A new community

I have been very blessed the past few years to join several new communities. Four years ago, I joined the Grove City College community, which included not only fellow students which became very dear friends, but also eventually professors and their families, workers in the campus cafeterias, and church family.

The summer after my sophomore year my family moved to a new community in Orange City, Iowa. We had been part of a church family and neighborhood in Northern New Jersey, in addition to part of our homeschooling community for about 14 years. The friendships and relationships I formed at church and elsewhere in NJ are ones that I still hold dear although I only see these people (perhaps you're one of them? :) ) once or twice a year.

Orange City (home of an annual Tulip Festival!) was also a blessing. I enjoyed building new relationships with brothers and sisters at our church, and had great fun and some memorable experiences as an employee at a number of local restaurants and businesses. I enjoyed the experience of living in small town where everybody seems to know everybody....well that might not be 100% true....but not too far from the truth :) I'm really thankful for the wonderful girls that became my younger sister's friends.

Now I am part of a new community in upstate New York. Although we've been here for only half a year, it feels longer than that. The other night some friends from our new church stopped in for a little while to join us in a game of Balderdash...and some of the members of the church come to my brother's baseball games! I have enjoyed getting to know new faces who have started coming to the church recently. and oh! the women's Bible study is GREAT. My sisters and I went on a hike with one of the ladies. (This steep-ish climb was on a mountain only about 15 minutes away- I love living in the Adirondacks this summer :) )

Finally, I look forward to joining a new community in Prague when I go to teach at CISP on August 15. I have been emailing with a few people connected with the school, and have been so encouraged by their testimonies of what the school is like! One missionary who has taught at the school and also has her daughters enrolled at the school told me that the community there is rather vibrant. Teachers and staff are dedicated to building disciples for Christ out of their students. Students there are MKs, or un-believing local Czechs or children of foreign diplomats/businesspeople. The students there delight in the fact that their teachers care deeply about them, and even would take the time to hang out with them outside the classroom! I want to minister to these students also, so I am excited to be joining a group of teachers that is passionate about reaching young people for Christ !

Please pray for me as I prepare to go over there. Pray that even now the Lord would preparing in me a servant's heart (around my family) so I can be a better servant over there. I need to raise roughly 23,600 dollars to go. Would you consider supporting me financially? If the Lord leads you to give either a special gift or a pledge of monthly support, let me know and I will send you the necessary information.

Blessings,

Kate

P.S. a piece of Scripture to encourage you:

Psalm 51:10-12

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.