Hello everybody!
I know I haven't given you an update in a little while and I should definitely give you a quick one. I am half way through the last camp of the summer and it has been super exciting so far. I will update all of you later on the amazing things happening at the camp here in Bielsko Biala.
But for today I want to talk to you about something that has been on my heart lately. I posted a few weeks ago about an amazing opportunity to stay in Poland for an extended 3 months. It is something I have been considering and praying about for a while now and after my last camp in Jastrzebie God touched my heart and told me one thing. You need to be staying in Poland. So I began to tell some people back home and started the process applying for a visa to remain in Poland. I even had a suitcase of fall clothes brought over last week. I began to get very excited about staying and seeing all of the areas I could continue to serve in here in Poland through until December. I prayed that I would be the Lord's servant and follow him wherever he wanted me and most of all I prayed for the the youth here in Poland, and God moving in their lives.
The anticipation was overwhelming and I could barely contain my excitement about staying here, continuing relationships, discipling students, having bible studies, and loving the people in Poland. I could feel God calling me here. I switched my mentality about the next 4 months of my life to ministry in Poland, not to Canada and I began to prepare for that.
God is sovereign and he has a plan for my life and after yesterday I got a clear message that for now that is no longer in Poland.
After much preparation, phone calls, letters, documents, the possibly of receiving a visa in Poland fell through and it broke my heart yesterday as I realized I am going home in just over a week's time.
I love Poland.
And I know God is faithful and has a plan for my life. It hurts me that I have to leave Poland, and I have to leave the Josiah Venture family. But I don't think that this is the end here in Poland. God is pressing the pause button. Maybe it is because he is preparing me for even bigger things. I don't know, but I know he is in control and so I will follow him back to Canada on August 9th.
I am so blessed to have my hope in Christ, he is my comfort in times of confusion, pain and brokenness. As I spoke at camp last night about hope, and about what God has been laying on my heart, it was clear to me that he knows best and he loves me and he will guide me through the next chapter of my life, through these uncharted waters.
I am overwhelmed with a heart for Poland. I am in love with this country and with the people here. I am so grateful for every opportunity I have had to share the love of Christ over the last 60 days I have spent here. I will share more about what he has done here in a few days after camp. But I want you all to know my heart right now.
Please pray for me as I focus on the last 4 days of camp and want to remain present with the campers. Please pray as my future still confuses me and I am mending a broken heart having to leave Poland. Please pray that the campers here in Bielsko would understand that God loves them and is pursuing them and they need him in their life.
Thank You
Wednesday, 1 August 2012
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Do not fear for I am with you.
I wanted to share with everyone a little bit about how I have been encouraged lately....
A few days ago I received a lovely package, I was a little confused as to who the sender was and it became quite the surprise. Inside was a lovely card from a teacher at Stouffville Christian School corresponding with a letter and six separate envelopes numbered by weeks. To my delightful surprise I learned that during missions week the youth pastor Alex from Springvale Baptist Church told the students of the school about my trip to Poland and the students decided to encourage me by writing me letters. It was overwhelming reading letter after letter after letter from kids who mostly I had never met, encouraging me, praying for me and sharing what they think about my trip. It blew me away! When you have an 8 year old sharing scripture with you and talking about the gospel I must say you become incredibly humbled. It was such a beautiful thing to me hearing from these children and it made my week knowing that these children are supporting me through prayer, it is probably one of the most encouraging things on my trip thus far.
Today I opened the second envelope of letters which contained another 10 notes from kids on top of the 16 I read last week. It brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes reading the thoughts and prayers. My favourite letter so far came from a girl I know who used to be my camper at the camp where I spent the last 3 summers working. I was so delighted to read her letter and I was encouraged by her bible verses.
Isaiah 41:9-10 "I took you from the ends of the earth , from its farthest corners I called you. I said, 'You are my servant'; I have chosen you and have not rejected you. So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Hayley's letter put a smile on my faced and deeply warmed my heart; her verse is one that I will keep close and turn to in the next few weeks when things become busy and stressful. Isn't it so comforting to know that God is always with us? 6999.5 km away from home I know that God is here on the good days and the bad ones and that is what keeps me going when I get up in the morning. I hope that wherever you are and whatever life is throwing your way that those verses can be a comfort to you through good times and the rough ones. God has got it you don't even need to break a sweat. Pretty cool right?
Anyways those are my thoughts on this rainy evening in Bielsko. I will check in again real soon, I promise!
- Kat
My letters so far! |
Sunday, 8 July 2012
You make beautiful things! You make beautiful things from dust.
Hey friends!
It is great to catch up as I relax and rest after an action packed, busy, awesome week! This last week was spent putting on my first English camp of the summer in Poland and I must say it was an unbelievable experience.
I was reunited two weeks ago with the 10 other Poland summer interns (which was wonderful in and of itself) and we got ready for the first ever summer English camp in Jastrzebie (pronounced ya-shjem-bia). After lots of prep and prayer we loaded up a trailer with supplies and squished into one van like a clown car... and we were off. We weren't really sure what to expect, this was the first camp in this town and even though we had advertised in a bunch of schools we really didn't know what would happen. So we stepped out in faith knowing that God had a plan.... and let me just tell you it was beautiful!
Things didn't go exactly as planned, we were prepared for the camp to be heavier in soccer than English but every camper pretty much signed up for English so that changed things a little bit. But we quickly adapted and just went with the flow (a skill necessary when planning English camps). So Sunday rolled around and campers began to show up and it became very real, very fast. We had approximately 25 campers come (which may not seem like a lot to you... but to me it was an answer to prayer!) and we began our week showing how there is a life Greater Than this one.
This week seems like a blur (a very hot blur I might add... fun fact there isn't really air conditioning in Poland)... it was full of English Lessons, lots of dancing, games, Hawaii night, pool day, me losing a toe nail, sweet worship and most importantly we got to talk about Christ through the story of the Prodigal Son and tying it into our summer theme Greater Than. I quickly became attached to everyone who was at camp this week and we became like a family. I have a special place in my heart for each and every one of them, and I am so thankful that God brought this camp in Jastrzebie together.
I was able to share my testimony over two of the evenings at camp and teach on the final evening. My absolute favourite part of the entire week was watching God move in the hearts of campers. It was so special for me to have been able to be a small piece in God's puzzle at camp. Most of the campers I would say have been soaked in a society of religion their whole life, but one thing that each of them said by the end of the week is that they have never experienced the idea of a relationship with Jesus and they were stunned by the passion and joy they witnessed through the interns. And what touched them the most was hearing the personal stories of lives that have been changed by Jesus.
I got the chance to meet an amazing girl who I connected with very quickly. Before long I was visiting her home and we began to build a relationship and talk about everything. She is so precious to me. To see her heart touched by Christ in a real way was the best part of my week. Getting to sit with her and share my story and talk about the hope I have in Jesus was unreal. I believe that her life will never be the same and that is all thanks to God and his love.
It is hard to sum up the week of camp but as we danced our camp dance one final time yesterday I was overwhelmed with a feeling of incredible joy. Maybe it was the realization that we had become one big family and maybe it was because I had an incredibly fun week. But I think that the main reason was because I new that God had been SO good and that this was the beginning of something amazing that God is going to do among the youth in Jastrzebie.
Thank you for all of your prayer and support, please continue to pray for all of the campers from Jastrzebie. Pray that this wouldn't be a fun memory of a good feeling they had about God but that God would transform them from the inside out and they would hunger and thirst for a deeper relationship with Him.
So, I am back in Bielsko Biala and it is bittersweet after an awesome week in Jasterzebie, but I am so excited to get closer to the youth here in the next weeks as we prepare for our camp here that begins on the 28th. It is going to be awesome!
That's all for now!
- Kat
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
Here's my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.
Hey Everybody,
I wanted to give you an update about something God has really been laying on my heart recently and I want to ask for your prayer about it. So hang with me as I give you the spiel. Here it goes...
My time in Poland so far has been unreal and it is really hard to believe it has been almost a month since I arrived here. Crazy right! Since that time I have begun to develop some awesome relationships with some of the Polish girls in Bielsko and God has been moving in my heart. I already knew that I was in love with Poland and the people here but I guess this last month has really affirmed that and I have just really deepened my heart for the lost here in Poland.
So here is the big news: I have been offered an unbelievable opportunity; and that is to extend my internship with Josiah Venture here in Poland to the end of November. What would that look like? Well basically it would be me deepening the relationships and connections I already have with the youth here. I would love to get the chance to disciple some of the girls in the youth group and just have the opportunity to continue sharing Christ's love to the youth here even when camp is over, especially when camp is over. Why the heck would I stay longer? Along with an extra three months here in ministry I am also praying that the Holy Spirit would begin to make it clear if he wants to be a part of full time ministry, specifically here in Poland. Multiple missionaries here in Poland have approached me about the possibility of me being part of long term missions here. I am not 100 percent sure what that would look like yet but what I do know is that I am at a point in my life where I feel like God is calling me to something greater than what I am currently doing with my life and I am praying for his guidance into what that looks like whether it be full time ministry in Canada or here in Poland. What can you do right now? Please PRAY. Pray that God would make it clear if He wants me to extend this summer internship. Please pray that God would provide the funds necessary if an extended internship is what he is calling me to. And please pray that God would also reveal to me if he wants me to be in long term missions in the future here in Poland. I really feel like the Spirit will confirm whether I should stay or not through all of you, the people surrounding me and praying for me as I am here.
Please contact me if you have any questions for me or if you just want to discuss this with me further, I would love to! As for support, I will be making my decision in the next 2 weeks and when I do I will definitely update all of you either way. If you feel called to donate to my extended internship I will let you know the details when I know for sure if that is what God wants me to do.
I want to thank you all for you prayer and your support from home. It means a lot to me that you read my little updates and pray along with me as I am here. I can't thank you enough and I will definitely keep you updated as things become clear to me. So bear with me and all I can ask for is your prayer. You guys mean so much.
God Bless,
Kat
I wanted to give you an update about something God has really been laying on my heart recently and I want to ask for your prayer about it. So hang with me as I give you the spiel. Here it goes...
My time in Poland so far has been unreal and it is really hard to believe it has been almost a month since I arrived here. Crazy right! Since that time I have begun to develop some awesome relationships with some of the Polish girls in Bielsko and God has been moving in my heart. I already knew that I was in love with Poland and the people here but I guess this last month has really affirmed that and I have just really deepened my heart for the lost here in Poland.
So here is the big news: I have been offered an unbelievable opportunity; and that is to extend my internship with Josiah Venture here in Poland to the end of November. What would that look like? Well basically it would be me deepening the relationships and connections I already have with the youth here. I would love to get the chance to disciple some of the girls in the youth group and just have the opportunity to continue sharing Christ's love to the youth here even when camp is over, especially when camp is over. Why the heck would I stay longer? Along with an extra three months here in ministry I am also praying that the Holy Spirit would begin to make it clear if he wants to be a part of full time ministry, specifically here in Poland. Multiple missionaries here in Poland have approached me about the possibility of me being part of long term missions here. I am not 100 percent sure what that would look like yet but what I do know is that I am at a point in my life where I feel like God is calling me to something greater than what I am currently doing with my life and I am praying for his guidance into what that looks like whether it be full time ministry in Canada or here in Poland. What can you do right now? Please PRAY. Pray that God would make it clear if He wants me to extend this summer internship. Please pray that God would provide the funds necessary if an extended internship is what he is calling me to. And please pray that God would also reveal to me if he wants me to be in long term missions in the future here in Poland. I really feel like the Spirit will confirm whether I should stay or not through all of you, the people surrounding me and praying for me as I am here.
Please contact me if you have any questions for me or if you just want to discuss this with me further, I would love to! As for support, I will be making my decision in the next 2 weeks and when I do I will definitely update all of you either way. If you feel called to donate to my extended internship I will let you know the details when I know for sure if that is what God wants me to do.
I want to thank you all for you prayer and your support from home. It means a lot to me that you read my little updates and pray along with me as I am here. I can't thank you enough and I will definitely keep you updated as things become clear to me. So bear with me and all I can ask for is your prayer. You guys mean so much.
God Bless,
Kat
Thursday, 21 June 2012
News from Bielsko
Hey Everybody! Here is my latest update from Poland! Just a bit of info for you. Enjoy!
Ps- My face is cut out of some shots but I didn't want to re shoot it so I hope you don't mind.
- Kat
Saturday, 16 June 2012
New friends and new places!
The last few days the other interns in my group and I took a little trip to the town of Olkusz to help promote the English camp that they are putting on this summer. It was quite the little adventure.... I count it as quite an accomplishment that the three of us managed to take two trains all by ourselves to Olkusz when our Polish is pretty minimal. Three hours later we arrived safe and sound. I was very excited to see a friend and to meet some new ones.
The best part of my trip to Olkusz was seeing 6 young men and women following God's call in their lives, these leaders are planning an English camp in Olkusz for the first time and they are going to be a part of a church plant in this town. It is clear that they have a passion for God and a passion for the youth in Poland and watching them really encouraged my heart. Whether it was them speaking in the local church or watching them tell students about their camp this summer, it was obvious that God is moving in their lives and I am excited to hear about the great things that God will be doing at their camp in a few weeks.
I was reminded of the passage in Acts 2 of the early church,
"And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." ~ Acts 3:44-47
I am greatly encouraged watching the work that God is doing here in Poland and I am reminded that each day matters and in everything I do, whether in Poland or not, it should be done to share the love of Christ with everyone I meet.
I pray that these leaders would grow together as a community and that this summer and through the next year as they minister to the youth and the community around them that God would do unbelievable things in Olkusz.
Please keep my friends Lena, Damian, Michał, Ola, Krystian, and Agata in your prayers.
-Kat
Friday, 8 June 2012
Greetings from Bielsko
Yesterday was the first time our whole Poland team split up and it was a little sad but it was also really exciting to finally meet the Carlsons (my summer family)! We got the opportunity to meet the youth group in Bielsko and to go to a concert in Skoczow. It was a lot of fun! It was sweet seeing Poles from all over coming to worship the Lord. The band that played is called TGD and it was unreal just experiencing God in another language in another country worshiping God as children of Christ .. regardless of our nationality.
-Kat
Monday, 4 June 2012
The 99
Hey friends!!
I think it is about time for another little update. I thought I would share what God has been putting on my heart throughout this training week. There is so much being packed into the 5 days here in Czech. It is so amazing the time being spent studying the Word. I am just soaking up information like a sponge!
The first night we all arrived Dave Patty, the president of Josiah Venture told us the story of how it all began. It is an incredible story and I am so blessed that God has sent me to be a part of it. I knew that I was embarking on a journey with an organization that God is using to reach Europe in unbelievable ways. The thing that stuck out most in what Dave said revolved around the story of the lost sheep in Luke 15. In case you need a refresher the story is about a shepherd who has 100 sheep and when one gets lost he drops everything and leaves the 99 other sheep to search for his one lost sheep. What really struck me was when Dave said what if it is the reverse? In central and eastern Europe there is only 1% of the population who believes in Jesus. So what do we do when there are 99 lost sheep?
The answer is clear. We are called to drop everything and go search for the 99. And this is Josiah Venture's vision for the coming year, seeking out the 99%. That is why we come as interns, that is why so many choose to serve here in these 12 countries full time, it is because we will not stop seeking after the 99.
I could go on for ages about what God is teaching me here in training but what I would ask all of you at home is to be in prayer for the 99. Pray for those who desperately need Jesus. Please pray that God would be with the interns, the full time missionaries and most importantly, the nationals. My prayer is that God would raise up leaders in Poland to share the gospel and to equip the other nationals. I have this image in my mind that just like at Pentecost the holy spirit would come down upon the youth all across Poland and that there would be a love for Jesus in Poland that would spread like wild fire.
I am so excited for Wednesday to come, to start my summer in Poland. I get the privilege to be on a team with 9 other amazing people who love Jesus and have so many different gifts to bring to the table. I could not ask for a better group of people to serve along side with. Pray for us, pray for Poland.
- Kat
Friday, 1 June 2012
Blame it on the jet lag....
Well folks here I am officially in Malenovice Czech and I have survived the amazing race! (Well our three day version of it.) It has been a wild and crazy last few days... probably the most things and places I have packed into three days ever... maybe. My feet are hating me right now and so it is awesome being able to sit on my comfy bed gazing out at the gorgeous view of the Czech mountains. I am about to tell the tale of the Amazing Race 2012... if you are not interested you can skip the next large chunk.
So I will take off where I last left off..... after Munich I arrived with my team mate Jordyn in Krakow Poland at 4:15 pm on Tuesday. I did not have my luggage sadly but I was welcomed by the always cheerful face of my missionary friend Laura. After this about 10-15 of us latecomers were taken by train to the mall in Krakow. I met up with the other members of my team who were not late and we were required to put on a fashion show in front of the mall for all of the public to ridicule us. Especially the guys in dresses and heels. Quite the interesting way to get to know your team I must say. From there we ran around Krakow to many places including the mall and the main square doing different tasks. We had to find a statue of Copernicus that apparently know one in Krakow knew about .. an hour or so later we found him and had to build an accurate model of the solar system using fruit. (More difficult then it sounds.) Finally in the dark we completed and ran back through Krakow to stay at our hostel coming in 11th place out of 15 that particular evening.... not the best.
Day 2 (As in Thursday) Wake up call was 7 and the teams all departed at staggered times over an hour from 8-9 am based on our arrival. We began the morning by chugging hot hot tea (as a common European experience) we then had to go to a park in Krakow and transfer a large bowl of m&ms to another using only a straw.. not so easy. We then raced to the other side of the main square to the house where Pope John Paul 2 stayed and we had to memorize part of a speech he gave. Other Krakow events included having a Polish childrens book read to us by a local, building a lego thingy in Wawel castle, putting on a puppet show about the local legend of the Dragon, counting items on 52 crests in the old Krakow market and finding the Schindler factory. In the afternoon when we got to the old Schindler factory we had time to tour it. It is now a museum about Krakow under the control of the Nazis from 1939-1945. It was an amazing experience. From there we took the bus to Skoczw Poland and eventually after another road block walked on foot about 7 km to H2O camp which is owned by Josiah Venture in Poland. We arrived around 9:30 pm but that was not the end. We then had to eat blood sausage and sauerkraut. After wolfing down my portion when 2 other teams showed up I then at 3 or 4 teammates portions of sauerkraut (yay for my german background) ...ya that didn't sit so well. We ended day two in 6th place! Woohoo!
Day 3 we once again began our race at 8am at staggered times. We taste tested tea to find the flavour from the previous morning and we participated in the H20 Olympics. The events included shotput with balloons, and interesting relay, diving for Euros and kayaking for lego pieces. When we finished we booked it out of the camp and ended up hitchhiking back in Skoczw where we took a bus to Cieszyn Poland where we ran across the border to Cesky Tesin Czech and had to learn a traditional Czech folk dance. When we did it correctly we went on to the train to |Frydlant nad Ostravici Czech and after doing a word search we had our last txi ride to the finish line at the Malenovice Hotel owned by Josiah venture. At 1:30 pm in 9th place.
So here I am .. there has been lots of running, lots of walking and lots of language barriers but I made it and I am so blessed for my team of 8 other interns and our Polish team leader. Team Polska is by far the best and I am so glad to have made 9 new good friends in 3 days! I praise God for our unity and for the amazing creativity of the Josiah Venture leadership. It has already been a blast and we have only just begun. So here we are at intern training for the next 5 days.. I am so pumped to be hanging out with 102 other awesome people!
Well that's all for now... I'm ready for dinner
Do Widzenia
Kat
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
Wie Gehts from Munich!
Hey everybody!
So since I have an hour to kill here in Munich I thought I would post an update for you all!
Yesterday my trip got off to an exciting start as I got to meet two other interns on my Polish team and one intern from the Czech team who had a connecting flight with me from Toronto. Being together finally made this trip feel real! After some delays we took off and were blessed with a safe flight to Frankfurt Germany. It was awesome connecting with my team mates on the plane and together getting real excited for what this summer has in store. Unfortunately since we left late we then landed late and with 15 minutes to pick up my team mate's boarding pass, get through passport check and security........ we didn't make it. :(
But the adventure continued and so instead of Poland I am now sitting in Munich with my teammate Jordyn who is sleeping next to me :) . Please keep us in your prayers that we would make it safely to Poland in a few hours and that all our luggage will be waiting for us.
Today's itinerary in Poland is the beginning a three day Amazing Race where we will compete against the other country teams doing who know what and ending up Friday afternoon in Malenowice Czech to start a week of intern training with all 73 Josiah Venture interns. It is set to begin right before our new flight is scheduled to land. Hopefully we will be able to find the rest of the Poland team when Jordyn and I land. Please pray for safety in the coming days. I am not too bummed about the extra detour it has made for a great way to bond with my team mate. God works in ways we don't always understand. Pretty sweet!
auf wiedersehen
-Kat
So since I have an hour to kill here in Munich I thought I would post an update for you all!
Yesterday my trip got off to an exciting start as I got to meet two other interns on my Polish team and one intern from the Czech team who had a connecting flight with me from Toronto. Being together finally made this trip feel real! After some delays we took off and were blessed with a safe flight to Frankfurt Germany. It was awesome connecting with my team mates on the plane and together getting real excited for what this summer has in store. Unfortunately since we left late we then landed late and with 15 minutes to pick up my team mate's boarding pass, get through passport check and security........ we didn't make it. :(
But the adventure continued and so instead of Poland I am now sitting in Munich with my teammate Jordyn who is sleeping next to me :) . Please keep us in your prayers that we would make it safely to Poland in a few hours and that all our luggage will be waiting for us.
Today's itinerary in Poland is the beginning a three day Amazing Race where we will compete against the other country teams doing who know what and ending up Friday afternoon in Malenowice Czech to start a week of intern training with all 73 Josiah Venture interns. It is set to begin right before our new flight is scheduled to land. Hopefully we will be able to find the rest of the Poland team when Jordyn and I land. Please pray for safety in the coming days. I am not too bummed about the extra detour it has made for a great way to bond with my team mate. God works in ways we don't always understand. Pretty sweet!
auf wiedersehen
-Kat
Wednesday, 16 May 2012
Philippians 4:19
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
Along with my personal thank yous I wanted to publicly thank everybody who has supported me financially making my internship to Poland this summer possible! I couldn't have done it without each one of you and your generosity means so much to me!
God has been so good to me in supplying the $4419 that I needed for my flight to Poland, all accommodations and any travel while in Poland. It is hard to believe that in two weeks I will be landing Krakow Poland and my internship will begin. But the adventure has already begun, from the moment I received word that I was accepted to the internship God began to take me on a wild ride. I have been learning to trust God daily and to have faith in His provision over me and my support raising. Although it wasn't always easy to trust my funding would come in, I grew and was constantly reminded how big my God is and that I have no right to doubt Him our put Him in a box based on my expectations. My prayer was that if God really wanted me to be a part of His ministry in Poland that it would be clear and my funds would come in. My expectations were blown away and within a week I went from having approximately half of my required support to all of it! Yes God sent me a message, this is where I am supposed to spend my summer and He does provide!
But it doesn't stop here folks!
Although I raised the funds which are necessary before I am allowed to go to Poland I still have another $2000 that I can raise through Josiah Venture and this doesn't have the same deadline of May 1st. I am able to continue raising this even after I depart in two weeks. So if you feel called to support me financially that would so greatly appreciated. I believe that God will provide for me and I challenge you to be a part of my summer in Poland through both financial support and prayer.
If you are interested in sending me support you can give me cash personally contact me at katharinakeddy@gmail.com before I leave or the better option you can send a check to Josiah Venture's office in Alberta. Please make out your checks to "Canadian Centre for World Mission" and put my last name in the memo line. The address to send it to is:
Josiah Venture/Summer Intern
PO Box 38001
Calgary, AB T3K 5G9
Let me know if you would like to support me so I can get a response slip to you which provides information to Josiah Venture so that you will get a tax receipt.
I cannot thank all of you enough, let me know if you want to receive specific prayer updates or you can continue to check this blog for prayer updates. God is so good and that is something that I am reminded of daily. I will leave you with one last verse:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matt 6:33
- Kat
Along with my personal thank yous I wanted to publicly thank everybody who has supported me financially making my internship to Poland this summer possible! I couldn't have done it without each one of you and your generosity means so much to me!
God has been so good to me in supplying the $4419 that I needed for my flight to Poland, all accommodations and any travel while in Poland. It is hard to believe that in two weeks I will be landing Krakow Poland and my internship will begin. But the adventure has already begun, from the moment I received word that I was accepted to the internship God began to take me on a wild ride. I have been learning to trust God daily and to have faith in His provision over me and my support raising. Although it wasn't always easy to trust my funding would come in, I grew and was constantly reminded how big my God is and that I have no right to doubt Him our put Him in a box based on my expectations. My prayer was that if God really wanted me to be a part of His ministry in Poland that it would be clear and my funds would come in. My expectations were blown away and within a week I went from having approximately half of my required support to all of it! Yes God sent me a message, this is where I am supposed to spend my summer and He does provide!
But it doesn't stop here folks!
Although I raised the funds which are necessary before I am allowed to go to Poland I still have another $2000 that I can raise through Josiah Venture and this doesn't have the same deadline of May 1st. I am able to continue raising this even after I depart in two weeks. So if you feel called to support me financially that would so greatly appreciated. I believe that God will provide for me and I challenge you to be a part of my summer in Poland through both financial support and prayer.
If you are interested in sending me support you can give me cash personally contact me at katharinakeddy@gmail.com before I leave or the better option you can send a check to Josiah Venture's office in Alberta. Please make out your checks to "Canadian Centre for World Mission" and put my last name in the memo line. The address to send it to is:
Josiah Venture/Summer Intern
PO Box 38001
Calgary, AB T3K 5G9
Let me know if you would like to support me so I can get a response slip to you which provides information to Josiah Venture so that you will get a tax receipt.
I cannot thank all of you enough, let me know if you want to receive specific prayer updates or you can continue to check this blog for prayer updates. God is so good and that is something that I am reminded of daily. I will leave you with one last verse:
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." -Matt 6:33
- Kat
Tuesday, 8 May 2012
The Two Lost Sons
As I prepare to head off to Poland in 3 weeks I have been reading a book called The Prodigal God by Tim Keller. It is a book that we will be studying during our intern training when I arrive to Poland and God has really been using it in my life.
God has clearly been sending me a message. You know those moments where everything around you seems to say the same thing and it feels like God is just holding a big neon sign trying to get you attention? This weekend I had one of those moments.
My devotions, the sermon at church and the book I began reading were all reminding me of two very important things.
1) God uses the weak, and accepts sinners as we are because there is nothing we can do.
2) God hates when we as Christians act righteous and boast in ourselves.
Maybe you read that and found that to be fairly straight forward and extremely obvious but I believe that I can forget both 1 and 2 in my own life.
In the book The Prodigal God, Tim Keller reminds us that the parable of the lost son is really a parable about two lost sons and this I feel is often overlooked. Seeing the recklessness of the younger brother I am reminded of my sin and how just as the son I do not deserve the love of my Father. The older son's bitterness reminds me that I can be judgmental and proud as a Christian which also makes me unworthy of my Father's love. So where does that leave me then if I have all of this sin? The incomprehensible truth is that I have a gracious Father in heaven. Keller reminds us of this, "Jesus is showing us the God of Great Expenditure, who is nothing if not prodigal toward us his children. God's reckless grace is our greatest hope, a life-changing experience.." Jesus is telling this story to a group of pharisees and religious teachers meaning he is speaking to a group of "older brothers". I think I so often imagine this story written for those like the younger brother, the brother who is lost with his rebellion against his father but Jesus specifically uses the attitude of the elder brother as a reflection of the religious teachers in his midst. These were the people who couldn't comprehend why Jesus would eat and associate with sinners.
I was reminded of this again on Sunday when the guest speaker at my church (Brett McBride) spoke on Matthew 9; the calling of Matthew as a disciple. Just as the parable in Luke 15 we see two different people. Matthew the tax collector or sinner and the religious teachers who don't understand why Jesus would associate with this horrible sinning man.
But the beauty of it all is that we are all sinners, we are dirty and lost and we do not deserve the love of Christ but He accepts us just as we are. He uses the weak, He loves the broken, the rejected and the despised. If that was not so I would not have any hope.
I love verse 12 when Jesus says, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous but the sinners."
One thing that stuck in Brett's sermon was when he said: " Its not just a call to relationship its a call to missions." Jesus used Matthew as His disciple as a missionary to others who were sick, and broken and despised. And so I am reminded that I have been called as a sinner to minister to other sinners this summer in Poland. I read through 1 Corinthians 1 the other day and I was once again reminded of my weakness, it is by God's grace that I have been saved through faith not by works so that I cannot boast. 1 Cor 1:27-31 has been a constant reminder for me, " But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"
So in summary I have been reminded that God has chosen me this summer to serve Him, not because of anything I can do, but despite my sins and failures He has chosen to use me to share his gospel in Poland. So I give my weakness over to God and I come as I am, as his servant ready to follow him wherever He takes me this summer.
-Kat
God has clearly been sending me a message. You know those moments where everything around you seems to say the same thing and it feels like God is just holding a big neon sign trying to get you attention? This weekend I had one of those moments.
My devotions, the sermon at church and the book I began reading were all reminding me of two very important things.
1) God uses the weak, and accepts sinners as we are because there is nothing we can do.
2) God hates when we as Christians act righteous and boast in ourselves.
Maybe you read that and found that to be fairly straight forward and extremely obvious but I believe that I can forget both 1 and 2 in my own life.
In the book The Prodigal God, Tim Keller reminds us that the parable of the lost son is really a parable about two lost sons and this I feel is often overlooked. Seeing the recklessness of the younger brother I am reminded of my sin and how just as the son I do not deserve the love of my Father. The older son's bitterness reminds me that I can be judgmental and proud as a Christian which also makes me unworthy of my Father's love. So where does that leave me then if I have all of this sin? The incomprehensible truth is that I have a gracious Father in heaven. Keller reminds us of this, "Jesus is showing us the God of Great Expenditure, who is nothing if not prodigal toward us his children. God's reckless grace is our greatest hope, a life-changing experience.." Jesus is telling this story to a group of pharisees and religious teachers meaning he is speaking to a group of "older brothers". I think I so often imagine this story written for those like the younger brother, the brother who is lost with his rebellion against his father but Jesus specifically uses the attitude of the elder brother as a reflection of the religious teachers in his midst. These were the people who couldn't comprehend why Jesus would eat and associate with sinners.
I was reminded of this again on Sunday when the guest speaker at my church (Brett McBride) spoke on Matthew 9; the calling of Matthew as a disciple. Just as the parable in Luke 15 we see two different people. Matthew the tax collector or sinner and the religious teachers who don't understand why Jesus would associate with this horrible sinning man.
But the beauty of it all is that we are all sinners, we are dirty and lost and we do not deserve the love of Christ but He accepts us just as we are. He uses the weak, He loves the broken, the rejected and the despised. If that was not so I would not have any hope.
I love verse 12 when Jesus says, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous but the sinners."
One thing that stuck in Brett's sermon was when he said: " Its not just a call to relationship its a call to missions." Jesus used Matthew as His disciple as a missionary to others who were sick, and broken and despised. And so I am reminded that I have been called as a sinner to minister to other sinners this summer in Poland. I read through 1 Corinthians 1 the other day and I was once again reminded of my weakness, it is by God's grace that I have been saved through faith not by works so that I cannot boast. 1 Cor 1:27-31 has been a constant reminder for me, " But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being may boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'"
So in summary I have been reminded that God has chosen me this summer to serve Him, not because of anything I can do, but despite my sins and failures He has chosen to use me to share his gospel in Poland. So I give my weakness over to God and I come as I am, as his servant ready to follow him wherever He takes me this summer.
-Kat
Labels:
bible,
God,
love,
Missions,
Poland,
prodigal son,
sin,
Summer 2012,
Tim Keller,
weak.
Wednesday, 2 May 2012
Twenty Six Days and Counting...
It is official everybody... I leave for Poland in 26 days! It is such an incredible feeling and it is finally hitting me that this is happening and very soon! Sooo I thought what better to do at 1:30 in the morning when you are so excited that you can't sleep than to start my blog for my summer internship to Poland!
This is the place where I will be updating everybody about my trip and all of the amazing experiences that God gives me! God is so good and he has made everything fall into place so far! My funding has been provided for in ways that I could not even imagine! I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me, I am so very blessed! I have my ticket so it is official, on May 29th I will be boarding my flight at Pearson Airport off for my summer adventure. So this is just a little introduction for every body. Stay tuned for more updates and posts as I get ready and take off on this wild adventure God is taking me on!
Dobranoc!
Kat
This is the place where I will be updating everybody about my trip and all of the amazing experiences that God gives me! God is so good and he has made everything fall into place so far! My funding has been provided for in ways that I could not even imagine! I am so thankful for everyone who has supported me, I am so very blessed! I have my ticket so it is official, on May 29th I will be boarding my flight at Pearson Airport off for my summer adventure. So this is just a little introduction for every body. Stay tuned for more updates and posts as I get ready and take off on this wild adventure God is taking me on!
Dobranoc!
Kat
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