Kingwood Disciple Now

Just a quick post about this weekend...

Tomorrow I am going to Kingwood to lead a Disciple Now. I have been a leader for several Disciple Nows in the past, and I loved every one of them. The difference in this weekend is that I will be leading the senior girls. On one hand, I am excited about the chance to pour into the lives of these seniors. The flipside to that is I am nervous because I have never led senior girls before....I am always with the middle school girls. So, I guess its just "unknown territory" to me.

I am praying that the Lord would begin even now to prepare their hearts to receive whatever Word He has specifically for each of them this weekend. I am also praying for openness and honesty among our group, and that the Lord would be magnified and glorified in each and every conversation that takes place. For myself specifically, I am praying that I would hide behind the cross of Jesus Christ and be sensitive to the Lord's direction for our small group times together. I would love it if you would join in these prayers for these girls this weekend.

God is so good!

San Antonio and Other Weekend Fun!

Last weekend was SUPER BUSY, but it was so much fun! It started off on Thursday and so it was a long weekend, too.

I took Thursday and Friday off of work and went to San Antonio. On Thursday, I met up with the wonderful Brittany Bauerlein for lunch. It was so great to see her again. She and I graduated from Texas A&M together and were really close friends especially during our senior year. This sweet girl has such a heart for the Lord and she is one of the most faithful, loyal friends. It would take several hours to catch up completely, but we didn't have that much time. I am so thankful for the hour chat that we got to have over lunch at Pei Wei. I didn't get a pic of us this weekend, but here is one from our senior year.

Britt and Me at Elephant Walk, November 2006

The next stop for the day was UT Health Science Center-San Antonio. I am hoping and praying that the Lord allows me to be here in the fall for Nursing School. I spent the afternoon attending an open house at the nursing school and asking questions about their program. I found out in December that another dear friend of mine from A&M, Alicia, was starting nursing school in San Antonio this spring. Knowing that she was in school there, I was secretly was hoping that I would run into her. I looked around for her as we toured the campus, but I never saw her. Then just as I was leaving, Alicia saw me! It was SO great to see her again as well, and it was also extremely helpful to ask her questions about the San Antonio Nursing Program. Thanks so much Alicia! You are amazing, and I hope that we get to hang out a lot next year (we are just going to make the assumption that I AM coming)!!

Although the entire weekend was fun, the remainder of my Thursday and Friday was BY FAR the highlight of my weekend. After the Open House, I spent the night with the amazing Martine fam! I was incredibly blessed by the kindness of this family. Thanks to sweet Dakota, I have tons of pictures from the night....but I am only going to post a couple of them. (Cristie, I told you that I would be nice and wouldn't put the "other ones" on here)!

Didn't Dakota do an amazing job fixing my hair in pigtails?Playing princess with DakotaSweet Maliah getting in on the fun!

Friday morning I met up with the Foote fam. This is another family that has been a huge blessing in my life. We played hard all day long....I had forgotten how much fun it is to play with a two year old!! When I led a Disciple Now back in January, my girls made some "princess packages" for the Somali girls, whom I heard about through Cindy. It was so much fun to be able to finally bring the packages to Cindy so that she could deliver them.

Isn't Miss Libby a doll? I sure think so!

Do you want a quick God story?? I sure do want to tell! I came across the Martine & Foote blogs toward the beginning of their journeys to their Chinese princesses. The Lord has really given me a heart for China, and so I was immediately drawn to the stories of these two families. It was through the journeys of Maliah and Libby that the Lord really deepened my heart for China and Chinese adoption. The biggest blessing of the weekend was getting to meet these two precious girls whom I have prayed for since before they were born. I'm not sure why the Lord decided to bless me so much by building friendships with these two familes, but I am forever thankful for it. They mean the world to me, and I am ecstatic that there is the possibility of living close to them next year. Martine and Foote families...I love you guys! Thanks for letting me hang out for the weekend and for letting the Lord use you in the ways that He is!

The weekend didn't stop there....(although I'll try to make this portion a little bit shorter)!! Saturday evening, my ROOMMATE GOT ENGAGED!!!! Yay Dee and Justin!! You guys are a beautiful couple, and I know that the Lord is going to be glorified in and through your marriage. Keep seeking Him and serving Him. I love you!! I just have to say that my roomate, Dee, is great. Our friendship goes WAY WAY WAY back....we grew up in church together. When we were little, it was pretty much a given that every Sunday after church, she would either come to my house or I would go to hers. I got lucky enough to have her live with me when she moved to College Station in the fall, and we have had tons of fun and made lots of memories!
Justin and Dee, February 23, 2008

Good job on the ring Justin!

We finished the weekend on Sunday with a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese for Dee's nephew who turned 3 in February.
Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Dee and I at Chuck-E-Cheese!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "A"!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, A!!!!

"A" was one of the first people I met in China. It didn't take me long to realize that what we shared was much more than a teacher/student relationship. She has become one of my dearest friends. Her birthday was earlier in the week, but I haven't gotten a chance to post lately. Sorry about that "A"! I love you! Here are pics of some of my favorite times in China with "A".

"A" took me to shop at the Bird and Flower Market in Nanning. It was such a crazy experience. She is incredible at bartering. Thanks to her, I was able to come home with some amazing gifts!! One purchase that sticks out in my mind is when she helped me buy a jade necklace. The vendor was asking 360元, and she was able to talk it down to 40元!! That's only $5!

Chase, A, and I at Closing Ceremonies of Camp China 2006.

This pic was taken during our Fairy Tales culture night. I was teaching Cinderella, and A was acting out the part of Cinderella. She was hilarious!!

If I had to pick one of my favorite moments in LIFE, this would def. be on the TOP of my list. One rainy afternoon, A and I spent some incredible time eating apples and peanut butter. We talked about Father for about 2 hours this afternoon. I walked away from this conversation so encouraged. It's a great story....ask me about it sometime!

My first night back in Nanning in 2007. "A" and I were both in tears!! We were so excited to see each other again!! She is my beautiful sister!

Apples and peanut butter with "A" in 2007. The occasion was so significant the year before, we talked about having it again when I got back. We looked forward to this moment all year long!

My last day in Nanning with A, Y, and C. These girls are amazing!

Dear A, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I miss you like crazy, and I love you so much. I hope that you had a lot of fun celebrating your birthday! I wish that I could have been there to celebrate with you. Who knows, maybe one of these days we can celebrate our birthdays together since they are so close together. How fun would that be?!? I would LOVE LOVE LOVE it! You are a precious sister, and I thank our Father for our friendship. Keep loving and learning about HIM, and never stop reading our favorite book. Love you sister!! ~katie

UT Houston Interview

Ok...so I just realized that I never posted again about my Nursing School interview at UT Houston....and it has 2 weeks! I'm awful; I know!

The interview went as well as to be expected. I wouldn't say that I "enjoyed" it, but I think it went well. They told us that the process would be about 4 hours from start to finish, but I was completely finished in less than 2 hours. It was good to hear from current students and ask them questions about the program. I was thankful for their honesty in both the good and bad things about the school/program.

If I am accepted into this program, it would be great. UT Houston is a great school, and it is in Houston's medical center...it doesn't get much better than that. As much as I liked it, I am still holding out for San Antonio. So we will see what happens....

Oh...with either school I end up going to, there is one MAJOR drawback for me. They are both affliated with t.u. As an Aggie, I cringe at the thought of having to sing "The Eyes of Texas..." or whatever it's called. I am still convinced that they are singing "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad"!

That's all!

Interview Today

Today at noon is my interview for UT Houston's Nursing School. I'm not sure exactly what all it will entail since this is really the first interview I have ever had. All I know is that it starts at noon, and the whole process will last 3-4 hours. So, if you read this and think about it between 12pm and 4 pm, would you say a little prayer? I'm not too nervous, but I guess that may change in a little while. Thanks so much!

Big Bird in China

I just watched the Big Bird in China dvd, and it made me remember this video. Because it made me smile, I wanted to put it on here so that you would smile too!!