hit Guatemala. This event has proved more disastrous than the eruption of the volcano, catalyzing landslides and flooding. The estimated death toll is around 150 and rising. Over 125,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. Rescue efforts have been complicated as the airport was closed down for five days due to volcanic ash from the eruption, although it has now re-opened.

Our ministry, both facilities and staff members, are safe and intact. The road up to the new construction site has a deep trench in it, but is nothing that cannot be repaired. In Tizate, the river flooded quite severely and the efforts of the municipality several years ago to reinforce it by stacking caged rock along the bank has, by the looks of it, been destroyed. Several homes of students from our school are damaged, and school is out for the week to respond to this need.

The affects on agriculture will be felt and seen in the months to come, with whole crops being destroyed which will result in food shortage. Having come out of a serious drought last summer, the federal government was ill-prepared for the tandem disasters and are now struggling with food supplies.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

2010-05-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hello All,

Three times a year, I will be writing little notes about myself and the ministry and posting them here for you to read. It is, unofficially, my "missionary update." As I am here and there, Canada, Guatemala, it is hard to do any type of regular mail out, so I'm simply making use of the tools of the world wide web: Blog, Facebook and Email. If you would like to officially be on the list of people who receive these updates, let me know, and I'll add your name. In the meantime, you can read the following. Click on the picture to enlarge for legibility. Blessings, Kat.

2010-05-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Today is a reflective day.

I'm sitting in a coffee shop downtown Waterloo, while one of our students is at a memorial for his step-dad. I brought him in, and am making good use of the six hours I have before we are traveling back home tonight.

pain pain pain. Why do we live with it? If you don't know Christ, that's one thing, but Christ came to bring us liberty and those of us who profess Christ as our Lord...well, that was meant to be, and remain, a liberated life. Granted, we learn through suffering, this is true, but I'm talking about the pain that we bring upon ourselves because of our decisions, or because of the deceitfulness of the enemy and the traps we get caught in. or because of the lies we believe.

So I have a student burying his step-dad today. and I had four DEAR friends come for a visit this weekend and there is pain and confusion in them. And I'm requiring that the students write me reflections this year, every two weeks, and I've received the first batch and....pain pain pain.

we have GOT to start believing the Word of God and allowing the gospel to permeate, penetrate, punctuate, pollinate our lives.

Permeate.
Penetrate.
Punctuate.
POLLINATE.

cierto, o no es cierto?

do yourself a favor, and memorize a verse this week about WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST. and speak it out. and BELIEVE IT.

2010-04-17T10:40:00.000-07:00

so, we're having a good time in Guatemala...

yesterday was an exceptional day. I had a LOT of fun. A LOT. and this is why: i went down THAT hole and then made THIS video. My life's obra.

GSO link for article and video:

http://www.globalshore.org/

Youtube like for just the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPNdOSUAbd8&feature=player_embedded

obviously, the first link is the better option. Tell all your friends.

2010-04-11T11:27:00.000-07:00

'SUP!,

-leaving for Detroit in one hour

-flying to Guatemala tomorrow with 6 men who are coming to put in our septic system for the new school facility

-this they are hoping to do in 12 days...!

-PLEASE PRAY FOR: safety. health & well-being for our equipment to FUNCTION. Canadian-style efficiency in Guatemala. for the LORD'S will to be accomplished, spiritually, in the lives of these men. For me...it is not merely a work trip. it is a...Jesus-knew-about-this-one -a-long-time-ago kind of trip. and has something up his sleeve. for these six. and ME!

AMEN.

Summer Student Team 2010 arriving in....3 weeks. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-04-03T11:34:00.000-07:00

I am back in Canada; until the 12th. And then I'll be going back to Guatemala for 12 days with some men coming to put in the septic system for the new school. Living in a time of Blessing. And somehow I've managed to keep up on my Song of Solomon course. Below is an excerpt from a Journal Entry that I submitted this morning for this Unit's meditation topic which was Luke 14 & 15; it impacted me and I thought I'd share.

Happy Jesus-died-for-you-and-now-the-Cross-is-EMPTY weekend.

---------------
LUKE 15

The Parable of the Lost Sheep; the Lost Coin; the Prodigal Son
(15: 1- 32)

I find the juxtaposition of these three parables interesting. In the first two parables, there is an active searching of the “Father” figure in finding that which was lost. The shepherd goes out searching, the woman lights a lamp, picks up a broom and searches, searches, and recovers that which was lost: a sinner repents. In the story of the Prodigal Son, the Father does not search. He waits. He hopes. This is perhaps an example of the “right hand, left hand” represented in Song of Solomon. (His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me! ~ 1: 6) I really took to that analogy and find it to be true: the left hand of God speaks of the activity of God that we cannot see. Protection. The drawing of our spirits to His. His release of blessings, blessings that we might not attribute to His work. The right hand of God speaks of the visible or discernible activity of God. A healing right in front of my eyes. A prophetic dream. The feel of his presence in worship. Brought to tears at His goodness.

The sheep, the lost coin, the right hand of God was discernible in the act of recovering both. But in the Prodigal Son…that is the left hand of God. Indiscernible, but still as powerful. Drawing, drawing the Son back. Not an active searching, but a potent call to the spirit. Waiting. Hoping. Faith-filled. Patient. Placing the thought in his head to return. And he acts. He returns. He returns in the “darkness of His heart” and the Father exalts the humble, and sees him as Lovely.

2010-03-23T20:28:00.000-07:00

sometimes the good news of Jesus is just overwhelming. i am, at times, right now, just overcome. what good news, what good news. what good news. oh Jesus, Jesus Jesus. You are my beloved. you alone are good and true. you alone are worth following and pursuing with my life.

2010-03-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

vacation from my blog....it's true Sarah, it's true. Here's the deal: web activity for Global Shore is on the increase. (we're on facebook. can you BELIEVE that???? And I'm the one who created the account).

SHOCKING.

check us out there. also on Youtube, because videos are on the up and up. Also, we have the radest, coolest, most current website on the whole World Wide Web. and yours truly is the web-master. (love it.) in short...my own personal blog has gotten the shaft recently. partially because i manage the GSO blog, which are many thoughts that I would just post here if i didn't want to be repetitive, and partially because of all this other web activity. and partially 'cause we only just came out of the time of short-term teams which = no regular anything. It just doesn't work to set up a post-church blogging schez like i can in the CanaDAAAAAAAAA.

but i think the blog vacation may be over now.

There are so many good Jesus things going on. I just love Jesus. It is so good to work with groups and see them come with open hearts and receive more of the Lord from a different corner of the earth. And mixing that with action. Receive in order to give, or give first and then receive. it's so good. and we have such a solid staff. and the enemy will always, always use his disunity tactic to creep in, but the Good Lord Jesus is Good. and he is Lord. and he is Jesus. which means, for a time, the enemy can try his tactics but at the end of the day: we belong to Jesus. And he takes care of his sheep. and He exposes the enemy. and we come out stronger in the end.

boo-yah???? who wouldn't want to be part of this Jesus gig. It is the only truth. as one musician sang it, "it's the inside, outside, upside-down kingdom where you lose to gain, and you die to live..."

so true so true.

Here in Guate until the end of the month and then fly home to Ontario. (it's official now, i got my Ontario driver's license and health card the other week...) whoo!

2010-02-28T16:29:00.000-08:00

La Gloria de la Iglesia,

Just got home from four days in Guatemala City, taking in a church convention with the El Calvario Ministerios, a ministry that the church that we attend is part of. It was a pretty powerful time. There were close to 2,000 people there on Saturday, and us Canadians had the privilege of sitting second-row-from-the-front because we were all the way from CANADA.

alright, I'll take it.

I enjoyed sitting behind all the different pastors, apostles and their wives. There's a different thing going on down here when it comes to marriages. When someone is a pastor, or apostle, or in the ministry, they are in it together with their wife. or the other way around. In spanish, there is the Pastor, and then there is the Pastora, the wife of the pastor but, you will notice, she is also entitled "Pastor." That's because they do it together.

I was really struck by the relationships of the ministers in front of us. I heard a sermon several months ago in Canada that dug into the abysmal statistics of the North American Church. If I remember the stat correctly, 60% of Americans claimed some type of Christianity, but of that 60%, 57% of them lived no differently, either morally or anything else, than the 40% who did not give lip-service to Christianity.

However...the remaining 3% were so radically different than the "Lord Lord's" and the rest of society that it was of noticeable difference: the real Goods of the Gospel. The fruit of the Spirit. The Real Deal.

That's how I felt that all of those ministers were. Of the 3%.

I'm in the 3% too.

2010-02-14T09:45:00.000-08:00

I spent the morning reviewing my S of S notes, as the group is up the volcano. A little "down time" for the host, spent basking in the glory of this glorious book! I was prepping for my quiz, which was closed book, and i thought it would consist of deep, intensive short-answer questions, but in the end it was multiple choice and only took me 17 minutes to complete for a whopping 100%! woot-woot! i must be abiding in this good word.

it's been a great week. Will miss the Niagra team terribly. Will miss the engineers terribly. perfect strangers made family, and yet still somewhat perfect strangers and yet...not. Brothers and sisters in the Lord. yes, i will miss them all.

but the Lord deemed it well for our paths to cross and for that I am thankful, even if for just a very short time.

the construction is coming along super well, the walls are coming up, the property is taking shape. The staff is excited. the teams are excited. it is just exciting.

can't wait for church tonight. El Señor esta moviendo.

2010-02-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

i'm in detroit. soon to be in guatemala.

what is there to say...I'VE BEEN WAITING MONTHS TO GO AND NOW I'M ALMOST THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

blessings blessings blessings.

2010-01-24T11:38:00.000-08:00

today i was a bed-side baptist. there was no particular reason, as far as i could tell, why i woke up and knew i would be staying home for church, not from church, but for church, and so i did. i listened to my download of Pt.1 of the Holy Spirit that was preached several weeks ago at my homechurch in Abbostford. It was really excellent. A good reminder to ever, always, be asking the Father for more of his Spirit in my life. Every day. Such good news.

It is pretty quiet around here today. I have a stewing bed of coals in the fire that I've been nursing all morning, and the beast is a hot one. i did my Esther study for the day. I read a bit in "Passion for Jesus" by Bickle. I was reading in John. that was probably my favorite. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Jesus. Jesus. What a guy.

I'm reading Jesus differently lately. It is because of that S of S course. I am reading Jesus through the Bridal Paradigm. Me, the bride, beloved of Jesus. And reading him like that. It is the right way to read about Jesus.

I was particularly struck last week by the story of the woman caught in adultery, read as a direct example of John 3. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whosoever should believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

There were these religious folks. They didn't care for Jesus too much, he was upsetting their traditions, offending their minds, and flying in the face of their religion, which ironically, they thought to be Truth. it was not. it was Death.

they wanted to corner Jesus. They were trying to catch him saying something blasphemous in order to justify stoning him. They were getting increasingly agitated and desperate to get some "dirt" on him. So they drag a woman that they had caught in adultery and throw her at his feet.

A woman caught in adultery. Think about that scene for a second; just imagine that scene. It involves a woman and it involves a man. One of them was being unfaithful to a spouse, somewhere, but we don't know which one. We do know that they were caught in the act of adultery. Maybe she was brought to Jesus and her clothes were half off. Maybe these religous folk stormed through a bedroom door.

Pretty embarassing. Pretty shameful. Pretty public. At least now it was. That hidden life...exposed.

The religious people were trying to corner Jesus. They didn't care about this woman; she was being used, maybe by a couple of people that day, and here it was by the religous leaders of the day, exploiting her in order to catch the bigger fish.

Pretty sick.

but remember, Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it. And he came, "while we were yet sinners..." and he came for this woman, "while you were caught in the act of adultery..." and he offered grace.

"Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin."

Man. That is good news. we're all adulterors at heart. maybe nobody stormed through a bedroom door and caught anything on camera, but in our hearts, we've all been adulterors, forsaking our first love.

Thank God for Jesus.

2010-01-17T09:40:00.000-08:00

Today I had a ham and swiss cheese grilled sandwich with dijon. My taste-buds had visions of something a little more satisfying, but, my stomach is filled so really, there's not much to complain about. Next week...soup again.

Last night I went to a prayer meeting and met some new people. Amazing how after crying out to the Lord and weeping with total strangers, they aren't so much strangers anymore but actually part of your Jesus-extended family. It's true you know. My Jesus family has just been growing and growing and growing, it is quite something. They were really dear people with "the beauty of the Lord upon them." Amen.

Today in church, a little girl came up and stared at me while I was standing and talking to another woman. Clearly she wanted to say something, but she was of the age of little girls who haven't yet learned social etiquette and how staring is awkward, and staring without saying anything is even more awkward, especially when you clearly arrived on the scene to say something...anyways, she finally said, "Where do I know you from?" to which I replied, I have no idea, are you Mike's daughter? to which she replied, "yes I am" and I said, well, perhaps I've run into you at the shop, I do a lot of printing through your dad's work.

it was a funny little interaction. I haven't quite figured out how to interact with children of the 5-10 range, I think I've got the toddler thing down, but that's about it.

Song of Solomon continues to impact my life. Here is something to blow your mind: according to this teaching, God's end goal is not simply to have us enjoy the inheritance that we have in Jesus, and how great it is to bask in His presence and affections, but, the mature bride in Christ actually is able to be an inheritance BACK to Jesus and it functions as a symbiotic relationship.

stew on that one.

I leave for Guatemala in less than three weeks.

2010-01-10T09:36:00.000-08:00

Today I had Tomato and Mushroom Florentine soup, with a breakstick. and a large cappuccino (i splurged today, seeing as i missed my morning coffee.) it was good. i've been onto their soups lately with fantastic results. my favorite thusfar has been the Split Pea and Ham.

The "Small Things" of life as of late:

1. the little birdies that crowd the road who usually fly off when a vehicle is bearing down upon them, seem to have slowed up a bit now that winter has set in. I may have killed one the other day. They just didn't move! I think their wings were frozen tight against their bodies.

2. all of my adult toothbrush-purchasing life, I have made a point of searching out the HARD bristled toothbrushes. and always been frustrated that the SOFT were most popular, with MEDIUM as second-best, and HARD hardly to be found. Now I know why. SOFT bristles have revolutionized my mouth. i can't believe nobody ever told me.

3. yesterday I went for a walk outside in the brilliant sunshine as it shone on the freshly fallen snow. The sky was unearthly in it's blue, truly majestic, and what a contrast against the white. I took a photo with my eyes and archived it in the photoshop of my brain.

i've never seen the lake in winter, and the ice is out forty metres from the beach! I just HAD to go down. so i slid along, down a path that I was creating (half tracking some interesting prints that I found in the snow) and finally made it down to Alaska. It was brilliant. I'm sure you all would have thought so too. I trudged along, stopping here, stopping there to look at something interesting, squinting into the horizon, but no. I was all alone. Not a speck of civilization in sight (with the exception of the tips of two wind-turbines that are just visible above the cliffs.)

as i neared the path that I was to take up, something blue caught my eye. What could it be? what thing of blue had floated up on the beach in this virgin world of white? as i neared, i could hardly believe me eyes....it was a yoga ball! A fully inflated, in perfect condition, yoga ball. my oh my. and here i had wanted something dry to sit upon to gaze at the arctic beauty around me. i probably looked a sight sitting there bundled up in mis-matched winter gear, silently sitting on a yoga ball on this tundra of white.

anyways, so now i have a yoga ball. i imagine i will also soon have abs of steel. it will go down in history as the most random object ever found while beach-combing.

The "Big Things" of life as of late.

1. I will not give you the whole Megillah, but the short of it is, over Christmas i enrolled in a distance-ed course. Out of Kansas. Out of IHOP to be exact. So, today I will probably go through the 4th session out of 24 on the Song of Solomon, the intimate heart of the Father. I have learned a tremendous amount already. Here is a question from my lesson this past week: what do you think is the the primary thing that the believers in your life are seeking after?

My answer was: to grow deeper in God. To learn more about His ways. But I knew as I wrote the answer that it was the wrong one. The course centers around how our highest pursuit in life needs to be this love relationship between the Trinity and the individual believer. At the center of it all...we live to love God more and attain a greater capacity to love him back.

so, i am working on re-centering on that. because i think it's true. and more importantly, i think the bible encourages the same thing.

2. January 8th, 2010 was groundbreaking day of the new facility for Colegio Cristiano Avivando el Fuego.

2009-12-25T23:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to you all!

i am back in Abbotsford for a few days here over the holidays and it has been a great time. Superb to be back in my home church, see some great friends and visit with my fantastic family.

something that i was struck by in the Christmas Eve service last night was the fact that it was the Holy Spirit who conceived Jesus in the womb. Well of course it was, you may say, but i never thought about it in the way that it is by the work of the Holy Spirit that Jesus is "birthed" in our hearts and lives too.

yes?

that is a good thought.

2009-12-06T13:11:00.000-08:00

I am back in my coffee shop.

I only caught the tale end of a sermon today and the tale end was this:

"You make a difference in my life." If I've failed to tell you that before, there it is. It's true. To the ten that I know of, thus far, who commented on that last post, I speak that to each of you.

I'm going to do a book review on today's blog post. or review(S). On C.S.Lewis' "Cosmic Space Trilogy" which includes, Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength. I inhaled these three books in a matter of a week. For good reason.

My favorite of the three was Perelandra. It was Lewis' take on the fall of man, except not THE fall of man, but the potential second fall of man, but this time not on earth, but rather on Perelandra. Otherwise known as Venus. There are some truly terrifying conversations between the temptor and the sinless character of the Eve-like woman. I am often staggered by Lewis' profound understanding of both the gospel and of the deceptive nature of satan.

A truly imaginative account of a world yet untainted by the destructive invasion of sin. I do recommend.

That Hideous Strength. Terrifying. I babysat my boss' kids the other weekend and the third time little Mackenzie came down crying and saying she missed her folks, I marched her back upstairs, said she could bunk with me for the night and made her pray to Jesus to make her brave and to allow her to sleep well in the tragic absence of her parents. She did. She slept well. The funny thing was, three hours after reading about the Hideous strength of our earthly enemy, I too was just TERRIFIED and every creak and groan of the house was amplified in my now hyper-sensitive mind. I too had to pray for Jesus to make me brave!

Anyways, if you like Clive Staples and can hack Sci-fi, do read. You won't regret it.

2009-11-25T14:25:00.000-08:00

a series of current facts:

1. this is the 100th blog post on this site. It's true. I feel like throwing a party. Some of you weren't reading in the early days when I had clever titles like...(i can't remember the first one), but then there was....Return of the Erie Spaniard (I always thought that was particularly clever), then there was The Third Floor, then there was a. gain. then...My Life be Like...and now this one. Here is my birthday-of-1oo posts request: write me a congratulatory note. please????? It'd be fun.

2. Robert has converted me to eating horseradish with everything. It is tasty. I never knew.

3. Robert has also converted me to snacking on whole-wheat soda crackers (they have to be w.w) with a little corner of butter on the edge. You wouldn't believe the difference that little bit of saltiness makes.

4. i have failed miserably in my newest tradition. it's not my fault though...duty called. this is where i was this past weekend: port rowan, kitchener, guelph, kitchener, waterloo, guelph, cambridge, tillsonburg, home. the best of which was...Guelph. that city rocks (see point 5). It was a great weekend, but it did, unfortuately, cause me to bail on my newly founded tradition of downloads, lunch and coffee culture.

5. Robert Munsch lives there.

6. Today I wrote Robert Munsch a 3-page, single-spaced, typed, letter. Don't ask me why. I just did. If I hear back, you'll be sure to know.

7. George Müller is an inspiring guy.

8. I drive, somewhat terrified, home on the dark country roads on some nights. I prayed for safety when I drove around on my scooter, yes i did, but this is an entirely different kind of prayer, it's more a prayer/monologue, lunacy thing going on. Last night it sounded like this, "Lord, I am awake. yes I am awake. Keep me very very alert. yes. 10 and 2. I'm not going to swerve. I am not going to swerve. I am not going to swerve. I am not going to shriek..." all of this induced by a bunny that I almost killed the other night, and then a possum that I almost killed the other night and then a deer that almost killed me the other night...gives a totally different meaning to "night terrors"...

9. I have taken to lighting a candle on my desk each day, it sits there, flickering, wholly and completely symbolic of the flame of the Holy Spirit in my life.

10. I have also taken to bringing my coffee to work in a Timmy Ho's thermos, though not to be mistaken to be holding Timmy Ho's coffee.

2009-11-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

I've started a new tradition. It only started today. It is actually still going on and I guess I will have to wait and see if it really, truly is an activity that will have the tenacity that "tradition" requires.

It begins with church in Tillsonburg. I attended a church this morning that I enjoyed. The Word was preached and the Spirit was welcomed. I will return next week I think. After church I drive the block or two to the local Coffee Culture. They have free internet. It is primarily because of this that I come here. And the fact that it's the only decent place to have a coffee around here (that I have yet discovered. I would be pleased to find a hole-in-the-wall, local establishment with a good brew, but since I know of none, this will suffice.)

I have purchased lunch because some friends of mine who own a Coffee Culture in Chatham recently lamented to me of the customers who come and abuse the internet and buy nothing other than a small coffee and then proceed to sit for hours and hours, taking up a table and using the internet.

I don't want to be one of "those" customers.

And so today I tried the Chicken and Roasted Veggies European Sandwich. It was pretty good. There was eggplant in it I think. Maybe I will get a coffee yet. Coffee-to-go for the 20-minute drive home. So they'll make some money off of me.

My use of the internet here is primarily to download. I can't download anything at the office or at the house as it slows our rural internet connection down. But downloading I must do as I want to keep up with the sermons back home. Right now I am downloading the second sermon from the Series of James that the church did back in the summer when I was, you guessed it, abroad. And I will download the one from last Sunday too. So I will live life exactly one week behind my church back home. But in all other things, I am exactly 3 hours ahead of them in life at all times. How 'bout that.

I have also decided to add to my tradition the updating of my blog. So here it is. You can expect to hear of the new lunch item that I have tried, what sermon I am downloading and maybe a thing or two from my week.

On another note, I will take the opportunity to shamelessly promote two other blogs that you should check out...the first is on our newly-launched website here at Global Shore: Check it out...there's already one post there, by yours truly.

The second is my church blog back होम। ... होम। होम। ...वह??? फॉर सम that is interesting. for some reason things decided to go into Hindi for a second there. As I was saying.... the second is my church blog back home. All of the pastors contribute to this blog and I may or may not read from all of them, but I do usually follow what Jeff writes as he is both a good writer and a guy out to stir the pot for the faith. interesting really the range of topics that enter that guy's brain, the range so far extends from food to a blast at young adults to be committed and the most recent being entitled, "The Internet is Eating my Brain." Although to that latest one I would say that I am most assuredly not the one and only person who stands out from the masses and can follow, and thoroughly enjoy, Clive Staples and his Mere Christianity. I know many who can and have. But, then again, maybe my poll is being taken from the post-secondary crowd and the theologians and isn't a proper cross-section of our culture.

My feet are cold and my third sermon download is almost done, so I will be off for my cappuccino and drive home.

2009-10-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

i am checking out of the Frazer Valley. An odd emotionless, yet very emotional time. it's bizare. I think i am grieving, but i don't really know????? There has definitely been stuff to grieve over this fall, the releasing of a grandfather to heaven, the releasing of a sister to marriage and now the releasing of one aspect of my home, my church, my family. but I am also to gain all of those things as well, out East in Ontario, but we are talking about a different type of home, church, family.

i really have hardly the faintest clue who checks this blog, but if you are local here in BC, I have probably called you "friend" at some point and as such I thank you for your time in my life. May it continue now from afar. The Good Lord is sovereign and wise and had a plan in our lives touching. Be blessed.

2009-10-20T13:58:00.001-07:00

I cannot remember having a fall with such stunning colors as we are experiencing right now. It is so beautiful in fact, that I am going to go on a scooter ride just for the heck of it, to reap it in while it lasts.

I would say it is almost so beautiful that the newly-weds in the form of my sister and William were actually mistaken in their choice of Kauai, because it has taken them to the rainiest area on the earth and away from these golden colors which are life and healing and heaven to my senses.

2009-10-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

I am reading in Kings at the moment.

I came across a passage that made my forehead furrow. It is in 1 kings 13: 11 and onwards. if anyone has any helpful insight on that passage, I am all ears.

on another note, i like how Elijah arrives on the scene. From what i can tell, he was a non-entity to the general public until his grand entrance of a prediction of a drought (but not a non-entity to God...what does THAT mean Einstein). Thereafter that prophetic event, he sorta dominates the scene. raises someone from the dead. has a showdown with the prophets of Baal. Has some run-ins with Jez. what a guy. BAM. Elijah.

BAM.

2009-09-28T21:46:00.000-07:00

Strange.
.unusual or surprising in a way that is unsettling or hard to understand.

strange.
.not previously visited, seen or encountered; unfamiliar or alien.

I've been going through boxes. little by little. Jess packed up my life this summer and moved me up and out of my abode of six years and there my boxes sit. in the garage here at the house. so, i've been picking through them. and it's been interesting.

i have these three memory boxes that i've filled up with letters and cards and pictures from over the years. it takes me the longest to go through those boxes. I have to sit down to go through those boxes.

it is a strange process.

i found a box of snowdomes. i used to collect snowdomes when I was a child. I had something like 18 of them at one point but i guess i sorted through them somewhere over the years and am left with only 7. which is now down to 4. i just have to hold on to some of those. which is strange. because i'm not a packrat by any means and have been turfing stuff left, right and centre. but these...i don't know.

I have two favorites: one with a zebra inside, and the other has two kittens. I had forgotten the music that they played, but when i twisted the knob, there. There is was. it came back to me. A melodic memory long dormant. incredible how it didn't really ever leave.

I read through a few letters from a friend that i used to correspond with quite frequently. it seems from the letter that we, at some point, had some type of falling out. i don't really remember that. i hope it was resolved. we're not in touch anymore. so maybe it wasn't. but i don't remember.

it was interesting to open cards and recognize the writing of friends from over a decade ago. A decade ago! but the writing...i remember it.

and to find school photos of friends from high school. from when i lived in Edmonton. and most of those people i have never seen since. and to me, they are still 13 years old.

isn't that strange?

and it was bizarre to read sentimental notes from people. directed at me and some type of positive influence that i, guess, had over their lives. but many of those friendships no longer exist. and some that do are different. somewhat foreign. somehow changed. friendships of season. many are that way.

the whole process of maturing and "finding yourself" and experiencing life with some and not with others is a strange reality with strange effects.

photos of me. strange. i hardly recognize myself. yes, it is clearly me in the photo, but how did the person that i am today come from that strange, strange adolescent in those photos.

it is all very strange, there is some type of emotion here but i am not sure what. can "strange" be an emotion?

it just feels like my life. is just different now.

i remember a forgotten friend who briefly, very briefly, came into my life again a few years ago and I remarked how different he looked and yet, oddly the same. and he said a line that I'll never forget:

I'm just a variation of the same theme.

2009-09-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today.

Praying for these children

That they would be free from this religion

and any other hindrances in their lives

preventing them from knowing the Living Jesus.

Praying for protection as they are taught to walk in the way of Jesus.

Especially praying for this guy: He's my responsibility.

Blessings this Good Friday.

(anybody wanna give me a free installment of photoshop so that I can make sweet diptychs' like Tanner?)

2009-09-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across the most beautiful thing today. It was a church. Like you've never seen a church before. I say "stumbled" but that's really synonymous for: orchestrated by God.

That's what these last few days have seemed like to me.

Man, life with Jesus simply rocks.

2009-09-15T11:04:00.000-07:00

i have a dull pain in my shoulder. i am not sure why.

my grandpa's body is invaded a little bit more everyday by cancerous cells. I managed to pack on ten pounds this summer, but he has lost many more since I last saw him in April. At this point, every day is a gift.

i stopped by their place the other day and they recounted to me the sweetest story I have heard in a while. I can see it playing out in my mind as though I were there and I can see my grandma's face go all crinkly with laughter and she probably threw her hands on her face and giggled the way she does and i can see it in my mind's eye.

Gramps sleeps in the pink lazyboy in the living room these days as it is more comfortable than sleeping in the bed. Grandma had just come home from the bridal shower that we threw for my sister, and she leaned over to give him a good-night kiss. well, the chair was all the way back, horizontal, and as she leaned over, her foot slipped and she crashed on top of him causing the chair and go straight back. gramps bumped his head on the elderly grandfather clock that inhabits the corner, his feet went straight up in the air and there he was: stuck! Grandma smacked her knee on the ground and there they were, struggling in their geriatric way to right themselves, but laughing the whole while. grandma managed to get up, but she couldn't get him up and in order for him to be able to get out of the chair, she had to pull the chair forward. so there she was, tugging away at the pink lazyboy, but she STILL couldn't upright it, so gramps said, "well Betty, I think i can manage to roll myself out," which he did, onto the floor and they laughed and laughed as they told me and grandma said,

"what a bunch of old foggies we are."

which is funny. because it's true and somehow old age has crept up, and the mind is strong and the heart is strong, but the body is quickly fading. it is a strange thing and I think that despite how age slowly and subtly creeps up, one doesn't realize that it is creeping until one day literally nothing works anymore and you can't do what you want to do even though your mind is still strong. and we are very blessed that my gramps is still my gramps in every way in his mind and heart, but. his body fades.

and so, we are preparing for him to go to his golden home. Which is an envious place to be, although we will miss him here with us.

2009-08-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

Good morning World,

Life is wrapping up here in the Guat but there is so much yet to happen. This Sunday, the majority of our team will be attending an "Encuentro" here at the school that is run through the church. It is called "breaking chains." And boy will there be some chains broken! It is basically an intense day, a full, intense day of teaching and "ministración" with lots of freedom for the Spirit to work and liberate some lives. Please send up a prayer for that! for openness of hearts.

ALSO, next week we are going on a "campamento" with our student body here at the colegio. Our whole team, as well as our teachers are going with the school for an overnight spiritual retreat...it is an "encuentro" of sorts as well, but geared towards kids. We will be going as ministers. I feel that this time will be extremely potent and full of the glory of God. Wow, what the Lord can and will do through these children, what a blessing to be part of that. We are taking Tuesday to fast and pray and prepare our hearts to be ministers to these children. If you feel at all led to join us in that and pray for our preparation as well....I welcome you!

Last Sunday I preached in church. what???!?!?!? CRAZY. Our apostle, Jacobo, invited me to preach and I sorta laughed it off at first thinking he was joking, but, Jacobo doesn't really joke about stuff like that. So i had to say yes. Who wants to say no to their spiritual authority. Not I. So I preached. It was an inauguration of sorts in my life, I think. Spiritually speaking.

This morning I was reading a bit through Joshua....SUPER book. Check it out. And when I preached the other day, i touched on Moses' time up the mountain. And both these men had something in common...they were courageous in and for the Lord. Picture this: a mountain, smoking from the top, dark clouds surrounding it, thunder and lightning. It'd be like one of these volcanoes down here about to blow. And God was there. And the people trembled at the base of the mountain. But Moses? He high-tailed it to the top to meet with God.

Joshua. Is walking along with tens of thousands at his back and there he sees a man with a sword raised. A man standing there with a sword raised high. I myself would not be prone to walk up to a man with a weapon posed to strike and ask, "hey...are you for us or against us?" But...Joshua did. And he met the Commander of the Lord's Army.

hellooo??????

May that I be courageous for my Lord to the point that I walk into his frightening maybe even terrifying presence and come away with face aglow.

2009-08-04T17:08:00.001-07:00

My Bible was MIA for 24 hours and it was terrible.

but i found it. Gracias a Dios.

In my mind, I've updated three more times that what has actually come to pass.

Recent recurring thoughts:

1. It is both ugly and beautiful to both be in process myself and to walk alongside those in process. It is both a privilege and a trial. Is it not a privilege that God has entrusted to me those that he is refining? But that refining process, as with gold, brings the impurities to the SURFACE. And I live on that surface. My ministry is on that surface. And so it is a great privilege. And a trial. But my prayer, as of last night, is for the Lord to discipline me. In a harsh sort of way. None of this "slow and steady" business, no, let's get out the rod and do some beating and some repenting and some character-forming and re-shaping. Yes? Dangerous prayer? Yeah. Let's pray that I recognize the discipline as discipline and respond accordingly. So that is to say....I am in heavy processing as well. God help all of us as we be this body of Christ together. For His glory.

Mary has the craziest laugh, and she is laughing right now as I type this. Oh Munya, hija preciosa del Señor todo poderoso.

2. God is gracious to me. In two ways specifically: He has, without fail, provided my spiritual curriculum for over a year now. He's just...got me covered. I was in a used/traveler's book corner the other day in Antigua with my Spanish teacher. a little corner at the back of this traditional store with books in several languages spanning several genres and there, on the shelf, i happened upon this book entitled...ok, i can't remember the title, and I've gone and lent it out already, but it is a witness account of how the Holy Spirit poured out on an orphanage in China some ten years ago and the countless visions that the children received. H.A.Baker was the missionary and author of this little book. There is a reason why the content of this book is relevant to me: it has to do with the fact that we are involved in Christian education. with children. and will soon be going on a spiritual retreat with them. I am anticipating an extremely powerful retreat with these children. We are instructed to be like children you know. and the lovely thing about children is that they are...already...children. bam.

also. God is gracious to expose the tactics of the enemy when he is trying to take my team out in their health and in our unity. La sangre de Cristo tiene poder.

Ahmen!

2009-07-21T20:53:00.001-07:00

I had the most lovely Sunday just two sleeps ago.

I had a rude awakening at quarter to seven in the peak of Cinderella's castle the other day in Jocotenango; i had spent the night at Juls' place and was looking forward to a leisurely morning of awakening to no sound in particular, brewing the early morning brew and savoring a fresh volcanic peak before church. my phone, however, rang. twice. and then a third time. i finally got in on the third ring and it was one of the host families in Tizate calling. a student was sick. would i please come.

but of course.

so off i went to no particularly terrifying ailment, just an explosive digestive system that had blown the breaker a good many times throughout the night. and then i had some time to kill and my keys were off in the paws of another student and i thought, now what should i be doing at this particular moment in time, 7:30 on a Sunday morning. and i was standing in the middle of this wee little town here, and i looked ahead to where my abode lay, and i looked back over my shoulder to the house up the 55 steps that i lived in during my first summer some three years ago now, and i wondered. hmmmm. Ana-Julia, breakfast at Tiffany's, Ana-Julia's, breakfast at Tiffany's.... and i started toward the 55 steps.

and it was lovely and i had a wonderful visit with this wonderful woman who is still described by many as one who possesses an enormous heart which may, in fact, be the biggest heart in all of Guatemala.

and i found later in the day as I sat by a road-side stand with some friends from last summer, Helena and Miguel, that i was on my second unexpected-yet-lovely visit of the day.

and then, at 8:30, when I went to put in an order for some sweet cushions for my table en aire libre, that I found myself with Marco & Clara for ninety minutes of wonderful and divinely appointed discussion.

I am in a training mode. Thus the Lord has Spoken.

and it was a great day seeing many of my very favorite people of this wee little town that has not a sign and is often a mere spattering of cinder blocks to the traffic blazing by that is set on the side of a road and across a little yellow bridge in the broccoli of hills called Guatemala.

2009-07-11T05:59:00.000-07:00

Begotten & Created. Who knew there was a difference. Clive did. i am begotten, a begotten daughter and so are you (or son) if you know the living Jesus. check out pagina 134-136 in mere.Christ.ianity when you have a momento.

Estamos aqui en Guatemala.

for almost a week now.

it is good to be in my third home again.

i'm trying to think up some little ditty that I can put a bible verse to for the VBS we're running this morning.

we just came back from Tactic last night. we spent some time with our friends/fellow missionaries/fellow Christian education compadres. Super valuable time to say the least.

today i'm taking the group on a tour of Antigua. Hopefully i can find a minute or two to brush up on my facts: Pedro de Alavardo. Bad guy. 1776. one of many massive and destructive earthquakes that destroyed Antigua. Santiago. The former name of the city, after the patron saint of Spain, St. James.

Santiago...James...Santiago...James. I never could figure that one out.

please pray for health for our team and also for next week as we jump full swing into our schedule down here...

i think i found a ditty.

2009-07-02T16:09:00.001-07:00

looks like two blog posts is possible this week. yes.

we leave for Guat in four sleeps. yes.

i will be living independently this year. yes. this i am looking forward to. a room, bathroom, utilities room, kitchen and open porch table for my use. i will be my own cook. i've already determined my menu for the summer: fruit meusli for breakfast, veggie wrap for lunch and grilled bean wrap for dinner. every day. with maybe an egg-on-bread thrown in there.

i can't wait!

I will tell you what I did on Tuesday by a series of clues:

dot. T.

11 caves.

discovery: a location somewhere between an above-average altitude city and a below-average altitude sea.

fragments meticulously placed together. over decades.

lack of sun, lack of moisture. preserved for toothousand years.

not written in English.

nearest settlement now in ruins: a pottery? a scriptoral library? a sect of Essenes?

.....

....

.....

......

......

2009-06-28T21:16:00.000-07:00

I like this photo. There is something harmonious about it to me, even balanced I would say. That is probably due to the suspended cinder block. And something about the way the light catches the rope and how there is green and red and end-of-the-day light. Thanks Kandace for this photo.

I've been reading some Clive Staples lately. There was an old edition of "mere christianity" kicking around here and the cover had an almost cartoon-ish scene of baby Jesus in a manger with a cow and ass looking at him. I liked it. But it tore off. I like the book better cover-less. I don't know why, it seems naked to me and perhaps that's appropriate as I am thoroughly enjoying the very excellent content inside. it is a good and honest look at christianity.

often in moments of stillness, which in and of themselves do not occur often enough, i recognize discrepancies in my life. the one that comes to mind at this moment is that i can be very hard on people and circumstances and wave some standard of.... i don't know what nor whose standard it is, but it is there... and i wave it around with little to no compassion in me. and then, sometimes, a gentler person is around me and reminds me of an alternative perspective. which is one that i knew of. which is one that i can see the basis of and validity to. which is the perspective that i should, in fact, hold instead of the standard i am waving.

and so, development is needed.

this is not really a thought process particulary triggered by anything from this day. well, maybe there was. or of recent days. Clive Staples is really and truly a fantastic creator of words. He is a master of language if I ever read one. I am thankful that we are privileged to have him as an English author and therefore do not lose any nuance in translation.

i look forward to meeting the man in the heavenlies one day, but here on earth at this time i perceive him to have been one of humble nature. he probably started as one of pride, like the most of us do, and along the way got broken down, learned surrender and was transformed into a man of humility. it comes through strongly in his writing. he easily speaks of how his previously defiant views of christianity were wrong and he addresses the errors that he held. that takes some good humility to do that.

i am sure he wrote this from his own experience and it makes such fantastically simple logic to me that i must share it with you:

we all want progress. but progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. and if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. if you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.

2009-06-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

“For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.” - Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

I have the opportunity to represent GSO at a church in St. Catharine's this upcoming Sunday night. To represent GSO is not just to talk about Guatemala but it means... Sharing. Witnessing. Bringing some Jesus Word. Encouraging the body. Stirring up some faith.

As such, I find myself acting as preacher-girl today as i sit up in my kitty-corner and work on a "sermon" of sorts. WHat?????

And I thought to myself, I should be a preacher. Not because I do or do not have any particular propensity towards preaching, but because I'm just sitting here reading God's word, checking up some Greek, perusing through some commentaries and LEARNING! Hallelu-jah!

So, I will fine-tune my thoughts on this one particular aspect of this petite sermonette so as to clarify and prepare for Sunday.

“For grace is given not because we have done good works, but in order that we may be able to do them.” - Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Just now in reading a bit through Romans I have had a new take on verses such as, "But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace."

....

Sorry. this is an unfinished post. and the event has come and gone. it went well. so i will leave the post unfinished.

we went canoeing one day. it was a while ago now. i like this photo.

थौघ्ट्स ओं एक्सोदुस

2009-05-27T14:56:00.000-07:00

what...a mid-week post, what is going on...

I am not sure why/how my title converted to...some type of asian language. I like.

i'm pretty stoked about B.Mo #5 tonight. If you have no idea who B.Mo is, she is a southern bell who brings the truth of Jesus. Beth. Moore.

check it.

This is what I have learned recently: ......where to start.

I'm in Exodus right now. That's not true, I just finished Exodus this morning and will now commence Leviticus. Exodus is interesting because it is when the tabernacle was introduced. God with His people. Some things to note:

1. The description of the tabernacle, the various instruments of the priests, etc, reminded me of the description of the throne room in heaven described in Revelation. Similarities like...a lampstand. Jewels. Things of gold. the Presence of God.

2. The priests. What a stunning parallel to Jesus as our high priest. Exodus introduces the role of the priest, what they are to wear and whatnot. Here is the most stunning thing I read, "You shall take two onyx stones, and engrave on them the names of the sons of Israel, six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the other stone, in the order of their birth...Ans you shall set the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of remembrance for the sons of Israel. And Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for remembrance....So Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the bresastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD."

made me think of Jesus. Interesting how the OT points to Jesus. How he now, with our names, stands before the Father, ever causing remembrance to the LORD for us on our behalf. Halle-lu-JAH.

3. Moses. shiny face man. He wore a veil when he was amongst the people of Israel, but when he went back up on the mountain, he removed the veil. Of course he did. Veils veils veils. and now that veil is gone for us too. Halle-lu-JAH.

2009-05-16T15:30:00.000-07:00

Writing well really depends on the mood that one is in and what occupies one’s mind in that particular moment in time. If the sun was striking the road or cherry fields in a profoundly soft way, or if it was 6am and the birds were waking up the earth and all it’s inhabitants or if I had just come from having some deep stirring in my heart of hearts and some enlightenment deep in the recesses of my very being…then maybe I could write something staggering.

Or maybe I could just make beautiful the daily moments of life in rural Ontario. Because I find nothing to be more beautiful than something a lot of the time.

Nothing like the lack of activities to do in Houghton Centre, a hovel of seven houses and an asparagus pack house in the middle of no-where, So Much Nothing, in fact, that people are reading their Bibles. Because they have time. Because bibles often come last in our culture except the v.v. beautiful and subtle transformation that is occurring is that m.m. of the students are choosing the Living Jesus these days. So I praise God for nothing to do.

Nothing like the bike posse that has developed. The group started with one bike, than two, three, four, five as families were called and bikes were dropped off. Half the team bikes the 200m to work every day. And then there’s the daily evening lazy cycles down the road. Where shall they go today? To the left or to the right? There are really only two directions to go…how about left again? No, we went left yesterday…and the day before…and the day before…

Nothing like creating art out of lugs and wire fences and deformed mailboxes and roadkill.

Nothing like let’s go for a walk or maybe just all sit in the same room not saying anything at all, but just being and reading and being and reading and maybe chuckling out-loud at the outrageous scene in your Anne of Green Gables book, and someone is plucking away at a guitar somewhere near-by and just doing a lot of nothing and yet some significant something.

2009-05-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

o man, s-a-tur-day... NITE! S-a-tur-day...NITE!

first week of spears is DONE.

bueno.

life in Ontario. it is excellent. today i discovered something new. it was tremendous. i went for one of those i-gotta-burn-some-excess-energy-in-a-non-violent-sorta-way type of runs. and the wind was just ferocious, which was alright, because i was good and ready to battle this particular foe and then! i came across the piercing shadows of the wind-tower blades. the sun was just in the right place to cast the most stunning shadows of the three blades slicing not only the air, but the shadows through the grass. I looked a fool as i jumped and skipped the advancing shadows in my pent-up, iPod-blaring state of determined exhaustion. I think there were a few yelps and war cries along the way, but that is one of the singularly most magnificent things about rural landscapes. there is no one around to react in any sort of way at all. solitude. give me a little creation. and me in it. creation joining with creation for some good Jesus time, some good "being" time and some good ridiculous and riotous fun time and nobody will know. except in writing. which is hardly knowing at all.

shadow skipping. it's my new favorite activity.

I had another phenomenal time in creation last night. but that was a Divine moment and one that I will not minimize to words.

I've become a morning person. As in very early mornings. With the Lord. I am practicing the Secret Place. I like it there. I'm making use of the leadership thing and the group is required to have three early mornings, pre-asparagus barn, time with the Lord. They will thank me in four months when they have a firm foundation to stand upon when they return back to life and the world. Giving the Lord our best, right? They've responded well. We're making a collective, yet individual, effort to know our Lord. the Lord of the Bible.

Ah-men.

2009-04-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

It is good to be back in Ontario. Life in Places Rural runs in my blood. Green grass, clean air, silky sand, early bird songs, two-toned aqua blues are a buffet for my senses. I was never meant for a third floor.

It is good to be with the church of my heart. A small small small body of nobody's pursuing Jesus together because He's changed our lives, all at the same time, remarkably, and breathed his Spirit upon these dry bones. Let there be Light! And it was good.

Our team minus one has arrived. It is a good group. The Lord has some fairly large things on his divine agenda for this summer.

Because I just talked about this with someone, here is some Bible advice for you if this description characterizes your life: if you are wondering what your purpose is, or what the purpose of life is, what you should do, where you should go, what you are good at, what things of impact you can possibly offer this world, if you are desperate. if you are confused. pick up your bible and read it. Just do it. There is an enemy who would throw any number of distractions your way to prevent you from seeking the One who can answer those questions/disappointments/longings/dreams. Seek the Lord. Love Him First above all else.

And then....

your life will most assuredly change. Most. Assuredly. Change.

Start in the New T. and look for some promises. they're everywhere. And know that God is the same today as He ever was as He ever will be.

post script. you should check out this http://www.leahtanblog.com/ on a regular basis for photos of life this summer because Leah is exponentially more talented at photography than I ever will be and she is far more committed to it.

2009-04-18T14:25:00.000-07:00

He is Jesus.

The One and Only.

Transcendent over all else.

To know Him is to love Him.

To love Him is to long for Him.

To long for Him is to finally reach

soul hands into the One true thing

we need never get enough of.

Jesus.

Take all you want.

Take all you need.

Till soul is fed.

and spirit freed.

Till dust is dust.

And Face you see.

Jesus Christ.

He's all you need.

(I bought a new book today. It's going to be good)

2009-04-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

One of my very favorite sites online is Strong's Concordance. You've heard me go off on the Greek stuff before...it's from here. Brilliant. A must-use for every Bible-reader. very interesting what you will find. Learn to use it, I IMPLORE you. That is...if you are reading your bible. If you are not, learn to read your Bible first and only then supplement it with some good ol' Greek/Hebrew.

So, on this site I was just perusing it looking, if you are interested, in what the Hebrew word for Strong's number 5162 is. I am reading in Genesis and it perplexes me as to why God would ever find himself in a place where he was "sorry that he had made man on the earth" (Story of the flood.) The Hebrew word for "sorry" (5162) was interesting but not conclusive in answering this thought. If anyone has any thoughts, please, do share.

I came across a different section on this website that posed a particular question that had bothered me quite a bit in high school. The question is, admittedly, an immature question in the faith but, regardless, is one that I had and one that I never really found a satisfying answer to. Anyways, I found this to be...good. I liked it. Here ya go.

Question:
Isn't God prideful to demand that we worship him?

Answer:

Often, in my youth, I thought smugly to myself, "Sure, God's big and perfect and everything, but isn't it rather arrogant of Him to send us to hell for not worshipping Him?" It was an honest question. Ignorant to be sure, but honest just the same. So then why is it okay for God to require we revere Him? It may be best to look at the reasons behind why the same would be wrong of us.

The sin of pride is only a sin because it involves raising the perception of our value above that which it truly is. For man, this is a fairly common event; we are constantly elevating ourselves in our own estimation. We, being corrupt and petty, have an almost insatiable appetite for valuing ourselves more highly than we ought. And this is impossible for God to do.

God, being the non-metaphorical model of perfection cannot be better than He is. In fact, nothing can—for one cannot improve upon perfection. Since God is perfect, there is neither anything wrong with His acknowledging such nor any reason He should not require our worship.

God is infinitely worthy of our honor and glory; He deserves our praise. For Him to allow that anything else can be praised in His place would demonstrate Him to be less than perfect. It would be as if He were to say, "Yes, I truly am the only thing in all existence that is worthy of exaltation; but 'No,' I do not mind that you exalt a reddish-brown brick over Me." Now that would just be silly, wouldn't it?

For these reasons, we do not call God arrogant or prideful when He demands worship.

Strong's website for your bookmarking is:
http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html

Hybrids

2009-04-07T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sweeeeeeet,

Well, this last Guat trip was phenomaenal. You know, I don’t even think I’ve written a concise run-down of what the Billy is going on in my life. Okay, brief synopsis:

I am now employed full-time with GSO. Global Shore. Opportunities. The LORD is doing a TREMENDOUS WORK, some of which you have already read about. Well, it is true and I just can’t say it enough. GSO is a non-profit missions organization working in Guat-e-mala. That’s probably not news to you either. I’ve been involved with them for the past three summers and seeing now that my degree is terminado (boo-yah), which was completed in December, I started full-time on March 1.

What do I do? Buena pregunta. Well, it’s a bit of everything really, but the primary thrust at the moment is fundraising. Because well, the world ain’t free and neither is operating a school. Yow! So that’s what I’m doing and that looks like a lot of different things…speaking engagements, presentations, developing short-term groups to come down to Guatemala, finding sponsors for our students….praying the funds in, we are praying the funds in. I look at it like this: This is the Lord’s work. He’s got our backs and it’s a simple (not so simple), yet ultimately simple task of accessing the Lord’s storehouses here on earth. Yes? Because all that we have is not really our own to begin with. So it’s a matter of putting the need out, finding people who want to participate in this particular work of the Lord and give from their particular stash of the Lord’s wealth that has been entrusted to them.

Anybody? Anybody?

Do you even know what I mean when I say “school?” Ah man. This is why I need to update more. Alright, so, we have a school running down here, grades K-3 at the moment. Every year we will add a grade to follow the progress of the oldest students. Our school is called Colegio Cristiano Avivando El Fuego and the vision is simple: raise these children up in the Lord. Jesus is the best thing that we could give them and so that is who we are introducing them too. If you could be in our morning devotional, your heart would be touched, guaranteed. So that is what I’m raising funds for. Students to know Jesus.

Anybody? Anybody?

Talk to me. I dare you.

Love kat photos:
1. Cristopher Luis. a.k.a: Calvin & Hobbes hybrid.
2. "missionary" shot.
3. The Ball Room. great fieldtrip.
4. Just cuz???? it's Guatemala.

Stones of Remembrance

2009-03-16T19:04:00.000-07:00

Friends abroad,

The Lord and I put on a smashing event last night. I cried most of the way through it. It was about Jesus and Guatemala and Miracles and Faith and Stories to remember His Faithfulness.

In short.

SO, here is an email that I zapped off to our leadership team this morning. Just for you Tom, I posted this just for you (and others who were not able to make it due to distance/schedules, etc.)

Enjoy.

-----------
So there I was. With Leah Tan in tow (she came out from Vancouver for the event last night) and my friend Annalisa. We were heading to the church early to set up. I needed to find some stones to set up as a visual example, because the title of the event, Stones of Remembrance, is taken out of Joshua 4 where the take stones from the river, set them up so that they will remember what the Lord had just done in their midst, remember how it was just like when he parted the Red Sea, and how in remembering these things they would know "the might of the Lord.' So i needed to find some stones.

So we're cruising along Gladwin road en route to the church and we see a parking lot and we're like, "hey, there might be stones there!" but there were not. but now we are on a side road and so we cruise along there, back behind a school, a road that none of us knew. and we pass this v.v.v.large house set on several acres of property and they had thousands of stones as part of the landscaping. there were some even up in the ditch at the front. there were cars in the drive and a man trimming some bushes. Annalisa said, "let's go ask him for some stones!" we hemmed and hawed at how weird that was but, in the end, drove up the drive and out I jumped with this "very weird request sir, but I'm throwing this event tonight and I need a visual example for what I'm speaking on..." He said, "Where's the event?" "At N.view Community Church." "What's it about?" "Oh, well, I'm going to be sharing about Guatemala and what the Lord's been doing." "Cool. yeah, take some stones. God bless."

SWEET. That man loves Jesus, I thought. So, we took 12 nice sized stones, like softball size, and off we zoomed to the church. fastforward to 7pm. There is this man sitting amongst my 40 chairs set with two other, younger, people. I say, "are you the stone man?" He said, "yeah, I went inside and looked at my calendar and I didn't have anything up tonight, so I brought these two along and we'd love to hear about going on in Guatemala." YEAH YOU DO!!! WHAT????????????

RESPALDO DE DIOS.

Back up 24 hours. I am transitioning out of the Cyrus Centre, this youth shelter I've worked out, so I helped them out and covered two overnight shifts this weekend. On Saturday night, one of the two residents, Lisa, and I had a SWEET hour long conversation about Jesus, the Bible, Christianity, I shared some stories from my experiences, she started reflecting on her own life and how maybe God has been trying to get her attention, she tells me about her relationship with her boyfriend and some of the unbelievably sweet things he says to her and I tell her, "Lisa, that's what God says about you too" and I'm going to cry as I write this... Anyway, i ended up giving her some "homework" to read some bible passages when she went to bed and I had really felt like I wanted to invite her and her boyfriend Joel to the event. So I did. And she wanted to come. Because the LORD HAS A PLAN FOR HER LIFE. (seriously, she's going to get rocked.)

next morning, I was gone when she woke up but apparently she sprung out of bed and said to the workers there, "Katrina said that God loves me and she thinks He's speaking to me!!!" and she apparently had devoured that Bible that night.

ANYWAYS, the short of it was that a volunteer brought her and her boyfriend to the event last night. there they were, front row. You gotta know the redemption that the Lord is doing here, they both just got out of prison about three weeks ago. Crazy criminal activity. Crazy redemption on the horizon. GOD IS DOING A MIRACLE IN THEIR LIVES!!!!!

The presentation went from 7-8:30 or so. I just preached it guys. The Lord just gave me the words. I had an outline there, but had not run through it, but the Lord just made a way. I lost it about 10 minutes in when describing about that first devotional we were at, and proceeded to cry on and off throughout the next hour. We ended with worship and I've never wept through a worship set before, but I did. there were times when i couldn't sing. I cut the last song because I was a complete wreck and couldn't make it through it. There were 40+ people who came, I was so delighted, it was fantastic. some people were prevented from coming (there's an enemy at work out there) and some people were last minute shows. People were touched. People were encouraged. People cried along with me, (especially my little delinqant friends in the front row...Joel cried through the whole thing.)

To be honest, I think most people were stunned. They were greatly encouraged. God was there.

When the last of us left at 9:30p or so, wouldn't you know it, it was SOOOOO windy last night. Like, uncommonly windy. v.v.v.v.v.v windy. Interestingly, "wind" and "spirit" come from the same Greek word. Coincidence????

I . Don't. Think. So.

thanks for listening. it's another stone.

Time for Coffee

2009-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

I will have to start thinking of a great new name for my blog as another summer approaches. I admit that the current "The Third Floor" has been my favorite from amongst all of the others.

I have some friends who have/are depicting "one week in my life" through photos of their feet and where they go. Well, my life has been more virtual lately as I do quite a lot of emailing and working on presentations right here on my computadora. so, here is a photo of my hand for my hands do a lot more work than my feet.

There are several stories associated with this hand for example: the ring. Not The Ring as in THE RING, but...this ring. It has been on my hand for two years. See my good friend Annalizzza had slept at my place one day and left her rings here. I wore them around for a week waiting until i saw her again in order to give them back. In the span of that week, I decided I quite liked this one particular ring and didn't it look nice upon my finger? She said I could have it. Which was a nice gesture as it became a friendship reminder as I was leaving for the summer and then she was scheduled to depart for Corhia. It has been lost once, where upon Mr. Nick discovered it lying dismally abandoned upon the asparagus floor. Squished and deformed, it certainly would not fit upon my finger. He offered it to me in silence as there were no appropriate words of comfort to offer in light of this great misfortune.

It was a dark hour.

Robert, however, is man-extraordinaire and he fixed it for me. So it has found it's home again upon my little finger.

Second: the thick, gaudy pink nailpolish. Last night was the first of two over-night shifts at the at-risk youth center that I have been involved at. Last night one of the residents and I found some make-up and I proceeded to glob it on my fingers as we watched Jason Bourne work his cleverness on the tele. I will have to remove it before Monday when I fly because last time I went down, Juls didn't have any remover and so I had ugly, chipping nails for three whole weeks.

How's that for a light post. Here is a title, you can read for yourself, which is a delightful read. The writing is absolutely superb. It surprised me really, but I've been enjoying my slow plod through this novel. It's a beautiful old edition with colored pics that I found in Antigua.

It's for True

2009-02-26T11:15:00.001-08:00

I don't know what my issue is. I enjoy writing. I enjoy posting. But I just simply never do. I think what it is, is that there's so much going on that to adequately stay up with it all, I'd have to post several times a week and THAT'S never gonna happen and so I just never know where to start and so...I don't. Lame. I will try and do better.

It is a winter-wonderland outside my window. Down came the manna all day yesterday, who knew? I for one had no idea the forecast was for snow. I love the snow, but I can't get around anywhere as my scoot scoot does not do snow. But it is lovely none-the-less. I was supposed to go to my grandparents bible study tonight. They have a really tight-knit group of friends that meets every two weeks. Tonight one of the guys who is a Greek scholar was going to be leading the discussion and I was formally invited because I, as you know, am interested in Greek. I was very excited to go. But then my cold, which was just minor on Tuesday, got out of hand and now I am sick. Not dreadfully sick, but sick enough that I cannot go as I could potentially do serious damage to my G-pa who is vulnerable in his health due to chemo treatments. So now I cannot go. I am disappointed, but am hopeful that I will be right as rain for the next one in two weeks.

I have been learning lots in this Christian walk lately. A lot of it has to do with the cost of discipleship. There is a cost. I was sitting with a friend in a certain corporate coffee shop the other day and as I sat there thumping my finger on my bible, I said, "this thing is going to cost me my life." And it's true. This Jesus thing is much more serious than I ever realized. The gospel demands absolutely everything. It is a good thing my friends, a good thing. It is truth and it is worth it. I just never realized before. Like never really really realized the implications of the gospel.

Cristo Vive!

2009-02-03T14:29:00.000-08:00

For several days now I've been meaning to update. There is much to tell. But I cannot possibly tell that which I would like to.

Carolyn and I were discussing what the word "witness" means. I said that I would look it up in the Greek, but I have not done that yet. Hang on.

It is difficult to articulate exactly what is going on here. We've been talking about that too. How can one describe the things of God? It will inevitably cheapen it because it goes beyond language. We are called to witness, but why? The Greek does not really add any insight but dialogue around this has brought me to this conclusion: we are called to witness because in the act of sharing with one who has not seen, has not experienced, has not received or lived the same Jesus type of things causes a yearning for the same. right? One hears stories of encounters with angels and one thinks, hey, I want to encounter an angel. Or one hears of a limb growing back and he or she thinks, hey I want to see a limb grow back. Do we not desire to see our God act in the miraculous ways in which we give lip service to believing?

I do not feel like articulating everything. Here is a short synopsis which is the general foundation of everything:

I have spent several days touring myself around all of the monuments and churches in Antigua to better understand the cultural/spiritual/historical climate of this region. There are 33 churches from Colonial Guatemala all within 15 square blocks or so. They are from the days when Spain first charged in and colonized the area. The religious influence is Catholic. As a result of this touring, I have looked at dead Jesus after dead Jesus after dead Jesus. The Catholic church down here is rather fond of Jesus hanging on a cross. I am rather fond of the Resurrected Lord. There is a very big difference between the two.

On Sunday night, I had just wrapped up a long day of looking and scrutinizing various churches with dead and bloodied Jesus' hanging on crosses and the contrast was stark when I got off the bus at El Calvario and entered into a time of praise with 500+ people singing Cristo Vive! at the top of their lungs. That means "Christ is alive!" It was the biggest Jesus party I've ever been to. The fact that our Lord lives is worth celebrating, let me tell you. It's the only real reason to celebrate at all.

The Risen Lord and all of the implications of that fact is the theme of this trip. My faith has jumped several octaves.

God Bless Kat

2009-01-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

dear Friends,

This is a quick shout out to ask for some prayer coverage. Tomorrow, at 8am, I am flying away to Ontario and then on Thursday, five of us are flying down to Guatemala for two and half weeks. The purpose of the trip is for our leadership to all be together to have meetings to discuss the incredible work of the Lord!!! both this past summer and in the present and in the expected future. We will be discussing everything about everything in relation to Global Shore.

One whole agenda item is the topic of myself and my future involvement with the program. I will very likely be working with this organization on a full-time basis starting in May and following another summer of the usual Ontario/Guatemala split, the questions for next fall become: what will Kat do? Where will Kat live? When will Kat move? Etc. So the significance of the trip is up there.

If I cross your mind, mumble a "God bless Kat and team." And by saying that, you will be asking for God to have favour on me and our group. A very minor Greek lesson for today is that one of the meanings of the word "bless", which in the Greek is εὐλογέω, is to have favour on one. And we do indeed desire the favour of the Lord upon us.

thanks.

θεόπνευστος

2008-12-18T16:38:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking a lot about inspiration lately. It is an interesting notion. I have been thinking about what causes me to be inspired, how I inspire others, and how to maintain inspiration. Oh the concepts we think we understand.

Two anecdotes on moments of inspiration in my life.

1: The other week I attended a poetry reading at the school. Sonnet L'Abbé is a young poet from Vancouver and she is, oh, probably late 20's or so. She wrote a poem about one of the lakes in...ah, I forget the country, some country in the Middle East that ends in "-stan" and how the lake has receded something like 25 miles over the years due to crop irrigation. The problems that have arisen from the receding lake are enormous and have affected all manner of life in "-stan". The way L'Abbé read her poem, the commentary that she was making, the insight into the effects of this tragedy and how she expressed it all so lyrically through poetry caused this interesting stillness in me. I think there is a stillness associated with inspiration, it is a remarkable sensation. When something is inspiring, be it visually or audibly, it resonates with some sort of truth within us. Doesn't it? If I am inspired, it is because some truth has been presented to me in a new way, or I am reminded afresh of something I already knew. And so a quietness comes over that inside area in me, be it heart, spirit, soul. Yes, a quietness comes over my soul. And I am never thinking in that moment, that moment of impact so to speak, I am more just being in a state of stillness and truth. So there is a space of being in the inspiration and then an after-effect of acting out of the impact of inspiration which would make me now, one who is inspired.

The result of my inspiration that day was to write a poem in iambic pentameter largely around the theme of a cello player playing alone on a stage in the dark. I was listening to Yo-yo-ma while I wrote it. Cello players make another good source of inspiration.

2. I studied Homer's The Iliad this semester. As a final paper, I did a compare and contrast of the relationship between Achilleus and Patroklos of The Iliad and David and Jonathan from 1 Samuel. I was having a moment of revenge against my prof and I really wanted to blow him out of the water with this final paper. He has a real obsession over vocabulary and prefers students to write papers on the details of certain word choices and the nuances they bring and so I decided to really take this concept to the extreme. Which I did. I went back to the original Greek of Homer's work, and the original Hebrew of 1 Samuel, and cross-referenced certain words and yada yada yada. It was my 21st-century Dada statement. Anyways, as I was researching, I spent quite a bit of time looking at Greek and soon I found that I wanted to learn it. So I downloaded the alphabet and spent my very last Homer class doing little alphabet drills instead of being attentive and then I printed out some vocabulary sheets and worked on those, and then last week I was in a used book store and I found "The Essentials of New Testament Greek" for $8 and have now gone through the first two chapters. I desire to learn it, obviously, for that which is lost in translation of our English scriptures to those of the originals and henceforth, my life-journey of learning Greek has commenced. All because of a stupid little paper. which inspired me. So that one was self-inspired. but here, check this out:

θεόπνευστος

That is the Greek word for inspiration. I just discovered this, so this is fresh off the press. So, this word seems to be a combination of two words, first the Greek word θεός which means God, and the second word is πνέω which means "to breathe, to blow; of the wind." Now listen to this. Spirit? Spirit spirit spirit. The word for Spirit in Greek is πνεῦμα which "comes from zee Greek word" πνέω; our second Greek word. Do you see? They are related. God and Spirit and inspiration are related. The word "inspiration" essentially combines them. And you would be correct if you were thinking of the passage in 2 Tim. 3:16 where this Greek word is originally used which says that all scripture is God-inspired...aka. God-breathed. God and Spirit. And what this means for us is that our inspiration is very likely God-breathed. Spirit. A little Divine breath into my soul. Into your soul.

Does it not now make perfect sense that I have a stillness in my soul as I am in a space of inspiration? It is a state of truth, a state of being, breathing, something breathing upon me. God breathing upon me. And so it seems that it is neither L'Abbé nor myself who catalyzes inspiration in my life or in the lives of others but rather an inspiration from God himself through a human venue.

Great Love

2008-11-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

My mind was done, just done the other night and the best medicine for my mushy brain was a good laugh. And so, I decided that I wanted to watch Nemo, but that didn't work out for technical difficulties, and then I thought, well, I'll watch Sahara, the side-kick in that movie is hilarious, but then my eye caught "Win a Date with Tad Hamilton." No, I thought. I couldn't possibly. But then I remembered, yeah, Topher Grace is a hilarious actor, just his mannerisms crack me up because they are most akin to an old friend by the name of Jared Houston who has the same awkward, hilarious style (miss that guy). So second only to flying Jared himself to my living room for a personal stand-up show, I popped it in.

I laughed. I cried! It was so good. Not as in "Blood Diamond" good or "Anne of Green Gables" good, but as in Topher Grace, in-need-of-something-highschool-ish good. And here was the best-est line of the movie:

Bartender: "Was it love, big love, or great love?"

TG: "what's the difference?"

Bartender: Love you get over in two months. Big love, two years, but Great love...well, great love changes your life."

???!?!?!?!?!?

Come on. that's amazingly profound, or at least it was to my fried mind, late on a friday night as I craddled my glass of Pinot Grigio and subconsciously had the stress of papers hanging over my head.

Here's some recent love that I witnessed: Which one is it Louie? (is this not the sexiest f0t0 you ever saw? Tanner....you're amazing).

So in my life, it is o for three my friend. Let it be known that I don't think that anything short of the latter is worth it, this I know, and this I shall henceforth abide by. The only love in my life that is even remotely related to this discussion is the Great Love of the Good Lord, and that, appropriately, hits it out of the ball park entirely.

Thi5 i5 an A.

2008-11-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

0kay 0kay.

ha hA! h0mew0rk pr0crastinati0n. 1....3 (if i were a backward's Greek) and...5...that's it i think. 0kay, here'5 the game: y0u'11 find 0ut later.

s0, i wa5 g0ing t0 g0 t0 a bib1e 5tudy t0night, but i ju5t d0n't fee1 1ike playing the r01e of newbie again, at lea5t n0t t0night, 50 I'm n0t g0ing t0 g0. Even th0ugh I haven't been 0ut 0f the h0u5e a11 day and i g0t a11 spiffed up f0r n0thing, but hey it'5 nice to be 5piffed up ju5t f0r me, y0u kn0w?

0h 5pani5h mu5ic. 0n 5unday i went t0 a 5pani5h church. n0t 5ure h0w my 5peaking i5 after tw0 m0nths, cuz i didn't rea11y ta1k t0 any0ne 0ther than my bi1ingual friend wh0 0pted to 5peak t0 me in ang1ai5, but my c0mprhen5i0n i5 5ti11 up there. that i5 g00d new5 becau5e, friend5, if y0u haven't heard, i wi11 be vi5iting the 1and of 5paniard5 f0r three week5 at the end 0f January. 100king f0rward t0 that trip. ye55um.

f0ur week5! preci5ément. unti1 i 5hall f0rever be terminated the w0rking 0n 0f the undergrad. y0u bet bébé. int0 the b1ue bey0nd. the blue that i5 bey0nd b1ue in the bey0nd. i cann0t wait t0 5ee bey0nd that kind 0f b1ue. TAKE ME N0W!!!!

i'm g0ing to be creative right n0w. a 5pecia1 f0t0 m0ment f0t0 f0t0 ju5t f0r y0u.

wou1d y0u be1ieve me if i 5aid that a11 three 0f the5e image5 came fr0m the 5ame f0t0? it i5 true. and that i5 ca11ed arti5tic 1icen5e.

here i5 a g00d Je5u5 w0rd: it i5 f0und ju5t ea5t 0f 1uke, ju5t we5t 0f 9 and a 5midget midget 0ver fr0m 3o but n0t yet at 32.

If y0u abide in my w0rd, y0u are tru1y my di5cip1e5, and y0u wi11 kn0w the truth and the truth 5ha11 5et y0u free.

Life in Red

2008-10-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

We're back baby. This is a third person narrative...to myself. I think I've lost the world, so here this night, post-wedding, should-be-working-on-a-paper, recently-inspired-by-Tanner's-blog....I write.

Life and weddings and marriage and love and Jesus and school and good music. I want to sing in coffee shops. or busk. That would really make sense with a lot of who i am. Kat: the busker. The female minstrel? What does that look like? (such was the question posed to me today.) Me. You're looking at it. I am. The Female Minstrel.

When I'm bored and doing homework, I take I'm-bored-and-doing-homework shots in photobooth. Here's my recent fav:

I have an insane collection of I'm-bored-and-doing-homework shots. Someday I'm going to publish a photo book and this is what the title is going to be, it's really innovative: I'm-bored-and-doing-homework. Shots.

So, self, are you really enjoying your current study of "Believing God" by Beth Moore? Why yes, I am, thanks for asking. It is so precisely what I need to be learning and affirming in my life right now. In fact, I'd recommend it to anyone who asked me for a recommendation. Say someone came up to me and asked, "hey you, who do you recommend?" why I'd say, "I would recommend Beth Moore to you, I would, yes I would, I would recommend, rec-commend, re-commend, commend, recommend Beth Moore to you, yes I would recommend her." And they would reply, thank-you for that recommendation. and i would reply, I am exceedingly grateful for the chance to recommend Beth Moore to you. and then i would leave.

qoq. that was supposed to say "wow" but my fingers were on the wrong keys.

The sexiest love song that will ever exist is "The Blower's Daughter" by Damien Rice. It just doesn't get any better than that.

The read of the month from the literature department is Native Son by Richard Wright. It's a black writer writing about black rage in the states. It was published in 1940. Very interesting. I'm going to write an 'A' paper on that book. That is what I will do. That is what I will do as soon as I finish my 'A' paper on Homer and I will do that as soon as I finish the very necessary task of doing a face-lift on a blog read by myself. Yes. My life of back-burner activities.

My life my life

2008-08-31T14:43:00.000-07:00

Where a more appropriate place exists to write a final blog entry for summer 2008 other than the airport of my layover, I know not. Here I am, sitting in Edmonton, the place of my birth. A shout out to Rachel, Jeff and lil’ Linnea. Thanksgiving plans are still in the back of my mind. Via…scooter? Yow.

The summer the summer. The last post was a photographic experience if I recall. Here’s the problem, so so sos ososos osos oso much has gone down, I just cannot possibly do it justice in writing. Please, let’s go for coffee and I will share with you in person if you are interested. The short of it is this: I am bursting with testimony, with the incredible work that God did within our team. The utter transformation. The Good News of the gospel. It is such good news! Who knew. I mean, I “knew” but I didn’t “know” until…august. Ah, it’s so good.

I'm such a little editor. I just took out a chunk of some Jesus stuff, it was good, but, I don't want to preach??? . No, I don't. I want to be a person of love. Can everyone in my Abby vacinity who is reading this take it upon themselves to be my personal accountability partners this next while, ensuring that I am a person of love?

If there is any closing encouragement I can offer, it would be to pick up your bible. Just read it. Seriously, crack open those ancient pages, pick up a translation other than the one you’ve memorized your whole life, and force yourself to read the content of that book. I guarantee you will be surprised. Search for all the promises that God/Jesus/the Holy Spirit offer to us. And hold on to them forever.

At the beginning of august it became quite clear that our team was caught up in something far bigger than ourselves, that this summer, the twelve of us, in Guatemala, had been in the divine scheme of things for quite a while. What a privilege.

Hey, I think my suitcase is getting loaded on the plane. Moving up up up up up the little suitcase escalator thing.

What am I reading right now. Let’s investigate the carry-on luggage of Kat: The Bible. (gooder). Fear & Trembling (I’m holding out to marry a Søren one day…is that Russian?) And, the newest addition: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Thanks Carolyn, I’m enjoying it. A nice mix of honesty and humor from one successful New York writer, whose life falls apart and so she goes on a search for God and self across the world. So far it is intriguing that she, quite clearly, has identified the still small voice of God in her life, to the point of it dictating to her as she writes. What is interesting is that God, at this point, is the big Deity, but not yet associated with Christ or salvation, maybe she will find him by the end of the book, but I don’t think she does. And so it is interesting, that, I think, God is readily available to dialogue with everyone, whether they fall into the Christian category or not. Interesting. And now we come full circle that, you are very right Carolyn, “Because we are all on a journey.” Amen to that.

That was an unnecessary glimpse into my personal library at the moment. It intrigues me and therefore…everyone else as well??? Mah.

--------------

I'm back home now. And I'm just a-chilling, and posting this last one, and I had a brilliant thawt, brilliant. I was trying to think of some closing pic that would be all-encompassing, but there isn't one. So, as you have noticed, I have included the series of topical shots that I took in the Chimaltenango market. And, now I will draw my own topical picture of my summer. Because...I have time to do something bizarre like that? It will be this self-reflective exercise. here we go.

Closing thoughts.

Music is beautiful.

People are beautiful.

Honesty is beautiful.

Vulnerability is beautiful.

Acceptance is beautiful.

Spanish worship is beautiful.

I am beautiful.

Piano is beautiful.

Team 2008 is beautiful.

Guatemala is beautiful.

Ontario is beautiful.

This airport is beautiful.

Abbotsford. You’re beautiful too.

Thanks for following. Traditionally, this is the part where I declare the dormancy of this blog henceforth and thereafter this closing post, until another trip, however, I may just throw a thought or two out there every once in a while, and who really knows how long I shall abide in sweet ol’ Abby. And so.

If you like. Keep me bookmarked.

Much much much love, Kat

are you singing to yourself.

2008-08-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have nothing to say. Or no patience to say it. So this is the... obligatory update since it's overdue. so...let the pics speak. SPEAK!

Mayan Ladies.

Juls and the hybrid.

Only on a Guatemalan volcano top.

Piggie market in Chimaltenango.

ummmmm....took a little longer than we thought??????

four-foot nothing Spanish teacher: Ana. love. her.

Cindy-lita. sis-ter.

animal plastic funsies.

classic vintage wall.

Python around mi neck!

"Preamble from the Heart" ~SK

2008-08-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That's how Paul starts most of his letters. I thought I'd follow his lead.

We just returned back from a weekend at Semuc Champey. It's a really beautiful tropical, translucent pool paradise. I've written about it the last few years, you can read about it and see photos from the archives if you're a really hardcore follower of my life. I'll hit the highlites of the weekend: some good hammock time. some really good Kierkegaard time. Some good devo time with the group. Some good...star-gazing time. Some good rope-swing time. Some good contemplate-life time.

So, this time last week, something shifted in our group. Dare I call it a "shift of the Spirit?" I think so. It's been a very exciting week. Three of the students were involved in a hardcore, Spirit-led, exorcism time, which in turn, rocked their world because...because. Jesus is alive and his Spirit is in us! (maybe). Yeah. And then...this hunger that had been prophesied over our group months ago, without our knowledge, is being fulfilled, because a good chunk of the team is hungry for the things of the Lord. Because our generation, to generalize, is fed up with Christianity as a religion and is interested in the real guts of the relationship with Jesus part. So we are hungering after the Lord. And then Elise was baptised on Thursday. Which was exciting. And and and. it's good. It's the best feeling as a leader when you've known all along that you're really just a pawn in the whole scheme of things, and then it becomes really clear who the real King Pin is.

Rather train yourself for godliness, for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. ~1 Tim. 4:8.

Even of a person born in humble circumstances I ask that he should not be so inhuman towards himself as to be unable to think of the king's castle except at a distance and by dreaming of its grandeur indistinctly, wanting to exalt it and simultaneously destroying its grandeur by exalting it in such a debasing way. I ask that he be human enough to approach and bear himself with confidence and dignity there too... I ask everyone not to think so inhumanly of himself as to dare not set foot in those palaces where not just the memory of the chosen lives on but the chosen themselves. He should not push himself shamelessly forward and thrust upon them his kinship with them, he should feel happy every time he bows before them, but be frank and confident and always something more than a cleaning woman; for unless he wants to be more than that he will never come in there. ~Søren Kirkegaard.

Give some thought to that.

mmmmm, on another note, i ate the heart of a gallina this past week. That's a chicken more or less. There was actually an aorta sticking out of it. it was quite the mental challenge. Mind over matter. and cold showers are much easier to take if they are but three minute immersions instead of limb by limb by limb as i am accustomed to doing. Just look how the Lord is transforming my ways, it's incredible.

The random assortment of pictures are just that: the snapshots of day to day life. T.I.G. This Is Guatemala. Nevermind..."web acceleration error" aka. the photos aren't uploading. Another time then.

la vida y mas

2008-07-24T15:17:00.000-07:00

Week three of Guatemala. What has been great this summer is our regular attendance in one of the local churches over in Jocotenango. It’s a good time. Giant Jesus dance party at times. I have much to learn from the church here. As in I’m pretty sure they were singing all these same songs last year, but they continue to with church services twice a week, singing and dancing and praising God with all of their strength as if hearing the songs for the first time. The truth of the lyrics never change, but I often tire of a melody, and therefore the song as a whole, but that’s not quite right now is it.

This is my family. Meet: Agustin, Osman, Franky, Cindy and Enma.

2008 is a year of change. For me in my personal life, for the program, for lots of things it seems. We’re in the process of asking some hard questions about what direction this ministry needs to go in. We’ve concluded that Jesus needs to be a more evident part of our work in speech and so we’ve been incorporating that into all aspects of our work here. That’s been an exciting change. We made a quick decision to take the group to visit a ministry in the Copan region. Les and Rita Peters are incredible missionaries with Impact Ministries and just the short 24 hours we had with them became a highlite of the summer for the group. Some good reminders like, “We need to live life with a “yes” in our spirit, even if what God is asking us is really difficult”. Or…. “the best thing you can do with your life is to give it away to Jesus”. Now, you would have to meet Rita and just see the overflow of Jesus in her life to believe that that statement is true for herself and that she is living it out. Great people, grrrrrrrrrreat. People.

And this is just a sweet shot. It makes a good desktop.

The book of Ephesians is incredible. I spent a large chunk of my Sunday afternoon slowly slowly slowly reading the first half. I’ve taken to underlining only those passages that are “really really really good” but….funny, I literally underlined 80% of those first three chapters. Check it out. The short of it is: Jesus. He’s the Reason.

Oooo, another MUST read: Fear & Trembling. Søren Kierkegaard. Wow wow wow wow wow, I get so lost in the lyricism of his writing. Astounding. Inspiring. Go to your local bookstore and buy a copy immediately. In short, Kierkegaard is obsessed with Abraham, and the book is his philosophical breakdown of that bible story. Here are some gems:

I am convinced that God is love; this thought has for me a pristine lyrical validity.

[on Abraham] He believed on the strength of the absurd, for all human calculation had long since been suspended.

The dialectic of faith is the most refined and most remarkable of all dialectics, it has an elevation that I can form a conception of but no more.

People commonly travel the world over to see rivers and mountains, new stars, garish birds, freak fish, grotesque breeds of human; they fall into an animal stupor that gapes at existence and they think they have seen something. I am not concerned with this. But if I knew where such a knight of faith lived I would journey to him on foot, for this marvel concerns me absolutely.

Go.

Kierkegaard.
I hiked Pacaya. That’s an active volcano here. Yeah, Elise, Ams and I took a tour and it was thrilling. Imagine just this beautiful tropical trail with black volcanic soil going up up up up up up up up for the first hour (in the company of travelers from total el mundo….I LOVE the French), and then the next 30 minutes picking through lava rock and fishures until we arrived at the glowing embers. BUT WAIT! Only a glimpse before a volcanic burp disturbs the air and rocks start tumbling down upon us. Imagine 50 or so tourists caught in several moments of panic and scattering, thinking everything is going to BLOW!!! But… it didn’t, and only two people were injured. On Pacaya, according to LonelyPlanet, you are more likely to get injured by the activity of the volcano then by criminal activity. And that was certainly true for our group. Our guide found some flowing lava, so up we went. Smell the burning rubber as the soles of your shoes melt from the scorching hot rock, and feel the shifty shifty path beneath your feet as you disregard safety in an effort to witness the brilliance of lava lava lava right before your eyes. It was quite incredible. A must see.

The group is good. This town has so much pain and hurt and dysfunction in it. If you’re a praying person, please pray for our little town of Tizate. There is much that God would like to do here. Pray that the team would be present here in their minds, for focus on our work and the people here, for attitudes to give give give in love.

Mishmash

2008-07-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

So, here I am in Guatemala! yow. almost a week here now and it is grrrrrr. ate. altogether, GRATE. mwa.

yeah, what to say, feels like home, third time, things are familiar, the family is familiar, SPANISH IS BACK! I'm very happy to be able to communicate in a fairly decent, semi-humiliating fashion: it works well for me. I'm currently sitting at the back of the salon watching some of our chicas teach s flagging routine to uno, dos, tres... thirteen niños. They're cute. Speaking of cute, here Mom, these were the two kids you were talking to earlier...Deana on the right, mi hermana Cindy on the left. Nope, other way around. Ah, Cindy, I love that girl, we hang out a lot.

The team is doing really great here, the first week is always a bit overwhelming seeing as it's a new culture, new language, new family, new work, thrown into teaching and drama and art and spanish classes et cetera. it's a bit much. it's sink or swim, and they always swim in the end.

I personally am having a blast making connections with different people and organizations, pursuing this fairtrade bizzle. Some exciting meetings lined up for tomorrow in the Antigua. DOT.

More news, congrats to my brew Kris who became recently engaged to the Char charmant...hay una foto de los dos abajo. Felicitationas. Soy muy feliz para ustedes.Hey, before I forget, thanks to everyone keeping up on this here Blogggggg. i've gotten your little comments and emails even if I have not replied! Thanks for...having an interest in my life and random random thoughts.

Speaking of which, what was I reading recently....ah, man, I'm getting so bible-y, but so it goes! what was I thinking the other nite...more heavy thoughts. Do I share? maybe just a bit, let me find biblia...so, I'm finishing up Galatians, and this is what it says, "so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith" (G. 3:14.) So clearly I am on a Holy Spirit theme this summer. and the Thought Pattern went something like this:

hmmmm, so the Spirit is promised, and we receive it through faith...hmm, o, there's something else interesting, "But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe" (A.3:22) Right. So the promise of this second passage is talking about the Spirit as mentionned already, only by faith in Jesus is it given and only to those who believe...believe. Hmmm. hmm?

maybe I'll flip back to Acts, that's a good book that talks about the Spirit... (flip to Acts) "how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (A. 10:38). hmmm, so Jesus only got the HS when he was baptized, so God put his Spirit into his son, and power too... "To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name" (A. 10: 43). Interesting. believes in him, believes in him. what does that mean exactly. Believe in Jesus, believe in what he did, all his crazy works, and God says something like "I am the same yesterday, today and forever", so crazy Jesus works, if I believe they really happened, they must be able to happen today too, seeing as God is unchanging, and we must believe believe believe this.

Believe.

And I only get this gift, this "promise", aka The HS if I am a believer. In Jesus. Which we all are. or are we.

interesting.

that was not thought out very well...you can come to your own conclusions.

On another note, I chopped my hair off. Oh, it was grand, it happened quite a while ago...two months now? yeah. Can you imagine kat with hair 3/8 "? Bzzzzzzz. YEAH BABY! It's been this phenomenal secret that I've kept to myself, but it's leaking out, and seeing as I want to share Miss Carolyn with you, as she is a very dear person to me, I suppose now is the time: here we are. Te amo Carolyn, te amo.Hasta Luego.

MickeyBlue & Specs

2008-06-30T20:19:00.000-07:00

There's a kitten sleeping on me right now. cute really.

So, here i sit on the back porch with Ams, playing with some kitties, enjoying the setting sun, mild breeze in the air, sun peeking through the scattered clouds. we got back not too long ago from a last errands trip into town. midnight on Wednesday will see us travelling south in the three silver stallions à Detroit to catch our early morning flight out. Syanara Ontario.

Asparagus ended well. Best season yet. During certain moments Kris and I felt like yeah, heck, we could work in the asparagus barn for several more months, but no, two is good enough I think. Onwards.

now there are two kitties on me. We've named them MickeyBlue & Specs. Three of us saw a sign that said "free kittens" whilst en route to Tillsonburg and so we stopped and took two. We've a special home in mind for them.

The summer is half over and Guatemala is upon us. Final loads of laundry, final BBQ's, final final.

Here's the team. We have: Fids, Jess, Ams, moi-même, Elise, Kris, Jules, Yo-yo-ma, Dale, Karla, Mary and Andy. Phenomenal phenomenal people. yeah, just really enjoying being with them for these intersecting months of our lives. There is no shortage of beautiful people in this world.

There's this chipmunk that keeps scampering across the lawn. bit distracting really.

Not really anything deep or mind-penetrating to offer in this moment. The grass is really green here. Carolyn is a very dear person to me. Love will take me the whole of my life to learn how to live out. My default is set to "egocentric", and not "others". Ties in with the life love thing, die to self, die to self.

Mmmm, cherries are in season. band shot.
I've been able to reunite with some former alumni of this program as of late. Koodoes to Jenna and Char, two inspirational and impactful people in my life. I can see myself turning vegan and cycling everywhere in the future. Really I'm just a mosaic of others.

Maybe I can find a good quote somewhere...one of the books I'm juggling is the Shack (i know i know), but if you can get through the first 100 pages of terrible writing, the author redeems himself with interesting dialogues between the protagonist and the trinity. let's see...okay, i found something i underlined: Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me."

until Guaté.

off the record.

2008-06-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

Hmmm, that time again is it. Swinging in a hammock in the rain is a good time. So is Vivaldi: the Four Seasons. So is ambrosia salad. I forgot how tasty that is.

I don't even know what to write about, there's so much. This will be the Kat: off the record entry. Starting with.... . . . . .

Today I attempted to pull a prank on a co-worker and it completely back-fired on me. You have no idea. it's hardly worth getting into, but I'm sure I will have to have a conversation or two before the week/the night is up to clarify some stuff. Robert gave me a hearty laugh when he told me of the toad he put on the asparagus line once, and down it went on the line and the last girl freaked out, fainted, quit on the spot and spent the rest of the day crying in her vehicle. How do such good intentions go so terribly awry? Part of me thinks it's hilarious and I don't care to defend myself or explain myself, but that is me just closing up, throwing up some defenses and being selfish. So. here's hoping a level, gracious heart wins out at the appropriate time.

One of my favorite worship songs is Before the Throne of God Above. It's hit me in a different way in recent weeks although I've taken to it for quite some time now. I'm currently listening to it.

Does anyone know what it means to be "spiritual"? think of that word. we just throw it around, but have we really thought about what it means? So currently i am reading in 1 Corinthians, and having just come through Acts and Romans, there seems to be this theme of...the Spirit. capital S. I have to distinguish you see, because it talks of the spirit (lower case s) and the Spirit (capital S). And then you read something like this, where is it...okay, listen,

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ. [...] But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?....

et cetera.

I was going to put a picture of a cow right here, but the connection is too slow, it won't upload. Just because. It's a cow. you know.

So....what we can conclude is this: I live in the flesh, seeing as there are jealousies in my life and other such indications, so then I fall into the "people of the flesh" category, i.e. infant. But there is this other category which is "spiritual people", lower case s, who are filled with the Spirit of God, capital S. Spiritual. what does that even mean, let me F12 it. Here is what F12 says: spiritual: 1) of, relating to, or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things. 2)(of a person) not concerned with material values or pursuits. this is flawed, why am i using F12 and not the word of God to define spiritual...will have to work on that.

also note how we are to have the "mind of Christ". ah, citation, check it, that passage is from 1 Corinthians 2: 14 - 3: 3. right, this was note-worthy too... "while there is jealousy yup yup...are you not of the flesh and behaving "only in a human way?" uh, sorry Paul, last time i checked, ummm, I was human. interesting. very interesting. so (putting the pieces together, do you see the puzzle starting to create a picture?), ah, so, I'm human but...i'm to be Spirit-filled, capital S, making me no longer an infant and I never have to drink 1% ever again, and then i will have the Divine in me, capital D, which sorta makes me not human anymore, but something more. living differently. eating real food like ambrosia salad and perogies, and never drinking milk ever again. Forget Calcium. I knew it wasn't spiritual. lower case s.

I digress.

I knew this would be rough.

but hopefully the real questions are coming through somehow through this...bunkum.

Bunkum. I love thesauruses.

Scuffed Shoes

2008-06-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, amazing.

Friends are so dear, are they not?

People are beautiful, are they not?

Like...I only intended on staying at the Konrad's to say hi, but ended up staying for dinner, tea and yogurt with three handfuls of frozen blueberries with maple syrup partnered with lovely conversation.

Like...walking up to my coworker drawing a cat on a bright orange sticky so that I can parade around with it on my back all day.

Like...figuring life out together, and God out together and struggling together.

Like...country yard sales and old order churches.

Like...biking 5km with a giant James Dean poster under your arm.

Like...shared tears.

Like...people in love being sweet to one another.

Like...like like. like. like . like . . . . . .......

Today I started a conversation with Kris that we will maybe finish tomorrow, and it was on my recent musings of love and faithfulness. I think. Deep within. each of us, and I was specifically thinking of men because they are perhaps perceived to be the greater infidel of the two genders (although this is probably not true), but I was thinking that every man wants to find that one woman to be absolutely faithful to. Absolutely. And I've been musing these things because love is everywhere, and a good friend of mine got engaged last week, and Kris is smitten by his Char, and my co-worker Joel is getting married in two weeks to lovely Susie, and there is just this sweetness and beauty and love. love. love. love. and utter fidelity. for that one woman. and i am observing this love and it is very sweet. and counter-cultural. and love has to go deeper than carnal desire and reach depths of honesty and vulnerability and safety and support and then it is this sweet, tender, lasting treasure. to be a beloved. and that is...perhaps a bit of the original image that we were created in the likeness of revealing itself in little glimpses.

life is this...deceptive romance. or is it? hmmm. I am discovering that I constantly romantise things, not in the sense of romantic love, but of classic, idealized beauty. Like fresh muffins every day of the week. Old gravestones with illegible script. the Sahara. the Other. Scuffed Shoes. Adventure. that which i have not. those seem to be the things that are romantised. yet grass is green everywhere, not just on the other side, and perhaps it was never green there to begin with. and it seems to be that underneath the romance of life is a lot of hard work. dishes. planning. dirt. disease. hurt. homesickness. I don't know what the conclusion of this thought is other than we live in an idealized world but seem unwilling to step up to the necessary work or find the romance in our own present circumstances.

On runs back from the cemetery, I am always struck by the straightness of the path before me combined with the music I am listening to. this...surreal, treadmill, perseverance, life analogy type of thing. I can't really describe it. it is... the color of music.

the Color of Music.

That would be a good book title.

Today is June 9. On this day, in 1853, someone named Anne died. She was the beloved wife of Samuel Francis. A beloved wife. and died at 23. I'm almost 23. It is her grave that I visit and throw lilacs on when I run to Hemlock cemetery. Her illegible scripted gravestone. Very, very romantic. A beloved wife. and died at 23. I'm almost 23. somebody explain that to me.

and now I will go back to reading Romans. because it describes this very romantic kind of Savior and a very romantic type of grace except this is perhaps a genuine expression of romance and I detect no deception at all. I think it might just be real.

ninehundredplus. timestwo. unplugged.

2008-05-31T18:29:00.000-07:00

“There are a lot of people we know who profess to be Christians but then you occasionally meet someone who really knows the Lord and has spent time with the living Jesus” (Ryan Wyatt).

I concur.

It is not that there are a lack of people who claim to be Christians, or even those who honestly try and live their lives out in obedience to God or those who seek him outside the Sunday services, etc., it’s just that, in recent months, it has become clear to me that that this Christian walk was meant to look a great deal different than it does in my own life. And my life is probably a classic example of someone who seeks God on matters, someone who aims to be obedient, someone who considers herself a Christian week in and week out, someone who desires to grow in her faith, yada yada yada. And I am probably like you and you are probably like me, and together we probably cannot say that we have spent time with the living Jesus, or maybe we have, but maybe it was one profound weekend last year, or that time in France on the Mediterranean, or that phenomenal retreat, or whatever. But I am recently under the (correct) assumption that knowing, knowing the living Jesus should be something that can honestly be claimed by every individual and on a consistent basis. As in interactive. As in present tense. As in I’ve met a handful, a handful, of people throughout my life who have met the living Jesus and now I want to meet him too.

A (brief) history of my journey up until now. More for my sake than yours, to see on paper the progression up until this point. Because it has certainly been a progression, and in hindsight, I can see that.

Alberta. (somewhat) traditional Mennonite church for 13 years. Ride the faith of the parents. Alliance church, 2 years. Enter personal faith. Intro to spiritual gifts, anointing of oil, awareness of the supernatural. Province change. Enter Sunshine coast. Youth group with Baptist influence 3 years. Further awareness of supernatural. Intro to (more) expressive worship. Observations of speaking in tongues/ the prophetic. Intro to some passionate young people after Christ. Graduation. City change. Abbotsford. Bible study. Intro to deliverance/healing prayer. Missions trip. Intro to our authority in Christ. UFV. Intro to world religions and the upsetting realization that there are more common denominators than I initially realized. The Good News: Jesus. Church change, enter Northview. Further involvement/commitment to young adult group. Summers abroad in charismatic Guatemala. Intro to responsibility for social justice and environment. January 2008 - present: intro to the fact that I’m completely missing something. Intro to a spiritual hunger for something that I don’t have. Intro to actually reading the bible. ACUTALLY READING THE BIBLE. Struggles with this fact: God. Big big big big big. DEITY. Big big big big big. Powerful. Beyond us in every way. Me. Miniscule. Finite. Little little little little little me. Here’s the mental picture: a tiny dot. Quite like this punctuation point:

.

Now, around this dot is an enormous circle. I am the dot. You are the dot. God is the enormous circle. He says he wants to commune with us, even live in us. But I am a dot. And he is an enormous circle. And I am finite. But he is not. So how the hell does that work. Right. That would look like something completely different than anything else of this world. The divine. Doing divine things. In me. Through me. In little finite me.

I’ve been ACTUALLY READING THE BIBLE lately.
Actually reading the bible.
Actually reading the bible.
Actually reading the bible.

Something I heard about a dozen times this year was this: you either believe the bible in its entirety, or you don’t believe it at all. Nod, nod nod, furrowed brow in agreement, a little “mmm-hmmm, yeah, that’s good” but only in the last month have I really been thinking on that and deciding that I need to be one of those two things: in or out. All or nothing. Because I do, or have done, this selective reading thing, or perhaps I just know the stories too well. Or perhaps I’ve just been blind. But I’ve actually been reading the bible lately. I’ve gone through Acts several times before, but right now it’s like I’m going through it for the first time. And you know what it says, it says the Holy Spirit FELL upon people. Like the timing was appointed. And an angel busted Peter out of prison. And a gate just swung open on its own accord. And Saul was one of the worst SOB’s ever to live but then. But then.

But then.

He met the living Jesus. And Bam. Sure stone me, put me in prison, ship-wreck me, ship-wreck me again, reject me, hate me, it doesn’t matter. I’ve met the Living Jesus. And let’s not forget what these “fanatics” did for their Lord. They did exactly what Jesus did: healed. Raised the dead. et cetera.

So. I’m trying to believe the whole bible. And it says that Jesus came to bring us life to the full, life abundantly. And Jesus says he wants us to know the father as he knows the father. And these are promises, and I’m holding God to them that I will find these promises for my own life.

Sometime soon.

P.S. A good listen is "Come all you weary" by Thrice. Gold.

summation.

2008-05-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

I get to wear my favorite trashy jeans and not take flack from anyone.

Hairnets are hot.

I get to walk around with a clipboard and deal with numbers all day.

I get to visit the students at their various immobile positions on the assembly lines during the day.

I get to ring the buzzer for breaks.

I get to brew 70 cups of President’s Choice coffee every morning at 7:15.

I get to work with my two home-dawgs from last year. we are quite the dynamic trio.

Reasons why the asparagus barn ain’t all that bad.

Flying kites in the field.

Sun-time. risqué.

Asparagus piñatas.

3/8” (muahh-ahh-ahhhhhh).

Group testimony times.

St. Jacob’s roadtrip.

Cherry fields.

Team crochet blanket.

Tea at the Konrad’s.

Runs to my fav cemetery.

Sweet $3.99 purchases from VV.

Beach beach beach beach beach.

Custom alarm clock in the form of Julianne hurling herself on me every morning at 6:15.

Ontario sunsets.

An incredible team.

Time to read.

Private bird sanctuary out the back door.

Grass. grass. grass. grass. grass. grass. grass. all for me. for me. for me. for me.

High-lites of Ontario living.

Band shot while trespassing in a ginsine field.

Our responsibility to strangers

2008-05-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

(you don't really have to read this. it's kinda long. 969 words to be exact. it's just something i wrote for a friend who has hopes of starting a grassroots magazine. just more thoughts. sometime soon i'll buy batteries that work and snap some photos and get out of my brain and broadcast the people that I'm spending my summer with. all in due time. all in due time).

"Our Responsibility to Strangers"

I have long since grown tired of our affluent Western culture and its self-centered expenditures that often seem foolish and unnecessary. The question of what is a necessary expense and what is not differs from one person to the next. A large percentage of people, for example, could not fathom a life apart from their ready-at-hand cell phone whereas a decade ago, cell-phones were a luxury and not nearly as common as they have become today. This exemplifies what has become the norm for what I (admittedly) presume to be the average North American mindset: luxuries made necessities. When one poses the question of “what do I really need?” the answer is surprisingly little and yet people either evade this question altogether, or worse, in full conscience choose to live in luxury anyway.

All of this preamble aims to establish a spectrum in which one end represents unnecessary expenditures and the other represents extreme frugality. The purpose of the spectrum is not simply to question the spending habits of the West, but rather to give thought to the implications of these habits, either the inhibition or the assistance of them to the Other, the marginalized, the developing world, the “least of these”. Kwame Anthony Appiah in his book Cosmopolitanism stated that the question is not, “whether or not we have a responsibility to strangers but rather, to what degree is our responsibility?” The question then becomes, where am I placed on the spectrum? Where should I be placed? Personally I am of the mind that both extremes of the spectrum are unhealthy and yet my tendency is still to stray towards frugality. I am in need of an appropriate balance, but in the end it will still likely remain closer to the frugal than that of excessive expense.

It is, I think, obvious why excessive spending is unhealthy as it not only handicaps one’s ability to budget, but it also breeds selfishness, greed and vanity. The other, frugality, is dangerous because taken to the extreme, one would never even go out for dinner for the guilt felt for those in the world without food let alone the opportunity to dine out. I am exaggerating a bit in my examples, but the point is made that some type of balance must be found and yet it seems to me that the majority of people strike a balance that favors spending over giving, and I think it should be the other way around.

To further explore this suggestion of a correct balance, we need to more clearly define who the “stranger” is that we are responding to. Mitch Albom’s novel The Five People You Meet in Heaven follows the journey of a deceased man as he arrives in heaven and learns five valuable lessons pertaining to his life . The first lesson learned is, “Strangers are simply family that you have yet to come to know.” I cannot express how profound this quotation has seemed to me in recent weeks. It suggests that strangers are not simply the thirty other students in my English class, or even the new neighbors who moved in next door, but also the Sikh community in my town, the prostitutes strutting down Hastings, the family devastated in Rwanda. “Strangers” include those from every walk of life, every religion, every lifestyle, every upbringing, every social rank.

I was caught off-guard when I realized that Jesus preached a similar notion in the parable of the Good Samaritan . Having grown up on this story, I suppose I just never related it to my “family of strangers” in Africa and yet that is exactly what this story is about. Jesus, in response to the question of who is my neighbor?, tells of a man who, while traveling, is mugged, robbed, and left for dead by the side of the road. Not only does a priest pass him by, but also a Levite. Where most people would stop for a half-dead man on the side of the road, these two men do not even though, ironically, they even more than the average person should have. It is the third man of the neighboring country of Samaria who not only stops to help, but also brings the man to an inn to recuperate and there pays his costs. It would seem that Christ also calls us to the same responsibility to strangers.

Here are just two examples that promote our giving to the needy of the world but the matter goes one step further from the question of degree to the suggestion outlined by Appiah at the conclusion of his book that, along with having a responsibility to strangers we also, “have a responsibility as to where we direct our funds.” William Easterly in his book The White Man’s Burden argues that there are two great tragedies in relation to the world’s poor. The first addresses the physical ailments of disease, malnourishment, unclean water, etc. The second tragedy is the use of the West’s foreign aid finances, $2.3 trillion in the past five decades. Where has this money gone to and has it been used wisely? Easterly suggests that the results hardly match with the dollar amount given.

I am not aiming to propose an answer to the original question of balance because, at best, personal convictions are just that: personal and therefore unique to every individual. I do, however, hope to challenge or stimulate some reflection on spending habits and question whether we are called to give/do more. And finally, where is it that we are directing our funds? We owe it to the poor to give at least to some degree and furthermore to be responsible in our giving and ensure that it goes to an organization that is effective in its efforts to bring about some form of relief.

title.

2008-05-07T10:03:00.000-07:00

We’re into week 2. The team is great, nine girls, three guys. Defined by their servanthood. This is delightful and makes all the difference in the world. It is going to be a great summer.

It’s a late start to asparagus and we’ll only be starting tomorrow. We’ve done a few random jobs here and there but have enjoyed the extra time to get to know one another as a team.

I have caught a nasty head cold and have been sick the last few days. I want to chop my head off, but will withstand the temptation in the hope that I will recover soon.

It’s still beautiful here. I love having a lawn, it’s a fantastic break from condo-living. And we have our own private symphony of birds every morning. and lake Erie is still. astounding.

I’ve been reading! Ahh, divine pleasures, here is an extraordinary quote from the Five People You Meet in Heaven: “Strangers…are just family you have yet to come to know.” This quote was on my mind a lot last week, in context of this team, of a bunch of people thrown into a situation and trying to find their place, but it’s true you know. That capacity for family is there. is. here. ponder it, it's profound.

Hmm, other thoughts, I’ve been thinking of the beauty of journeys and how we’re all on one, at different places along the journey spectrum. It is a vast spectrum. I think in the past the spectrum has frustrated me, but it seems beautiful to me now. that somehow God walks with all of us where we are, and is drawing us to himself in different ways, at different paces, teaching us different things. That we may not respond in the same way as based on the variety of contexts that we come from, various upbringings, a plethora of unique experiences, etc. but still we journey.

Pack Day.

2008-04-28T16:26:00.000-07:00

Babies. What’s up with the miracle of life, I don’t get it. I am the proud cousin-aunty of... the little black-haired ism that was birthed into the world but five hours ago to cousin Rachel and Jeff. Congrats. Wow, excitement. Why is it a struggle, literally, to bring life into this world. How does death create life. These things are beautiful mysteries to me, and obviously, we are no longer just talking about babies.

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I found my robin hood hat. It’s floppy, green and ridiculous. I think I will be Robin Hood this summer.

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It’s very important to have a glass of wine while packing. Pinot Grigio is a decent option. And good tunes and solo dance parties. K-OS is a good pick. The recipe then is this: wine + K-OS + solo dance party = successful pack day. “….but I’m caught between a rock and a hard place...and if it ain’t broke, Don’t fix it!”

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The world is full of beautiful people. Not in the sense of external appearance, although this is certainly true too, but the heart. Ah, cheese. But it’s true. Everyone has their own beauty, you know? Et maintenant, il pleut comme une vache qui pisse. I’m blessed to know many beautiful people. And even their struggle of living this life has something...(insert appropriate adjective here) about it. The “grind of life”. I feel there is something beautiful in that: The Beautiful Grind. An inherent contradiction.

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Westjet sent me a reminder that I’m flying away tomorrow. Thanks Westjet. I had forgotten.

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I bought a new Bible today. It was a necessrie purchase. I read something that catalysed the tear ducts and this is what it was: “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind...that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “In him we live and move and have our being’ (Acts 17:24-28).

Some Clever Title

2008-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Hello. Again. Welcome. To my life. Again. So… wow, what to say. Well, to start with, I suppose I am departing Abbotsford as we know it for greener pastures (literally), to embark on my third round-trip to Guatemala via Ontario. For four months. Leaving in. 8 days. So this is quite standard, here you find yourself on a blog, mine I suppose, how do you like the facelift? Toning it down a bit. I must warn you in advance that I feel the blog will be less structured this year. I feel that I will not religiously update on a weekly basis. Perhaps…two days in a row, and then nothing for a while, and bad grammar and spelling mistakes if I can manage and sentence fragments and other sorts of blogging atrocities. Doesn’t that sound liberating? Let’s forget about the English major for a summer shall we.

Recap. Of the year. Ummmm. School, school and school. Church, church and church. A little Starbucks here and there, a little bit of serving, little bit of TESL. On the church note I had the privilege of serving on our young adult leadership team this year. Disregard the title, it essentially means….let’s get together to eat and talk some bible stuff. So that was great, I really enjoyed it, good people. And our young adult ministry has been exciting to be apart of, also good people, good teaching, good challenges, good things happening. School, I finished up my TESL certificate in December and this past Thursday I completed my French minor, and the upcoming fall leaves but three English courses and a completion of the BA in December. Jubilation. In short: same old same old, with a little bit of spice here and there, some new experiences, some new friendships, quite a bit of self-reflection and realization with hopefully some…productive growth. That is what we hope for precious.

Alright, enough of that. So I’m going away. And here’s a video that was taken…last summer before our departure to Guatemala. And I am as incapable of articulating my thoughts as I was then. There’s just too many on… So. Many. Levels. But. It is good. I am excited. And clearly the world is full of weird people like me. And I CANNOT WAIT to see and hug the Konrad’s and Wall’s and Miss Julianna. And her little baby hybrid girl.

Peace.

Kat

Terminada.

2007-09-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here I sit, on Pembina St. in Winnipeg, the little corner table unit at the local Starbucks. I feel like a foreign import wearing my stylish knee-length, hand-stitched red, cocktail-slant skirt (which, you ladies, may purchase at your local fairtrade party in November), as well as some sweet cowboy boots. Bling bling. Marcial, I wear your products proudly. My favorite drink is not as tasty as I remember it, and perhaps my tastebuds have become foreign as well.

The summer has come. The summer has gone. I was talking with my bro-in-law Dan last night about how funny it is that just under a year ago I was struggling about what to do with my summer, and now here it has passed me by.

Just in case you forgot how cute little Cindy is...here we are with trensas in our hair. All things Global Shore ended well. We flew home on the 23rd, had some debrief until this past Sunday, and then the students filtered off in the following days. My sister Jess roadtripped it out and arrived Sunday afternoon to celebrate my birthday with me, and we lounged at the Konrads’ until Wednesday afternoon, enjoying a few leasuring days in the sun, amongst the fruit trees, with fresh fare spread upon the picnic blanket. Now here we are in Winnipeg visiting the other sis, Jenn, until Sunday morning and then it is home home home. It was good to hear from each student about their observations, and the things and people that impacted them. It’s not always evident, the workings and changes of the heart, but God, in his graciousness, worked and taught and grew in every one of the students’ lives. One of the main objectives of my summer was to grow in leadership, and that happened! Perhaps the most useful aspect of this was realizing my many weaknesses, and knowing what needs improvement in the future.

I’m listening to this sweet Spanish worship song entitled “La niña de tus ojos” while I write this. It’s just beautiful in Spanish, and does not translate that well into English, but some of the lines are, “you saw me when no one else saw me…you loved me when no one else loved me….and you gave me a name….” Hmmm, why am I sharing this…perhaps it is because a chapter has closed, a new one is soon to begin, more decisions will have to be made, more of life lived, the big wide world ahead of me. And God walks with us, each of us, through it all. And it’s not worth really thinking seriously five years down the road, or really two years down the road, because, at least for me, my plans hardly ever work out the way I’ve thought them up. It seems to work better step by step by step by step, being obedient in the moment, in the best way that I know how to. The last line of this song is “Te amo mas que ha mi vida” which means, “I love you more than my life” which I suppose is what a life boils down to, n’est pas?

One final last plug for your local fairtrade party happening this autumn near you....check out this "iron art". Need I say more.

So, there we have it. The blog from this moment on shall regress into its dormant state for at least another seven months. Thanks for following.

THE END.

Post Script: I just learned what the word “pretentious” means. I was going to use it in the context of, “my pretentious Starbucks drink”, but than I realized that I didn’t quite know the definition of it, although it seemed to fit with my context, and so I dictionaried it and it means, “attempting to impress by affecting greater importance, talent, culture ,etc., than is actually possessed.” In response to this definition I have two things to say to two people: Dan Konrad: I do not, in fact, own a “pretentious Mac” as you so often stated. Carolyn Konrad: thinking that I am “one of the least pretentious people” that you know, is perhaps one of the greatest compliments of my life, and I have only now realized the significance of it. Thank you for that.

Time is a Tick-tick-ticking

2007-08-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

O to be the final post in Guatemala. We leave on Thursday morning. Things are wrapping up around here.

Hmmm, a recap of the last two weeks. Well, we had our weekend away at the beautiful Semuc Champey, all natural translucent pools, home to little fishies that nibble at your skin, fresh clean air, fresh clean nature, a few hammocks here and there….my goal of the weekend was to pay the bills and than forget everything expected of a leader, and enjoy my free weekend. O sweet mercies. Kat the recluse, read her weekend away, catching up on the latest adventures of ‘arry Potter. ‘twas lovely. Thoroughly enjoyable. Top of the line.

Ah, the cute Kinder's. This is Gloria. Keep reading to discover how you personally can be involved in Gloria's future...

Other than that it’s been two weeks of our normal schedule, ESL, Fairtrade bizzle and whatnot. Things are wrapping up in the Fairtrade department. I’m currently sitting in a room up at the Casa de la Luz, a room that is both home to my laptop and the ever-growing accumulation of fairtrade goods. I’m staring at a mound of 90 wooden carved bowls, beside me here are bags filled with 300 coffee sacs, and 150 bean sacs. In the cupboard there are belts, and jewelry, sandals and textiles. It’s coming together! This is Clara, one of the textile ladies, sewing away some purses. Consider this your sneak preview.

Oh yes, a new development in that area has been taking 75 sponsorship photos of the three classes in our school. Yes, we have this school that we’ve started. Currently, there are three classes, and Global Shore intends to add a grade every year until we’re a full-fledged school. Property has been purchased up the mountain and sometime in the new year, there’ll be ground-breaking for the new school building. All very exciting!!!! So, we’re following in the line of all good developing country initiatives, and providing sponsorships for the better-off’s of the world…or Canada…or Abbotsford…to support the students going to this school, to help pay for their education, to help cover some of the huge overhead it takes to run a school. Care to help? Well, just attend one of the six fairtrade parties going down in November in a Abbotsford, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Port Burwell, Kitchener near you, and you can sign up and receive the expected smiling photo of the student whose future you are helping to shape. Meet Freddy, him and his wife Romilia are making the leather bracelets for the parties. I don’t take pictures much of anything at the moment except students and the odd artisan shot. So, that will have to be your eye-candy for this last post.

That's it, that's all, must go have some comida before we head off for the tragedy of the Guatemala City Dump. It's sure to be a tearful, impactful afternoon for some.

Much Love, Kat

The Hilarity of Language.

2007-08-04T16:23:00.000-07:00

“She’s brushing her teets.” Well….not quite. Let us spend some time practicing the pronunciation of “th”, so as to say “teeth” and not "teets". Good. That made for some comic relief in Andrew and my ESL class the other night. It’s sorta like how I said “What a terrible child” when little Cindy came in crying the other day. I thought, “que mala onda?” meant, “what’s wrong?”, but apparently not. The parents laughed. I thought I’d better have a conversation with my Spanish teacher about what she was teaching me.

Here’s my family. There’s the dad Agustin, Franky on the left, Enma, little Cindy and Osman on the right. I am enjoying my stay with them. I am also enjoying Miss Julianna. She is our Guatemalan director, and the daughter of Robert and Carolyn. A year and a half ago she married Jacobo, a Guatemalan pastor down here. And that’s their very cute hybrid, Rebekah Samantha. Said with the Spanish rolled “r”. Rrrrrrebekah Samantha. I have found a friend in her. Julianna that is, not the baby. It’s been good, because somedays when team stuff is just weighty, it’s nice to have Julianna around, someone who can relate to all this leadership business. And she's just a great gal. Hard not to like.

Today we had a kids carnival in the street. Complete with face painting, the hacky-sac toss and all the usual stuff plus….”Paint the Baby”, where Kris and Dale came out in giant diapers, the kids painted them, and then everyone was bombarded by waterballoons. Only Kris would think up something that ridiculous. It was a hit.

Fairtrade stuff is coming along nicely. It looks like those paper journals will be an item, as I’ve successfully made several sheets now. Steph and I had a good time this morning experimenting with different colors and flowers. I think Monday I’ll pass on the knowledge to one of the moms here. My first attempt was a failure…just a bunch of mush, that’s what the paper was. Kind of like our worms. They all up and died one weekend. Dale-y and I had the “What Went Wrong” discussion, and we think we know, so hopefully by next week we’ll have some more wormies for take 2. It’s all very good. It’s good to fail, you know? Just try again. I'm all about second attempts lately.

Less than three weeks now, pretty crazy. Lots to do still!

Love Kat

Lake Atitlan & Fairtrade

2007-07-22T19:52:00.000-07:00

Que onda.

Right, so, all of the students have just returned from their "free weekend", a weekend allowing them to go wherever their wallets would permit them. Steph, Ash and I made our way to the love-r-ly Lake Atitlan. Beauty. One night in Panajachel, where we hit up the markets, a pizza joint and Crossroads Café (a must visit), and for our second night, seeing as one night in tourist-infested Pana was sufficient, we zoomed off in a boat to the less tourist-y haven called Santa Cruz. There we stayed in a private cabin at IslaVerde, a sweet enviro-friendly establishment. Good times all around. We had a few delightful swims in the deep turquoise clear, some quality snooze time, and quite a lot of laughter. Walking one of the paths bordering the lake today, we stopped in for nachos and freshly squeezed OJ at a cafe. That OJ was goooooood. Okay, so I'll let you in on the Fairtrade stuff. The o-so-exciting initiative that I gladly give energy to. Concept: tupperware parties? Mary-Kay? Let's find a host who will invite all her girlfriends over to allow some corporation to avoid the overhead of retail and make millions?????

Right. Fairtrade parties. This fall in a town near you. Abbotsford. Calgary. Winnipeg. Port Burwell. Toronto. You are formally invited to the first Fairtrade homeparty. And not just the ladies. This party is for everyone. I will be your host. We'll schedule it for sometime in November probably. Right, so, we've been finding local artisans/establishing local artisans to strut their handiwork in Canada. Handiwork will include: hammocks, textile skirts, textile bags, jewelry, Guatemalan coffee, leather items (TBA), ironwork (TBA), woodwork (TBA), and other goods.

Definition of Fairtrade: a fair wage for the product made. The beauty of it? These people, starting in the little Tizate, are being employed. A lot of them. Work is being given to them for a product that will sell in Canada. We're broadening the market. Global Shore will simply be the go-between guy, finding product, bringing it up to the parties. No profits for us. Voluntary hosts (previous students, comme moi), voluntary homes providing some gourmet appies (if you have a large pad, are able to cook, and would like this to be your contribution to the poor of Guatemala, do contact me) and, uh, yeah. People to come out, view the goods and drop some cash. Not just to feel good about helping someone yonder across the sea, but because the product is going to rock. And will be a fair price. And there are only good things to say about this. Here, you can own a beauty of a hammock like this one Ash is enjoying. Sí? So I've been involved, along with Robert and Julianna, in selecting product, finding more, thinking stuff up, giving my opinion on this and that, finding artisans, teaching artisans, talking with artisans. Sometime this week I'm going to try and make paper out of corn leaves. It makes good paper, I've seen it, and it makes for a sweet journal. Hopefully we can figure that one out, teach someone, and have that good to go for the fall.

Anyways. There you have it. Your role is to attend the party. Will keep you posted on those details, probably in the fall.

Ciao, Kat

Life.

2007-07-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hello Canada,

Big Hug, little hug, Big Kiss, little kiss from the mountains of El Tizate. It has been a wonderful first week and a half here in Guatemala. There was a surprising sense of home upon arrival to our small town and I have settled in nicely with my Spanish family. I’ve never had younger siblings before, so it is a delight to have Osman (11), Franky (7) and Cindy (5) around all the time. Cindy is a particular delight to me, and she provides joy to me on a daily basis. Thank God for Cindy. Here she is. On the right. I mean left. That's her cousin Christopher. Cute little chubs.

I live in what I’ve dubbed the “penthouse” out back, a room far too big for one person, but one that provides stellar privacy and enough room to home a hammock. I’ve only killed four resident arachnids, one enormous grasshopper and the family gave away the cat and we ate one of the roosters for dinner the other night, so the pesky night animals are diminishing in number. Our dog Lion (said with a Spanish accent) is friendly, the other two roosters comical and believe it or not, only today did I discover that we had a pet tortuga. Apparently the little turtle has been crawling around this whole time but I never realised it. The kids and I had fun today watching it swim in our pila out back.

It has been a full week and a half and it seems that we’ve been here a month already. Here's the team on the front bridge in town.
Our full schedule is in swing now, with 5 English classes running, an art school, a music school, construction, construction, construction for los muchachos, ministry nights in the evenings, and dabblings in a bakery initiative, work with disabled children AND….the two things that I am most heavily involved with are the vermicompost and FAIRTRADE!!!!! YA! Hit that cowbell one more time! We’ve had two 4x3x3 compost pits made, and tracked down some lombrises who are having the feast of their lives in the organics that we collect from our eight student homes. It is very exciting! Such a positive step in so many ways, but I won’t get into them over a blog entry. Ask me in the fall. In fact, I'll be your local vermicompost expert and will help you set up your own. Relatively inexpensive and easy to maintain. Even in a condo.

And for the Fairtrade stuff…well, that needs it’s own entry entirely. That was what I was so stoked about in my last post, but again, you’ll have to wait until I can write about it adequately. But it’s good. Trust me. You will want to be involved, oh yes, you will.

There is so much. What else. The nearby city of Antigua is just as beautiful as ever. Lovely lovely lovely. I've missed the crazed Chickenbus rides and am happy to ride them again. The bartering is still fun, even though I cheesed a vendor off the other day....whoops. My Spanish is doing alright, considering I spent the year trying to forget everything I had learned in order to focus on French. My two and a half hour spanish class Mon-Fri is good, and Cindy is a great teacher too.

Hmmm, I'll skip to what has been on my mind as of late. Team dynamics...interesting. I was reading in a book the other night about Jesus and the twelve and there was nothing in particular that was astounding about what I was reading, but for some reason I was impressed with the importance of that group, and guarding that unity and loving one another. For crying out loud, we're only twelve, it shouldn't be difficult, and yet at times it is. This brings me to my recent self-reflection on the many weaknesses and failures in my life. Wow, Jesus has a lot to make beautiful and Christ-like in me. I'm realizing there is a lot of pride in my life. And so I would covet your prayers. For a changed life. For Christ within me, and leading and loving through me. For humility. For finding approval in God and him alone.

That's a dismal note to end on and so....nope, I don't know any Spanish jokes. Although language differences always provide good humor, such as when I told my class, that yes, class was Monday, Eggs and Friday nights, instead of Thursdays because the words are similar. Bah.

love from Guatemala, Kat

Most Ardently

2007-06-30T17:39:00.001-07:00

Well World,

Come follow me to Guatemala, I leave on Tuesday at 3am. That’s in…61 hours. Goodbye Canada, you are a glorious land. Goodbye asparagus, you have filled my tummy to a glorious girth. Goodbye sand cliffs, you have delighted my skin with the softness of your grains. Farewell dear Erie, the twinkling moonlight upon your surface has lapsed waves of gratitude in my soul.

Oh my.

Things are wrapping up over here. Last minute errands, wrap-up meetings, laundry and packing have, and will be, the agenda until our departure. I will impart the lovely adventures of the last two days with you, and then prepare yourself for some shockingly exciting news that you can each be apart of!

Well, it started with the Konrad’s. You’ve already met them, and I’ve mentioned their lovely country home to you. Well, in the backyard of this country home stands a delightful little cabin, equipped with one of those old bells that you call toll, a lantern above the door, flower beds all around, and enough space to sleep…..six girls. I call it the hobbit-hole. Anyways, we decided to have a sleepover in there, and so we slapped down some mattresses, had a photo shoot, pulled out some locally brewed fruit wine, played a few games of Dutch Blitz, invaded the Konrad home for a cup of tea, and then curled up on our mattresses while falling asleep to the recent Pride and Prejudice. Favorite quote: "I love, love....love you. Most ardently". No commentary needed.

Moving on...here are the hobbitesses outside their hole. We had a delightful sleep until…..

Imagine our groggy awakening to the sound of violin music. Confusion. Is that live music? No, that must be the alarm clock. Wait. The alarm clock is playing the Shire theme song from the Lord of the Rings? On the violin? No, that must be live. (Kat crawls to the little window in the door and peers out). It’s the boys! All lined up like little groomsmen wearing their Sunday best! And there’s Cam! Standing on the front porch playing his violin! (insert excited giggles and squeals here). (mad scramble to become modest). The boys lead the girls out to the Konrad’s patio set, where they’ve laid the spread and promptly serve them breakfast. Ah, they looked so dashing. And those chocolate pancakes were good. But my favorite part was the Shire song via violin. Etched in the memory indefinitely.

It was a beautiful start to the day. All of us hit the road by 9am for a road trip to see St. Jacob’s market, just near Waterloo. It was lovely. What a great place, open air, cultural, diverse, sorta reminiscent/prophetic of Guatemala. Steph and I got preoccupied with one stand where initially we thought we’d get some tanktops, but instead…..we walked away with Anne of Green Gables shirts. Go Anne. I’ll think of you everytime I where it ‘LiZZZa. Here we are, sporting our lace. I feel a bit like a doily in it. It’s fun.

Our second stop was Elora’s gorge, a beauteous gorge caused by all their greedy limestone digging. The water was pristine and the cliffs ripe for jumping off of. After our water time, we walked around the little town of Elora, which is charmingly similar to Europe. The stone buildings, cute store fronts, it was remarkable. Ashley and I felt like we were in France. So, here we are, on the edge of the Seine.

From France, we set off for Millgrove, just outside of Guelph, for a BBQ at Jenna’s house. Terrible backed up traffic en route home caused us to inquire of various cars, “excuse me, do you have any toast for this traffic jam?????” Mah mah mah. Our very favorite response was, “what the #*ck are you talking about????!?!?” followed by laughter. Ah yes.

And so, we leave soon. We are very excited. There is much excitement, some anxiety, some sadness, but much excitement in the air. And we’re pretty ready. As ready as can be. And Andrew and I are very ready. I have, according to him, converted him to my “religion.” Here’s a pic of what our religion does to us: insert caption “ I sold my soul to Starbucks”.

Soon to go South, Kat

Post Script: I guess I forgot to write about my very exciting news that you can all take part in. Stay tuned.

The Konrads

2007-06-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Friends,

I feel quite at a loss to make even a mildly interesting post for those that follow this blog, but I will try my best. Actually, I reject the notion of feeling the need to be interesting. I am what I am. And some days I am just simply not interesting.

As such, I shall talk about those that I love and not myself. There are several people who have my affections out here on Erie, but this post I dedicate to Robert and Carolyn Konrad. Here they are. They are one of two couples who founded the Global Shore program, and also Sandy Shore Farms, the asparagus packing house that we work in. Robert runs around the barn, wearing a bright orange hat so he can be easily found amongst all the machines and employees. I am often at my little table in the middle of the barn, writing numbers, numbers and more numbers, and sometimes he’ll walk up to me singing some country ditty or, my personal favorite, a remake of the Mama and Papa’s song: “This is the dawning of the age of [asparagus] age of [asparagus]…” it is quite humorous.

He is quite an eclectic man, running a farm year round (asparagus, cauliflower, cherries…), heading up a student summer program, planning new projects down in Guatemala…and that’s not even getting into his hobbies which including hunting (they supply us with summer sausage from the caribou they caught up in northern Quebec….plus deer and turkeys), he also plays JC in his spare time, being a fabulous carpenter, forming little coconut rings for us girls, making some of the furniture in his home and here at the ark. He has an arrow head collection and a shark tooth collection, one that I have now too, after the delightful gift that he gave me of a hand-made wooden bowl filled with the shark teeth he had gathered on their recent vacation to the beaches in Florida. Which leads me to make mention of his extremely generous nature. I think that is one of the ways that he loves people, is by doing what he can for them, pleasing them with little gifts that he can make, it is very loving and very delightful.

Miss Carolyn. I think many of us girls look at Carolyn and think to ourselves (or to one another), “now that’s the kind of lady I would like to develop into”. Peaceful, caring, hospitable, wise. Thoughtful. Loves the earth. Loves people. Loves God. Pensive. Open. Reverent of God. Finds the beauty in life. Finds the beauty in others. Her home is her sanctuary, and what a beautiful home it is. I find a lot of ways of inviting myself over to their enchanting abode. I think I might find some excuse to go over for tea later today. Lots of tea at the Konrad’s. Carolyn introduced me to Rooibos Citrus Spice loose tea. (it’s delicious. Go find it at your local grocer.)

Despite these notably charming characteristics, Carolyn also has this spicy side to her. She drives a Volkswagon Passat. Her first hunt after receiving her hunting license was to shoot a ten point buck. I didn’t know what that meant, so maybe you don’t either, when you see a deer, if you could the number of points on their antlers, the higher the number, the greater the buck, literally in size. A ten-point buck is quite a catch, she made it into the hunter’s prize book or some such business. Incredible.

So now you’ve met them. Two tremendous people in my life. My life is better to have known them.

Love Kat

Anne with an 'E'

2007-06-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

Nick, Nat, Jenna and I are sitting in my sub-arctic, corner motel #1 abiding place, with music and recording on our minds. Thank God for Saturday nights. I think there’s a bonfire on the agenda for later, somewhere down a sandcliff, on the water, with driftwood for fire starter. I want to be there. You want to be there too. Admit it.

Maybe I’ll take some time to give you a better glimpse of what our weeks look like here in Ontario. Monday through Saturday, we work in the asparagus packhouse from 7am – 5pm or so, sometimes a bit later. There are six asparagus lines in the barn with about twenty workers on each. One night a week we have Menno Night (girls night/guys night), doing girl/guy things and sharing with one another. For the last five weeks, we’ve been having a night for testimonies, and Kris and I wrapped that up this past week. And there's other team such stuff, and of course, some general chill time to end a long day in the barn. There is, thankfully, adequate time to run to the lake for a dip. Always enjoyable. And, let us not forget, The Sabbath. Truly a holy day, what else can I say.

Now, on a more morbid note...Allow me to introduce you to Anne. That's part of her tombstone in the pic. Here is my confession: I have a mild obsession with this tombstone. It’s true, Sometimes I run there and then just sit there looking at what, in my opinion, is the most beautiful tombstone I’ve ever seen in my life. I should precede this story by saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed the presence of graveyards for about...oh, the past five years or so. Graveyards and Laundry. This graveyard in particular is a bit of a sanctuary for me. Anyways, Anne died in 1853, at the age of twenty-three. I’m quite certain that had I been alive 150 years ago, Anne and I would be the greatest of friends, and as such I’ve gotten in the habit of depositing lilacs and other such favourable flowers at her grave. Andrew laughed hysterically upon discovering this and I suppose it does firmly place me in the category of lunacy. I have no defense other than an unexplainable connection through the centuries.

To end this entry, I give you a portrait. Of myself. It’s entitled “Kitty”. Yes, Kat the feline, how clever. Thank you Dan for having too much time on your hands and being a master at Paint. Later, Feline

Post Script: Laugh at the small things, let the big ones go, and love, love, love even when you don't want to. (thanks for that Linds).

Criks and Drugs

2007-06-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

I must share a memorable experience with you all. Last Sunday, several of us went canoeing on Big Creek (Big Crik if you pronounce things like a hick). In short, it was a delightful, tranquil paddle on the creek with overhanging trees, and birds twittering everywhere until….John threw a mudball at me. He missed of course, due to his severely underdeveloped motor skills (burn), but the action, obviously, demanded retaliation. Our canoe paddled ahead, loaded up with our own sludge balls and strategically planned our attack. As the enemy canoe approached, we suddenly turned on them. Kat, with her above-average motor skills, threw a well-aimed mudball at her opponents, and all four of them, John, Steph, Cam and Dale, simultaneously leaned left to avoid being hit and…..capsized! Oh it was brilliant, brilliant! Unfortunately, our canoe, in our attempt at a quick get-away, ended up capsizing ourselves (hmmm, didn’t plan that one), and all ended in a full out mud war in the shallows. The only downfall to the day was the saturation of my newly purchased pack of cherry Prime Timers, however, I am happy to say that once dried out they were still quite smokeable. Since I don't have any shots from the mudfight, I offer another fog shot. I really need to start pulling out the camera a little more.

It is now Sunday again, so let us recap the week. Ummmm, asparagus and…..some more asparagus and…..asparagus! We seem to have hit a plateau and days are going until around roughly 5:30 – 6:00pm, so it leaves sufficient time to enjoy the outdoors, run to the beach, and plan some group nights. I finally made time to get lost with Jesus outside, and that was a needed evening watching an orange moon rise over the lake. I think I will have to make outdoor Jesus-dates at least once a week.

What else. Today eleven of the twelve of us started our four month drug dose. It’s quite an intensive schedule of taking two pills a day for a week, and then three, and then four…at the end of the summer, we’ll have injested something like 350 pills. What kind of preventative measures is that????? You may ask. Well, Global Shore has done some experimenting with Essential Oils and one of their products, called Parafree, is a pill containing all kinds of essential oils and a family that was on it in Guatemala for three months didn’t get sick even once, not even stomach sickness (and that is quite something). And so, most of us have taken the plunge and deem it a worthy endeavor. It fights parasites, and cleanses us of parasites that we likely already have (the stats show that 85% of Americans contain parasites….wow). Anyways, the whole essential oils thing is quite interesting, and the presentation that we saw was very thought-provoking. Ask me about it sometime.

your drug addict, Kat

Journey Into My Cerebrum

2007-05-28T19:43:00.001-07:00

Did Jesus ever say, “I love you?” I don’t think he did. He certainly implied it through verses such as “the greatest gift is to lay down a life for a friend” and he, obviously, did just that. “Love one another as I have loved you”, and many more, but did he actually say those three words? Theory: our culture = too much emphasis on words and not enough on action. Did Jesus SHOW his love? Absolutely. Daily.

“Special” is both an inclusive and exclusive term from God’s perspective. We are all uniquely known and loved by God, making each of us exclusively special to Him, but if all of us are “special” to God, the term seems to lose it’s exclusive tendencies and becomes inclusive….for several billion people. Interesting. Not exactly how our selfish culture would want to view that term, for doesn’t each one of us secretly want to be The Special One to someone, whether it be romantic, or professional, or on a friendship level? Hence the exclusive nature of the term in our very selfish culture, but is it wrong to want to be that to someone? And is it necessary? Does what it really come down to is questioning the value in being an “individual”, an idea that our culture promotes, when really aren’t we called to live collectively? Convoluted.

Celibacy. Why not? The Western Church promotion = get married, and get married young. After recently reading “Sex God” by Rob Bell, I am challenged on that point and reminded that God basically promotes celibacy over marriage to those who are able. Interesting. We missed that memo at some point in history and seem to advocate for the very opposite, whilst pointing the finger at singles, especially “older” singles, deeming them “undesirable” or asking, “what’s wrong with you?”. I reject that North American mentality. Completely.

“Child Labor.” Don’t even pretend to understand it, because you don’t. And neither do I, but I might understand a little more than you do, just enough to pass on the wisdom of Ken, one of our leaders: There’s ALWAYS two sides to every story. So the $5 wage/day in another country, yeah, it’s shocking in comparison to our standards, and we want to fight it, and throw our opinions around (as I am currently doing), and be revolutionists and CHANGE THE WORLD! but just think if the world was “elevated” to our standards of living, food, and economy. Face it, it could never happen. It’s no secret that the world would never sustain itself if the Western culture set the bar. Conclusion: we need the $5 a day workers. Swallow it. And change your lifestyle because of it. Second Conclusion: wow, that’s pretty bleak. Christian perspective: clearly all is hopeless without Jesus, the redeemer of all things. So better times are coming. But not yet. And for this time, here on this bleak earth, let’s focus on those things eternal. God. People. And watch a sunset when you can and know that nothing is really in the palm of your hand anyway. It’s in much better hands.

Pretend there is a stunning picture of a sunset inserted....here. I'm having a bloody difficult time uploading photos and it has delayed the posting of this entry for far too long and so....there shall simply be no photo. Tragic. To make up for it, I will give you all an asparagus recipe.

Deep Fried Asparagus.
(Asparagus Tip #13 of 14)

1 lb. fresh asparagus
Tempura/vegatable batter
Flour

Wet asparagus stalks with water and coat with flour, then dip into a tempura or vegetable batter. Deep fry until golden
brown. Serve with ranch dipping dressing.

The Quick Facts in Black & White

2007-05-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Fact: Lounging in the cherry fields for four hours on my Sabbath

Fact: Jenna playing the happy birthday song on her accordian for Natalie’s birthday

Fact: tractor rides through the cherry fields

Fact: 12 hour days in the asparagus barn

Fact: 12 hour days in the asparagus barn lead to....hilarious antics around the breakfast, lunch and dinner table.

Fact: my ironic promotion to brew captain of President’s Choice coffee for 130 barn staff. They made me.Fact: Enjoying how photogenic southern Ontario is. Here is the "white way of delight" of the cherry fields and a first self-portrait on one exceptionnally foggy evening.

Fact: having my language deteriorate to barn lingo. Hmmmmm. I purge my mouth with hyssop!

Fact: Ordering 2 lbs of red wiggler worms for our pilot vermicompost. They should arrive at our door…tomorrow.

Fact: firmly reprimanding rebellious Mexican Mennonite girls for not wearing their hairnets according to regulations; they’re really hot, I don’t know what their problem is.

Fact: Dale having to wear a beard net.

Fact: Our cook Marisa, having to see her husband shave his moustache off for the first time since she’s known him (they’ve been married a long time) because he couldn’t bear the beard net. He was….less than impressed when the HACCP elite came to inspect the barn and the men weren’t wearing beard nets. Apparently it’s a grey area. He could’ve kept his moustache. I think John may have hidden a shotgun in his office if those HACCP men ever show they’re perfectly stashed faces ever again.

Fact: making daily screw-ups on the precious sheets that I fill out. Numbers. Numbers representing boxes. Numbers representing farmers. Numbers representing boxes for a numbered farmer which directly affects the number on their paycheques. Pray that I would keep my head.

Fact. Swaying quietly in the hammock listening to the bird sanctuary that is our backyard.

Fact: curling up in bed on Sunday mornings with a cup of tea listening to audio sermons.

Fact: I am thoroughly enjoying the members of this team. It's memorable already.

Love from Erie, Kat

The Family

2007-05-08T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well, the whole team is here now and that has been superb. Last week was filled with odd jobs as the asparagus season only started on Monday…more on that in the next blog...Kris and I have also been in beaucoup de meetings pertaining to our time in Guatemala and also future planning for the organization. Global Shore has bought some land up in the mountains of the village in Guaté and is currently in the beginning stages of planning a school. A full-fledged, government-approved Guatemalan school, from kindergarden all the way up. It’s pretty exciting, and a bit overwhelming for our leaders as they don’t know how the heck to start a school. They’re in the agriculture business not the education system. But it is like everything else here: you feel a leading in a certain direction, say a prayer for wisdom and direction, and take steps forward. It’s an honor to be involved.Here’s our first family photo. They (well, I suppose it’s the guys really), have taken to calling me “Mom”…interesting…and Kris “Dad.” Ahh, surrogate parents of ten children, that’s new. They are very wonderful children though, I can hardly complain. Names: top row: Dale, Cam, Jenna, Ashley, Jenna, Ashley, Steph, Natalie, Andrew, Jen, and on the bottom we have John and Nick. We went out to the most delightful icecream shop in the Northern Hemisphere called “Twins”. We took the team out to reward them for the stellar job they did on the crazed scavenger hunt we sent them on the other day. Two teams, hunting for 15 flags around the fields and in the sand cliffs. It was quite the adventure planting those flags, I came back looking…well, I don’t know what, freakishly wild like a female John the Baptist after eating some locusts and wild honey in the wilderness for a year.

Hmmm, I suppose I’ll let the world in on some prayer requests. 1) my theme song for the summer has this great line “beholding is becoming” and that’s what I want. To behold Jesus and therefore become like him. That goes along with the “seek” word for the summer that I mentioned earlier. What else. 2) According to John, I look like a space case half the time, meaning, he’s concerned that I’m not quite me and need to delegate more and shouldn’t burn out….which is not quite accurate, I have simply had a week of trying to find balance in this new leadership role. And whose standards am I trying to meet here? And the answer needs to be God’s otherwise I’m screwed and will get caught up in trying to impress and trying to be everything and simply finding that I cannot. So for that as well. Seek God and lead for God.

That's all for now.

Your Imbalanced Kat

Shoot dat der Turkey

2007-04-29T14:22:00.000-07:00

Well, it started with a plane ride of course. Looking down at the rapidly diminishing land of Abbotsford, I was struck by the perspective of it all. Birds’ eye view, God’s eye view, Kat’s eye view for a few seconds, everything, instantaneously, all problems and emotions and farewells, lack of farewells, worries, they all in the span of a few seconds seemed completely….trivial. A day later, the theme of perspective carried on as some friends and I sat at the Alex P. Keaton’s in London and debriefed our lives over the last eight months. I love these two friends in particular for their activist/environmental streak and similar non-conformist views of the world. I felt in good company and was reminded why I held the views that I did and why I had struggled to act out my views over the year, in the Abbotsford sub-culture that I call home. I was thankful in that moment for the perspective that I would not have gained while still in BC. That is a vague re-telling of the thoughts that were swirling, swirling in my mind that evening, but it is hard to concisely articulate just what I was feeling and realizing and releasing.

After the little jaunt to London, I moved home into the little renovated church that is aptly named The Ark, along with three other students who had arrived that day. More students have filtered in over the last few days and we’re up to seven, and the rest will be here by Tuesday. What have we been filling our time with, you may ask? Well, six of us went through a three-day ESL training in preparation for our time in Guatemala, so that was good. A few movie nights, including the recommended Motorcycle Diaries, and the not-so-highly recommended Nacho Libre.

Last night we hit rock bottom when we donned our best ‘80’s garb and busted out with Richard Simmons. I wish I were joking. But I’m not. We definitely worked out with Dick Simmons. I have a theory that he has a beer belly under that baggy turquoise sequenced tank of his.

Saturday I went turkey hunting with one of our leaders Robert, and his son, Dan. Again, no word of a lie. Here’s a pic of Dan and I all camou’ed up ready to blast dat der turkey if he came to mate with the lovely decoy hens, but no luck, the turkeys were not up for any reproduction rites last night.
Today we spent our Sabbath scaling the 60 ft. sand cliffs of Erie. It is hard to describe these cliffs, and photos really don't do justice, but believe me it is an experience scaling these cliffs. You’ve never seen sand crafted into rock-like formations by the wind until you’ve visited Erie. Or the mud holes that you can sink in up to your thighs if you wiggle with enough vigor. Or the variegated browns, reds and blacks of the sand all mixed together in a horizontal rainbow at my feet. Kris and I excavated what we suspected was a deer skull. That was interesting, I felt like an amateur archaeologist on the verge of proving evolution. Good thing it was a deer.

And so it goes. We're getting to know eachother and having fun while doing it. Today is Sushi Sunday, and I've already prepared the rice for a sushi feast tonight. Let the good times roll.

Your hunter-gatherer friend, Kat

Final BC Ramblings

2007-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Riesling is the greatest wine. Everyone should have a happy hour while they pack the afternoon before they leave. That is my recommendation to you all. I would also recommend brushing your teeth in the shower. I’ve been meaning to fit that little piece of wisdom into one of these blogs, but it never seemed to fit. Now is the time. It is quite astounding how powerful the minty freshness becomes when liberated to foam and froth in reckless abandon. I will never go back to sink-side brushing.

This week has been a blessing. Finished up work at Starbucks and the Korean School the other day, and those were great farewells. One of our regular customers at Starbucks full on pulled out his wallet and gave me the cash he had on him to go towards the summer. Amazing! And I met with another friend to hear about his recent trip to Scotland, and hearing about my belt campaign he said, “so….if I give you $25 right now, you’ll get me a hand-crafted, custom-made leather belt from Guatemala?” "Yes, that is correct”, and there he goes, whips out his wallet, m’a donné l’argent, and yeah. 6 paid customers, 11 more who’ve expressed serious interest, hopefully we can hit 20, 25 belts. Still taking orders, it’s never too late.

Time for a top-up, hang on a sec…mmmmm. One of the leaders at my small group had the word “seek” for me for this summer. Sounds good to me. Interesting how my theme verse for a previous missions trip was “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteous, and all of these things will be added unto you.” So good. Bringing it back. Looking forward to keeping that in the forefront of my mind. Hmm, every blog needs a photo….let me share with you what has often been the last thing I gaze upon before sleep claims me….the beauty of Southern Ontario. Check out this cherry tree grove. That is what awaits me. It is utterly romantic, even solo-style. I can’t WAIT to get lost in those cherry fields.

Soon-to-depart, Kat

Reflections on Easter

2007-04-10T13:37:00.000-07:00

There’s nothing like bottomless bean salad and a 2L jug of Ginger Ale to get over an unfortunate semester of advanced French composition. Sigh. I’m in the wrong state of mind to write this entry, but alas. It is Tuesday, and it’s time to post. Here’s the bright side though: I’m privileged to have the opportunity to fail spectacularly at post secondary when many don’t even have the opportunity to attend. How’s that for a little sunny-side up. Moving on.

Reflections on Easter.

My church put on a wonderful event entitled “Journey with Jesus” this past Friday, in which there were seven or so stations set up around the church ranging from Gethsemane, to the trial before Pilot, to the tombside, and so on. It was profound. I attended by myself, which is probably the best way to maximize on the reflection aspect of these events. I spent some time thinking. There were tears. And here’s the conclusion I came to, one that has been building for several months now: this world is stocked full of pain. It is endless. I don’t even understand the things we gripe about with all the hurt that exists. Everywhere. I shed some tears for my friend’s family, the dad of whom has test after test bearing worse and worse news, the most recent telling of the tumors found in his brain. The girl that was recently killed in an avalanche, an incident that has deeply affected one of my friends. The heartbreaking stories of adultery that I have heard in recent months. The teens that walk my neighborhood who are often victims of sexual exploitation and unfathomable injustices, right here in bible-belt Abby. There’s no escape, pain infiltrates everyone’s life in some fashion or other.

(This is Char. Being amazing. Spending time with Melanie, one of the disabled children in Tizate.)

Second Conclusion: We are called to be comforters of that pain. Right? To bring hope in the midst of that pain. To bring beauty. To bring truth. To bring healing. To bring tears.

Last Wednesday, our young adult pastor stated that in the times when he doubts his faith, he falls back on the historical Jesus, knowing that there cannot possibly be any other way. For me, sure, the historical evidence plays a part, but mainly, I see just such an incredible amount of pain in the world, often the result of our own sin, that there simply must be a Savior who can conquer it.

(This is Jenni. She rocks my world. The two of us visited the children's sector in a hospital in Antigua. I think we both felt like Jesus that day.)

Guatemala. I remember my mom Ana-Julia who willingly takes on the intense burdens of that community, the sins of the people, the grief and injustices that permeate that society. She’s amazing. She has a lot of tears. Maybe I’ll get to live with her again, there’s so much I could learn from her. This summer, again, I have the opportunity to be involved in helping to comfort some of the pain in this community, ease some of the grief, through the practical provision of needs, through hugs, through listening, maybe through tears. To bring a little hope. Isn’t that what Jesus calls us to do.

Miss Kat's Hick Fashion

2007-04-03T13:03:00.000-07:00

Once upon a Guatemalan town, there lived a wee-little man named Marciel. He was a bootmaker by trade, fashioning incredible cowboy boots made from genuine leather, customizing to the preferences of his clients: Would you, Señor, like the dark brown leather, or the more variegated lighter brown, Would you, Señor, like a pointed toe or a rounded one, What sort of stitch, Señor, are you interested in, one of exquisite design, or does one of a more simplistic nature reflect your style better?

-Would you Señorita Kat like a pair boots?

-Why Marciel, although they are stunning to the eye, I’m afraid that I’m not much of a cowgirl. I would, however, pay a pretty quetzal for a leather belt as I have been looking for one for many a year, but refuse to pay for the over-priced product in Canada. Can you help me Marciel?

The good man was indeed able to help. Although he had limited experience in the belt-making department, he was up for the challenge.

-Miss Kat, what type of leather would you like me to use for your belt?

-Why Marciel, I quite enjoy that variegated brown stuff that you have.

-Done. And tell me Miss Kat, about how long would you like your belt to be?

-Excellent question. About yay long (holds arms out).

-Fabulous. And Miss Kat, what sort of buckle would you like on there? There are many to choose from in the markets.

-Really. Do tell.

-Well, I can get some big-ass ones sporting designs of either guns, boots, horses, or an eagle, you can get a gold one, a silver one, a plain small one, a plain big one, a square Levi Strauss one….really anything you can think of, I can get it.

-Hmmm….what a conundrum I find myself in. Although the guns are appealing, I think I will have to go with the big-ass eagle one. That sounds about right.

-I’ll get right on it Señorita.

-Oh, and Marciel….do feel the liberty to be as absolutely creative as you possible can. You are an artist of leather, and I would feel great pride in sporting a genuine Marciel piece of his own design. So go nuts, have a hay day, there’s no possible way that I can be disappointed in what you give me. Just remember, more is better.

And so, the work began. Very soon, Marciel announced to Miss Kat that the belt was finished. So she came with her 150Q, about $25 Canadian, to close the sale. And Miss Kat was absolutely and completely astounded with her belt! The big-ass buckle was everything she had hoped, the sizing was just right, and Marciel had indeed been creative, using not only the lovely leather, but also alligator and snakeskin! Great Chariots of Fire! He had even carved “KTA” in it. Miss Kat was highly amused by this, thinking the man was slightly dyslexic and had accidentally mixed up the spelling of her name. As it turned out, however, he was not in fact dyslexic, but rather had sounded out the syllables of her name, KaTrinA. Absolutely brilliant.

Miss Kat returned home to Canada and was true to her word, wearing her belt nigh on 5, 6 times a week, with pants, with skirts, with shorts, it didn’t matter! She simply loved her Marciel belt and wanted to wear it ALL THE TIME! She wanted to tell the world of its greatness, and did manage to tell many a person this delightful story that you yourselves are reading. Although Miss Kat may look like a hick, she is a proud hick, and will continue to sport her belt with pride for likely the rest of her life, till death does her part.

What’s more, Miss Kat started a bit of fashion trend, and there were at least 10 other belt sales within a week of her ordering her own. But she would like to say, for the record, that hers and hers alone, is the true Marciel original.

What’s MORE more, is that you, yes you, can also have a delightful belt. I’m not even joking, I would love nothing more than to return to Guatemala with a hundred belt orders for Marciel. Believe it or not, the ten or so belts that Marciel sold to us greatly helped their family out of a bit of a tight spot. They are always in tight spots down there so not only could you sport an extremely fashionable belt that you would probably pay $60 for here in Canada, but you could also literally support a family in their basic needs of food and shelter.

Seriously. Buy a belt. Please. In fact, I’d rather you buy a belt than contribute to the $1000 that I need to raise. It’s that important to me.

Let me know if you are interested. I expect my inbox to be flooded with orders in a matter or hours. We can then discuss sizing, style, buckle, leather, skins or no skins, etc.

Still a Hick, Kat

Ramasser les Fonds

2007-03-27T13:11:00.000-07:00

Salutations.

I think English probably borrowed that word from French’s “salut” (just in case you wanted the origin of that word). How about the word “fundraise”: well, that one is not borrowed from French but it does translate to “ramasser les fonds”. Sometimes they like to make things three times as complicated in that language, which I will choose to see…as the beauty of it? Yes, it is beautiful. The Spanish translation is, “Colecta de fondos”. From this little exercise, we can gather that English speakers are simply lazy in speech and would rather choose the briefest, most simplistic manner of expressing something rather than the more elaborate, shall we say, poetic way of the French and Spanish. This could lead into a debate on rhetoric, but let’s just let that one lie.

Wow, that was a big intro to the topic at hand which, as you may have guessed, is colecta de fondos.

Synopsis: I am responsible for fundraising $1000 for this summer’s projects in Guatemala. Emphasis on the PROJECTS, the money is ALL, get that, 100%, used directly to buy materials for the construction of the homes and buildings that our guys will work hard at over the summer. That in itself is amazing. We’re not paying our plane tickets or health insurance with your donations, it is all going to help build homes for the Guatemalans.

Objectives: To tug at the heartstrings of my friends to give generously to the less fortunate in this world. No, I am not trying to be World Vision or anything of the sort, this is just a straight-up request that if you can give to our work in Guatemala, hey, that’d be awesome. I’ll spare you the rant, but the short of it is, we are way too blessed in comfortable North America, and chances are, if you can afford to live, you can afford to give. That was catchy.

Why I’m posting this on my Blog: It's true that a blog posting is more informal than sending out letters, but I prefer it in this situation for a few reasons. 1) $1000 is not that much, and I feel confident that it can be raised through simply making the need known to the select few who view this blog. Which leads me to the next reason of 2) if you are indeed reading this, you’ve made it through the screening process and can officially call yourself my friend! You made it from the email alerting you to the existence of this blog, and three weeks after its inauguration, you’re still checking it out, making you someone who cares about what the hang is going on. So, the sticky request for money goes to you.

True Story: Check this photo out. Our guys built that beast of a retaining wall last summer. "Why the hang would they do that????" may be the question in your mind, well, let me enlighten you. The family who that wall was built for (three of the six are pictured there) lived in a shack (believe me, it was a metal shack) at the top of that hill. It was what they owned, a hill and a shack, and no money to make the situation better, no money to make the house bigger, for remember, they lived on a freakin’ incline, where were they supposed to build??? Recognizing the need of this family, Global Shore committed to making them a home, but first a retaining wall had to be built in order to make room at the top for a home. The cost of the wall itself was closely equivalent to the cost of a home, but it is what had to happen in order to help this family. So, we did it.

Worth the sacrifice of a few lattés to improve someone’s standard of living from that of a shack to a livable home? Well, I’ll let you answer that one.

Thanks for putting up with me. The info that you need to know for donating is available to the right on the link “Donation Info”. That will explain more in detail where the money is going, and will provide an address to which to send cheques. Tax receipts are available.

Sorry this is so long. It’s the nature of the subject.

Humbly yours, Kat