Hello dearest readers, I feel so grateful for L allowing me to blog post.
I cannot wait to get to know you ladies better!
When L first mentioned writing a guest post, I wasn't sure what I wanted to share. But as I sat down and prayed and reflected, sweet Abba brought me to a lovely memory of when he took me on a journey from brokenness to freedom.
I was two years out of college, and in that marvelous season had moved to Thailand where I taught English and then spent the following year traveling around the country with a non-profit that worked in Uganda. It was filled with adventure and fun. However when those two years ended and I moved home, my world seemed to come to a crashing halt.
I was jobless.
Friendless {most of my friends had moved out of my hometown in northern California}
Boyfriendless.
Truly, I felt alone.
Every job I applied for never even contacted me! Did I have the plague, I wondered?
{Come on people...I have a college education!}
My self esteem was quickly draining empty.
In the meantime,
I realized it was probably best to buckle down and take any ol' job to make a little money.
So what does this girl decide to do?
Yep....work for her dad.
And what does this girls dad do?
He's a rice farmer!
You guessed it, I became a farm girl.
Growing up in a city, I never actually had worked for my dad before, so there was a steep learning curve involved. Also involved were flannel shirts, work boots, 11 hour work days, and packing a lunch pail the size of texas.
I drove a tractor which was quite the site to see because I was the only female out there and I was tiny. The rice fields were hot and dusty, and I came home exhausted every night, covered heard to toe in mosquito bites, rice dust and dirt. The only human interaction during the day was with a fellow tractor driver named Fidel who brought me one of his wife's home-made burritos.
Happily, I have no pictures to show of that time period, haha.
I'm not going to lie people, I felt was a little pathetic.
So amidst Taylor Swift on the radio, the tears flowed freely as I cried out to God asking him what the heck I was supposed to do with my life.
Where do I go?
What do I do next?
Am I even capable of anything, because after like 20 companies turn me down, I didn't feel like it.
It was raw out there on the farm people.
raw.
One night I came home, showered, and curled up in bed.
I took out my tear-stained journal and a pen and began to pour.
I poured out my fears, my dreams, my insecurities, and hopes.
I asked specifically for 3 things:
1) An incredible, vibrant community that loved the poor.
2) A job at a small non-profit that worked in Africa {I was an African studies minor in college}
3) A husband that loved the Lord and had a heart for the world.
And then hope began to unravel, real and genuine before my eyes.
To begin, an organization that worked in Africa contacted me out of the blue.
A little background....out of college, I had started a small non-profit called Africa Hope where I designed t-shirts and sold them online. When someone purchased a shirt, a portion of the proceeds went towards an organization listed on my site that was doing work in Africa. Well, this organization, Empowering Lives International (ELI), found my website and asked to be one of the featured organizations listed.
My pulse quicked as I scanned their website. They were an incredible holistic organization empowering lives in Africa. And they were also located in Southern California! So I emailed them back to let them know I would put them on my Africa Hope website. I also decided that I should go visit their office and meet them in person. A month later I planned a road trip to Southern California, and met with their staff. I casually mentioned that if they ever had a job opening, I would love to apply.
Well....a month later I got a call from ELI.
A position opened and they said I was the first person they thought of!!!!
I couldn't believe it...I almost died of joy!
People always used to joke that studying African history wouldn't help me much in the job hunt, but with God all things are possible:)
I started my job with ELI a month later.
It was a dream come true.
God had specifically answered 1 of my 3 desires.
Since I had just moved down to Southern California for my job, I needed a place to live.
Knowing no one, the pastor of my home church suggested I live with one of his best friends and his family, The Cooks.
Well, it turns out that the Cooks had a son who was exactly my same age, Kevin.
Kevin had just returned from living in Europe, and was currently also living at the Cooks house.
I moved into the Cooks house.
Kevin lived at the Cooks house.
And what do you know. We fall in love.
You can read the longer story here.
So now I have a man that loves Jesus.
God specifically answered 2 of my 3 desires.
While I was living at the Cooks house {before dating Kevin}
I remember being a little uncomfortable in the suburbs.
It wasn't that I didn't know them. Heck, I grew up in a suburb.
It was just as though I felt God convicting and asking me "katie, how is it that you serve the poor when you travel, but you don't even know the poor at home?".
cough, cough, awkward silence.
i.didn't.even.know.the.poor.
I had to think about that one for a minute.
God kept opening my eyes to the hundreds of scriptures where he talks about loving, serving, caring for the poor.
How can I love the poor if I don't know them?
So I cried out that God would show me where to go.
Well, in Orange County it's a bit hard to find the poor...but they are there amidst the glitz and glam of the beaches and disneyland.
At church one Sunday a man came and shared about the amazing ways God was moving in a low-income neighborhood.
I immediately stalked him after the service, and he told me to fill out a volunteer application online.
In my mind, I dreamed that maybe when I had been volunteering there for a while, I could possibly move into the neighborhood. Big dream.
When I went in for my volunteer interview, a girl came up to me that worked in the neighborhood. I didn't even know her, but the first thing out of her mouth was "Are you looking for housing? We have a spot in the girls house if you are interested".
WHAT? She caught me off gaurd. How did she know?
Two weeks later I moved into this neighborhood filled with color and immigrants, and food trucks, and spanish.
And I fell in love with a community.
And they have changed me.
So now I have a vibrant community.
God has answered all 3 specific prayer requests.
This all happened over 4 years ago,
ut what I learned in that season was how tender and loving our God is to our most deepest desires.
Pray Specifically.
Ask Boldly,
Dream Big!
And now we have a new journey coming our way!
Kevin and I were recently asked to move to Asia for 5 months this year to help partner with an aftercare home for girls rescued from sex-slavery.
We are excited, nervous, overwhelmed, and overjoyed.
But we know this, God is BIG and LOVING and powerful, and will continue to guide us on this journey!!
can't wait to meet you all, please stop by and say hello!
Blessings on YOUR journey!
love Katie
Isn't sweet Katie just precious!
You can keep up with her journey here:
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