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..."

END Malaria TOGETHER!

END MALARIA TOGETHER! 

In March of 2015, I had been living in Kenya for about three months and came down with a severe case of malaria. I had been sick with malaria for weeks and the medicine just wasn’t working. We were about 10 hours from Nairobi by car and we decided that it was time that I seek hospital medical attention. We had to travel during the night-on roads that are quite scary- and I was in an immense amount of pain and even at points delirious. There were so many crazy things that happened along the way to Nairobi and I know that God had HIS hand upon us as we went. We arrived late into the night and the next morning went to a hospital. I was immediately admitted because my case of malaria had gotten worse. I was in the hospital for 3 days. Many of those hours and minutes I knew that my life was nearing the end. BUT by God’s grace and goodness, I turned a small corner on the third day of medication. It was a long long long road to recovery but I am thankful to the Lord for His goodness in my life. 

I tell you all of this because I want you to understand what these children and adults go through across Africa every. single. day.  Malaria is a disease that is transmitted from person to person by infected mosquitoes. 

 Here are some alarming statistics- WHO facts (https://www.who.int/features/factfiles/malaria/en/)

1. The disease claims the life of a child every 2 minutes.
2. Annual deaths from malaria 438,000 people- 80% occur in Africa
3. 72% of malaria fatalities are children younger than 5 years old
4. Children miss up to 50% of school days due to malaria 

….We are raising money to put screens in every window of the Encouragement children’s home to help PREVENT malaria from being a continuous burden in their life. 

Please consider giving even just $5 for this cause. We will be heading to Kenya in June 2019 to install these windows! Every little bit counts….lets END MALARIA together! 

https://www.gofundme.com/45nhjd-end-malaria

At the hospital in Nairobi, Kenya

Upcoming Exciting News!

Here we go again....I am excited to announce that I will be heading back to Webuye, Kenya in the summer of 2019! I honestly cannot believe I am finally at a place of peace about this. Many of you may think I am crazy or even stupid but I can tell you that I believe with all of my heart that God has called me back there. The tentative plan is to go for about 7-8 weeks next summer with a small team. A few of the team members will be going for a 2-3 week stay and then Hannah Aho and I will spend the rest of the time there with Vic, the man who started the orphanage.

My journey with traveling and sickness has been tough and I can honestly tell you that last year at this time I was not ready to even consider returning to the orphanage. However, over the last year, God has continually brought this ministry to my mind and heart and I believe that it is the right time to head there.  For those of you that have not heard my past story of dealing with malaria, typhoid, and parasites you can read my previous blog here:

                                    Part 1: http://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2015/09/malaria-and-mepart-1.html  

 Part 2: https://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2015/09/malaria-and-mepart-2.html

     One year later: https://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2016/03/one-year-later.html

Our main goal for this particular trip is to raise money to buy screens to put in every window and door in the building. Why screens you might ask?? Well as you know, malaria is a very real sickness and one of the biggest ways to prevent this is to NOT get bit by mosquito's. Well, without screens in the windows and doors it can be very challenging to keep mosquito's away from you. Can you imagine the difference this will make in these kids lives?! Sleeping with the windows open but without getting attacked by mosquito's! Many of you may know that they do have mosquito nets and that does allow some protection from the mosquito's, but from experience, they are not the greatest at keeping those little biting machines away. AND they are extremely hot and uncomfortable. The need is great and I am excited that our team will be a part of purchasing and installing these amazing inventions :)

If you would like to help purchase a screen or maybe 2 or 3, please let me know. Any amount can help with this project!

As my team and I prepare for this trip we will update you all as quickly as possible.  We will be having a few different fundraising events and we will even be selling some t-shirts :) Be on the lookout for these events! The tentative date for departure is May 30, 2019.

Thank you for your support in my life and I am thankful for each and every one of you!

One year later...

One year ago today on March 10,2015.... 

I was immediately admitted to the hospital in Kenya. A year ago today, I never would have imagined still being here on this earth.I still can't believe that I experienced all that I did. ONLY BY GOD'S GRACE. My eternal gratitude to HIM can never be expressed through words, for getting me through some really dark days. When I posted my last two blogs I was still struggling with some serious anxiety.

A lot of the medicines that were used to heal my body of the malaria really caused a lot of uncertainty, doubt, and worry. I was not thinking straight and could not quite grasp the concepts of reality. 

However, here I am a year later, better than I ever thought I would be, but yet SO humbled by God's goodness and faithfulness to me during this time and all the time.  My anxiety levels are completely gone. I obviously still have my struggles of worry at times. And yes, I still carry some fears with me that are somewhat unreasonable (such as hippos haha) but again I know that my God is bigger than any of that and HE holds me in HIS hands through life and eventually death. MY GOD IS EVERYTHING TO ME. He has been with me through it all and for that I will forever be thankful. I have been given a brand new perspective and hope for the future. I am thankful to all of you who have continually prayed for me. TO GOD BE THE GLORY.

Psalms 73:25-26, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

In this blog there a few pictures that I have never shared before on social media of me in the hospital in Nairobi. I never thought I would get to the point that I could even look at the photos without anxiety and pain but again God's grace has brought me through. 

Let us always to remember to keep Christ as our center and live in light of eternity. 

(Previous blogs found here http://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2015/09/malaria-and-mepart-1.html  http://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2015/09/malaria-and-mepart-2.html) 

Malaria and Me...Part 2!

Continued story from my previous blog which you can read here: http://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/2015/09/malaria-and-mepart-1.html

…..They told me I would be in the hospital for three days because the treatment needed to be extensive. Once they began treatment I was quite scared. Normally, in American hospitals they would hook you up to a heart monitor and possibly oxygen and so on...well in Kenya they just hook you right up to the treatment and go for it. (without having any of my prior medical records) As soon as the medicine began to drip, my heart began to race so fast that I was sure that was the end of me. I was struggling to breathe and stay calm. The doctors however continued to assure me “you will be fine”. These words began to haunt me. Every doctor or nurse or just random person walking by would say “you will be fine”. (This is a big Kenyan term that they love to use often) Every time they said it I again was sure they were just trying to comfort me before my death. I found out later that the medicine I was on had many side effects and one of them being paranoia and causes mind altering thoughts. I had four sets of treatments over the course of 2 and half days. The first one was eight hours long of non stop dripping of this medicine called quinine. 

  

Iv treatment. In an infected hand

 and all! 

 Let me tell you those eight hours were some of the longest and worst. I couldn't talk. I couldn't hear. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't do anything. Nurses and doctors never checked on me. I literally would have been alone in my tiny closet, if it wasn't for my friend Christina. She was able to get the nurses and doctors if I needed them. Those three days were the longest and the most scary days of my life as of now. I had hallucinations in the nights. To this day I still have some huge fears because of these thing. (one of them being hippos haha!) I remember being in a ton of pain and so sick to my stomach I thought I would never eat again. After I got through that first eight hours of treatment I thought to myself, “I can do this” I will get through this but then the pain would hit again and the four hours of break from the treatment would fly by and I would be back to square one. The night before I was suppose to get out of the hospital was the worst. I wanted to rip out my IV. My friend had to keep me from ripping it out. I was going insane. I couldn't sit still I was so anxious and wanted to move but hurt so badly that I couldn't do much. I was sitting there (for the first time) trying to read my bible and couldn't. Not because I didn't want to but because I literally could not focus or concentrate or anything. Christina told me I had been sitting there looking like a crazy person just turning and flipping through my bible like a maniac.

  

Shopping trip back in February!

I can't explain all that I was feeling but one feeling I know was pretty much the most intense feelings of being trapped with fear I have ever felt. I just continued to think that I was at the end of my life. I thought I would never see my family again and constantly prayed that I would be able to see them at least one more time. Side note: In all of this we were suppose to be picking up two friends from the airport that were going to stay with us in Kenya for the last 17 days of our trip. Well instead of being able to pick them up they had to come to the hospital with our Kenyan friend. They were shocked at the conditions and at how I looked. My ears were still ringing and hurting so badly that every sound came through my ears sounded and felt like a freight train. This was not the welcome I had in mind for these girls. They arrived the day I was suppose to get out of the hospital. Well we had to wait a few hours before they would release me from the hospital. At this point I was ready to get out of there and get some fresh air. I still had fears about leaving because I still felt pretty awful. I mean I literally walked out of the hospital the same way I came in (barely moving and shuffling my feet). They didn't run any tests to make sure that I was better but just let me leave and gave me “pain medicine”. They took me back to Stephens families home and I rested and called my family. I was feeling a lot better and thought that I was finally turning a corner.

Road to and from Nairobi! 

The next morning, my first thought when I woke up was “I'm alive”. I saw the sun through the window and my mosquito net and thought again “WOW I AM ALIVE”. It was such a relieving and scary feeling all at once. I didn't know what the next days ahead held for me but I did know I wanted to get back and see the kids and then I wanted to go home. Well after I thought through all of that I went to get out of bed and could barely walk . Every joint in my body ached and my legs, stomach, and back were basically stuck. After a few pain pills I was okay again. Well we traveled back to the children's home. Again, the long excruciating trip back was painful and did I mention, LONG. A new normal for me was that I cried a lot! Once we were back in the orphanage we rested and slept and got eaten again by mosquitoes..again! My mom was looking into switching our flight but was having trouble getting through to the people. At this point, we were 9 days away from our original flight day. So finally I decided just to call the airline and do it. Praise the Lord that He got me through to THE nicest airline person ever! She helped me right there and let me switch Christina and my ticket to the next day!

Saying goodbye to the kids was so hard. Looking at their sobbing faces and knowing what we were leaving them to was painful. There is so much more I could say about that but I wont for now. We traveled all the way back to Nairobi, just 3 days after being at the children's home. The flight home was hard as I was out of pain medicine and only had Tylenol to work off of. Christina wasn't feeling well either and we both just needed to be home. I slept A LOT on the flight thankfully! When I saw my family at the airport I lost it. I just cried and cried. I was emotionally, physically and mentally spent. I couldn't even think straight. We got back to my house and they were all talking but I couldn't even talk. And for me that is a big deal. Haha! My family was shocked to see me how I was... Well I got back and got in my bed and thought to myself “Well God answered my prayer to let me see my family one more time and now I will probably die.” I know this all sounds dramatic but that is literally how my mindset was for months after I got home.

Taken back in February! :)

Let me tell you, God was with me every single step of the way. Your prayers were the peace I felt during those long trips to and from Nairobi. Now after 6 months and looking back at it I forget some of the details and I am actually thankful for that. This year has had many challenges and I have learned so much! This was all so very real to me. Every emotion I felt was real. Every pain I felt was real.

To close, I want to end with three things that I learned through this experience so far.

1. God will give you the peace that passes all understanding when you least expect it. I believe that on those trips to and from Nairobi, God gave me a peace that I cannot explain. I was extremely paranoid because of the medication but there were specific moments I can remember being completely at peace and having a calmness I did not understand. 

2. My faith was completely shaken during this time. I was sure that I was at the end of my life and that I was about to face God numerous times during my sickness and that scared me. I began to think of all the things I did not do right and then I was reminded that it is not our works that save us but by His grace! That he was going to accept me just as I am because I had accepted Him as my savior and had given my life to Him. 

3.  I believe that God has a reason for all things. At this point in time I do not know the exact reason why I got malaria or why it had to be so severe but I do know that God was in control the whole time. I know that God was with me comforting me and loving me.  

I am thankful for those that have prayed for me and kept up with this experience that I have faced. This was definitely one of my most challenging, honest and personal blogs for me but I felt that this story needed to be shared and how God protected, comforted, and guided me and my friend throughout the whole thing. Even if this story would of had a different outcome, God would still be good. He has everything in control no matter what happens. 

"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got a hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."

- George Bernard Shaw-

Malaria and Me...Part 1!

Well I figured it is about time I finally sat down and wrote about my experience in Kenya. Many of you supported me through prayer and also financially, so I wanted to give you the chance to hear about my experience. 

This is going to be a very open and honest perspective from me.  It is never easy for me to write  about things that I struggle with but in this story I am going to be real and very open with all of you. To some people this experience would have been a breeze but for me it was traumatic, scary, and shook my faith and everything I believed in. Many people do not talk about malaria and the effects it has on a person so I have decided to describe in detail my experience and all that this disease entails during and after!

 Everything was going very well and I was learning so much about the children and the culture and just everything and absolutely loving it! At the end of February (just a little over 2 months into the trip) I got really sick. Beware here comes the gory details of it all.. haha! Nauseous, chronic diarrhea, pain like I've never felt before, SO fatigued, every muscle and joint in my body hurt, high fevers, night sweats, and so on. So we decided to go to the small clinic (remember we are 9 hours from Nairobi out in a little village). They tested my blood and they diagnosed me with typhoid fever. Two days after I was diagnosed, my friend, Christina, was diagnosed with typhoid as well. After about a week of the medicine I was feeling much better. I was able to go play with the kids and do work around the building! I was so happy to be doing better!

Christina was such a faithful friend sitting
outside my room since it was too
small for her to be in there. 

Two weeks after I was diagnosed with typhoid the real challenges began. (I think I actually had malaria two weeks before and they diagnosed me wrong but I can never be sure) Christina and I woke up feeling very odd with strange headaches and just EXTREMELY tired. So we went to the clinic again and were tested. However, when we went to the clinic this time they had no power so they were unable to do the more “accurate” testing instead  they did a thing called a “rapid malaria test”. It came back positive. We were both diagnosed with malaria. We had to trust the tests and the medicines they gave us and just kinda go for it. The medicine they gave us was to last for three days and the doctor said that after three days we should be feeling better. After the third day I was still SO sick. So much pain. To be honest, I was scared. Well we went back AGAIN to the same clinic and they tested my blood again and said I STILL had malaria and that the medicine didn't work for me which they told me was  VERY rare. Christina was cleared from malaria. So I then had to get an injection of strong medication and then had to take one dose of four pills.  After the shot and medication I was laying on my bed and everything was going dark and I couldn't think straight. In my mind I thought, "well this is it". But a few minutes (maybe longer-not totally sure of the timing) later things started to clear up and I began to actually feel somewhat better. At this point I was able to Skype my family and I thought “oh good I am coming out of this awful sickness and I am going to be fine”. However, in the back of my mind I was still extremely paranoid and scared. (major side effects of the medicines)

Well the next morning I woke up having severe tightness in my stomach and back. I wasn't sure if this was normal or not. All of this was just a guessing game for me because I obviously had never had malaria before. So I was very unsure of what to expect. I had many other symptoms as well but the list would get awfully long. haha! Our bodyguard knew a man who was going to Nairobi to see his family and so we got a hold of him and he drove us 9 hours to Nairobi. That ride was the LONGEST and most painful trip ever. Every bump and swerve and movement we made I could feel throughout my entire body. The entire trip I  kept thinking I was going to die and that there was something even worse wrong with me. I also questioned everything! I began to think how can I truly be saved if my faith is so small? How do other missionaries do this? Was I really willing to give my life to serve Christ anywhere He wanted me? How could I let this happen? And so many more questions that I was really trying to work through amidst the pain.

We arrived in Nairobi at 11pm and stayed at Stephens home. (a man we had never met but I seriously believe he was sent from the Lord! His family was a HUGE blessing! His wife and three kids took care of me and were like family to me) Stephen took me to a hospital and they tested my blood and they told me they were immediately admitting me. I really did not think this was going to happen. I was shocked! They put me in this closet sized room and began treatment right away.....

This is the end of part 1 of my story. On my next blog I will explain those three days in the hospital and the lessons I have learned since then. 

"It is during our darkest moments that

 we must focus to see the light."

-Aristotle-

Life in Africa!

We are now two weeks into our trip and I can't believe how much we have already been able to accomplish! We have painted the school house, rearranged the kid's room, made a new study room as well as a sewing room! We have had the opportunity to meet many new friends and without fail are invited over to their homes for a unique meal. It is amazing the hospitality these people have shown us! I love being here and building new friendships!

In my opinion the best part of being here so far is being able to love on these beautiful children. We get to play soccer with them, give them as many hugs as possible, tell them Bible stories, let them play with our hair, color with them for hours, and so many other fun things! I have loved to get to know them and each of their unique personalities! Christina and I have now gotten countless lessons in Swahili from the children. At times, we feel like they are our little children! It definitely has been AWESOME!

We have made friends with our bodyguard (Griffin) and his friend Pastor Tony. It has been a blast hanging out with them and meeting their families! Pastor Tony has a church out in a very remote area called Kituni. There he has a feeding program for about 120 children that are mostly orphaned children. They stood in line patiently to get some rice and beans and the saddest part of it all is that they were only getting ONE meal on Monday's, Wednesday's, and Friday's! That means they were getting only THREE meals a WEEK! Well after seeing that Vic (the man who began the orphanage that we are at) decided that his organization could pull together some money and pay for 2 more days a week! Now those children are getting five meals total a week! One of the days, we got the opportunity to go and help with feeding the children and we were able to sit and sing with the kids (they didn't know English very well) and they ended up braiding all of our hair! It was a mind blowing and emotionally draining day. I'm excited to go back there again and show the Jesus film and love on those kids!

In the upcoming weeks a team from America is coming and helping here, we will be heading to Uganda for a few days, going to Kitale, visiting new churches, showing the Heaven is for Real film, and lots of fun activities with the kids.

This is just a short update as I am still trying to gather all of my thoughts on all I have seen and all that I'm learning! I truly appreciate your prayers and encouragement! I will try to continue to update my blog in the coming weeks!

“Serving God is not a matter of location, but a matter of obedience” -Nik Ripken-

Here we go again- Kenya 2014!

I am excited to tell you about my upcoming mission’s opportunity! As many of you know I have had a huge passion for missions. I’ve been waiting for the last year, since moving to Tennessee, for something to open up to go for a longer missions term. I contacted a few agencies but did not feel confident in what I was finding.  So I continued to pray and seek God’s will and then God opened up the door for me to go back to Webuye, Kenya. I went to Encouragement Children’s Home in May of 2012 for a two week trip. This time I am looking to go for SIX months--December 29, 2014 to June 29,2015. Right now the orphanage is lacking staff which is causing the children not to be taken care of as well as they should be. So Vic Rader, the man who started the orphanage in 2004, asked if I would be willing to go and help manage the Center. This will include overseeing the care of the children, helping with work on the school building and teaching the children daily. This will be a great experience for me to be on the mission field serving and learning how to live in another country for a longer amount of time than I’ve done before. What it comes down to is, I want to be able to share the love of Jesus with these children and the other adults in this community.

A little update on me!  I am currently working as a three-year old teacher at Grace Children Center in Chattanooga, TN. As I have been trying to wait patiently on the Lord for a new mission to open up, I have been serving at our church and loving getting to know all sorts of sweet people here. I had always thought immediately after college I would have an idea of where God would be sending me and that I would be able to just go. However, God had different plans for me and that was to move to Tennessee with my family and begin a job. It has been a growing experience but also an awesome time meeting new people, working with children, and going to new places. I am so thankful for God’s control in my life. I do not know where I would be without HIM. I am just praising the Lord for the work He has done in my life. I am so thankful that God has placed such wonderful influences on my life which many of YOU play a part in!! I know that God has the PERFECT plan for me and I can hardly wait to see what HE has in store!

Finally, I need your PRAYERS! I take this very seriously when I ask for your daily prayer support. I believe that prayer is one of the most powerful resources in life. God has called us to a relationship with Him and we need to be in prayer constantly and consistently. As I have learned how to become more intentional with my conversations with the Lord I have seen how my relationship with the Lord grow and how He has challenged me even more in my life to become more like Him. I truly would LOVE to have your prayer support.

 As I am sure you also realize, I am in need of financial support as well as encouragement. We have calculated $5000 as the total cost of this six-month mission.

 If you would like to donate towards my trip, you may do so by following these steps:

                1.      Go to kenyaorphans.org

                2.    Select the Volunteer tab

                3.    Choose the “Click to Donate” option

                4.    Then find my name and click to donate there J

If you want to send it via mail, you can send the money with my name clearly identified to:

 Encouragement Inc.

       1803 Snowflake Dr,

Colorado Springs, CO  80921

If you would prefer to send me the money directly that would be fine as well. You may email me personally for my address. If you have any questions about finances or the trip in general please do not hesitate to ask me!

Thank you for joining me in this journey.  I will be updating my blog (http://katlynapollock.blogspot.com/ ) and also my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/groups/katlynpollock/?ref=br_tf ) Feel free to follow me there OR if you would like to receive an email update please let me know!  If you have any further questions concerning this trip you can email, message on Facebook, or call me.  I would love to answer them! 

Thank you so much for praying for and supporting me in this next step of my life.

Katlyn Pollock

katlynapollock@gmail.com

Truth is.

Truth is...I am heading back to Kenya in 107 days. 

Truth is...GOD is in control.

Truth is...I can do nothing without HIM.  

Truth is .... I began to worry. I began to think that I was not worthy of this calling. Truth is I am NOT worthy of this calling. I became overwhelmed by all the "what ifs" or the "I can't do that" thoughts. I needed to turn to the word because the Bible is truth. I turned to 2 Thessalonians 2:11b-12 it says:

"That our GOD may count you worthy of HIS calling, and that by HIS power HE may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you and you in HIM according the the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 

Truth is CHRIST counts me worthy. I realized that I was being completely selfish. All I was thinking about is me, me, me. Truth is everything I do is because Christ made me worthy to do HIS work. HE chose me to be HIS child. Truth is none of it is by my power. Truth is it is all because of CHRIST. CHRIST has made me a child of God! CHRIST has died for me! CHRIST is worthy of my life! I cannot do anything without the power of Jesus Christ in my life. Truth is I can serve Him. 

Truth is...I'm a sinner saved by grace and I am nothing without CHRIST.

My Next BIG move.

Well it is official I have completed an application for a volunteering opportunity with SIM (serving in missions). This opportunity will include moving overseas for 2 or more years. I am excited to see where God is going to take me on this next journey. However, the finalized decision will not be made until after the conference that I will be attending in January. This conference is held from January 8-12 in Charlotte, North Carolina! The conference main goals are to allow the organization to get to know me and for me to get to know them and all of their ministries across the world. After, the conference there will be a few steps that will take place. 1. I will have more information on what they are all about 2. I will know the area that I will be serving at. 3. The estimated time of departure. and 4. After all of those minor pieces to the puzzle are put together the decisions concerning placement and such will be finalized and the raising of my financial and prayer support will begin.  (although I believe the prayer support has already started =) ) 

I am EXTREMELY excited about this next step in my life. Please be praying that God will make it absolutely 100% clear where He wants me to go and that I will be open to waiting to see where He opens a door or shuts one.  I am willing to go with SIM but I am also continuing to stay open to the Lord's calling if He chooses to call me somewhere else.  After the conference in January I feel as though God will give me a clear answer as to whether I should be apart of the SIM ministry or look somewhere else. 

I cannot wait to see what God has for me and my future.  Lots and lots of change in life but yet I know that every single change is part of God's perfect plan. As Pastor Euler has reminded us each Sunday, "God is painting on the canvas of our lives in a fashion larger than we can imagine."  God is in control and that alone gives me a peace and hope that is inexpressible. 

Thank you for your prayers and support and I will continue to update you as I get more information. 

The BIG move.

Today, marks the 25th day of living in Tennessee.  It has been one 

crazy month of living down south. The word “crazy” is how I would describe this past month. Let me define “crazy” for you. Crazy- ups and downs, good and bad, fun and boring. Since moving here: I have met more people than I could count, explored around (while trying not to get lost), numerous extended family members here for visits, painted, unpacked, cleaned, read books, finished my online understanding science class, picked up crocheting (who would of thought), gone to the pool, seen a ton of huge rain storms, July 4^th party, and started a new job. And on top of all that Grace threw us a wonderful welcoming party. The southern people are some of THE most hospitable people I have ever met. We met so many people I think we maybe got 3 bites of food in. It was great though! I feel like I don’t remember any of their names but it was still nice to meet new people and start getting established here.

Now, let’s rewind to when the announcement of the move came:

 In February, I was ecstatic to hear about this new idea my dad presented to our family. (cause if you know me I am always up for something new and adventurous.) I was not sure what to think of it at first but I had a feeling in my heart that we would end up moving. Our love for BBC and Summit is indescribable. However, we all knew that God was at work and when He is moving no one can stop Him.  So, as the week went on things were rapidly happening and by March 9^th, we as a whole family went to TN with my dad to see what could potentially be our new church, workplace, school, and home. We met extremely kind people (as most people are down in the south :)). This inexplainable overwhelming feeling began that first day of visiting TN and to be honest, to this day has not stopped. Who knew that 12 days after visiting TN the decision of my Dad accepting this position would be announced in BBC chapel. (March 21). When the announcement came, reality set in for me. I was ecstatic that we were moving at first…then I realized what that all meant and when the word got out that we were moving it was like a wave of extreme sadness hit me. Let me tell you it was not an easy task to put a smile on and explain the story over and over and over again of why my Dad was taking the job. I would try to explain that God had his hand in this entire process..etc. And let me tell you GOD did have HIS hand in this journey. We would not have even thought of moving unless God wanted us too. He had a plan for this and wanted us to start  ministry down here at Grace. So on June 9th we moved officially out of our house and the truck was on its way down here on June 10th with my Dad, Mom, and Jessica. 

(Side note: back in January I wrote this in my journal, "January 12, 2013: So tonight is my last night as a college student on Christmas break. I am kind of dreading going back but at the same time I am extremely excited! I feel like God is going to do something HUGE this semester. I have no idea what but I am excited..." Just yet another thing I feel like was a God thing. He was preparing my heart back in January before I knew anything about Tennessee.)

 

Before we left we were thrown a wonderful surprise going  away party from Summit put on by Mr. Ritchie. It was a 2 hour long presentation of all of the memories from the 21 years of living in Clarks Summit. Saying goodbye is never easy and having to do that all night was hard but it was truly a blessing to walk through those memories with the people we care about so much. I LOVE Summit and the people there. I am definitely missing the kids a lot.  Thankful for all of you from Summit who I was able to learn from, serve with, grow up loving and being loved by you! Thank you!!

 So now fast forward back to today. 

I am sitting here in my new room, on my new bed. And as 22 year old girl I feel like I should be so excited to be able to start over. I have my great days and my bad/sad days. At times it does get overwhelming, it does leave a sense of sadness but even though it seems as though at times I cannot figure out why I am here…our awesome God above knows every single tiny detail of my life and all I have to do is TRUST in His glorious plan. God has brought me this far and I know that He will take me the rest of the way.

All of that said I am so excited to see where God is going to take me and what all He has in mind for me while I am here. I have met some wonderful people especially at my new job, I am excited to be working with some GREAT ladies. Yes, I miss my friends, family (Jennifer, Nathan and baby Caiden), friends at Summit, BBC, and of course the little town of Clarks Summit. BUT I am excited to be a teacher at the children center, I am happy to have family here, and I am most of all beyond joyful that God is in control.