>To Make You Feel My Love

Posted on October 6, 2008 by Katie

Matt and I are moving. His job (wait – I hate calling it a “job.” It’s his ministry…) is taking us to western Indiana, and in three weeks we’ll be leaving Noblesville. It’s been a hard few weeks leading up to this point. We knew going into United Methodist ministry that we would be moved, but it’s been hard actually experiencing it.

How do I say goodbye to a congregation that has loved me like family? How do I say goodbye to these teenagers we’ve invested so much of ourselves in? How do we pack up our entire life and move it 90 miles away without going totally insane? Living out our last few weeks here will be hard, but it will be essential for us to stay focused and committed right up to the last minute.

We started packing this weekend. We have packed all our books (45 boxes), DVD’s and games (except for the Wii, because come on – we’re completely addicted to Mario Kart). For some reason as soon as the books were packed, this house I’ve been living in for 16 months stopped feeling like home.

We packed Matt’s office last night – books, decorations, more books, etc. It’s been emotional saying goodbye to Emmanuel box by box. We had music playing on Pandora.com (oh my – you must check out this website if you haven’t already. LOVE!). We’re in the middle of packing all of his stuff, and “our song” came on. He stopped what he was doing, grabbed me, and danced with me right there. We were in his tiny office, both sweaty and dirty and dusty from packing, tired and emotional, but we still danced. We were probably both remembering our wedding day when we danced to this song for the first time as husband and wife. We were probably both remembering the night at SIFAT that made that song “ours.” We were probably both thinking about how God had not only sustained us but BLESSED us up to this point in our life together, and we were probably both remembering that God was definitely going to continue to do so as we move on to our new appointment.

It was exactly what I needed. I needed to remember that we are in this together. I needed to just stand face-to-face with my husband and remember that we are a team – partners in this ministry. And I needed to look on his gentle face, stare into his warm hazel eyes, and remember that I am so in love with him still.

When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I would offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

>Itinerant…

Posted on September 25, 2008 by Katie

>Hi internets…

How many ways can I apologize for the hiatus I have been on? Here I took so much time and care in writing the 100 Things about myself, and then I left you high and dry. While I am eternally sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, I am finding it hard to believe that anyone is even still waiting around to hear from me again. If anyone is actually out there reading this, I am sorry. I owe you a steak dinner (or at least some fish sticks and shells & cheese).

To get a better understanding of where I have been the past few weeks, I think it’s best for me to post an e-mail announcement that was sent to my friends and family. It’s the same news, and I don’t really want to re-type it anyway.

Here you go…

Hello friends and family,

As some of you know, Matt is an elder in the United Methodist Church. In the UMC, pastors are appointed to their churches by the bishop and a group of district superintendents who make up the bishop’s cabinet. Elders make vows when they are ordained and commissioned to be fully itinerant – meaning they travel from place to place. Back in the beginning of Methodism, pastors would travel from church to church (usually on horseback) to minister to congregations far and wide. Thankfully, the days of “circuit riders” are long gone, but we are still bound by our vows to be itinerant, and to go where God and the bishop lead.

Now is when we see those vows in action. The bishop and cabinet (and most of all, GOD) have appointed Matt to a new church, and we will be moved to this new appointment by November 1st.

Matt will be the senior pastor of two small, country churches in the western part of the state: Veedersburg UMC and Hillsboro UMC. A parsonage is provided for us, and the house will be in Veedersburg. Veedersburg is a small town (about 2200 people) one mile south of I-74 on SR 41. (We will be about 1 hour and 15 minutes from Mom and Dad’s house on the south side of Indy.) We are sad about leaving our current appointment, but we both are feeling a strong sense of God’s peace in this. We both know without a doubt that this is where we are supposed to go.

We met with the leadership at both churches on Monday, and we were able to tour the parsonage as well. It is a bigger house for us, but it can use some updating! 🙂 We look forward to making this house our home. The congregations are really excited about having a young couple in ministry at their church, and we are excited to go. Matt loves to preach and teach and visit with people, and this new appointment gives him the opportunity to do what he loves. My sister said it best when she pointed out that, “Matt will FINALLY be able to do what he was called to do so long ago!”

I am sad to leave friends we have made here in Noblesville. I am VERY sad to move farther away from family. I am nervous about moving from the Indianapolis area to such a small town. I am VERY nervous about making new friends, and finding my place in Veedersburg. I don’t know yet what will happen with my job. My boss has mentioned the possibility of me working from home, but we haven’t worked out details for sure yet.

We covet your prayers through this transition. We know that the love and prayerful support of our friends and family will carry us far, and that we haven’t reached where we are today without them. I hope we will get to see each other soon. Know that you are always welcome in our home, whether it is in Noblesville, Veedersburg or the Moon!

Love you all,
Katie

>Seeking His Face…

Posted on August 1, 2008 by Katie

>We were in Texas last week with our youth group. We took 14 teenagers to a small town named Carthage (just 2 hours east of Dallas) to do ministry in any way we could. We shoveled rocks in 103 degree heat. We helped host a kids Day Camp at a church in town. We played bingo with people at a nursing home. We painted shelves for a day care. We loved and cared for the people in that town the best way we knew how.

We were hosted by a group called YouthWorks. This group does an AMAZING job at organizing mission trips for groups just like us. If you are wanting to take a group on a mission trip, you should check them out.

At night, after we had worked hard all day, we gathered for “Club” where we thanked God for what he had done in our lives that day, worshipped in song, listened to a lesson, etc. Afterwards we would have time with our church groups for some more discussion, prayer, etc. Each night our group wanted to sing some songs. Thankfully our friend Jeremy brought his guitar, and he was able to lead us in some great songs. One of my favorites we sang last week is this one, “Give Us Clean Hands” by Chris Tomlin…

Thursday night was our last in Texas. At Club time, the YouthWorks staff had arranged a foot washing service. The staff washed the feet of the adult leaders, then we got to turn around and wash the feet of our kids and pray for them individually. Matt and I were washing kids feet, praying for them, etc. when we noticed a commotion going on around us. We turned around to find our kids praying for each other. These kids were gathering around each other (and us), laying hands on each other, praying for each other like we have never seen before. They were all crying, all speaking words of truth to each other…and they knew that Jesus was there. They knew it! It was like a mini-revival just for our group. There they were, seeking God’s face, just like we had sung.

That night was such an answer to prayer! This year has not been easy for me and Matt, and there have been times when I have wanted to call it quits. That night made all of that pain and frustration worth it. After everything was coming to an end that night, I just collapsed on Matt’s shoulder and sobbed. Thank you Jesus…this is so worth it.