updates

updates from Africa:

Everything is still going as planned and very well. we have been working in the orphanage by day and beach/town/devotionals by night.

Sunday we went to the english service at 7 am at the methodist church Ebenezer. it was so different and so beautiful at the same time. It made my heart warm to know that we were singing the same Christmas songs here in church as my family is back home, thousands and thousands of miles away. Although my heart is still a little selfish, I am working on that with God and I will continue to shine his light as my faith in him grows stronger. Please pray for this as I am on my walk and journey towards eternity.

We have had a few scares but not to worry- God has backed us up and remained ever so faithful. Gosh our God is mighty faithful, I can assure you of that! 4 of our friends from our group are leaving Wednesday. Tomorrow is their last day here in Ghana and at the orphanage.. We are sad they are leaving us and they will be deeply missed. We pray that they will remember what God has shown, taught, and reminded them over here in Ghana during their stay. Tomorrow we will go to the orphanage, play with the kids, and put on our christmas skit we have prepared then I imagine we will spend our last night here at Lagoon Lodge playing with Kwami, Evance, and Richmond (our three little friends from the hotel/village here). We have grown to love them as if they were family. Audrey and I have had a few wonderful experiences with Kwami I will have to share later. Although I will still be in Winneba at the orphanage, I know my heart will be longing for them and I will miss them so dearly. Anyway, Wednesday we will go to Accra and stay for a couple of nights and send our group off to the airport to head back home then we will be finishing up the rest of our stay at the orphanage in one of the cottages. This will be a wonderful experience and I am so thankful for that! 

Prayer requests:

 Please pray for our brothers in Christ who we have grown so close to and share such a tight bond: Kwami (8 years old), Evance (10 years), and Richmond (11 years). They are starving not only for food, but for the Lords food; and only he will be able to make them full so we pray that they will continue to know the Father and that he will be able to feed them while we are away and not able to. We pray ever so deeply for them.

Please pray for a woman Clint and Adam met in town today whose foot is swollen beyond belief. Clint says it was worse than he imagined it to be. We pray that The Lord will heal her and fill her with the Holy Spirit and she will be cured. We have faith in our Lord who is ever so faithful. 

Our hearts go out to the children at Rafiki and we pray for their compassion and understanding of our Father. We pray that they will be blessed this Christmas season and that our warmth will be shared with them from our Father. 

Please pray for our wonderful hotel staff who has gone out of their way to make our stay warm and comfortable. They have been more than great. That is an understatement. We have formed close relationships and tight bonds and we pray that we will see them as people rather than as workers and we can lift them up in spirit tomorrow, our last day at the Lodge. We thank God so much for the joy they have brought to our hearts!!

Please pray for Richard, who we met at the beach last year, and we saw him again tonight. He is a Christian and he wants to have a close relationship with the Lord. However, his father is making it difficult for him because he is not a Christian and he is still with the traditional church. He will not let Richard attend church and serve the Lord, so we pray that God will use Richard as a tool and his father will see the light God has put in Richards face and he will come to know our wonderful and ever so greatful Father. 

Of course we pray for all of our friends and families back home in America and we love you all and are so thankful for each and every one of you guys. This trip has definately made us all more thankful of everything back home, and we pray that we can somehow be an inspiration to those back home this Christmas. We pray that all of you will celebrate the real meaning of Christmas and not get all wrapped up in the holiday cheer. Because, that defeats the purpose of Christmas, right? And if it weren't for our LORD Jesus we wouldn't be celebrating Christmas in the first place. So thank you to the Father who sent his ONLY son to DIE for our sins.... we are so thankful for our Lord this Christmas :)

And not to forget us, please pray for myself and our team this Christmas as we are shining the Lords light and spreading his word to all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Through his EVERLASTING love,

Catherine

finally in Africa- home away from home

Gosh Where to start? Hello to all my family and friends and whoever reading- we FINALLY made it to Ghana (yay!) After two days-ish of traveling and four days in Africa, we are all settled in and getting cozy at Lagoon Lodge! Lets see we left Jackson, MS on the 11th and flew to Memphis (had a 6 hour delay there) then met up with Shelley and Sarah and all flew together to Amsterdam and then to Accra! Funny little traveling story- As we were going through the security checkpoint Adam decided it would be funny if we tried to put a penny in Clint's pocket so the metal detector would go off.... well it didn't work and I don't think Clint had any idea soooo as I followed behind of course the detectors go off on me..... thanks Adam for setting me up with quarters! So anyway we arrived in Accra, Ghana that night and checked into a guest house for the night. Food was yummy, since I slept on both flights all of my sleep was messed up so I accidentally slept until 12:30ish (whoops) The next day we drove a while a way to Winneba and checked into our fancy hotel at Lagoon Lodge! Oh how I've missed you! The first day here (the 13th) we couldn't wait to go to Rafiki so Mathaias packed us all up and took us onto the orphanage! Oh that was sooo exciting! I didn't think we would get to see the kids until the next day because it was already late. It brought such joy to my heart that I could see the little faces once again. It made me so happy! So anyway the past couple of days we have been working in the orphanage then going to the beautiful beach in the late afternoon and ending our evenings with devotional and down time. Its so beautiful here I wish all of you could experience what I am experiencing. Using the word beautiful, I mean the beauty in the works of God in just three days. We have seen and experienced so much already so who's to know whats next to happen. Its amazing how our Father is working in each and every one of us. Its like we have all grown to be family already and we are working through each other, and of course the Lord is working through us! Praise him for that!!!

So on another note just aside from everything else. I want to let you all know what has been on my heart lately. I've been talking with my mom and a couple of my friends and I am hearing everything that is going on back home and being "updated" or "posted" Christmas parties, events, occasions, everything in between. From the I miss yous and I love yous I have really been doubting myself. With questions like why am I here? What have I gotten myself into? What have I signed up for? What 20 year old spends Christmas away from their family in another COUNTRY, across the WORLD? I even feel a little guilty, it being the first Christmas with a new family (note: mom got married day after Thanksgiving) I love my family and miss them so dearly and I want to be home so bad. A couple of nights ago I just kinda broke. I was wondering WHY I was here. What was my purpose. I got lots of encouragement and I know that God has called me to be here and thats simply why I am here on this Christmas. Its kind of like I am suffering and drowning in my own thoughts. Not so much suffering, but selfishness in a sense. Wanting to be home. talking to family and longing to be there instead of here. God has shown me that God uses the hardships and pain life brings our way to mature us. I've heard that "suffering is the greatest teacher..... and the crown of life" Its so true. Our faith is being tested here, and when our faith is tested we have the opprotunity to develop spiritual character as we persevere through the storms and feelings of doubt, worriness, pain, and suffering we are all experiencing. Just like when Paul testified to the character-building value of suffering in Romans 5:3-4 he says "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope." Paul also brings me hope as he developed the gift of compassion through his afflictions, he praised in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 "the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God."

So from these verses I have learned a lot in the few days I have been here. The trials we are faced with strengthen our souls as we journey towards heaven.

I want to share with you just one more thing. There are these two boys Eufrance and Quomoe (I'm not sure how to spell their names exactly) but they live in the village where our hotel is and are the sweetest little boys I have ever met. I promise you God is using us to minister to these two children. They remember our faces six months later and still cling onto us as if we were family. We had obviously touched them very significantly the last time we were here in May. They have been walking with us to the beach, waiting at the gate of the hotel every day for us to get back from the orphanage, swinging in our eno hammocks, peeking their heads through the little holes in the fence at dinner. They just want to be with us. At dinner I saw Adam put a bunch of rice in a waterbottle and stuck it through the fence. Unsure of what he was doing, after dinner I went to the fence to have a look. Sure enough I saw their two little heads. this was like 30 minutes later. They were still there. I spoke with them for quite some time and we discussed Jesus and Christmas and the beach and all the fun stuff. (I learned last year that their mom had died and their dad was off living in another town) It was dark out and the boys are about 9 and 12 maybe. I was wondering what they were doing out so late. As we were talking about the Lord Eufrance told me that he wanted a bible for Christmas. I started crying. What little boy wants a bible for Christmas? I'm not judging all little boys but most of them would ask for a playstation or a dirtbike or something ridiculous and expensive. This little boy asked me for a BIBLE. He was so excited when I told him we would be here for Christmas. These boys are starving. They ate rice we had given them and were still hungry. They need more than food, they need Jesus. They aren't hungry for food, but they are hungry for faith. It touched me so much that they asked me for a bible that I couldn't stop myself from crying. All of this suffering and pain I have been talking about the past couple of days doesnt even COMPARE to the suffering these boys are feeling. And they long for a relationship with Jesus. Jesus is their only hope. When things are going smoothly, we tend to get distracted and think that everything is going fine and there are no worries in the world. When we are faced with obstacles in life we have no other choice but to turn to God. Thats what these boys are doing. They have no other hope but to turn to the Lord and it makes my heart break and smile at the same time. I wish so badly that I could take them into a Sports Authority for christmas and let them go crazy. Like Adam said tonight, they deserve it. I don't even know what its like to be starving. And I know all of you have no IDEA what it is like to be starving. It tangles my mind how God is wellknowing of all of this and Isaiah 45:7 lets us know that God "forms the light and creates darkness,  bring prosperity and create disaster, I, the LORD, do all these things." I'm struggling so much with this right now. I guess God is testing them too and through this these two boys are putting everything aside and putting our good SAVIOR first. It makes my heart sooooo warm and happy.

As we continue our works here, we are searching for bibles for the boys. We are going to see which we think would best fit for them. Seeing as they are pretty young, we do not think they know english well enough to read an english bible, but do not think they are suitable for reading Fanti, their language, either. The Lord will definately give us an answer soon, I am sure of it. Because I am certain that we need to give these children bibles for christmas and teach them of the good Lord. Oh and good news: they are going with us to church on Sunday (yay!!)

Please continue praying, it all means so much and is greatly appreciated. It is a six hour time change ahead of America and we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow! I will try and keep you all informed, please pass this blog onto all other family members and friends so everyone can continue praying for us and the lives we are blessed to touch. I love you guys I miss you all so much but I will be home before you know it... time has already flown by! I said it in May, and I will say it again, there needs to be more time for me to be here doing God's work!

Through his faithfulness and love,

Catherine

4 days

We leave for Africa in four days. I've started packing today... just getting everything in order for our trip! Me and mom went to Dollar Tree today and collected lots of elf and santa hats for the kids to wear in the orphanage! I am so excited to get back, exams are (surprisingly) not holding me back any :)

Please pray for safe travels and safety over in Ghana. Also keep us in our prayers as we are away from our families during the holiday season and Christmas; we will surely miss you guys!! I will try to keep this blog updated during my stay, so continue following me to view updates from our trip! I will try and keep everyone informed!

With love,

Catherine

30 days....

30 days

until Africa

Lets see... this is approaching so fast! I still feel like just yesterday I was in Ghana with the crew from the summer! You know you love something when thats all you think about. It consumes your mind and wraps around your heart. I am in love with my savior and best friend, Jesus Christ, but also the little kids in Ghana. I can't wait to get back. 

Christmas is approaching and I see everyones facebook status' and twitter tweets about starting to enjoy the Christmas music and celebrate the holidays. People are getting their Christmas trees, turning on Christmas music, decorating in Christmas spirit, counting down the days until Christmas, and doing all the fun Christmas things. But I feel as if people look forward to Christmas for the wrong reasons. Of course its fun and exciting to be opening presents gathered around family and loved ones, but if we didn't have Jesus in our lives, there would be no Christmas. He is the reason for all of our cheer and all of our happiness the month of December (and even before Thanksgiving, people start celebrating early.. ha) He is the reason we open presents. He is the reason we listen to Christmas music. 

He is the reason we are alive. 

He died for our sins.

We celebrate for him, but why can't we celebrate for him every day? 

Why do people get so happy about the Christmas holiday but do not go to church on a regular basis or do not have a relationship with the Father? It doesn't seem fair that they get to live happily and open presents and do all the fun things you do during Christmas when they don't even have faith. 

Our parents have always taught us to be good because Santa is watching and he can put us on his naughty or nice list depending on our actions. But why the metaphor? Why couldn't they just say God is watching and our sins determine our future. Isn't Santa's naughty list like the list God has of all our sins? And why do we still get presents after we have been "naughty"? We shouldn't consume our thoughts and happiness around the materialistic things and all the presents we get to open. Who cares if you got a 100 dollar NorthFace or some Ugg boots for Christmas. Does that honestly make you happy? Faith and love are the biggest presents you can get. And God is giving them to us not on Christmas, not during the month of December, but every single day. Through the sun and through the storm you can find God's everlasting love. 

I pray that this Christmas, while I am in Africa, my friends and family will reflect on the real meaning of Christmas. I pray that during the holiday cheer and Christmas music and facebook Christmas countdowns you will find the biggest present of all. You will experience Jesus and praise him for the life you have been given. He died for us so why can't we live EVERYDAY for him?

With love,

Catherine

countdown

52 days until we head off for Africa

I'm getting anxious...

.... please keep us in your prayers :)

Can't wait to see the little kiddos again; I think of their smiling faces often 

On another note: We are selling Tshirts to help raise money for the orphanage and for our mission team... please contact me if you'd like a tshirt.... $15

The middle picture is a snapshot of the Tshirts we are selling to sponsor Rafiki Orphanage. The shirts will be green with this logo on the front and the word "Rafiki," which means friend (and is also the name of the orphanage we will be working in), will be in yellow. Please contact me ASAP if you would like to purchase one. 

I will also be selling them at Germantown United Methodist youth on Sunday evenings in the OLEC at 6pm.

God bless.

   With love,

   Catherine

"Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me." -Matthew 25:40

How much water do you consume daily? How much water are we "suppose" to consume daily? How easily is it for you to access clean water? How much water takes up our universe? How much water do you waste? 

We don't even think about water as a privilege. Water is just given to us. At least we think so... All of you reading this are living in decent homes with water available to you 24/7. Hopefully you are paying your water bills, and you have access to clean water. You can bathe, you can drink, you can make foods, you can brush your teeth, and on and on the list goes with all we can do with water. Did you know that we are suppose to drink around 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated? That is about 1.9 liters of water our bodies should be consuming on a daily basis. Water makes up about 60 percent of our body weight. Every system in your body depends on water. water flushes toxins out of our bodies, water carries nutrients to your cells, water is what causes moistness in your ears for hearing, water causes us to stay hydrated, water causes us to breathe, water keeps our bodies functioning. Basically, we cannot live without water. 

About 70 percent of our world is covered in WATER. There is roughly 326,000,000,000,000,000,000 gallons of water found on our planet. If we are suppose to drink something like 1.9 liters of water DAILY, where does the rest of this water go? Americans use close to (on average) 80 to 100 gallons of water a day. The average African uses about 1.5 liters of water a day. That is about .396 gallons a day. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? While we are using 80 to 100 gallons of water daily, Africans are not even having access to at least ONE GALLON OF WATER A DAY! How are we suppose to read about this and do nothing about it? We know what is going on and we do nothing about it. Time to step up. Make a difference. Make a change. Do something. Act.  

Deuteronomy 15:11 says 

"There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." 

 Remember, we are all living on THE SAME PLANET! We are all living on the same land. This our not our land. This is our God's land and he is calling on us to help others living on the same grounds. 

This is happening all around the world and we are doing nothing about it. If we want water, we can get water within a matter of seconds. If Africans want water, they have to send their little ones miles and miles away to fetch water for their whole family. It may just be one gallon of water a day for the whole family. One gallon of water a day for one family. ONE GALLON. ONE FAMILY. Don't forget they also have to bathe, brush their teeth, wash their clothes, do everything we do in America. Just with less water. Oh and the water they are hiking miles to fetch is not fresh by any means. They are collecting their water from ponds, lakes, and what is close to being called a sewer. Their water is not crystal clear like we have over in America. Their water is brown, muddy, disease infested. One child dies every 15 seconds in Africa due to dirty water. Can you imagine dying from something as preventable as dirty water? We just do not see that happening over in the States. Imagine doing everything you need to do in a day with one gallon of water ..........to share with your whole family. Ok, thats nuts. 

People on the same planet as us are DYING from not having enough water. You know how it feels to be dehydrated. Your mouth is all cotton-ish and sometimes its hard to breathe. Its not fun. Imagine being dehydrated your whole life. Not fun. 

Darfur is just another story. There is a genocide going on in Darfur right now. I can't even wrap my mind around this.  The people are killing each other. On top of this suffering, they do not even have clean water. This is not the only problem in Darfur either. This issue is only a small percentage of the things going wrong over there. I cannot raise awareness about everything. That is why this is so difficult. This is only ONE issue. ONE SMALL ISSUE. There are millions. But still, they have no access to clean water. They are afraid. Afraid to leave their homes to get water in fear they may be captured. caught. shot. raped. murdered. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING! I can't even imagine how hard it may be for them to walk outside of their homes and be captured. captivated. murdered.  

Again, how can we read about something and do nothing about it? How can we pretend that this is not going on? How can we go back to our normal lives, while others are dying? How can we drink water out of our faucets and how can we shower every day knowing that the Africans are suffering right now because they have no water? I know every single one of you reading this right now has access to one dollar. Did you know that one dollar can give a child in Africa clean water for a WEEK? I know that I have many family members and many friends who can afford to give to the poor and needy, the real question is who will actually do it? 

Raise support. 

Build wells.

Ensure clean water.

www.firstgiving.com/catherinelivesay

       With love,

      Catherine

Hurt

How many of you have been hurt? Hurting from the heart, hurting from grief, hurting from physical pain, emotional pain, hurting from the heartbreak of others, hurting for others. There is so much hurt in the world. All kinds of hurt. Its a simple word. But a huge concept. 

Colossians 3:13 reminds us to "Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

People hurt each other. Here in America, we are overcome with gossip and painful feelings towards one another. People talk. People lie. People do bad things to each other. Its just one of those things you cannot seem to get rid of. But we, as Christians, need to remember to get over ourselves, quit gossiping, and quit hurting one another. I have witnessed best friends talking about each other then turning around hanging out with each other as if nothing ever happened in the first place. 

This is all sin. This is not right. This is hurt. This is causing pain.

During Sunday night youth group, we were trying to teach the kids that once you say something negative to one another or towards one another, you simply cannot take it back. Just like how you cannot empty a whole tube of toothpaste and turn around and try to shove it all back in the tube. Its just impossible. Of course you can apologize and ask for forgiveness to whom you spoke about and to God, but you literally cannot take back the hurt. You cannot take back the words you said. People just need to think before they speak.. and that is extremely hard to do. 

I think about all the hurt and pain that goes on within my group of friends and within my family and I have realized that most of the hurt and pain we have experienced has come from gossip, "he said she said," and just simply doing wrong to others. 

Then I think about all the pain and hurt the people in Africa are experiencing. They are not experiencing the same hurt we are. They do not worry about what others think, or what someone is saying about them today, or what this girl did at a party last night and "Oh my gosh can you believe that?!?!" (...well maybe some of them are, but thats besides the point) They are hurting physically and emotionally. Most of the people in Africa are not getting enough food and water to survive. Did you know that every 15 seconds a child in Africa dies from something as preventable as dirty water? Can you just imagine that? I want you to imagine yourself walking miles and miles to a nearby mud lake infested with disease and germs. Now you have to fill up a bucket of water, place it on your head, and walk back to your house..... oh and don't forget its about 90 degrees outside and your head is pounding with this massive bucket. You drink this water, of course this is the only source of water available to you. Within 30 minutes you are throwing up. The water you just drank cannot stay down in your stomach. You are sick, in the hospital, and next thing you know you are dying. 

Now, this is not the case for us over in America. But this is reality over seas. And all we have to do is walk downstairs, turn on the faucet and there you go... water at the tip of our fingertips.. fresh clean clear water within seconds.

So, no, the people half way across the world are not experiencing our hurt we are experiencing. Why are we so consumed with trash talking our best friends and worrying what others do around us and what they are saying about us? There are greater and deadlier issues we can worry about than talking about what Sally Sue wore out last night.

The bible tells us that “a perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28). Why do we need to lose close friends over something as preventable as gossip, and why do the Africans need to physically lose each other over something as preventable as dirty water? 

We can make a difference. 

www.firstgiving.com/catherinelivesay

   With love,

   Catherine

THE experience

My Video:

With love,

Catherine

Starting the journey...

My mother convinced me to start blogging about my journey. I guess she wants to follow me when I return to Africa in December. Maybe it is a good idea... I know she'll miss me over Christmas (hehe) So where to start?
I'm new to this so you'll have to bare with me but I guess I'll start off by saying our God is the greatest God. I had the opprotunity to travel half way across the world with The Wesley Foundation at Mississippi State over the summer. We went to Ghana in West Africa and I immediately fell in love. From culture shocks to unconditional love I had for these children, I knew there was not enough time for me to be over there. I had to go back. When I returned to the States in June all I could think about were those kids over in the orphanage. We fell in love with them. Our group worked in a Methodist Orphanage called Rafiki. There were 18 children ages 2-7. Of course there were language barriers (especially for me since I am slow at grasping other languages... and much of everything, but God made it all work out) I am so happy he placed Rafiki on my heart. A day wouldn't go by when I would not think about those kids. What were they doing? Were they playing games? Were they smiling? Were they happy? Were they feeling the love and warmth that Clint, Adam, Derek, and Micah were giving them? (8 of us from Mississippi State went over the summer and 4 of us came back to the States early, 4 stayed all summer). I knew that these kids were alright with Clint, Adam, Derek, and Micah but I guess a selfish side of me popped out and I just really wanted to go back and be with them. After this I realized that I needed to do something, much greater go back.....and SOON! I was so happy when the 8 of us met up again a few weeks and had a reunion dinner at Old Waverly. (well all of us except Micah that is... sorry Micah, but you missed out!) Tim announced that he was working for us to go back in December! What great news that was! There are going to be two trips that we are planning... We will all leave for Ghana December 11th and some will get back to the States December 22nd. The other group will stay through Christmas and return to the States December 30th. I thought and prayed long and hard about this for about two weeks. I realized that when I went over the summer there was just simply not enough time, there was so much to do and so much to be taught that I had to go back for longer next time I would return.
Christmas is a huge deal in my family. My mom is one of seven brothers and sisters and December is the only time our whole family is able to come together during the year. We have a whole week before Christmas where there are many events planned and much to do. Don't get me wrong it is so much fun and I absolutely LOVE my family. But I know these children need me more than my family does. It will be hard being away from my family during the holidays but I need as much time as possible with the children. I think I may even need the kids more than they need me :) hehe.. They teach me what its like to be calm and not worry about what tomorrow will bring. And see, I am a bit of a worrier. I don't know why, but I worry a TON! I also get stressed about the littlest of things and angry over what seems to be nothing. With Gods help (of course) these children taught me there was more to life than being frightful, fearful, worried, and angry. There was never a second while I was there when I was worried, scared, fearful, or angry. Never a second. I was happy. I was so happy just to sit and be with these kids. How could they be so happy and not have half the "things" we have over in America?  It blew my mind. Our lives and houses and apartments are so consumed with "stuff" and we are unhappy. We argue, we gossip, we lie, we are selfish, we are angry, of course we are not perfect by any means but these kids over in Africa don't have half of the "stuff" (not even a quarter) we have. We are so obsessed with having the best of the best and our lives are consumed with "stuff". And we still have bitterness in our lives. How? These kids have next to nothing, but they do have the most important thing- God. And thats what we are continuing to teach them about. I want to be happy. I want to live less and give back more.
Thanks for listening....or reading :)