that's all she wrote.

final d-group photo at the mid-project banquet!


on wednesday, i watched the sun glisten atop the morning waves for one final time--my last day in Daytona had dawned. i rose early that morning (after just 3 hours of sleep) to ready my things, write last minute notes, and head to the airport for the flight that awaited me. as our car coasted down Atlantic one last time, i bid farewell to the city i've now called home for 2 summers. it was a bittersweet goodbye, the last one of the many i've been making this week.

i think it was bitter because of all of the sweet things that have taken place these 7 weeks. in my own heart, i've watched the Lord transform my esteem and desire for the Word, teach me to be confident in the Holy Spirit's ability to equip me, and hone my passion for loving and serving others well. in my student's hearts, i've seen them learn to depend on the Holy Spirit, to take new steps of faith in light of God's faithfulness, and to recognize their significance in the scheme of the Kingdom. relationally, i've formed and fostered deep friendships; i'm so grateful for the opportunity to love and be loved by so many different people this summer. in terms of evangelism, the Gospel went forth. in terms of training, laborers were raised up and poured into. in terms of significance, this summer doubtlessly was real, eventful, and worthwhile. to everyone who has faithfully read this blog and prayed for me, thanks. your support encouraged me more than i can say!

i am so grateful to have been able to return to daytona; it was exactly the summer i was trusting God for. and, a sweeter blessing yet, my summer isn't over! i am quite excited for the second half that still remains. during the day, i'll be working, and at night, i'll be spending time with my family, encouraging some friends, and developing a vision for what my ministry will look like in the fall. i'm trusting the Lord to let this new season be as missional, worshipful and fun as the last! you can pray for a smooth transition out of summer project, through these next 5 weeks, and into the fall:)

lastly, in words wiser than my own, i will close with this:

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

<3katie

racin' to the finish line (pun most definitely intended)

this week daytona welcomed nascar groupies by the van full for it's biggest race since february's 500...the Jalapeno 250! last night was the big event. it was an epic gathering of scraggly-bearded rednecks, rhinestoned nascar tees, and enough free swag to stock a junk drawer, all to help to fist-pump Dale Jr.'s 3 car to victory. i've said it once, so i'll say it again: nascar is cool! seriously. my roommates and i had so much fun adopting nascar-fanship for a night. tv just can't do justice to the speed of the cars, the intensity of the fans, and the roar of the engines at start up. there you go--a former naysayer now converted. (to be honest, i could probably do without the muddled smell of exhaust and cigarettes, but for the sake of "the experience", i took it all in stride:)) with 2 races under my belt, i'd say i'm on my way to becoming a regular!


see the car in the bottom left!!




one of the giveaways we got our hands on was a stock car Bible passed out by a local church group. cleverly, the verse on the cover was 2 Timothy 4:7-- "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." enter my own race metaphor: my summer project "race" is now nearing the finish. you could say that the checkered flag is in sight, the streamers are ready, and the fans are on their feet. with 3 days left, it's a sprint to the finish. i'm working hard to make every second count, pouring into my girls as much as i can, sharing my faith whenever i get the chance, and tying up remaining loose ends. i've even started to say my farewells and begun preparing spiritually and emotionally for the transition back to "the real world". as i process through all of the learning i've experienced these past 6 weeks, i can say that this summer was one well spent. i'm planning on using my 5 hour plane ride to think through all of the things i've learned and shared, so look ahead to a lengthy post after my return to CA. i can tell you now, though, that this summer was worthwhile because God used me in the life of my students. humbly, i am a witness to the fact that their growth is the product of the Holy Spirit and not myself. i got to see the fruit of their immense growth in a a powerful day of ministry today; each confidently shared the Gospel with a few beach-goers and, in huge praise to God, Lauren got baptized! i am intensely proud of both of them and so grateful that the Lord let me be a part of their lives this summer.





as i dash to the finish line, please pray that i would not overlook any opportunities to teach, encourage, and train these students. please also pray that my heart would be ready for the next phase of the summer, that i would leave project on a high note, and that God would equip and develop our newly appointed student leaders.

thanks for being a faithful fan!
<3katie

wrapping it up

this past week, i got to fly home briefly for my little brother's graduation; it was really sweet to be able to witness his proud moment and celebrate, though only for 24 hours, with my family. i can't wait for that little guy to get to SC in the fall, and i'm looking forward to spending the rest of the summer with my family at home. my trip also provided me with a couple more choice anecdotes to add to my infamous and ever-growing collection of airport/airplane adventures--one, tiptoeing my way through tsa's security sans-driver's license; two, getting baited out of my window seat only to discover the true meaning of a "red-eye" from the not-so-comfy middle. at this rate, i'll have a book choc full of near misses before i graduate!

with our grandparents and our traditional graduation gift...welcome to the watch club, jared!

two of my favorite grads!

it took me a little while to rebound from the double jet-lag after i returned, but, as you know by now, summer project leaves little down time! we've begun our wrap-up activities and the 10 day countdown is officially underway. this weekend, we did our special women's day events. without question, it is one of the best things about project. i love getting to hear all of the staff women commend their students for work well done, and it was such a privilege to applaud my girls for their focus, passion, and gentle-heartedness. each one has become a risk taker for the sake of the Gospel; i am so proud of the growth they have all experienced here! it was a great chance to celebrate.

precious d-group

the roommates!

now, as i look ahead to my final days here, i realize how there is still so much i want to do and accomplish before i leave! i'm trusting the Lord to help me make the most of time, all the while celebrating the great things that He has done in and through each person here this summer. as always, thank you for taking time to read and pray!
<3katie

once upon a time...

it seems like the farther we get into project, the busier our schedule becomes! this past weekend was action-packed with fun outings and deep interactions that left me dually energized and exhausted. also, i realize i haven't been posting as many photos this year, so...in an effort to correct that, how about a few illustrated short stories from the past few days.

there once were five very-out-of-place Trojans. each of them traveled far from the reaches of their Pac-10 homeland, into the realm of those humidity-lovin', sweet-tea-drinkin' SEC fans. they did it, well, because God wanted them to. and, He blessed them for it! one friday afternoon, they were reunited atop the Daytona Beach pier and feasted together at Crabby Joe's. fun and fellowship were enjoyed by all.




deep in the wooded wilderness of central Florida is a magical place called Blue Springs. there, young and old gather to dip into the cool waters of a bubbling fresh water spring. one day, fending off manatees and alligators alike, a group of college students arrived at this very spring. they spent the afternoon drifting with current down the river and diving down into the heartbeat of the spring. later, they channeled their inner Seminole and canoed up the St. John's. the cool water of this natural hideaway refreshed them for the busy days of ministry ahead. (no alligators were harmed--or seen--in the making of this story.)






then there were a group of senior citizens who thought it would be a good idea to start a church. they called it Colony Community, and they opened their doors to anyone who would join them--including a handful of college students away from home for the summer. well, one week, it was fathers' day, and all of the men at Colony got up to sing. they sported their tacky ties and bellowed out a hymn to the likes of which no one had yet heard. afterward, they decided to celebrate with brunch. two of Colony's finest, eunice and ed, joined the college students every week for lunch. they blessed the students so much with their time, stories, and yummy baked goods.






the busy students finished off their weekend by ministering to the kids in the juvenile detention centers. for 2 hours, they shared their own stories with these teens and listened as the teens recounted stories of their own. then the students told them the most epic story of all time--a story about a Father who desperately loved His children and would never leave or abandon them; a Father who, compelled by love, sacrificed His son; a Father who yet desires to have a relationship with us. they invited them to adopt this story as their own.

storytelling aside, this visit is one of the most emotional, deep experiences of Summer Project. it causes students to think about the exceeding demand for the Gospel that, too often, we match with lukewarm non-effort. here were kids wanting and waiting to hear us! in light of the story that we know to be true, let us each go forth and speak boldly!

<3katie

p.s. 2 weeks and counting...please pray for me to 'number my days aright' (ps. 90) and make the most of time with my students! as always, thanks for reading and for praying!

out and about!

once a week, i get the chance to go out with my girls and share our faith together. today was my time with Rachel, so she and i hit the sand looking to engage a few beach layers in spiritual conversation. using our favorite tool--soularium, a 5 question survey using photos--we attempted to initiate with several people without avail. then we came across a woman named Deanna; bit by bit, as we went through the survey, she dished out her whole life's story. she wasn't always a single mom of 4. in fact, at the very mention of her destructive ex-husband, tears dewed her lashes. you could tell that those wounds, though 5 years in the past, still ached. i shared the Gospel with her, and i saw in her face how much the words i spoke ministered to her heart. Jesus has the power to redeem us from hurt if we let Him! He can make sense of the pain we don't understand ourselves. i pray that Deanna and all of the other women with stories like hers would embrace the free gift that Jesus has offered them. He will gladly bear burdens and heal hearts if we ask him to!

<3katie

p.s. guess what else i've been up to....knitting!! my friends from colony church, eunice and eunice, invited me to spend the afternoon with the Knitwits. they all get together once a week to knit things for charity, and they graciously welcomed me in and shared their skills. i actually picked it up pretty well!

Heart for the Nations

www.gosummerproject.com

i met a pair of southern 20-somethings during our weekend outreach. in an hour long conversation, they shared their life stories with me--neither one hesitating to spill about the hurts and struggles they have endured as cancer survivors. these 2 girls have experiences that outweigh their years; they know pain and recognize that life is delicate. by God's grace, i got to minister to them through prayer and the greatest gesture of compassion i know: sharing the same hope that has secured my own life, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

in reflecting on that moment and thinking with the students of DBSP about having a Heart for the Nations, i am struck by God's worldwide ministry. that conversation is a small part of my summer, i am a small part of this summer project, this project has only 37 of the 3,500+ students on summer projects worldwide, summer project is only one ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, and Campus Crusade is only one ministry of the worldwide body of Christ in motion. at this very moment, the Gospel is going forth, proclaimed among even the riskiest of nations by people whose lives have been boldly transformed.

it's because the Gospel is worthwhile; we serve a living God who alone changes lives, and He has called each of us to be sent ones. as He commanded us, we shall "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20). regardless of where we're called--to Africa, to Daytona Beach, to a workplace, to schools, to our neighborhoods--God has called us to GO and share the Word, whereby ushering in His coming Kingdom and the fulfillment of Revelation 5:9.

the movement of God's grace yet extends to the world! may we be caught up in God's call and worshipful of His increasing glory among us.
<3katie

Galatians 5:1

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." this has been our theme verse for the week, and it's got me thinking! it's amazing how relevant it has been in thinking about my own walk with God, in the lives of my Bible study girls, and in the spiritual conversations i've had with people in this city.

on some level, that's not entirely surprising; freedom, after all, is the crux of Gospel. here's the scoop: although God created people to have a relationship with Him, we used our freedom to go our own way and rebel against Him. our imperfection separated us from God...until God sent His son Jesus; He paid the penalty for our rebellion through His death on the cross, and by putting our trust in Him, we can once more know God personally. He set us free from the eternal and daily bondage that weighs us down!! as humans, we have the freedom to choose to follow Jesus, and, if we do, we can walk in freedom and forgiveness by power of His Holy Spirit. what good news.

allow me to recap some of the ways this freedom has been manifest in my week!
first, i've been learning a ton about my identity in light of the freedom i possess. scripture tells me i'm a daughter of God and a coheir with Christ, empowered by the filling of the Holy Spirit to do the work of the Lord on earth (Romans 8:13-17). my identity is not dependent upon my performance, my success or my reputation...i have been set free from those things! it's been a total lesson to not just understand these truths intellectually but also to live them out. especially with my role as a staff person in mind, this freedom has kept me from striving and instead enabled me to submit to the Holy Spirit's leading through me...cool!

second, in talking with my girls, i've learned that freedom is one of the hardest things for Christians to accept. no wonder Paul felt the need to flush out this idea in his letter to the Roman church! all of us, for some reason, prefer to rely on our own strength--that is, to bear the weighty burden of our own guilt and others' expectations upon our own shoulders. even after becoming a Christian, a person has to daily choose to claim Christ's freedom and surrender his or her load to Him. to walk with God is to trust Him fully...including when He says that we've been set free!

finally, i got to see this principle at work in a few of the conversations i've had while sharing my faith. i'm thinking of two guys in particular that Becky and I chatted with, Gene and Christian. each of them openly shared their stories with us and asked us to share ours with them. Gene, in particular, had been raised in the church but after various affronts on the part of Christians, lost faith. his church had told him that the Bible was a 'Rulebook for Life' that he had failed to live up to--what a great offense to the Gospel. that completely denies the principles of freedom and grace! it was heartbreaking to see how his church's misunderstanding of the Gospel had wounded him so terribly...that's food for our thoughts.

i pray that each of you would choose the freedom that is available to you! read more about in Romans 8 and Galatians 5 :)

a few prayer requests:
-my continued reliance on the Holy Spirit
-making the most of every opportunity...i'm already half-way done here!
-9 of our students still need jobs
-project outreach to high school students tonight

as always, thanks for reading and for praying!
<3katie

p.s. my d-group at battle of the sexes! girls dominated!!