Kenyan Missionary

 I am extremely excited to announce that God has called me to move to Encouragement Children's Home in Webuye, Kenya as a full-time missionary. I am committing to a one-year contract in hopes that God will lead me to be at Encouragement for many years. Encouragement Children's Home has a special place in my heart and God continually deepens my burden for the ministry and He has begun to open doors for me to serve full-time. 

Over the last eight years, I have had many opportunities to visit Encouragement. My first trip was in 2012 and I will never forget the "God-moment" that happened on that trip. As I was standing inside a family's mud hut home, I had a very very vivid thought...."this is my home." I believe that God spoke to my heart at that moment and continues to place this burden on my heart. 

In 2015, I was given the opportunity to serve at Encouragement Children's Home. for 3 months. My friend and I lived there and loved the children deeply. We were able to help with different jobs around the orphanage. I LOVED being there. Near the end of the three months, I became very ill with malaria and typhoid and was hospitalized in Kenya. It took quite a few months to fully recover but my faith and relationship with the Lord grew immensely during this time. 

My most recent trip in 2019, confirmed my desire to make Kenya my home. I was praying God would make it clear and in small moments, He opened my eyes to the needs of the children and allowed me to build a closer relationship with each of them. It is so neat to see the bond that we have formed over the last eight years continues each time I visit. 

Through those trips, I believe that God has continually places this burden on my heart to go to Kenya and serve the Lord by caring for these children. I have been praying over the last 18+ months for a very clear answer and I believe that God has given me peace and clarity on taking steps forward. My personal quote that I strive to live by is to "Live in Light of Eternity." Living in light of eternity means to always fix our eyes on Jesus {Hebrews 12:2} and to follow His command {Matthew 28:19-20} which is to go to all the nations and tell the good news. 

God has called believers to live for Him while we are on this earth and I want to always remember to live as if this is my last day and share the love of Jesus with EVERYONE. For me, this means moving to Kenya and caring for orphans. Since I was a little girl, I have always had a desire to go to Africa and I know God laid that small desire on my heart for a purpose. 

In this season of my life, God is with me-leading and guiding- every step of the way. I am looking forward to seeing God's hand at work and excited about the future. I am looking for supporters (individuals and churches) that will be willing to hold me up in prayer as well as financially. Hopefully, you will be one of those supporters. 

Here are a few ways I will be serving once I am in Kenya:

        1. Learning to speak Swahili fluently

        2. Daily devotions with the children

        3. Assisting the manager 

        4. Caring for the children (doctor's visits, personal hygiene, emotional support, etc.) 

        5. Teaching/tutoring

        6. Offering ESL classes to local women

Ultimately, I will be there to serve in any capacity that I am able and needed. I know that this is a huge commitment and will not be an easy task but I believe that God is with me every step of the way. I know that God will open the doors for me to go and that it is His will for me during this time. I am ready and willing. Isaiah 6:8, "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me." 

If you are interested in supporting me you can check out my website here or click this link to sign up to join my team as a supporter: https://www.cognitoforms.com/KatlynPollock1/JoinMySupportTeam

Thank you all for your continued support in my life! 

Katlyn Pollock

A big dream always seems overwhelming at first. Ultimately a big dream is aimed at meeting a big need in the world. While you still have breath, it's never too late to act on your dream!"

- Bruce Wilkinson, The Dream Giver-

Learning and Growing- March 8, 2020

(I wrote the following back on March 8, 2020 but never ended up publishing it. I wanted to publish it today so I could look back to remember these thoughts I had before the pandemic and tornado hit.) 

At church we have been doing a series on the attributes of God. The sermons are titled "What is God?" These messages have been encouraging and extremely challenging all at the same time. I find myself many times struggling with truly grasping who God is and more so HOW can God be redeemer, merciful, faithful, loving, kind, omniscient, omnipotent, just, fair, all at the same time. I think for our tiny human minds these things are utterly impossible for us to comprehend in the fullest. I have been extremely thankful that we are giving so many chances to get our acts together and continually be forgiven for the sin we commit. WOW! That thought alone just blows my mind.

Well when I began to think about reasons why I continually go back to Kenya, this topic came to mind: Attributes of God. Why it came to mind, you may ask? I have no idea but God works in mysterious ways! God is love. God is truth. God is just. God is faithful. God is loving. God is omniscient. God is omnipotent. God is omnipresent. God is.....this list could continue on and on. At times I find my self doubting some of these truths. Yes at times I struggle to fully understand these concept. These types of questions enter my mind: How can God be loving when children in Africa are left to die in trash bins? How can God be faithful when malaria takes the lives of millions? Despite these questions I realize that these horrible things that happen in this world are because of SIN. If we had never sinned there would be NO sickness, suffering, hate, and fear. This world would be full of peace, love, joy, and JESUS! I am so thankful that despite our failures, God NEVER fails. He is a God of second chances. He was gracious enough to allow his son to come and die on the cross for our sins. What an amazing turn of events. Without Jesus we are nothing.

My personal mission statement over the last decade has been to "Live in Light of Eternity." Well I have to admit I have failed over and over and over again at living this way. Daily, I do not live up to this expectation. However, I am thankful that God does not require perfection but instead allows progression. I am so thankful to have an understanding of my sin but most importantly my FORGIVENESS. God continually amazes me and I am so thankful that for His continuous faithfulness to me.

1 Peter 1:3, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."