raw.

I just got back from a 5+ hour hike through the jungle and mountain tops.

When we started out, we just wanted to go some of the way and have a pic-nic, plus we also thought that the village that we wanted to go to was closer than it was.

PSYCHE!

It was a ton father than we thought.

So, we live in la quanca. Which is the valley between all these mountains, but we live close to the top of the road. The road use to continue up and over the mountain range and down the other side to the rest of the country (when you get off the mountain on my side it’s like 20 minutes to the coast). Well a new road was built around the mountians, so the only people that use the road in the valley, are the people that live here.

Our goal today was to go up the overgrown road to the mountain peak where you can see the other side of the country.

Let’s just say we didn’t think it would take that long, and we didn’t bring enough water.

We did finally make it.

But instead of going down the way we came, which was a pretty smooth, even path, we took the path that leads to another village, which eventually leads to the road and my village.

Lets just say that after walking that path, well, hiking for so long, I have a new appreciation for Jesus and how he walked in sandals all the time, and how he washed the disciples feet.  I'm pretty sure I stepped in everything today that they did when traveling.

All that to say, why do people like to be so clean?

For example the first thing we did was stop at a friends house on the way home to swim and cool off at his swimming hole, but also as soon as I got home I jumped in the freezing shower and scrubbed for a long time.

But what’s the point of getting “clean” or bathing, if there is nothing to clean. Like the American lifestyle is so clean, that other than a little sweat from sports, there is really no need to get clean. (Ok, I know other things happen that are dirty, but overall Americans are clean and live in a clean environment.)

God created us for the garden. And if you know anything about gardens, you know they aren’t clean.

He created us to be among the animals (and all that goes with them), walking on the soft dirt, swimming in the cool stream, basking in the warm sun, sitting on rocks, climbing trees, and dancing with Him through the meadows. That’s where I wanna be. That’s where I wanna live.

He is screaming out His name through all of that, but we are too concerned with other things to go outside and enjoy the world beyond hot water, concrete and carpet, and Wi-Fi and cell phone signal.

He created humans naked in the garden for a reason. Not clothed in high fashion in a comfy house made of concrete. He put us in a simple lifestyle, not one where technology is bettering our lives.

And that makes me wonder, is it really making out lives better?

Cause just maybe it’s taking us farther from Him.

Life here is raw.

People from the outside think it’s not a good way to live cause “they’re poor” or even 5“uncivilized”, and it’s not comfortable.

But it’s life and life with the basics.

But maybe that’s what we need.

The basics.

And maybe, just maybe, we could dwell with God again. Because we could focus on Him and what matters, and we could actually hear Him.

Living in the simple, how He made us to live, makes me feel more alive.

beach day

Last weekend we were able to take everyone on the property to the beach!

It was a super exciting outing and a day full of so much fun and lots of sunburn.

Sand castles were built, I was picked up and thrown into a whole to get buried, crabs were found, lobster heads were gotten from fishermen passing by (which was made into a lovely soup the next day), and Chinese rice was eaten on the beach for lunch with Pepsi of course.

trust

Why is it that we are constantly thinking ahead.

Not content here, enjoying the life we have been given.

Living fully focused in the present is a hard thing for most people.

But the hardest part of that for me is not knowing the future.

I have so many things I want to do with my life, that I am unable to focus on the now.

So many thoughts running through my head about my future.

What do I do?

Do I go to college, or do a discipleship program.

Or do I go for my dream and start backpacking the world, loving on kids, and then maybe I’ll find a place to start a children’s home.

Why is it so hard to just give over those thoughts and trust him with the outcome.

Maybe cause I'm human and its natural to push God away by not trusting him and not letting him be in control of my life.

I think I put limitations on God, because of my dreams, and cause I can’t always see the steps falling into place.

Even though that’s stupid.

Cause so many people told me that moving to another country after high school, by my self wasn’t going to happen. But I trusted, and he provided and overcame so many obstacles that I thought I was going to have to conquer myself. Which is weird and awesome.

But sometimes I feel that what I want to do will never happen. Cause I'm currently 18, single and a female. And in my mind, that screams, KIDNAP ME. Especially if I'm traveling by myself.

I don’t know.
GOD IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN ME!

But it’s still tough to not be concerned.

For now I'm learning to trust him and focus on the moments.

what's in a name.

“Katie.

How about that.

Can I call you Katie?”

So my name is a little difficult for the average Spanish speaker to say.

Normally I get Keilin or Caleb, both of which are Spanish names, and I know people here with those names, so that is what most people tend to say.

But that’s not my name.

Once I explain that there is a “T” in my name I give up and they can call me whatever comes out.

Not Elmer.

He decided to give me another name.

Katie.

At first I was like yeah whatever, that’s fine. Cause my dad calls me that and a few other people have called me that at some point of my life.

The weird thing is that even though there’s a T in it, its so much easier to say than Kaitlen. Cause there is a equivalent: Katy. Which is pronounced Ka – t.

One of the main reasons I'm here right now is because God used a book. About a young single girl, who went to Africa, to follow a desire that He put in her heart to serve the orphaned, widowed and starving. He spoke to me through her testimony and way of life.

And her name?

Katie.

It didn’t hit me until a couple weeks after I was given that new name.

She started her ministery by seeking God and following Him where he would have her go. She is just like me, and anyone else.

I took a leap of faith, just like her. And God blessed her. And my time here has been such a bigger blessing than I could ever imagined.

No one is better than anyone else because of what they have done.

It is simply God in them,

Following Him where he goes, and obeying where he leads.

I thought I could never be like her, serving God in such an amazing way.

But that nickname reminded me that she is just as much a human as I am, and that God can use me for His work and glory, just as much as he has and is using her.

God’s plans are so much greater than anything we can plan ourselves.