Squatting toilets. Really?

I was so lucky enough to be introduced to squatting toilets in the public restrooms. I walked into the bathroom and then inot a stall to find a whole in the ground, and thought to myself, well I gotta do what I gotta do, squatting toilet or not! So, there and then was my first experience using a squatting toilet. Lets not say they are my favorite, but I will have stronger quads after this year thank you to them lovely toilets! (also, it is an underlying known fact that you take toilet paper into the stall because there is none in the bathroom)

Along with squatting toilets, the joy of taking a shower with just a shower head and having my entire bathroom get soaked, is another great experience that I am still getting used to. The shower head is hooked up to the sink and you have to push one button to switch the water from going to the facet to the shower head. I will guarantee that within this next year I will forget to push the button and when I go to use the facet, I will get a little more wet than I planned! But slowly but surely I am working on a routine and by the end of the year I will probably just start to enjoy not having an actual shower!

I do not have the privelege of having warm water or gas at my convenience, so I have to switch the hot water/gas on everytime I use it. The hot water turns on almost automatically, but have definitely forgotten to turn the switch on already, so hopefully I will remember from now on! And for the gas, it definitely would not be a good thing if I left it on, pray that I will remember! (hahahah)

So Ko girl now!

Just made the big move across the great blue to the beautiful country of South Korea. South Korea has only 1 percent of the land area of the US but has one-sixth as many people. (hence there are apartment buildings everywhere). My first observation was that I couldn't believe how many people there are, everywhere, crammed in the tiniest of places. But I am learning to enjoy these differences! I first arrived and couldn't understand anybody or read any of the signs (for the first time in my life I had to LOOK for the English signs). It was quite a shock, but now I am used to not being able to talk to anybody or read any of the signs. Before leaving the States, a lot of people told me different things to look for or to do, which I will will definitely take into consideration while being here for a year. However, one person told me to notice how many crosses are on top of buildings, and at night time they are lit up red. I was told that South Korea is predominantly Christian, but I do not know if every cross lit up represents a Christian church. But after noticing this, I am very excited that I am constantly reminded of Who I serve! I am excited to experience all the other things that people have told me about! And am excited for this next year!

Limin in TnT

Trinidad and Tobago

I just got back from a 3 weeks short term missions trip to Trinidad and Tobago. They are islands located 7 miles off the north east coast of Venezuela. I absolutely fell in love with the people there and the culture. The team (30 of us) went down to work alongside Great Commission Bible Church in Port of Spain, Trinidad. We did a VBS for the first week and went to few different schools and did hour long assemblies (consisting of games, music, a drama, dance). We also led youth nights at the church two nights the first week. The second week we were able to do another VBS at a different location and reach more people in Trinidad. The third week we went to Tobago for a few days to debrief and to recap with everyone. I was able to get to know a lot of the locals, aka Trini's. The people there, of the church that we met, accepted us and treated us like family. It was so exciting to go and see that there are people serving the same God and have the same faith. I cant wait to go back, whenever that is going to be!

I'm On a Boat!

In light of my amazing friends Mindy and Kelsey I have a new life goal added to my list. I want to live on a boat in a marina for a substantial amount of time. They are renting out a sail boat for the next few months and calling in "home". I am quite jealous of their current living situation but plan to be there a lot this summer. They have already met some cool boat neighbors and are loving living life low-key.

In Memory of.

Brandon Garcia March 13, 1984- June 16,2007

Brandon was an amazing man of God, he loved everyone and completely devoted his life to serve His Lord. He was killed in a motorcycle accident but his funeral service was a sight to see. The church was packed, people enjoying the service outside in the parking lot. Hundreds of people went to bring memories and stories of how Brandon had touched his life. He was also an amazing salsa dancer, and I had the privilege of dancing with him countless number of times. Every time I go dancing now, I always think of him and the great life that he lived. I pray every day that I can live my life according to the faith and touch people in ways that Brandon touched hundreds of people. Thank you Brandon for living a loving, devoted life. See you in Heaven one day!

learning a little

I am part of this home church called Remnant Community, and it has been amazing. First to grow alongside people and friends of my own age, but also be challenged by questions and my walk with God. As one of our weekly devotions, we were challenged to go on a walk/ or to the beach by ourselves and be still in the presence of God and listen to His quiet voice. I was in awe of the beauty of the ocean and the scenery around me and was quite thankful for the nature that He created. I was also reminded that we walk past His most prized creation (human being) and we don't even think twice about giving Him thanks for what He cherishes most. I was humbled by that fact and forced to look around at the different people surrounding me and thought that each person here was created in the image of God. It was a crazy thought and it still blows my mind. I then thought about the fact that loving people is what I love to do, and I think I have been given the gift of serving/loving people, because it comes naturally to me. And as I was thinking about this, a guy with dreads past his butt walked right by me and I thought to myself, oh hey, that guy is probably a pot-smoking, loser guy that doesn't know anything about God or want to have anything to do with life, and that's when God told me, Katie did you really just say that. Here you are thinking that you are good at loving people and you take one look at a person and immediately judge him. I was completely shocked. At that moment God told me that I still have some working to do in regards to loving people, and accepting them for who they are. I mean, I have dreads and that guy probably thought the exact same thing of me, so who am I to judge? God you always keep me in check!

not just the "newest kick"

Seoul, South Korea will be my home for a year starting in August. I applied to be an English teacher over there recently, and was offered a job as an English teacher. I don't have the specific job yet, however I was accepted into the program and will have different job availabilities given to me and I get to choose which one I prefer. I already have a friend over there to help me through the process and a few other friends are applying with me! I am so excited for this change and new phase in my life!