Ramona Jo

Just wanted to make a post about my dog, Ramona, because I love her so! She is just the best thing to come home to after "one of those days," and has been a great addition to my life... especially during grad school. She's just so sweet and always happy to see me! I appreciate the fact that this is sort of her job in life.

Anyway... three cheers for Ramona and three pictures to go with it (the 2nd one makes me laugh.. haha)!

P.S. Finals start tomorrow! Then Friday I get on a plane headed south to PERU!

push through!

Fall Semester Finals: December 7th-10th

COMPS: January 11th-14th

PRAXIS (National Exam): March 13th

Spring Semester Finals: May 10th-13th (ish)

GRADUATION: May 22nd

I'm ready. Just gotta keep going...

Colossians 3:23

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...

Austin, Texas

So, I started my internship at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital yesterday. It was an intimidating first day, to say the least, but thankfully today was a little better. I'm not going to get too far into it... but umm... did I really take classes over all this stuff? Because I sure can't seem to pull it out when I need it. I feel like I'm the one needing therapy. hmmm...

Even though I'm stressed, I can find contentment in other ways. Thank God for prayer and good people in my life. 

In other news, I am SO happy to be here in Austin with my awesome cousins, Mary Katherine and Janie. That's a definite plus. 

Love you all! Pray for me? :)

transitions

Hello friends! Okay... so I'm almost completely moved out of my house and it's pretty bittersweet. Freshman year to grad school... I have really had a great group of roommates!! I will be rooming with two new girls beginning in August for this last year of student-life and am pretty pumped about the situation... but Jessie and Julie will certainly be missed! :(

But first things first.... tomorrow I head to Austin for a 6-week-long externship (yeah, I don't know why they call it "externship") at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital. Am I excited? Yes. Nervous? Yes. Ready? No. 

I just realized I don't know where I'm supposed to "report" to on Monday morning. haha, guess I'll let you know how it goes later...

In the meantime, here is a pictorial time-line of all my past roommates for your viewing enjoyment. I've made some great memories with each of these girls! 

Freshman year: Horn Hall with Amy

Sophomore year: Horn Hall with Heather

Sophomore year: saying goodbye to the dorms!

Junior year: "The Reserve" with Heather, Becca, and Ruby

Senior year: "The Reserve" with Callie, Becca, and Kensey

1st Year Grad: 31st Street with Jessie & Julie (I'll miss ya'll!)

Annnnd goodnight!!

-Kathryn

praise from around the world

This is a group of kids from a children's home in Tanzania. Love it!

goodbyes and a good movie

So this morning I went to the Academy parking lot in LBK to send off about 12 friends who were heading to the Sangre de Cristo mountains of New Mexico to start their summer together as the 2009 permanent staff at Camp Blue Haven. I'm not gonna lie.... it was tough to do. I'll miss doing the best job I'll probably ever have, but I am pumped for the group that will make it happen this summer. So needless to say.... I needed a good way to end my day, and figured a Disney movie might do the trick.

And, as I'd hoped, Disney didn't disappoint! I won't spoil anything though, because you really just have to go see it. 

Ed Asner (who played the voice of the main character, "Carl Fredricksen") had this to say about the film:

"It's a very gratifying film for me to put under my belt because of the philosophy inherent in it: 

Do no harm. 

Do good when you can. 

Live life. 

Don't live in the past. 

Find the future, and 

react to the love that's given you."

Now come on..... with a philosophy like that, you know you're going to walk away feeling good and maybe even a little inspired! Such a great story, and definitely a new favorite of mine. Go see it!

Back in Lubbock

Well, I'm back in Lubbock today and back to school as of tomorrow! I spent a great couple of weeks at home, but it is nice to be back at my 2nd home as well. It's kind of crazy how much the gears can shift between two places. Grand Prairie has come to be my place of leisure and laziness, and now I'm back to Lubbock where I have actual responsibilities and things to keep up with. There's a time for both.

I'll be back in Grand Prairie in 2 weeks for John's graduation weekend (wow), and then soon after that I'll head to Austin for my internship at St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital. It's crazy that John is 18 now and graduating. I'll have to post more about what he's up to later on, but for now I'll leave you with one of his recent videos he created for a media tech project at school. 

blessed assurance

Well, we got the call tonight... and after 2 and 1/2 years of fighting cancer, my Aunt Kay, Dad's 2nd oldest sister, has gone to heaven. 

These things are never easy (tears have come and gone.... and will come and go again), but what a blessing it is to know she is in Heaven right now-- face to face with God. Blessed assurance, indeed. 

It seriously blows my mind to think of what Aunt Kay is experiencing and participating in at this very moment. Think of the reunions that must be going on! The introductions!! Pillars of faith that she has studied and taken encouragement from are communing and worshipping with my aunt! Of course I've thought of heaven before... but I don't know... it just blows my mind. We truly can't grasp eternity... or the true splendor of our God. 

My Aunt Kay was such a woman of faith and someone I truly cherished in my life. Her and Uncle David have been like surrogate parents to me since I've moved to Lubbock for school, and we're all really going to miss her. Even though it was so hard to hear the news from the doctors at the beginning of this month saying she had "days to weeks" left to live, it was a sweet time for her to be with loved ones and family (including grandbabies!). We were able to spend time with her and say our goodbyes in the ways that we could. I know my uncle and cousins and their families are so very thankful for the meals, flowers, visits, cards, and prayers.

my cousin Heather, me, & Aunt Kay 

at an "impromptu" baby shower at church

I really don't know who even reads this anymore... but maybe this post was more for myself. A renewed look at this thought of eternity and that blessed assurance we can have through Christ as our savior. I mess up all the time.... but I thank God that His grace covers me. One of the things my Aunt Kay left me with in one of our last conversations was this: "Just remember it's all about God. This world is just practice for the real thing." 

piano + cello

random... but i loved this arrangement.

_

"He who has God and everything has no more 

than he who has God alone." 

-C.S. Lewis

THE TRIP!

Last minute school assignments and readings... check.

AM clinical session... check.

Packing... check.

All I had left to do on Thursday, March 12th was get on that plane! The 6 of us (in order below: Leland Rose, Chad Baker, Micah Bayles, Britni Johnson, Nathan Goodnight, and myself) met at the DFW airport, said a group prayer, and loaded on to a KLM flight around 5:00 pm Thursday. And so it began... 

  

Thank you so much for supporting me on this trip! I pray that you are blessed by the words that follow, which are an attempt to describe some of my group’s experiences while in Zambia.

 

March 12-14^th: We started our trip with about 22 total hours in the air: Lubbock to DFW to Amsterdam to Johannesburg to Livingstone. David and Linda Gregersen greeted us on Zambian soil and gave us a 2 ½ hour (bumpy!) ride to the Namwianga Mission near Kalomo, Zambia. It was a long trip, but a safe one with no complications. 

 

Sunday, March 15^th: This was our first full day in Zambia! We drove out into the bush to the village of Kasibi where we joined our Zambian brothers and sisters in worship, Bible class, and communion. One of our own group members led the sermon while a village church member translated for their 100+ member congregation. A woman in the row ahead of me gave four eggs as the basket was passed for the offering. Their singing was spirited and beautiful! Our group was humbled when the church members asked us to sing some of our own songs of worship. That was probably one of my favorite moments of the entire week because of the way I was able to experience God’s love and power from a whole new perspective. Afterwards we ate a tradiational Zambian meal of fried chicken, tomato soup/sauce, and nshima (flavor of a corn tortilla, appearance of grits, consistency of playdough). Mmmm!

  

After we ate, the village band (made up of teenage boys with homemade instruments) performed for us under a tent as it rained. It was so neat to see how they had constructed their instruments with wood, wire, metal, plastic bottles, etc. and hear the upbeat tunes they had prepared! It definitely was, as we liked to call it, a "National Geographic moment." So fun!

 

That evening we had dinner with David and Linda Gregersen (seen on the left below) as well as Don and Laura Oldenburg (on the right) who are another couple living at the Namwianga Mission long-term. We had such an enjoyable evening and stayed up pretty late with the Gregersen's talking about what their lives have been like these past four years while in Zambia. 

 

Monday, March 16^th: On Monday we drove a few hours to a place where a man named Supper (pronounced “Soo-pah”... the 2nd man in the picture below along with his brother-in-law and Britni) lived in a hut far removed from the nearest village. He is currently in the inactive stages of leprocy and was brought to Namwianga’s annual medical mission in a wheelbarrow last summer to receive care. Soo-pah was able to hear the Word of God while at the medical mission and responded by becoming a Christian that summer. 

He has lost half a leg and several fingers as a result of the disease and has very little to his name other than a few mango trees growing outside his hut. 

We were able to till the soil around the trees and clean up some of the area for him. Soo-pah was very quiet, but very gracious. As I watched Soo-pah crawl to his hut, it was the neatest thing to realize that the next time I see him, it will be in heaven. I imagine him running through those streets of gold with laughter and praise! That’s huge. 

Tuesday & Wednesday March 17^th & 18^th:  Tuesday and Wednesday were spent at the Haven 1 and Haven 2 orphanages, which are designated for orphaned infants and toddlers. I remember first walking into the buildings feeling so excited to love on, hold, feed, and play with these sweet little babies. I fell in love with two particular rooms and spent most of my time with Stella (in the picture below), Gift (2nd picture), Yvonne & Yvette (the twins), Julia, Andrew, William, Scott, and Daisy. 

  

While I loved being there at the orphanage, part of me grew more and more sad as the day progressed along with the growing realization of who these babies were and why they were there. That feeling was only magnified as I walked in the rooms designated for the HIV positive babies. Eyeopening and heartwrenching, indeed. While the “Aunties” of each room do a phenomenal job with the constant care these babies and toddlers require, there is only so much they can do. Any of you who are parents can attest to the amount of diaper changings, feedings, bathings, and supervision these little ones need! Lunch time was crazy!! Needless to say, Tuesday and Wednesday were filled with many laughs and great memories.

Thursday, March 19^th: Thursday we helped organize and transport a large amount of donated supplies to the Namwianga health clinic. Afterwards, we went with a Zambian minister to the main hospital in Kalomo to visit, pray with, and encourage the patients who were there. Walking into their rooms with rusty beds, bare mattresses, dirty floors, and an obvious lack of supplies was sobering, to say the least. Because of the language barrier, any one-on-one communication was done by holding a hand or offering a smile, which spoke volumes.

Friday, March 20^th: Friday morning we packed up all our things and headed to the orphanages to say our goodbyes to the little ones. After we took some group pictures and fought back a few tears, it was time to go. The addition to our group in these pictures seen below is Meagan. She has lived at the Namwianga Mission for the past couple of years and is an absolute blessing to these children.... there is no doubt that she is doing exactly what she was made to do at this point in her life. The 6 of us were blessed by her humility and compassion. 

  

David and Linda Gregersen arranged for our group to have a day of Zambian “city life” (aka shopping and bargaining in the markets) and other tourist attractions. We road in a boat down the Zambezi River and then went to Victoria Falls to enjoy the gorgeous views. What an AMAZING way to tangibly see the power of God. 

  

We did a small amount of souvenir shopping outside of the falls and then headed back to our hotel in Livingstone for dinner. We shared our meal with both the Gregersens and the Oldenburgs. We spent a great evening together eating good food and “debriefing” from the week. What a blessing it was to hear their words of wisdom and faith. They encouraged us to always “go with the story” of Christ in wherever life takes us. We are called to be different, and to always go with the story of grace, hope, and love: the story of Christ.  

Saturday and Sunday, March 21^st & 22^nd: Saturday was our last day on Zambian soil! We spent the early morning at Mosi-O-Tunya game park to get a glimpse of some African wildlife including baboons, giraffes, impalas, hippos, warthogs, and zebras (my favorite!). Afterwards, it was time to catch our flight and head west. 

   

  

Truly, none of this even scratches the surface of our trip and what it meant to all of us. Definitely the "Reader's Digest" version. I'll post my impressions and some of the things I took away from this experience soon. 

Blogging is time consuming!! But believe me, I'd much rather be blogging than researching evidence based practices for my classes!

Until next time...

-Kathryn

Video!!

Okay, not a massive post... but another teaser. 

This is a video of the Heavenly Echoes choir which is made up of college students from George Benson Christian College located at the Namwianga Mission. Linda arranged for the choir to give us a "private concert" on Tuesday, March 17th which was our 4th night there as well as David Gregersen's birthday. This is officially my new favorite arrangement of "Amazing Grace"... Zambian style!

Enjoy.

Filler...

I'm seriously working on my blog report, I promise!! Sorry for all the suspense. Here are a few pictures to tease you with in the meantime. My next post is going to be massive!

P.S. In case you're thinking, "Wow, these pictures look so great! Kathryn must have some hidden photography skills I didn't know about!" you would only be half right. These pictures are great... but I must give all credit to my good friend Britni, who was also a part of our trip. Mad skills.  

Back to the U.S.

I can't believe the week is over and I'm back to my life as a student in Lubbock, Texas. It's almost surreal that only two days ago I was in another country with some amazing people who blessed me beyond words. It's 1:30 AM in Texas, but 8:30 AM Tuesday morning in Zambia. Kind of crazy!

I have so much to tell, but that will have to wait for when it's not 1:30 AM in Texas. I just wanted to stop in and let you all know that we arrived home in one piece (although I'm still waiting on my luggage....) and that trip details are coming soon. I'm still digesting it all myself! Thank you for your prayers. God is so good!

Check back here later on this week...

Blessings,

Kathryn

Here we go...

So... I'm going to Africa tomorrow (eek!). I still have some last minute things to do (like pack) and also a couple of things to finish up for school (yay...) before I go. AHH I'm so ready to get on that plane! Thank you again to everyone who made this trip possible for me. Check back here after the 22nd to hear about our experiences!

Britni (one of the girls on our trip) made a prayer "schedule" for anyone who is interested. She posted it on facebook, so I figured I would post it here for you guys as well:

"Of all the places in the world, of all the years that have passed, and all the people we could be with, I am fully confident God has placed us all where we need to be. For the team of 6 past Blue Haven counselors, the Namwianga Mission in Zambia in March 2009 is exactly where God wants us.

The group consists of: Nathan Goodnight, Chad Baker, Leland Rose, Kathryn Warder, Micah Bayles, and myself [Britni Johnson].

We are all hoping to be ruined by our experience in Africa. (Yes, I said ruined.) I think we all see that God created us for more than 8-5 jobs and mundane routine. God created us to have life and have it to the full, and if I can speak for everyone going this Spring Break, this is one opportunity we feel God calling us to take hold of. We want to be ruined in the world’s eyes, but refined by Christ in us.

Time and time again throughout Scripture, God calls us His “chosen people”. Being chosen is not something to take lightly. It means we have a high calling to do kingdom work and to live like Christ when he walked this earth. I don’t believe we can do this alone. We need your help. ( I promise I didn't pick you at random.) Maybe this is something God is calling you to do. I’m asking that you will pray for us every day. I know it may seem overwhelming when you see all the typing and text, but please, just take it one day at a time. We don’t really know what to expect and we don’t exactly have many set plans, but I know that one of our main works at the Namwianga Mission in Zambia is to love on some kids in the orphanage and maybe do a Bible class for some secondary students. Other than that, here are a few ideas for what to pray for each day.

 

Wednesday, 3/11: This may seem like a little detail, but please pray that we get everything packed that we need. Pray that our hearts are prepared for the opportunities to come, even if we have the chance to minister to someone in an airport or on a plane.

 

Thursday, 3/12: Please pray that we have safe travel today! We have a total of 5 airports to see in the next two days, and because some of the flights are booked closely together, we could use prayers for smooth travel-getting through customs and security and no delays and everything. Pray that we can be a blessing to all we come in contact with and also pray that we can get plenty of rest while we travel.

 

Friday, 3/13: We have the potential of seeing Philip Camp and the Praise Choir from LCU in the Amsterdam airport when we arrive this morning. Please pray for their safety while they travel to the Ukraine and pray that we are able to see each other and be encouraged by each other half way around the world. We should be arriving in Johannesburg tonight around 10 p.m.

 

Saturday, 3/14: We will be arriving in Zambia today (finally). We ask that you pray for us to get through the last bit of our traveling safely and without problems or setbacks. Pray for our energy level-that we will be enthusiastic and ready to face whatever we might see at the Namwianga Mission and that we may go ahead and began forming bonds with the people we meet.

 

Sunday, 3/15: I love Sundays! I am so excited about worshipping in true Zambian fashion. Pray that we may put our hearts into the services and that we may encourage and be encouraged by the zeal of our brothers and sisters in this poverty-stricken country. (And pray that we can muster the food we will be eating!)

 

Monday, 3/16: I would like you to specifically pray for Micah today. Pray that the Lord will work on her heart today and use her in ways she needs to be spiritually stretched. Micah has such a generous heart and has already done so much to advance the Kingdom. Pray that God’s will for her in Africa is in full swing this week.

 

Tuesday, 3/17: Lift Leland before the Father today. Pray that he has a connection with the people he needs to minister to and pray that their hearts will be open and softened to what God has to say through Leland. Pray also that the Lord works on Leland’s heart and opens his eyes to new opportunities.

 

Wednesday, 3/18: Pray for Kathryn. Kathryn is such a servant and blessing to all she meets. She has a compassionate heart and I know God has specific purposes for her in Zambia this very week. Pray those purposes are fulfilled and she will have knowledge to speak when she needs to speak, hug when she needs to hug, and be able to love like Jesus loves. [Britni did not include herself on the specific group member prayer days, but please lift her up on this day. She has such faith and so much to give. Pray that she would be bold!!]

 

Thursday, 3/19: This is Nathan’s day. Pray that he will have the heart of a servant and be willing to step out on faith if he needs to. Nathan is so good at bringing laughter to those around him, so pray that he will be the source of smiles for those that may need it today.

 

Friday, 3/20: Pray for Chad. Pray that this experience has genuinely touched his heart and taken him deeper into the arms of Christ. Today might be a tough day because we are leaving the mission and heading to Livingstone. Pray for the whole group as we begin our travels once again, but this time leaving a piece of our heart with our new friends from Namwianga.

 

Saturday, 3/21: The plan is to get up early and see Victoria Falls today, then head to a game park to see some African wildlife. I have heard that Victoria Falls is simply breath-taking and personally, there isn’t much that speaks to my heart better than the pure wonder and amazement of creation. (Watch Planet Earth and tell me there’s no God! Not possible.) Pray that this will be a good way to finish the trip and that our flight tonight will arrive safely in Senegal.

 

Sunday, 3/22: Please please please PLEASE pray that even though we are not wanting to leave Africa just yet and our emotions are high from exhaustion, we need to get as much sleep as we can. This is one of the parts I am worried about the most because we are coming off an amazing week but will be so tired...and we all begin our busy college/career-filled lives as soon as we land. Pray that we don’t lose anything that touched our hearts this week. Also, please pray that we have all been drawn deeper into the heart of God and are able to love people back in the states that we need to. Pray that our priorities be more focused on Him and that we can be prepared to fight whatever Satan throws at us.

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to do this. I know it has been a blessing to us on the trip and I hope it has enriched your prayer life as well. I want to encourage you to listen to His voice…listen for the call. And GO!"

 

“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn and provide for those who grieve in Zion-to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.” 

–Isaiah 61:1-3

so close...

OH MY WORD.... Africa is only a week and a couple of days away!!! I can't even believe it. I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have been pretty busy with school lately. I have a 2-part midterm in my dysphagia class (aka swallowing disorders) on Monday & Wednesday, and I definitely need some more quality time with my notes/books. Booooo. 

Okay... I'll stop ranting now. Let's bring it back... 

I'M READY FOR AFRICA!!  

Today I wrote out a list with three columns... 

1.) Things to Buy

2.) Things to Bring

3.) Things to Do

There isn't much left in the "To Do" column. Pretty much everything is in place, and that is a great feeling. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who has sent support and blessed me with prayers!!

I am so excited to tell you that I am now 

fully funded for this trip!!

I can't wait to get to Zambia, live out the plans that God has for our group, and then tell you all about it! I will be sending a letter your way after I return!

haha, cheesy, I know. But seriously... thank you. :O)

it's the little things

I finally figured out how to post a countdown timer ---->

yay!

5 + 1 = 6

We now have 6 people going on our trip! 

Chad

Chad is 22 years old and is working as an assistant youth minister at McDermott Road Church of Christ in Plano. He graduated from Lubbock Christian University last May with a degree in business administration, but decided to take the ministry route instead! Chad joined Nathan last spring on their trip to Tanzania, so he is the 2nd person in our group who has already experienced some of Africa. I met Chad at Camp Blue Haven in 2007 when I was a first year counselor and he was a returning counselor. Chad is a great guy and will add so much to the group! I'm so glad he's able to come!

2009 Zambia Team

me, Micah, & Britni at CBH

Nathan & Chad in Tanzania

Leland & Nathan at CBH

me, Micah, & Britni again-- hiking at CBH

priceless.

HAHA! poor David... click here

"Why is this happening to me?!"

thankfulness and insomnia

So, this isn't really Africa related... just a post! I've always been a night owl... I guess my body seriously won't let me quit just yet.

This past weekend I was able to head home to see family for a few days, and it was just wonderful. I felt somewhat nostalgic all weekend for some reason. I think it's because we pulled out the home videos (which we have perfectly coded and categorized in a nifty notebook). I really have been blessed with such an amazing family. It's always good to remember that! 

haha, this was taken on a family trip to Disney World in like.... goodness... 2000? Jessica would know. I think I'm in the 8th grade, which would make Jess a junior, and John a 3rd grader. 

*Note to family: I need a current family picture on my computer.

Weekend Highlights:

-John was named the 2009 "Man of South", winning a $750 college scholarship (woo hoo, John!)

-Birthday dinner & gifts with the family (my mom is a great cook)

-LOTS of sweets (2 types of cheesecake, my birthday cake, baby Claire's birthday cake & ice cream, and lots of those little chocolates mom keeps out in a bowl for my grazing enjoyment... probably not good)

-okay, I'm a little embarrassed about that last bullet

-my cousin Claire's 1 year old birthday celebration!! She's precious. I even got to see extended family over the weekend (love you guys!).

-had lunch with Mitchell, hung out with Alison & Natalie, enjoyed coffee with Mallory!

-church at home :O)

It was great! Not gonna lie... I really didn't want to go back to school. It's a good thing I love my major (see Jan. 29th post).

Psalm 100:3

Know that the Lord is God.

It is he who has made us, and we are his;

We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

cute!