On the road again...

     Hello everyone. I hope you all have had a wonderfully merry Christmas and a happy new year.  I sure have.  These past few weeks have been so great spending precious moments with friends and family.  I had a going away party and my birthday party this past month and enjoyed spending time with friends.

Young Adults Christmas Party

My best friend and me at the Young Adults Party

Mom's YMCA-YWCA staff party

   

Me and mommy

Meet the parents

Me and Dad on his birthday with a scarf I made

     I've been thinking a lot lately about things I will miss and things I'm looking forward to over the next year. I'll miss my friends and family most. Their laughter and energy, their smiles, being with them through good times and bad. I love you guys so much!  I'm also looking forward to seeing my YWAM Toowoomba family again. Their support and guidance has been so great this past year as it will be in the next year as well. I am also looking forward to guiding other students through their Discipleship Training School and (crossing fingers) going on outreach again.
     If you haven't heard, my base is changing the streams that us interns can go through. They are no longer having mercy ministry interns, they are now having project staff and DTS staff. They have a few different projects to choose from, including filming and documenting the Sex Trade issue in Thailand and Cambodia, which I would still like to be a part of. Another project option that I've been thinking about a lot recently is rural and outback outreach. The people in this project group are going on outreach in Outback Australia and rural towns and villages in the country.
    I'd like to let you know of a few Yay God! moments. A few weeks ago, I accidentally backed into a parked vehicle. Both my car and the other vehicle had damage and when both me and the other guy reported the claim, the total was $1,400. I had bought a $500 deductible, but they said I have a $200 deductible on my car and that's the only amount I have to pay! Yay, God!
On my Dad's birthday, December 27th, my Grandparents, which I saw (I thought) for the last time at the beginning of November, surprised us all (except my Mom and Auntie who knew) by stopping in for a birthday dinner. I was so happy to see them one more time and visit with them. It was such a blessing.
    Next time I blog, I'll be in Australia. I would love to hear some of your adventures, too and am very grateful for all your support, both financially and in prayer.  You can send me updates in email or below on my blog.
Love you all!
Katrina
    

A picture is worth a thousand words

Happy Belated Halloween everyone! I hope you are all doing well and are looking forward gleefully to Christmas. I know I am.
The last month or so has been so fun! Since my last blog post I have been in two craft sales, traveled to Montana for a wedding, gone to small group, young adults events, bible studies, church, gone to my Grandma's countless times, and had full weeks of work.
My favourite thing about the last month was going to Montana for my cousin's wedding. My mom, one of my cousins and I drove all the way there and back non-stop (18+hours each way), and stayed there for the weekend last weekend. I could go on and on about my times there, hanging out with my cousins and other relatives, playing Red Neck Life, the views of trees, mountains and awe inspiring sunsets, but since a picture is worth a thousand words (or at least 100 words...), tadaaaaa!

 A few weeks ago as I was thinking about how much money I needed to staff in Australia with Youth With a Mission for a year starting in January, I decided that I would sell my car. Once I realized that selling my car meant that I had enough for the year, my next thought was, "YAY! That means that I can give away some of the money I make from making crocheted and knitted items. So, I am now giving 50% of the proceeds away to Crossing Cambodia, which was one of the organizations I worked with during my time on outreach in Cambodia. They take in street kids and have a preschool for the younger ones and bring the school-age kids to school after giving them breakfast, a shower, having them brush their teeth, and giving them a fresh pair of clothes to wear. They also have Bible stories and groups coming in to help out some weeks like our group did. It was my favourite week of YWAM and I would love to be able to go back there and help out sometime in the future.

If you were wondering, I finished filling out my visa application about 4 weeks ago but have yet to hear back. I guess they are still reviewing it. Hopefully it will be finished by the time I get on the plane to Australia on January 1st early in the morning.
If you could be praying for that, that would be terrrrrific.
Also, I will need a travel backpack. Last time I was going to Australia one of the ladies from church graciously lent me her travel backpack. If any of you are willing and able to lend me a travel backpack or have one I could buy, please let me know, either by emailing or in person. It would be greatly appreciated.
Also, if anyone is looking to buy a 2003 Honda Civic and would like to help out a missionary (me!), please let me know.
I would love to hear from you. I am wanting to have a going away party before I go.
Also, if anyone has prayer requests or would like to share something that is happening in their lives, please feel free to write a comment below.
Blessings.
Katrina

going back to kangaroo hunting

I want to start off by thanking everyone who's been praying for me in the last few months. It's been really encouraging today to hear from a couple who said they have been praying for me since I went to Australia back in January of this year.
I would love your continued prayer support as I make another big step on my faith journey. A few weeks ago, after I wrote my last blog post, I felt like God was leading me to go on in Toowoomba, Australia as a mercy ministry intern in January, 2016 for a year commitment. So, I started applying and am currently in the end stages of filling out my Australian Visa application. It's a pretty long and involving process, but I'm starting to feel like I'm getting to the end of it. I've also made a bunch of prayer cards. You can see a picture of one of them below.

I'm also fundraising to go back as staff. All students and staff in YWAM pay their own way, room and board, food, etc. I have money saved and am making some from my current job as a receptionist, but need extra financial support.
So...... I'm fundraising by crocheting and knitting items. I told on of my Aunties about my plans and she is on board to knit and crochet hats, infinity scarves, fingerless mittens, and booties for me to sell. I'm making custom mug cozies, crocheted iPod cases, and minion and monster key chains. I like creating new things, making something original and fun for people to use and enjoy. If you are interested in ordering any of the items, you can email me at katrina_kat8@hotmail.com for options and prices.

In other news, I spend my time going to work, which is never a dull moment and I like getting to build relationships with my co-workers and customers.  I'm part of a small group, I'm in a woman's bible study at my church, I am a school-age Sunday school leader on Sundays and part of the children's worship band.
I also just started taking singing lessons. I love to sing but I've never had formal training, and am loving learning from a talented professional. Whenever I remember, I start breathing like I'm singing sticking out my stomach like I'm pregnant.
I'd love to hear from all of you reading my blog; what's going on in your life and what dreams and plans God has been speaking to you about your life. You can email me or write a comment below.
Thanks again for all your support.
God bless.

Next steps...

Since my last blog post, I graduated from my Discipleship Training Program (DTS) in Australia. I miss the friends I made so much, but I'm happy for them and I get to see what they are doing on our group chat on Facebook.  We all learned and grew so much during our 5 months away.

After graduating I made the 48 hour journey back home. I stopped in on the way to visit a friend in Vancouver that I hadn't seen in three years.  I stepped off the plane and into the Winnipeg airport and saw who but (surprise), not only my parents, but my best friend and her mom and my cousin Brandon and Auntie Sherrie sporting a "Welcome back Princess Toowoomba" sign. So funny.

The first weeks back were filled with practicing piano and playing on my newly given guitar from a fellow student during my time in YWAM, as well as catching up with friends, going to young adults events, visiting relatives, and going to family reunions. I even got to spend a few Sunday mornings volunteering in the nursery at church.

I started looking for a job a week after I got back and got a job that started a couple of weeks ago working as a receptionist.  It's different being at work again, but it's pretty great talking with my co-workers and helping customers, or transferring them to people who can help them. I think that no matter where you are or where God leads you, you can be a light and show His light there, which is what I'm trying to do now. Or, I remind myself, working on God's strength, which comes from having the joy of the Lord.

So what's the next step for me, you may ask?
Well, I'm not sure. If you would have asked me that question before YWAM or even most of the months I was there, I would say that I will be looking for accounting jobs right after YWAM so I can work towards my CPA designation. This would require me to get a full time job in a designated accounting office and then pursuing my CPA for three years while working, with final exams after that time period.

And, don't get me wrong, I still want to do that. I'm just not sure if that's for now or in the future. An other option I've been thinking about for a while, since the last week of YWAM if you want to be specific, is to go back to the Toowoomba base as part of the mercy ministry staff.  It would be a commitment of at least one year in the leadership development internship -mercy ministry stream.  I would be doing things like local and overseas ministry, going to sessions on topics like servant leadership, and creating awareness on issues like the sex trade in Thailand and Cambodia.

I've been praying about it and would love some more prayer to see what God's plan is for me at this time.