Home to Melbourne - Family and Friends (one and the same)

Canberra - immediate family and friends ... worked for a week ... rested a bit. Then it was off to Melbourne ... my home away from home where so many of my closest and dearest dwell.
There were too many pics to just put 4 in so you get the whole lot! The bottom one sums up my time ... MY GIRLS = MY BLESSINGS!!
There was lots of talking about the past year, talking about the future and LEAVING AGAIN for another 2 years. There was even ANOTHER 30th BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME!! heheheh will it ever end ... doesn't seem like it!
This was an incredible time of love for me. When you are away you stop you heart remembering how much you love people so it won't hurt so much. But being back with so many of my wonderful friends and family ... it just showed me how incredibly blessed I am to have SO MANY people in my life who truly love and accept me. There are no words ... these weeks were overwhelming ... I am SO BLESSED.
On a personal note it was a challenging time. To get back to South Africa and do what God has called me to do next I need to raise a support team. I went into this time at home thinking that I knew how God was going to provide the money. At the first sign of things not going according to the "Katie Plan" I freaked out. It became obvious that my faith in God's ability to provide was minimal ... if existing at all. What a hypocrite. I had a nice little reality check, was reminded by people and situations of how faithful God has been in the past year ... and my WHOLE LIFE and then I mellowed out.
It is still really daunting the idea of trusting God to raise the support (both financially and spiritually) that I need to return and yet I know that HE HAS GOT THIS ... just like He has everything else so far.
I got the chance to speak in a few places and had some great times with my old church. I am still looking to speak wherever I can while I am home ... I am doing all this stuff overseas ... I just want to bless the Australian church while I am here. My heart just gets bigger and bigger for my country and community ... though I will not be here for long and it may sound cliche, but I really do just want to give back somehow. Teaching is what I do so that is how it is coming.
Thanks for the prayers for support and direction ... please continue to pray for more doors to open while I am home to bless the Aussie church (if you have any ideas in your area ... PLEASE LET ME KNOW).
Ahhhhh HOME ... What a challengingly comfortable time this is going to be!

HOME - time to party

I arriving into Sydney to see my mum's beautiful face made the HOME reality kick in. As did the next 3 hours in traffic! I got back and the first weekend it was my vivacious (mini-me) niece's 4th birthday.

In the middle of the party I had a little bit of that wonderful thing called culture shock. There I was surrounded by white children with lots of presents and lollies and their parents talking about many differing things, all in English and then there was me. I have to get back into this. It wasn't a bad thing, on the contrary ... this is great and it is my home ... it has just been a while since I understood everything that was being said and yet didn't really understand at all. hehehehh - no news for a year makes it hard to have interesting conversations about life.
But that feeling quickly went away and it was all just fun. As I played with my sister's kids and watched the people I loved ... I realised that life really is an incredible gift ... this part of my gift may have commercial breaks (a few years here and there away) but it will always be the best thing I ever did!

You get that I love my family right!

My way home - Auckland with Annie

OH how to I even begin to explain my trip home. It took 10 days ... there were 3 huge flights (Capetown to London = 12 hours + London to LA = 13 hours THEN 9 hour LAYOVER IN LAX + LA to Auckland = 14 hours) but praise the Lord I survived. And apart from a moment in London when I thought I was upgraded but then the seat was ripped out from under me (a few ALMOST TEARS) the 4 days of flying was fine. God really got me when He reminded me that this succession of tickets was more than 40 people's annual wage in Tanzania and God had provided ever cent. So how can you complain!! Everything was really good ... thanks for the prayers.
I cannot tell you how great it was to get off that last plane and run into the arms of my incredible friend Annie! Oh 4 days of heaven!! You know those people who just let you be your worst and still see you as if it were your best ... those are my close friends and this girl is one of those.
She literally just let me do nothing and yet I felt so complete. We just chilled with her man and ate great food, trained with her PT (and I almost threw up twice ... yep first for me). It was such a blessing. By the time I got back on the plane to go to Sydney and finish my year abroad (to the day) ... I was completely refreshed and ready for the next stage thanks to Resort A la Annie!
Auckland and Annie ... what more could I have asked for.

Tanzania - Teaching hard core servants is incredible

The team is back together after being separate for almost a week. We piled in the back of a very small truck with all of the shopping for the bible college and our gear and were off. It was really fun to be driving through Tanzania with the wind in my hair!
We reached International Evangelism Outreach - a bible college that takes in 80-100 students free of charge, trains them up for 6 months and then EVERY STUDENT starts a church or ministry. These guys are HARD CORE. They get up at 3 am to pray for 3 hours then breakfast, classes all morning ... afternoon classes ... then work duties ... then night classes and sleep at 10pm. Everyone lives in dorms so married couples have to sleep separately for the 6 months. They put me to shame ... but boy do they love God.
This college is funded completely by support from the states. They have a huge truck that drills water wells ... and people constantly come to help out doing specialised things. We have already met a Internet genius from Seattle (hence the wireless) and a great family from the Seattle region who take incredible pics (you will see some soon - as he took pictures for my prayer cards). Just being on these grounds shows me that NOTHING is out of God's reach and we should ALWAYS PRAY BIG!!
Teaching has been hard, there have been many lessons learnt through great and hard times. Our schedule changes daily. We had 2 weeks teaching but the students have to harvest in the midst of this time so our teaching time gets cut and they are tired but so passionate. It is sad to know that this is my 2nd last week in Tanzania but I really love these people and their language. I will try to keep learning Swahili when I leave and would love to bring another team of teachers back here one day soon!
You learn quickly in Africa that you do not need much to give much and feel blessed. I feel like I have learnt more from the people than they have from me. Beautiful!

Tanzania - Life in the Village

Oh the village ... what a start. I got my first "welcome to Africa" stomach bug. This is where you look for every toilet possible and your stomach tries to kill you from the inside. Fun for everyone. Even funner when you have a squatty to work with and a less that accurate ability to control everything. The picture shows the "Choo" (toilet in Swahili) that I sat on ... yes I covered the whole thing with TP and sat because I was so concerned about making a mess on our first day in the village in the Churches one toilet. You know me ... I sat there pooping and laughing so hard I cried. Such a funny and humiliating experience ... had to share it with the whole world!
The time in the village was great. Our team split as half needed to go to Nairobi to go to the Dr so Paul and I went to the village. This was my "practice leading" gig so it was an interesting time. We slept in tents and were feed like kings (as everywhere in Tanzania) to the point that we were going to explode and they gave us another helping!
Teaching here was crazy. The schedule changed regularly and this pic of the two lights is actually me teaching 80 people (50 kids 30 adults). It was a real time of growth as personal space was a myth. A group of kids would stand outside my tent for at least 1/2 hour discussing loudly who would go into the Mesungu's (white person - we hear that one alot) tent. It is funny but sometimes you just want space. hehehhehe. It was a great week of growing in God, as a teacher and just letting go of comfort zones. But I can definitely say I am becoming a teacher and really starting to like this stuff.

Tanzania - The Massi

Everywhere we teach people ask us if God is white and why then did He make black people look different. We explain that Jesus was not white but it is just that many of the images that people see are made in the "western" countries where people like to make Jesus look like them. So sad that in the school we see why people ask us ... even in Massi land ... Jesus is white.

This is said to be one of the last true tribes in the whole world. When you think of Tribal ... this is it. The Massi men traditionally became men only after killing a lion with their own hands. The women, wow ... these women work. The men marry many women and it is the woman's job to provide for her husband. So she has to cook for him ... so that she can be a worthly wife or he will go and get another one.
The meat of a cow is mostly allocated to being eaten only by men. The women can only eat the intestines and small other parts. The children are next in line after the women ... so often the Massi women and children are malnutrised because all the food has gone to the men. The girls are also circumcised around 13 to prepare them for marriage.
This is a hard life ... they live where it is so dry nothing grows and there is little to no water. They have thatched thorn fences to keep the wild animals out ... yep lions and the like. These guys are incredible ... visiting them was awesome.

Tanzania - Teaching

This is our incredible first group of students. I can say they became friends. They walked with me through the challenging first teaching and loved me inspite of me needing to read from notes and getting stuck once or twice.
They even gave us a gift because during my preaching I talked about how Australia is a warm country so I am looking foward to some warmth ... they presented us with Massi traditional blankets that they wear everyday to keep warm like we would wear a jacket. Very cool.
The seminar confirmed why we are hear and why this teaching is so important. When the group were asked if non-Christians were made in the image of God ... the PASTOR answered proudly "NO". Then later when we were talking about Abraham, the same pastor said that Abraham was not saved. This man was truly a great pastor, head of 15 churches and loved God deeply. Teaching that is just a little "off" from the biblical truth can be devastating. Think about it ... if all people are not made in the image of God then why care about anyone but those that you think ARE created in God's image. That wipes out more than half of God's people who just don't know Him yet. Man, this TRUTH stuff is sooooo important and I feel overwhelmed and excited to be teaching it!

Tanzania - We ARRIVED and BEGAN Teaching

We had a fun 8 hour bus ride from Nairobi, Kenya to Arusha Tanzania ... It is incredible how completely different and yet familiar this all is. The Arusha YWAM base is the bomb! The people are awesome, food is great and we feel at home here.
We began preparing imediately to teach an Overview of the Bible and the Inductive Study Method to a great local church in a 9 days seminar. This teaching thing is completely new. It is so hard to work out exactly how much time everything will take. Not only did we have to teach the next day but I put my hand up (for some reason) to preach our first service. This is what it is all about but it is nerve racking!
The seminar was incredible. We all really loved the people. They just wanted to learn as much as they could about God and His word. Though it freaked me out to teach and preach it was so fruitful and showed me once again that God knows what the deal is even when I am scared to look.
There was a local wedding held at the base ... man if you think Greek weddings are big you have to see a Tanzanian one. They feed 1000 people and have about 30 bridesmaids. We crashed the wedding and it was great fun. I love this country!

Titus South Afrrica and on to Tanzania

This is the view from the room I share with 3 other girls (a crazy Kiwi, sweet Canadian and great american). This place is soooo incredible. It's beauty is surprising and this built up beach town in not what it appears to be. On one hand there are beautiful houses and lots of lovely cafes filled with their token latte drinkers. There are beautiful rolling sets of waves ridden by surfers from around the area and on the same beach is a family who has been homeless for years, begging for food. People say first and third world collides here. You can forget it is "Africa" for a minute and then you see the need and are reminded. This is the place ... where you can see the need and yet take the moment to prepare to meet the need. I feel honoured that God would call me here. What a calling ... beauty and reality! Love that.



TITUS is incredibly stretching. I wasen't sure how they could take the 9 months of brain filling study I have just completed (in the School of Biblical Studies in Montana) and teach me in only 3 weeks how to give it out to others who have the desire to study the word but don't have access to the training and time that I have been gifted. The first practice teaching was so nerve-raking that I wanted to vomit on my lovely audience. Since then I have given a sermon and on Friday I will teach for 2 hours on how to interpret the bible, using Philemon as a practice book. Crazy ... in 3 days we will all leave and begin to teach. Thank God He knows what He is doing sending us, cause I doubt my abilities to do anything lasting.


This is our Tanzania team. Our leader Marysol is the pioneer of Titus here in South Africa, she will be my boss and is a great friend and incredible teacher. I am blessed to be on a team with her ... I am also with my great friend DeWet who has been a faithful study buddy from the beginning of my SBS and will now be my teaching friend across the other side of the world. The man in the middle is Paul and he is a great and solid guy who I am going to learn alot from and through. We will be based in Arusha and teaching seminars on numerous different topics over a 2 month period. We just found out that we will begin teaching our first seminar, an 8 day one, next FRIDAY!! AHHHHH ... please pray for me! This is going to be a great growing time for me and we all need those right!

What a life I have been given. I do not take it lightly ... there is so much to do and I am so flawed but thankfully God has it all in His hands. It is actually really comforting to just be being obedient in everyday and stepping out trusting that He has it all under control. Katie, on the other hand, really does not. heheheh. What a ride this will be. Thanks for doing it with me.

From MT to PA to SA and Tanzania

I left my beloved home of 9 months that caged me in a small room (with a great roommate) and went to Parkesburg PA to see my beautiful friend Emmy and meet her new soon Chase! Emmy's whole family is my family so it has been a wonderfully relaxing time but in a few hours I am on a plane off to South Africa via London (please pray - heavy security right now).

This is where I will be based for the next couple years (isn't it beautiful) ....

And this is where I will be going ... Tanzania but I hope I don't look this silly when I teach! heheheheh. What a life I get to live for God huh!! Not bad!

SBS - Graduation

It is all such a blur. I remember crying after this first pic was taken because it meant that it was all coming to an end. I so love these people. What an impact they have all had on my life. Our leader (Dr - as we called him) Sean Ellis had incredible things to say about all of us. Of me he said I was the social glue of the school, including everyone in all that was going on and yet still kept in my studies and worked hard. Yep ... I knew how to party and I knew (okay God knew) how to get me to knuckle down and do the work.
This was one of the most incredible times of my whole life. I truly thank God for each day I had in His word. I mean who gets to spend that much time just reading God's word. What a blessing. We should all be so blessed.
Thank you all for getting, keeping me here and helping me get through.

SBS - When all is said and done

The day came ... I never thought I would make it here but the last book is handed in. There were 2030 builds (mini teachings) around 4500 hours of study, 200 cups of coffee, great friendships and mind-blowing revelations. End result ...I LOVE THE WORD OF GOD - it is life!!Someone asked me to sum up all that I have learnt - sum up the bible and here it is ...LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE and LOVE OTHER PEOPLE ...Everything else in the bible is just showing you how to do it.Read it ... it is surprising great!!