It’s been quite an eventful week! Gap M headed out of Gainesville on Monday. We loaded up the vans and drove straight through Alabama and into Macon, Mississippi. Carter and I were enjoying the cotton fields on the drive. We had never seen one before! It’s cotton season, so they were full, and some of them even had bales of cotton sitting in the fields! It’s quite a contrast to the corn fields of PA, but I love the open farm fields. We also stopped at Buc-ee’s on the way down. It was my first time at a Buc-ee’s! The Texans on my squad were appalled that it was my first time. 😂 All in all, it was a good drive, despite the not-so-effective air conditioning in the vans.
Blessings from the Lord
1. A real bed!
We’re staying in a real building with real rooms and real beds! I’m sharing a room with my new friend Gabi, and it’s been lovely to have such a beautiful space to sleep and stay in. The building we’re calling home for the week is called the Mashulaville Dormatory. It was built in 1907 and has been used for a variety of purposes, but now it is a Mennonite Service Center. We found a cat, and I believe we’ve been calling it Cheezit. I’m not sure if that’s its real name or not, but I doubt the cat cares. The building itself feels really homey with the blankets and the curtains and the furniture. It’s a lovely place to be. We especially appreciate our host, Keith. He was so welcoming and friendly, and we love to see his heart for the community. We were very sad to see him go when he headed home around lunch yesterday.
2. Service Opportunities
We’ve finally moved on from training, and now we get to actually move on and use what we’ve learned to serve others! On Wednesday, our squad split off into two teams. One team (my team 😁) went to Emmanuel Baptist Church in Macon. The primary tasks were re-painting a couple of rooms in the church and remodeling a double wide trailer owned by the church and used for youth ministry. We didn’t get as far as we wanted to on the trailer because we ran into some mold issues, but we did the best we could with the resources we had. It was definitely a learning curve with moving on to having to really work together as a team. There were some disagreements on how things should be done, but it was encouraging to see some of the ways we were able to call each other higher to communicate in a more godly way. We do still need prayer for unity. The other team went to Pearl River Church. I believe they were doing similar work. The hope was for the teams to switch locations on Friday, but they got enough done at Pearl River on Wednesday and Thursday that our team didn’t need to go on Friday. I signed up to fill the extra seat on the bus going to Emmanuel Baptist Church so that I could finish organizing the books we pulled out of Pastor Carl’s office during our painting project. He has a lot of books! It was definitely a good task for me. Organization is kind of my thing.
3. Praise God for Protecting K Squad!
This morning we heard from Gap K that the place they were staying for domestic missions was destroyed by a mudslide. They were inside playing card games when one of them looked up and saw a huge mudslide coming straight at them. He yelled for everyone to run, and they all just started running. The building was actively starting to collapse while they were fleeing! Fortunately, no one was seriously harmed, but they did lose pretty much all of their belongings, including their passports. Please pray for them and consider supporting them as they work on replacing their gear and preparing to launch. Read more and/or support here.
4. Building Connections
On Wednesday we got to visit a Choctaw youth group, where we played ultimate frisbee. I am not very good at ultimate frisbee, but I tried my best! We also threw in a giant game of duck duck goose. I got stuck in the stinky pot… 😭 Oh well. 😂 Today we got to spend some more time with some of the same kids playing basketball, football, softball, and tag on the reservation. Tomorrow we’re going back to the same Choctaw church, and they’re going to sing some songs in English, but some in the Choctaw language, too! I’m excited for that. If you’re not already aware, I love music. 😊
Prayer Requests
- Pray for Gap K as they’re processing from the mudslide and trying to replace all their stuff. Praise God that AIM has already raised their goal of $30,000 to replace passports and gear and all the things.
- Pray for squad unity. We’ve been having some interpersonal issues, but they have now been addressed by the leaders, so I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to start moving forward better now.
- I’ve honestly been struggling a lot the past couple days with being around people. Pray for me to have grace for those around me and for a recharged social battery, because there aren’t really opportunities to spend time alone and prepare to be around people again.
Okay, that’s all for today. 9 days until we fly out! You should hear from me in 7 while I’m at debrief. Thanks again for all the support!
I love your request #3. You’re not asking for a bit of time to yourself, but grace to handle what it is. Perhaps it will become a prayer like Solomon’s, where God also gives you a bit of that space you’re craving too! 🙂
So cool how the $30k goal was already met!
Did your friend get a new phone? Did people give to help her get it?
Praying for team unity with you. Glad the team is working on it.
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5-6
She did get a new phone! One person gave.
We miss you lots Karis <3
Awe, miss you, too, buddy. ❤️❤️❤️
*hugs* Peopleing is HARD! Prayers for grace! I think your dad said it all best. ❤️
Real… haha. Miss you! ❤️
Tell Cheezit the cat that I said hi!!😸
Also I’ll definitely be keeping you in my prayers!! ❤️
Will do! There was also a cat at the reservation today that people were holding. Didn’t hear a name for that one. I miss you!
Aww!! You have a lot of stray but friendly cats were your staying!! 😸
I miss you to!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Karis I pray for you and your groups safety as well as your whole organization’s. I miss you a lot and I’m so happy to see how much change in the world you’re doing!! Keep pushing and know that everyone back at home is rooting for you ❤️
Thanks, Kendall! I miss you, too! I was just thinking about how great our lab group was last year. I wish you the best at college!
Love hearing of what God is doing in you and with your team, and how appreciative you were of some of the things that we all take for granted every day like a bed to sleep in! Will be praying for team dynamics, recharge, and the team that lost their belongings, but by His grace not their lives!
Are the people at the bottom of the blog the rest of your team?
Hi! It’s so good to hear from you!
I’m not sure what people you see at the bottom of my blog, but I’m guessing you’re talking about the “Related Racers” section. For me, I see five people, and all of them except for Eden are on my squad, but only Ella is on my team.
Thanks so much for the prayers!
We’re all rooting for you Karis, praise God that the K squad is all ok! We all miss you back here. We’ll miss you at one night tonight (guess what, it’s raining again 😑) all praying for safety and unity! 😊
Thanks, Adria! I hope you guys had fun despite the rain. 😂
Oh, and Jonah and Benton say hi ❤️
Hiiii! Love your updates and CheezeIt! I’m sure you’re going to encounter some more cats in your upcoming travels. Something to look forward to… 😉 I was shocked to hear about Squad K. Praise God everyone is safe. I went on a mission trip to Mendenhall Mississippi when I was in high school. You being there brings back those memories for me.
Thinking and praying for you often. I found your squad’s IG page and I’m following. And at no surprise at all, you’re hard to find in photos! ☺ Don’t forget to keep working on those selfies… 😉
Keep the updates coming! Love you and miss you!
Hey, Shannon! Good to hear from you!
I haven’t forgotten about the selfies… I just don’t want to… haha. I might try a little harder. Just for you. Haha.
Love you!
Karis ❤️
Karis, I had to smile at your Dad’s response to your prayer request #3. I think he’s an extrovert and you are an introvert (at least in the Myers Briggs world). You do need some time alone to recharge. I understand that completely, and will be praying for that for you, even if it is only a few minutes here and there!
Thank you so much! This week is debrief, so I should get a good bit of time for myself. We do get a Sabbath every week on the field, so that will be helpful, too. It will be building time into the every day that will be a challenge.
I’ve enjoyed reading your posts so far and wanted to send a “hello” from Kutztown! ☺️ Praying for you and your squad, for unity and safety!
Hello! I got your note from my digital scrapbook! It made me smile. 😊 Thanks for your prayers!
Praying for you Karis!!!❤️
Thanks, Sonja! ❤️