the journey continues...

Weddings, Weddings and More Weddings...

2008-06-24T16:31:00.013-05:00

We have 12 weddings done for the year and 16 more to do. Yeah! As you can imagine things have been very busy. We are coming off seven weekends in a row shooting weddings. We now have a few weekends off, but now we are very busy at the studio. We are busy sorting, posting, and printing the images. And I am busy designing albums for all these weddings. I thought I would share with you some of the pages out of the albums so you can see what I do all day and so you could see some of our images. I feel very blessed to be doing something that I love and am passionate about. And I am excited to see where God continues to take us. Enjoy the pictures!

Update and pictures to come....

2008-06-19T14:31:00.001-05:00

I know, I know it has been way too long. Things are finally slowing down a bit, so I promise and I write an update on my life and share some pictures soon. Stay tuned...

change...

2008-04-01T09:34:00.003-05:00

I am normally the type of person that embraces change. I have moved every six months for the last four years. I have lived in three different states and even went to a different country for two months. I have met tons of new people and I keep wondering if my circle of friends can even get bigger. All of this has been wonderful. I have enjoyed the change. It has been hard for me to stay in one place for more then six months because I get anxious to do something else, something new and to have a change.
Since coming home from YWAM I have become very comfortable here with where I at, what I am doing, and who is around me, which is a huge surprise because I never thought I would enjoy living in GR. But now I believe that I am on the brink of some big change. Whatever way this situation goes it is going to bring change. And to be completely honest I am terrified of this change. My stomach has been in knots for days. I have hardly eaten anything. Sleep is a lost art. I can’t remember the last time I was this nervous and anxious for change. It also does not really help that it is like the most stressful week of the semester for me (for those that don’t know I went back to school for a semester so that I could graduate with something).
My request in all of this is prayer. Please pray that the Lord would give me peace about the change ahead in whatever form it comes. Pray that God would speak to me and those involved about what change needs to happen. Pray that He would make His will so abundantly clear that there is no other option but to fall before God and praise Him for speaking and giving direction.
Thank you for your prayers!

Added Note: A year ago today was the day that I arrived in Kenya, Africa. It was during my time in Africa that I had some of the most life changing experiences of my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think about my time there, the people I met, the people I went with, and how God worked. I feel so blessed that God called me there for those two months and provided everything I needed to go. We have an awesome God!

Engagement Sessions

2008-02-20T01:15:00.007-06:00

Over the past few weeks Kyle and I have been able to take tons of engagement pictures. We have been taking pictures for the couples that want winter pictures. Even though it has been pretty cold, it has been great to get to know each couple and just to get out and take some pictures.
Instead of posting pictures from each engagement shoot I am going to send you to Kyle's blog. There he has posted around five pictures from each session and you can click on a link to see the slide shows.
So GO check out Kyle's blog and our pictures. And please leave us some comments on what you think, we always like feedback.
Click HERE to get to Kyle blog!

Janurary Bridal Shows

2008-02-12T20:34:00.002-06:00

In January two of our weekends were spent at Bridal Shows, one in Grand Rapids and another in Lansing. Kyle and I started off the year with about eight weddings booked through Dan Johnson Photography. We were hoping through bridal shows and a great discount that we were offering for the month that we could book some more. Little did we know that by the end of it all we would have to place a limit on how many weddings we could shoot. After the month of January Kyle and I now have 23 weddings book through Dan Johnson Photography and a few others that we are shooting for friends. We are so excited! We had been praying that God would bless our year and our photography. We can't imgiane being more blessed. We have some great clients that we get to work with and some beaitful pictures that we will get to take. Our summer is looking really busy now, but we are very much looking forward to it. On top of shooting all these wedding I also have the great honor of standing up in three of my friends wedding. So that means three new dresses for me (of course I have to buy them) and lots of good time ahead. Here are some pictures of our booth at the bridal shows.

Night on the Town

2008-02-12T20:03:00.000-06:00

A few days before Christmas Kyle and I hung out with our friends Kevin and Kendra. We were going to go ice skating down town, but due to the fact that Kevin in like six foot seven and has feet size fourteen the free ice skating place didn't have skates that would fit him, so instead the four of us just walked around Grand Rapids and enjoyed our city. Here are a few pictures from our night on the town: This is a self-portrait of the four of us, but because I don't have the best aim with my new camera I kind of didn't get myself in the picture.
Kyle and I on the blue bridge with Kevin jumping behind us.
Kevin and Kendra on the blue bridge, it kind of looks like they were trying to fly.

Us in the big red button.
Us in the big tire swing. Kevin took the picture looking down at us.
After we hung out downtown we then went to visit our friend Erika who has been gone since the fall. This is a picture of us five girls who were in small group together the last two years.

Crystal Mountain

2008-02-12T19:44:00.000-06:00

In mid-decemeber Kyle and I had the great opportunity to go on a ski trip to Crystal Mountain. Kyle's good friend Kevin and his family were going, along with Kevin's girlfriend and one of my good friends, Kendra. We did a little trade off for some senior pictures for his brother and then we got to go skiing for four days. Here are a few pictures from our trip:
Kyle snowboarding, he picked it up really fast seeing as he had only gone once before.

Kevin and Kendra who are now engaged. I will be standing up in their wedding next summer and Kyle will be taking the pictures. We are so excited for them!
There was a hot tub down the hill from where we stayed so one night the boys got this great idea to ski or board down to the hot tub in their bathing suits. I decided that I would take the van down for them so they would have a ride back up and then I got out of going down in my bathing suit.
Kyle and I when we all went out for dessert the last night.

Working hard at the Studio...

2007-10-25T09:02:00.001-05:00

~Mike and Megan~

2007-10-04T08:43:00.001-05:00

Mike and Megan were married a couple of weeks ago in beautiful Ada, Michigan. This has to be one of my favorite weddings I have ever been too. Both families were tons of fun. They had so much love for each other and God. Another fun thing about this wedding was that the bride is my roommates cousin. So Lanell and her whole family were there. It was so much fun and her mom made some great cake.

This is my roommate and really good friend, Lanell dancing.

Mike loves Ford trucks so of course we took many pictures with the trucks.

Kyle took some absolutely amazing pictures at this wedding, he always takes good pictures but these have been some of my favorite. I wanted to share with you some of his pictures so you can see how amazing and talented my boyfriend is. The week before this wedding we bought a Canon 5D for Kyle and I got his Canon 30D and we are saying good-bye to my Canon Rebel, so these pictures are the first ones that he took with his new camera. It is a pretty crazy story how we got the new camera, but just know that it was a huge blessings from God that we got it and for the price that we got it for.

~Jim and Lisa~

2007-10-03T15:35:00.000-05:00

Jim and Lisa were married in Muskegon. It was a nice warm sunny afternoon. We took a little trip to the beach to get some great pictures and the girls were even willing to go into the cold water. Jim and Lisa were both tons of fun and very excited to get married.

Matt and Heidi

2007-10-03T13:22:00.000-05:00

Matt and Heidi were married out at beautiful Gun Lake. Which happens to be one of my favorite spots in West Michigan. Instead of having just one flower girl they had about six princesses who all walked down the aisle. They were all so cute and so much fun to take pictures of. It was a great day full of love, joy, and fun!

Eric and Sara

2007-10-03T13:04:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures from the first wedding that I shot with Dan Johnson Photography. Eric and Sara were such a fun couple. They loved getting their picture taken and were willing to drive all over the golf course for the best spots. It was a wonderful wedding to have as my first with Dan Johnson Photography.

Finally an update...

2007-10-02T16:50:00.000-05:00

I know that it has been a long time since I have updated you all on my life. I went for a long time without internet and then once I got I just have not had much time to be on it. I thought that now would be a good time to let you all know what is up and how I am doing. So here it goes:
During the first week of July I started a almost full-time job working for Dan Johnson Photography, the same place that Kyle had be working. I started doing some marketing work and making a lot of phone calls. Once I was done with that I have now begun to design wedding albums. I am enjoying working there a lot. I have been able to develop my photography and designing skills. Along with this job Kyle and I have been able to book weddings through Dan. When Dan is already booked for a wedding or is a couple can’t afford Dan’s package then he passes them on to us and our package. Kyle and I have been able to book six weddings for 2008 and we except to book even more. A week and a half ago Kyle and I got to shoot our first wedding alone without Dan. It was great! It went really well and was tons of fun. We also have been able to go and shoot a hand full of weddings with Dan. This has helped us learn and build our portfolio. I really feel that God has blessed me with this job and I am looking forward to learning even more. I am now looking for another job on top of this one. So that I can make some more money as well as get some health insurance. Please pray that God would provide another job for me.
In mid-August I moved into a house with three of my friends from Reformed Bible College (Kuyper). The house is wonderful; we live in an older part of Grand Rapids. We love our house and our neighborhood. I also am really enjoying living with these three girls. It is tons of fun!
When I returned from California I started to attend a new church about twenty minutes from my house. It is called New Life Christian Church. It has been great! It is a smaller church that it really on-fire for the Lord. We love it and are looking forward to becoming more involved.
Another thing to note is that in mid-August a good friend of mine Ani from Romania who I met in College was diagnosed with cancer. Since then we have been on a hard journey with her. She has been having treatments and things were looking really good. Until a week ago when she went into the hospital and found out that the cancer has spread up her back and into her brain. It is not looking too good for her, but we still believe in a miracle for her. She has had a really good past few days and I have been able to visit her on Sunday and again today on Tuesday. Her mom will arrive from Romania tomorrow and we are praying that this will lift her spirits and that she will continue down the path of healing.
Other then all of that things have been going really well for me. I have been enjoying my family and new brother-in-law. I have continued with my girls small group. I also have been enjoying some fun times with other friends and Kyle. I am looking forward to a fall that is coming quick and hope to maybe do some traveling this winter. Thank you all for you support and friendship sorry that I haven’t kept you all updated on what has been going on.
In the next week I will post some of my wedding photography so that you can see and not just hear what I have been up to.

Pray for Ani...

2007-09-26T21:20:00.000-05:00

I know... I know... it has been forever since I have updated on my blog. Life has been crazy, fun, and brought a lot of change in the last few months. I promise I will give a good update on my life in the next week. For now though I wanted to ask for your prayers. The picture below is me and my dear friend Ani. I met Ani my Sophomore year at RBC. She came to me from Romania. She lived on my floor that year and last year. Ani is tons of fun. We would stay up late talking about boys, God, school, missions, and the future, we would have fun girls nights and we some great Applebee's nights as well. In mid-August Ani was diagnosed with cancer. She has been fighting strong ever since. Today we found out that the chemo has not been working the that the cancer has spread from her hip area up her spin and now they believe that it is in her brain. At this point we don't really know what the doctors are thinking or exactly what they are going to do. We know that our God wants to see Ani healed and cancer free. We are standing in that truth, claiming life and health over her, and praying that God would heal her quickly and take her from this pain. I am asking my friends and family today to pray for Ani as well. Don't just pray that she will be healed but proclaim life and healing over her body and life. Ani needs people to stand with her in this fight and I am asking you to please stand and pray for Ani today. She is an amazing women of God, passionate about social work and missions and ready to serve God whatever He may call her to do. I will keep you all updated on her and thank you in advance for your prayers

Brian and Beth Ponstein

2007-07-04T00:34:00.000-05:00

Last week Friday, June 29, I got to experience one of the best events of my lifetime. My sister, Beth got married to a wonderful man Brian Ponstein. It was a wonderful event. We had a great evening and I am so happy for them both. Here are a few pictures that Kyle Bultman took of that evening. (check out more his wedding photography at http://www.bultmanphotography.com) The pictures are kind of backwards in order of that day but I hope you enjoy them.

the cake

the big toast that I had to give

there first dance together

me trying to dance

my beautiful sister

we were both sick of smiling at this point

my dad and sister

the church

walking out of the church, they are MARRIED!!

the car

jumping in the air

our second cousin, Moriah, the flower girl and my sister, Beth.

the women

me with all my flowers

my parents

Beth and Brian Ponstein

this is a flower that was in the front at the wedding it was in memory of my cousin Abby Matthews, who passed away in a car accident on June 29 last year.

walking in the park

Beth and Brian

the men

crazyness...

2007-06-20T23:39:00.000-05:00

How crazy life can be... I have now been back from California about a week and a half. To be honest it seems like it has been a month. Life coming home from DTS has been harder then I ever thought it would be. Coming home was walking into a world of wedding planning, Christian bookstore, being a friend to all, and never really stopping. In a week and a half my older sister will be getting married. As soon as I came home the preparing and running around began. I just don't think I was really ready for all of this. Until yesterday I haven't stopped going since coming home on June 9. You might think I am I going over board, but really we have had showers, dress fittings, making center pieces, and much more to do. Finally yesterday I said I was doing nothing for anyone and that I was taking the day off for me and Jesus. And that is what I did and it was wonderful!
The other crazy thing about coming home has been going back to work. I have worked at a Christian Bookstore called Kregel for 4 years off and on. For the most part I have always enjoyed working there, but after coming home I can hardly stand being there. I am not sure if is because I can't handle all the "Jesus Junk" or if it is because I know that God is calling me to other things. But please pray that I will find a new job soon and that I will know it is from the Lord. Side note: we got a new t-shirt in at work that says "Jesus died for myspace in Heaven" And myspace is in a different color and has the same font as myspace online. I got a laugh from that t-shirt and thought to myself 'what are they going to think up next.'
Another crazy thing has been trying to spend time with everyone. One of my best friends moved away for two years three days after I got home so I wanted to spend as much time with her as I could. Plus I wanted to see friends from school, church, and everywhere else I know people from. It has just been hard because people seem like they want to see me then when I get with them they don't really want to hear about what has happened to me or even see my pictures. I kind of expected this coming home, but it has been harder then I thought it would be. Another sad thing about friends is that I have had hardly anytime to e-mail or call people from my DTS. This has been something laying really heavy on my heart because I love these people so much and I was with them almost 24/7 for 5 months and now I haven't spoken to anyone since coming home and I have only e-mailed a few. I have been praying that God would give me time to communicate with them or that they would just call me up.
There are things that I have enjoyed about coming home though. I have had some good times with God and really haven't fallen into a valley after the mountain. I also have been enjoying reading. I am reading the book, "The Only Road North" By Erik Mirandette. It is a book about three boys from my area who went to Africa and took dirt bikes from South Africa to Egypt delivering medication and sharing the gospel. The story ends sad, but it is powerful. It is cool to read about them because they were from our community.
Really though even though life is crazy there is still joy. One of the biggest things God taught me over DTS is joy and I have been able to stand in joy even when the world around me is moving 100mph.

Home again...

2007-06-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

This evening at 9pm I returned back to Grand Rapids, MI after another long day of flying. I figured out that in the last five months I have been on 18 flights. I am ready to stay in one place for a little while. Right now though I am not sure what to think about being home. It all seems like a dream. And it all is a little overwhelming. For the first time in five months I will be sleeping in a room with no one else. My bedroom is filled with my books, clothes, and is a really big mess. I saw my parents, sister, and Kyle tonight for the first time in five months. It all just seems so crazy. Yet it is also exciting.
But on the other hand it is really sad. I had to say good-bye to people yesterday and today that I will not see for a long time and some of them I may never see again. It was much harder then I thought it would be to say good-bye to all of them. At graduation last night during the first worship song I just began to cry because of how amazing God is. He brought together 15 students and 10 staff from around the world, with totally different backgrounds, personalities, dreams, and passions. He brought them together for a season and for one purpose and that was to know God and to make Him known. And that is exactly what happened. We all grew in our own walks of knowing God better. But we also made God known in the central coast, Kenya, Rwanda, and even the places we travelled to get there. It is just so amazing how our God works. I feel so blessed that God choose me out of all the Christians in the world to be a part of that experience and that season. It is sad as this season has ended because we won't all be together. But it is also exciting that this season has ended because now we get the joy of seeing God work in and through each other in new ways.
Right now I am just filled with so many emotions. But I do just want to praise and thank God for the season of my life that He has just brought me through. May I never forget it...

Back in the US

2007-06-03T14:21:00.000-05:00

Well we have now been back in the US for about two days. It has been a lot harder coming back to California then I ever thought it would be. This morning I sat in a coffee shop just watching people spend about $4.00 on a cup of coffee then another $2.00 on a bagel and cream cheese, all the while they are wearing clothes that cost them more then what it would cost someone is Africa to eat for a week. It is hard because these people around me didn't see what I saw and didn't experience the things I did and these people probably never will. The question is what to do about this. We live so different here in the US then they do in Africa and to be honest it doesn't seem right. It doesn't seem right that we can spend so much on things we don't even need when there are people that have nothing to spend on things that they desperately need. Things are not right, but the question is, is there anything we can do about it or will this always be the way it is? I pray that the Kingdom of Heaven will come down on earth and things will change...soon.

Africa...a few pictures

2007-06-01T14:55:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from my trip. I took about 1,200 pictures during the two months. These are just a few of my favorites. If you would like to see more I will be able to share them with you when I return home.

This is Chris, Lauren, Amy, and Shelly on our last night in Rwanda. We got dressed up and went out for Chinese. It was great fun!

This is me, Amy, and Katrina before our dinner out.

A girl on the side of the road in Rwanda.

This is an ex-prostitute that we worked with when we worked with YWAM Rwanda

This is a support group for people with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda. I enjoyed speaking and spending time with them. They were wonderful people.

This is me with a lady who suffers from HIV/AIDS.

This is one of the memorial sites for the genocide.

This is women walking on a road towards a village that we worked with in Rwanda.

This is a women with HIV/AIDS and Rhiannon.

Two childern that went to the church that we worked with our first two weeks in Rwanda.

A street girl that was a soccer game that we played.

Our whole group in Mombasa

The baboons that we say on Safari and went into our car while we were taking pictures.

We saw lots of Giraffe. Yeah! They are my favorite.

A little boy at the orphanage in Kenya

Kara and Karen
This is Ali, a little boy that I fell in love with at the orphanage in Kenya.

A little boy at the orphanage

Greetings from Rwanda!

2007-05-05T13:48:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends and Family,
Well we have made it safe and sound to Rwanda! Last Sunday we took another 10 hour bus ride from Mombasa to Nairobi. We spent one night in Nairobi and then took a nice short flight to Rwanda on Monday. On Monday we had the day to rest and unpack in our new home for the next two weeks. This past week and next week we are working with a Church called New Kingdom Fellowship and out of that church they have an organization called Parental Care for Destitute Children. On Tuesday we had another day to relax a little. That day they took us around the city and showed us the church and the different sights where they do ministry.
On Wednesday I went to help with there ministry for street boys. We picked up about 25 street boys and took them to a field outside the city. There we play futball (soccer) and then shared the gospel message with them. That was a lot of fun, but also a little scary because these boys are very good and very big. But I held my own as one out of two girls out on the field. On Thursday I went to help at a preschool that they have started for kids in the community. We colored some pictures, played with balls and had fun with bubbles. That afternoon we went to the church for women's ministry. There we had a little service with them and shared about how much God loves them. Also on Thursday Will, Lauren, and Cody from Pismo came. Will is going to be here for about 9 days and Lauren and Cody will be here for about three weeks. They are all staff from YWAM Pismo. It was such a blessing for them to come. It has been encouraging and it has really lifted the spirits of the whole team. Will's wife Lori also made us some chocolate cookies, so that has been a wonderful treat as well.
On Friday morning we went back to the church for a service with the street boys. We also cut there hair and gave them soda and cake. In the afternoon the boys went to play more soccer and the girls stayed back and prayed for Rwanda and the ministry that we are doing here. Today (Saturday) has been a very raining day. It has rained almost all day and not a nice rain but a hard rain. In the morning we went back to the church and worshiped and spoke to the kids from the community. I was asked to speak on rejection to them and to share that Christ is always there for them. It went really well, God is stretching me a lot with speaking in front of people since it is not my favorite thing to do. He is really using me and giving me the words to say. This afternoon we took a bus out to a river and we got to witness the baptism of about 10 of the people that the Pastor has been working with. We were out in the pouring rain, but it was beautiful. It was so cool to watch and know that the lives of these teens have changed so much. This was one of the best experiences that I have had on outreach yet. God is really working in this place.
Tomorrow I will be preaching at a church about Acts 2 and mission. I am a little nervous, but God has been speaking to me a lot about what he wants me to say to these people. Next week we will be working with this same ministry as well as speaking and working at a conference that they are putting on.
Our team is doing really good. It has been wonderful to have three added people. Please pray for continued health on our team. We have a few that are having problems with their stomachs and such. Also pray that God is use us in mighty ways here. We have such a desire to bring Christ to this country. They have gone through some much reconstruction in the last 13 years since the genocide, but we want to see Christ come to this land and bring it under his rule.
As for me I am doing pretty well. Please pray for me as I speak tomorrow. Pray that God would speak through me and that the words would reach the hearts of the people. Also pray for continued energy. We are now over half way through outreach and I get tired very fast so pray for a second wave. Also pray that I would keep my focus on the here and now. I have begun to think about all that needs to happen when I get home and what is going to happen. I have been worrying about these things a lot so pray that I can be focused on here and that I can trust God for all those things.
Thank you so much for you prayer, support, and love. This week we talked about things to praise God for and you as my supporters were on the top of that list. I am so thankful for all of you and all that you do. I hope and pray that all is well with you. Have a wonderful week!
Blessings, Katie

I am here...

2007-04-07T08:44:00.001-05:00

Hello Everyone!
We made it to Nariobi! It was a very long flight but we are finally here. We got delayed in Washington DC and we missed our flight to Zurich. So we had to get a new flight. Then we went to Paris, but we were a little late for that. So when we got there we had to run through the Paris Airport. It was crazy. Then we took a flight to Nairobi. That was the best flight because we had a ton of room and I got to lay down and sleep for 5 hours. Which I really needed because it was hard for me to fly on the other flights. We got to Nariobi at 5am with no baggage. It was left back in Paris and we didn't get it until today which is Saturday. We were all very tired. We got picked up and drove to a church/school that we stayed at. All the girls are in one room and all the boys in another. We have matresses but we are sleeping on the floor. We have to take a shower/wash ourselves in a bowl of water. On thrusday all we did was sleep and eat. It was wonderful. It has been kind of hard adjusting to the time change. On Friday we went to the Imani Kids orphanage. The kids are beautiful. It was so fun, we played with them, help them clean, and sang lots of songs. We will be working there all next week. I am very excited. Last night we went to a Good Friday prayer meeting and went for dinner at a missionaries house. Today (saturday) I went to the airport to get our bags. It took 4 hours of sitting there waiting for the very slow people. But now I have clean clothes and it is wonderful! Now we are shopping and using the internet. Tomorrow we will go to church for Easter. Things are going really good though. I have enjoyed the food so far. I am having a little trouble sleeping. So please pray that I can have good rest. Also pray for our team we have one girl that is having a really hard time with her back and is in a lot of pain. But I am doing well and enjoying myself. I am trying to take it all in and enjoy this amazing culture. I have to get going becuase we are paying for the mintues on the computer. But thank you for your prayers and support. I miss you all!
Blessings from Africa,
Katie

7 hours...Africa...an adventure of a lifetime...

2007-04-03T01:18:00.000-05:00

Well in about 7 hours we will be on our way to Africa. The last two days have been super busy. A few Wal-mart runs, lots of packing, hours of cleaning, and a few good-byes. I have to be ready to go tomorrow morning at 4:30am and that will begin our 25 hour travel day. I am filled with mixed feelings as the time comes to leave. I am very excited for all the fun, the fellowship, and for what God is going to do. At the same time I am pretty nervous about sitting in a plane for so many hours, about cultural shock, about missing home, and about finding time for myself. But really I am more excited then nervous. I can’t wait to see all that God does in and through our team.

I have a special prayer request that I would like to share with all of you. My friend Kara on our team really needs tons of prayer tomorrow. Kara struggles with a lot of anxiety problems and has a very strong fear of flying. She is so nervous about flying and she has been crying almost all night. Pray that God would give her a peace about flying and that He would take away her fear. Pray that we as her team and friends can be there to support and comfort her the whole way. And pray that she would sleep a lot on the flights and that she would forget that she is even in a plane. Thank you for your prayers for her, I know that she really appreciates it.

I hope to update you all ever so often while I am there. If you want weekly updates to can e-mail Kyle at: kylesfriend@gmail.com he then will forward you weekly updates from our leaders. Feel free to leave comments or send me e-mails. I should be able to check them and I would love the encouragement. Thank you for your support, prayers, and encouragement. You have all been a blessing to me. I miss you all and can’t wait to see you in June.

Africa here I come...

2007-03-28T10:16:00.000-05:00

Dear Friends and Family,
In less then a week I will be on my way to Africa. At this point my brain is just filled with things that I need to get done, excitement, and nervous thoughts. I wanted to post this blog so you could have some of the details of our trip before I left.
Next Tuesday April 3rd we leave for Africa. I will be flying out of San Louis Obispo, California around 5am. Half the team flies to San Francisco and the other half to Los Angeles. I will be part of the San Francisco group. Then both groups will meet up in Washington DC. From there we will take the very long flight to Zurich, Switzerland. From there we take another long flight to Nairobi, Kenya.
From April 4th until around April 21st we will be staying with Youth with a Mission Nairobi. But we will be working with Calvary International Fellowship. We will be working with missionaries from one of the churches here in the central coast of California. There we will be working with a church in the slums, with Imani Kids orphanage, and with another church in the area.
From there we will leave and travel to Mombassa, Kenya which is on the coast of Kenya. We will be there until around May 2nd. There we will be staying with YWAM Mombassa. At this point we do not know what kind of missionary we will be doing there. We will know more information once we get to Kenya.
From there we will travel probably travel back to Nairobi and fly to Kigali, Rwanda. While in Rwanda we will be staying the city of Kigali but working and staying with three different organizations. From around May 2nd until around May 16 we will be working with Parental Care For Destitute Children. During this time we will be hosting and some will be speaking at a conference. We will also be working a lot with the street children.
From May 16 to around May 23 we will be working with Widows of Hope. This is an organization that started after the civil war in Rwanda. These widows that have come together, brought orphans into there homes and have committed to raise the children in Godly homes. During this week we will have the opportunity to live with the widows and help them in there households. We also will be teaching them about sanitation and HIV/AIDS.
From May 23 to around May 30 we will be working with YWAM Rwanda. There again we are not sure what kind of ministry will we be doing there. We should know more once we arrive in Rwanda.
On May 30th we will fly back to California making the same stops that we made on the way to Africa. We then will have the weekend to recover from jetlag and cultural shock. Then from June 4 to June 8 we have debrief week, during this week we will share about our experiences and talk about what God did in and through us. On June 8 we will have a graduation celebration that evening. Then on Saturday, June 9 I will be leaving California to come back to Grand Rapids! I leave California early that morning and will arrive in Grand Rapids around 9pm that night. I will then take a few days to recover and in 20 days from when I get home on June 29 my beautiful sister will be getting married. I am already so excited for her and Brain.
So there is an overview of my travels for the next two months. At this point I am pretty excited about the whole adventure but also very nervous. I wanted to share a few prayer requests with you in hopes that you will be praying for me and my team.
· Pray for safe travel during these next two months. Pray that we will have no problems with flights, visas, or passports. Also pray that within the countries that God would be a head of protection of the vehicles that we will be riding in.
· Pray for physically and emotional health for me and everyone on our team. Pray that the food and malaria medication will be nice to our stomachs. Pray against any depression, anxiety, and any sickness that we could get.
· Pray that God would use us in great ways! Pray that God would use us to show his love, grace, and compassion for these people. Pray that God would give us the words and methods to really reach these people. Pray that God would give us boldness in witnessing to these people.
· Pray for unity within the seventeen people that are going. Pray that we would not get on each others nerves too much and pray that we can be there to support each other. Pray that I will be able to find alone time away from everyone as I need this in order to be refreshed and have energy.
As far as my fund-raising goes I was able to pay off the whole lecture phase due to the support that you all blessed with me with. As far as the outreach phase goes I have had $1600 come in. Thank you so much for that. I still need around $1800 to come in to be able to pay for the whole outreach phase. I am praying that God would provide this money. If you are interested in helping support me send me an e-mail and I can give you the information on how to do that. Money will be accepted for the outreach until the end of May.
During our time in Africa I should be able to get to the internet hopefully every couple of weeks. I hope to be able to send out more of the mass updates at that time, but I can not promise that this will happen because you never know until you get there. If you would like to e-mail me you can at ktlynn86@hotmail.com, I would love to receive updates from your lives and I would really appreciate some encouragement. Also I hope to put updates on my blog and maybe even some pictures. The address for that is http://katrina86.blogspot.com. If you would like to or if you need to talk to me before I leave feel free to give me a call. My cell phone number is 616-334-7490. Thank you all for your support, love, and encouragement. I know I have had said it before but it really is a blessing to have you in my life. May you all be blessed today and live in the love and grace of Christ.

In His service,
Katie Pfruender

Love Fest, Rocklin, San Fran, Modesto, Camping and Photography class…

2007-03-22T19:31:00.000-05:00

So much has been going on lately I have not even really had time to tell you all about it. So I am going to try to recap the last few weeks for you so you can know what I have been up to. For Valentine’s Day we had a big love fest. We all got dressed up one night and had a wonderful meal together. It was a great time. Here are some pictures for that night.

This is all the girls at Love Fest.

This is all the boys plus our speaker for that week Joel.

Here are four amazing girls Kara, Rhiannon, Shelly, and Crystal.

For the first weekend in March I took a very long train and bus ride to Rocklin, California to visit my Uncle John, Aunt Kendra, and cousins, Kevin, Kyle, and Kaleb. I had a great weekend with them. I got to watch Kyle and Kaleb play basketball. I got to go out for frozen yogurt at the place where Kevin works. We also celebrated my birthday with a wonderful meal and bowling. And on the last day I even got to play a little tennis in the sun. It was great! I don’t have any pictures from that weekend yet. But I hope to get a few from my Aunt Kendra. It was a great weekend and I really enjoyed getting away from YWAM world and spending time with my family.
From Rocklin I took the train to San Francisco where I met up with the rest of my team. We spent the next week at the San Francisco YWAM base. We got to do a little shopping, see the sights and I got to go out to the Cheesecake Factory for my birthday. We all had a great week there. Here are a few of the pictures that I took during that week.

Here is Crystal and I in front of the Golden Gate bridge.

We spent a day at Fisher's Wharf and Pier 39. It was fun!

From San Francisco our team drove to Modesto, California which is a small town about an hour and a half east of San Fran. There we worked with the Modesto YWAM base. They are a newer, smaller base but we got to help them reach their community. On Saturday we worked on their church grounds cleaning things up and putting together a community garden. We planted lots of vegetables in the garden and when they are harvested it will all be given to the homeless people in Modesto. We also had a big BBQ on 9th street for some of the homeless people that live around there. It was a wonderful weekend and here are a few pictures from that.

Cat working hard moving all the weeds that the girls pulled out.

Crystal working on the community garden.

Jimmy a leader in Modesto helping his daughter in the garden.

Rhiannon and I at the BBQ.

This past weekend we went camping. We went just to relax for a little bit and to have some more team bonding time. We drove up highway 1 all along the coast until we got to this great camp ground. On Saturday we drove to a national park about 15 miles up the road and did some hiking. It was absolutely beautiful! I really enjoy camping even if it was a little cold. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

All of these were of hiking through the woods. It was wonderful and when we got to end we got to see this great waterfall.

This is Will and Eli standing on Highway 1 after hiking.

During all of this crazy busyness I still have had photography class so I wanted to share with you a few pictures that I took during class. Enjoy!

Candles in the mission in San Louis.

A waterfall at the mission.

This is Cameron our photography teacher. He has his own wedding photography business here in the central coast. He has been amazing!

This is Cat, she was our model for a day.

This is a funny picutre for those who understand cameras. This is a very small camera with a very big lens. It is Will's camera with Cameron's lens on it. The lens costs at least twice as much as the camera it self.

This is a picture that Will took of me. I really liked it so I thought I would share it with you all.

In just a little less then two weeks we leave for Africa. I am getting pretty excited but I am also still a little nervous about the whole thing. In the next week I will be sending out a little bit more information about what we are doing in Africa and where we will be going. For now, thank you for your support, prayers, love, and encouragement. Have a wonderful day!

Rocklin and Birthday

2007-03-04T20:49:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I have had to joy to come up and visit my Uncle John, Aunt Kendra, and cousins Kevin, Kyle and Kaleb. It was a wonderful break away from the base. I was able to have some fun with them as well as celebrate my birthday! I head down to San Fran later this evening, where I will meet the rest of our team. We are spending the next week at the San Fran YWAM base. They just want us to get away for a week and spend some time in a new city. I am excited for this next week but also a little sad to say bye to my family. Tomorrow will be my 21st birthday. I wish I could be home with my friends and family, but I know it should be a good day away. Thank you to all those who have blessed me with amazing gifts and cards. It has been a wonderful birthday even though my birthday hasn't come yet. We leave a month from yesterday for Africa. I am a little nervous but also excited. It is hard to believe that we are leaving that soon and that we will be gone for 2 months. Well I need to get packing my stuff and get ready for San Fran. But thank you to all of you. You have been such a blessing!

Photography

2007-02-01T16:50:00.000-06:00

This past week for my photography class we had to take pictures of one person and show their personality through those pictures. I took pictures of my roommate Crystal. I thought I would share the pictures with you all. Here they are...

I am really enjoying my photography class and my teacher. On friday I get to go with him to do an engagement shot. I am very excited.

Bonfire

2007-02-01T16:30:00.000-06:00

The first week in California we had a bonfire so I wanted to share some of the pictures from that night

These are all the girls
These are all the boys

This is Katrina, Crstyal and I.

Sorry

2007-02-01T11:14:00.000-06:00

The internet at our house comes and goes and when it has come it doesn't go very fast. I have been trying to put some new pictures up on here but it is not working again. I just wanted to let you all know why it's not working. I hope to go to a cafe later that has faster internet and then I will be able to put the picutres up. Have a good day!

Some Pictures...

2007-01-11T23:46:00.000-06:00

This is the view outside our deck. It was probably about 70 degrees the afternoon that I took this picture. It is wonderful out here on the coast.

This is our kitchen.

This is our living room. We have five boys that live in our house and three girls. It is a fun group of people and we have a wonderful vacation home to stay in.

This is my bedroom, I share it with two other wonderful girls.

This is gum alley, it is a alley that people put there gum on the walls, it was kind of gross. This is in a city near Pismo called San Louis.

This is a group of us out for Sushi the other night, good times!
This is the four boys and one of our leaders.
This is all the 11 girls on the DTS.
This is the city of Pismo Beach, CA looking up at it from the beach.
This is Crystal one of my roommates and the ocean.

California!

2007-01-11T14:30:00.000-06:00

As most of you know on January 6 I left for California. I am living in Pismo Beach, CA for the next three months. Here I am doing Youth with a Mission’s (YWAM) program known as Discipleship Training School (DTS). So far my experience has been great! It was super hard to leave home and say good-bye to many people but now that I am here I can see why God called me to this place at this time. There are 14 other young adults from all over the world doing this program with me. There are four boys and eleven girls. We live in community, worship together, outreach together, and in the end become a family in Christ. I have been placed in a house with five boys and two other girls. The other house has ten girls in it and the houses are about three away from each other. We just have to walk down the road to get to the other house. The houses are beautiful vacation homes about 10 minutes from the coast. Right now I am sitting at our table in our dinning room and I can look out at the ocean. It is amazing! This first week is just an orientation week. They give us a lot of time to get to know each other and area that we will be reaching for Christ. We also are spending a lot of time praying and seeking God about where he is calling us to go for our two month outreach. So far the transition into this new environment with these new people has gone very smoothly. I have missed home and people from there a little bit but really I am thankful for this community and the experience that I am going to have. I know that God is going to change and move a lot in me and our group. I hope to update this blog every couple of days with notes and pictures. So feel free to come check out what I am doing and how I am doing every few days. I thank you all for your prayers and support through this adventure in my life. I am so thankful for all of you and all you do. May God bless you and may you desire His heart more and more.

The Pier at Pismo Beach

There will be more pictures to come but right now I am having problems getting them up so I will try again later.

Trip to the Fort Worth Zoo

2006-03-26T18:06:00.000-06:00

The first Saturday of spring break we took a day and went to the Forth Worth Zoo. We thought it might be fun to get away for a day. It was nice and hot but we still had a good day of fellowship, animals, and fun. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

The giraffe, my favorite animal!!

Andrew from Jamaica, Katie, and Marc from South Africa. We are eating dip and dots. It was the first time either of them had ever had dips and dots so it was a lot of fun!

This Savannah and I sitting after a long day of walking.

This is everyone that went except for Andrew because he was taking the picture. Ryan, Savannah, Marc, Katie, and Kyle.

Here is a picture of me laughing. I just really liked this picture so I thought I would share it with you all.

Here is Marc, Kyle and I.

The zoo was a lot of fun and a good break from school and work. I hope you enjoyed all the pictures. Have a wonderful day! Blessings!

Happy Birthday Katie!

2006-03-05T23:47:00.000-06:00

Today was my 20th birthday. I had a great day and a great weekend. It was a nice break from work and a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Tonight some of went up to Prayer Mountain which is a church that we go to for their college ministry. Tonight we just went up there to look at the city at night and to look at the stars. It was good times.

Here I am up there with my coffee!

This is what we got to look at. It was amazing!

Saturday night we went out to Chedder's to celebrate my birthday. Here is Kyle and I.

This is the wonderful gift that my parents and sister sent me. It was great to open the box and find all this great stuff. I got lots of candy and some other cool stuff.

Saturday night we also had 'Fire on the Mountain' which is a worship service twice a month that Kyle and some of our other friends play at. This is me at that service. Do you like my hair? It is now curly. Yeah!

This is Mark. He is our friend from South Africa. He is a great guy. He went out with us all on Saturday night.

This is Ken, Kyle's roomate. He also went out with us on Saturday night.

This is Mark, Ken, and Savannah getting ready for worship. Savannah is my best girl friend down here. She coudln't go out with us after the service last night because she had to work early this morning. But her and I went out for dinner tonight. It was wonderful. She is a great friend and we have a lot of fun together.

Overall, it was a good birthday. I missed my family and friends from back home a lot today. But it was nice to get lots of phone calls, e-mails, and notes wishing me a happy birthday. Thank you all for you love and support. I do miss you all lots. I should be off to bed soon.

Have a wonderful day! Love you lots!

Here are some more pictures!

2006-02-13T21:45:00.000-06:00

More Pictures! Enjoy!

This is the pool outside my door.

This is the courtyard outside my room. We are not allowed to walk on the grass.

This is my closet. It is pretty clean!

This is our bed room. My bed is the top one on the left.

This is me on my first day of work at Applebee's.

This is our very small bathroom.

Another of our bathroom.

This is our living room. It is Jillian's desk and more.

This is our kitchen!

This is to the left of our door. It is Jillian's art.

This is my desk!

This is my desk and bookshelf. This is to the right when we walk in.

Here they all are for now. Have a blessed day!

A Few Pictures

2006-02-05T20:46:00.000-06:00

Here are just a few pictures that Kyle took before Christmas and a few of my roomates.

This is the Student Center. We eat here. Plus the bookstore and coffee shop are in here.

This is the Gordan Lindsey Tower (GLT). This is where all the single boys live. It is 10 stores tall.

This is Jillian and Ashely. They are two of my roomates.

This is Bethany my other roomate and Toni the girl next door.

I will put more on later this week. Love you all!

Down in the South

2006-02-05T20:43:00.000-06:00

Here you all go... I hope to be able to share with you all some photos of me down here in the South. I hope that you all enjoy them. Have a blessed day!