You all have been waiting so patiently to hear what is next. Now that some details have been cleared up, I can finally share with you what is coming! Fun news, at the end there is a list of different ways YOU can be involved with these things!
At the beginning of this year and end of last, I would often pray about what God had next for me and I always got the same answer: “I have something for you but wait just a little longer. All I can tell you now is that it will be big, new, and exciting.” And let me tell you, they are certainly big, new, and exciting things. Things I would have never dreamed of doing! I think God has gone a little crazy, but He has taken me right along with Him. I am determined to go however crazy He wants to go!
“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them.”
We are hitting the nail on the head with these two dreams God is calling me to this year. Both are things that I have never done and have no clue where to begin, but God knows what He is doing so I will follow His direction day by day and watch Him bring them to life! I will tell you what they are and then if you would like to read more about them I will include it underneath.
What God and I will be doing in 2020:
1. Publishing a children’s book
2. Starting a pregnancy crisis center in Mexico
I’ll start with the easier of the two; Children’s book.When I was in India 2 years ago I was reminded how inspired I was by children’s books that talked about missionaries. I always seek to encourage the younger generation to be missionaries (whether that is in their schools or across oceans) so I felt like God was telling me to write down my story for them. After writing it He told me set it aside till the right time. January 2020 comes along and He said “Hey, remember that book we wrote? This is the year to pull it out and get it published!” haha easier said than done, if this is going to happen it will be a miracle! It is cool because He already knew then I would have plenty of time now to work on it with the lock down and all.
Alright so, pregnancy crisis center…where to begin haha! Praise the Lord! Here is a little question and answers write up based off other peoples questions to hopefully answer any questions you may have and tell how it came to be:
Where in Mexico? : Right in the center of the country, five hours north of Mexico Ctiy
With what ministry? : I will be partnering with Brilla Life Ministries. You can find out more about them: https://www.brillalifeministry.org/
How did I find out about Brilla Life? : There is a very good friend of mine from Aiken who is a missionary there with them. She messaged me in January to say they had it on their hearts to start a pregnancy crisis center because there are so many abortion clinics in the area. She said they didn’t have anyone working with them who had medical/maternity experience and asked if I would like to come and help.
What was my first response? I laughed and said no… but then God immediately tapped me on the shoulder and our conversation looked a little like this:
“Katie why are you laughing? What is so funny about that?”
“Well God, first off, I don’t particularly want to go to Mexico…I’ve been learning French, not Spanish.”
*Silence
“And a pregnancy crisis center? Have you lost your mind? This is way beyond anything I can do!”
“But it isn’t beyond what WE can do. And didn’t I tell you the next thing would be new, big, and exciting?”
“Yes but I didn’t think it would be THIS new and big!”
"I think you should talk to me more about this Katie” And of course after that I knew it was pretty much a done deal and all I had to do is decide to do it or not. After me digging my feet into the ground and saying no no no no I finally threw fear, doubts, and comfort zone out the window and hopped on this one way train with God. It has always been the best decision in the past so, I trust Him 100%.
How long will I be there? : No idea, could be months, could be years
When will I leave? : I am thinking October but I am holding that loosely in case I leave sooner. I was supposed to go in April for a mini trip to meet people and see the building but with the virus stuff I had to cancel my flight.
Is there a building? : Brilla Life has been blessed recently with a three story building! They want to use the bottom floor for the center.
What kinds of things will the center be offering to women? : We are not 100% sure of what it will look like at the moment but God does. The heart behind it is to create a safe place for women from poorer communities to come and get support, basic healthcare education, education about pregnancy and newborns, prayer, and encouragement to choose life. I would love to offer these women VERY basic prenatal checks (like taking blood pressure and giving prenatal vitamins) and there is talk of purchasing an ultrasound machine (only so women can see their baby, not for any kind of medical diagnosis). Women who see their baby and hear their baby’s heart beat are less likely to choose abortion. Of course we will be checking in with the government to make sure everything we do is legal.
Do I have a team for the center? : specifically for the center…No idea, but there is the lovely Brilla Life team there who do many other ministries already!
Am I excited? : Terrified. But confident in the one who walks beside me.
What am I doing until October? : There are several ministries who wanted some of the healthcare material I wrote for the school so I will be editing that and sending it out. I am also volunteering at the pregnancy crisis center here in Aiken (Life Choices, they have been amazing!) to learn all I can about starting one. Along with that I will be gathering supplies and equipment to take with me. I will, most likely, be doing a LOT of work on the children’s book. I have a healthcare teaching commitment in September in France unless things with the virus carry on until then…so we shall see!
A few ways of how you can be involved/help:
-Prayer is always top of the list because it is most important!
-If you know about book publishing, you can help!
-If you know about illustrating a book, you can help!
-If you would like to help fund the book, you can help!
-If you want to come to Mexico with me, please do J
-If you have tips on pregnancy crisis centers I would love any wisdom you have to offer!
-There are many many things the pregnancy center will need. I will hopefully soon make a little magazine with things people can purchase for the center.
-If you sew, knit, or crochet I would love to take baby hats filled with your prayers with me to Mexico
If you have any questions or would like to hear more about anything I’ve talked about, I would love to hear from you!
Thank you for journeying with me!
Blessings to you all,
Katie