Update

I'm not sure if anyone is still following or getting email updates, but I've since moved my blog to www.astandardofgrace.wordpress.com to chronicle my time stateside and more consistently, after a year and a half of not blogging, so feel free to follow there!

-Kaitlyn

The first time I was ever published.

5 procrastination-proof programs for studying | USA TODAY College

This isn't what I usually blog about, but my first real story was published in USA Today, so it would be awesome if you checked it out!

A Good Word.

It's no secret that I absolutely love the church I go to here in Gainesville. A huge part of that love is due to the fact that it's so missions oriented, giving 50 percent of its income to missions around the world. This past Sunday, we had the chance to hear from missionary Sam, a missionary First Assembly of Gainesville supports in India where he rescues children from human trafficking. India and human trafficking, two things that are incredibly closed to my heart.

The Lord never ceases to amaze me with how he provides when his people step out in faith. This past weekend, $125,000 dollars was raised towards this ministry.

http://michaelpatz.com/2012/10/16/fathers-heart-human-trafficking/

I wanted to share Pastor Mike's thoughts from this past weekend, because I really feel like they reiterate what the body here is feeling. Enjoy! (If you get the chance, listen to last weeks sermon online too!)

Wi-Fi Passwords and Krishna Lunches

          I still have the tiny slip of paper on which the Wi-Fi password to the second hostel where we stayed in Delhi is written. It's tucked away in my laptop sleeve and occasionally, when I pull out my computer in class to take notes or to finish homework, it falls out too. I notice the meticulous handwriting of each number, even though it's now pretty folded and crumbled up. There's nothing particularly special about it either. Just a series of numbers written ever so carefully by the hand of the Indian man who quietly worked at the front desk and would timidly smile at each American as they bounced through the lobby each morning. It's a useless password. I don't have it memorized and I doubt that I'll ever be in that same hostel in the near future, but time after time, I reach to find a crumpled up sheet of paper in my bag.It's comforting and the ink on the page is a connection to the country that holds my heart.

         One of my dear sorority sisters has a huge heart for the country of Uganda. The other day, she told me something that really resonated with me. She said after she came home from Uganda, she realized how personal and deep our relationship with God is. She was reminded that her heart was created to love the people of Uganda, and they were created in the image of God for such a time as this, and she to live in communion with them, even when they were all simply going about their daily lives thousands of miles away. This is how I feel about India.

         Every day, I am reminded of what I've learned there. From walking to class and hearing Indian students speak in their native tongues, to passing by Krishna lunch in Plaza of the Americas everyday,  (Though I still don't think my stomach can handle anything that resembles Indian food.) to a Bollywood song randomly coming up on my ipod, I am reminded of the beautiful, complex and at times confusing culture of India.

To make a long story short, I miss India. Each day, with each small reminded I'm given of India, I'm reminded to keep an eternal perspective. This is a verse in Deuteronomy that I read this morning. It reminded me so much about India, especially since for the month of October, that's the country I'm praying for. Regardless of the country I'm in, it was such a good reminder that I was not made for this world, but each place I go I am called there for a purpose; to bring the kingdom a little closer each day.

"makes sure orphans and widows are treated fairly, takes loving care of foreigners by seeing that they get food and clothing.

You must treat foreigners with the same loving care—

remember, you were once foreigners in Egypt.

Reverently respect God, your God, serve him, hold tight to him,

back up your promises with the authority of his name.

He’s your praise! He’s your God!

He did all these tremendous, these staggering things

that you saw with your own eyes." Deuteronomy 10:18-21

        

Eyes on Eternity: Perspective, Part 1

"There are far better things ahead than any we leave behind." - C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis always seemed to have a good word of wisdom, and this is probably one of my favorite quotes from him.
I was constantly reminded when I was in India, how we're not meant for here, we're meant for our father's heavenly kingdom for eternity. India gave me a new perspective on things that I am constantly thinking about every day. Today, I came across Pastor Mike's (From the church I go to here in Gainesville, First Assembly) blog post on this same topic, that everyone should definitely check out.
It's good Monday morning encouragement.
Poor Shamu

"He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." Ecclesiastes 3:11

Home is where the heart is.

    I seriously failed at updating this once I got back in the United States. I have, in fact, made it home safe and sound and have already finished one week of classes back in Gainesville.

    I arrived back in the United States around 1 a.m. on August 11th and in the comfort of my pillow-top memory foam bed at 3:30. (seriously, Indian beds are the hardest things in the world, although they told us Americans that they find our soft beds equally uncomfortable.) So far I have unpacked, repacked, worked my last two days at summer camp, baby-sat and visited friends and family before I headed back to school, along with tons of reflecting, processing and thinking.

    Of course, the first question that everyone asks is "how was it?!" I never thought that that simple question could ever be something so difficult to answer. I don't think one word could ever do this experience justice and as time moves on, I feel like my answer will continue to evolve. It's easy to say it was a "good" trip or "trip of a lifetime" type cliche answers peppered with stories of animals in the streets, casual exchanges about the food, culture and weather, and the occasional joke of how Americans don't have the leg muscles to use Indian toilets, but these surface stories and impressions could never do a country as complex and incredible as India justice.
    There are sights, sounds and experiences that you just have to experience first hand to describe. How does a simple one-word answer describe a huge country of one billion people? Or the vulnerability I felt as a minority for the first time? How do I replicate the feeling of constantly being stared at or having your picture taken where ever I went? How do I articulate the questioning of all that I have ever known, and my own purpose in the world, or whether I was just another idealistic college student?
   One thing that India did was make me feel small. Obviously, when you enter a country full of a sixth of the world's population, you are going to feel tiny, miniscule, and utterly unimportant and vulnerable. That feeling only lasts a week though. I soon found that it was liberating. That feeling of "smallness" meant that I didn't have to do it all, (Or, I guess it reaffirmed my previous blog posts.) That I was free to discover and make mistakes. It showed me that eternity is so much bigger than I could ever wrap my weak mind around.

   For now, I guess it's safe to say that the trip was good. It was nothing that I could ever plan for or expect, and it's still difficult to articulate all my experiences as I'm still reflecting and learning exactly what the trip taught me. It's definitely safe to say that I fell in love with India and have a serious case of wanderlust, so please be patient with me and give me grace if I can't give perfectly clear and concise answers to your questions, but I promise answers will come soon enough. 

Home (Indian style)

               No, I'm not back in the United States yet, but after visiting north India, (Delhi and Rajasthan) experiencing the world's largest power outage, riding a camel and an elephant, some bouts of E.Coli and crazy allergic reactions and an ear infection, we're back in what we consider our Indian home at the MCC campus in Chennai.

For the time that we lost power/didn't have internet access, here's what you missed.

Most days we would have to get up around 6:30-7:00 to be ready for breakfast at 8. (pretty rough for some college students)

Following that, we would either have a 3 hour class session, or a day long visit to local NGOs or guest lectures.

Usually we got home around 8, and had dinner at 9 (Again, that took some adjusting), had a debrief session about the day, then went to bed. We also had a few free days in Jaipur and Delhi, so I got to explore, see India up close and personal as well as visit the Taj Mahal and complete my childhood dream of riding an elephant.
I've learned so much on this trip, both academically and about myself. I've seen things I can never unsee and have learned things I can never unknow. It's been a trip of a life time, so please bear with me as I use this as an outlet to process everything.

                                                                 With Love,
                                                                    Kaitlyn