My Zion National Park Summer with ACMNP

Dearest Friends,

If I haven’t already had the opportunity to tell you, this summer I have accepted an opportunity to do ministry at Zion National Park through A Christian Ministry in the National Parks (ACMNP). I recently attended a weekend of training in Estes Park where I met my team and learned much more about what exactly we’ll be doing this summer – and let me tell you, I am so excited to see what God is going to do through us at Zion!

First, if you haven’t ever heard of ACMNP (I hadn’t, until February of this year!), a little background: ACMNP has been around since 1951 when the first Sunday services were held at Yellowstone. Since then, it has evolved and services are now held at approximately 28 different parks, with multiple services and even multiple locations at large parks. ACMNP estimates that around 1,400 services are offered every summer with 30,000 or so attending! If you are traveling this summer, be sure to check out ACMNP.com and find out when and where services are held if they are available at the parks you’re visiting.

Our team this summer will be providing two Sunday services at Zion: 8am @ the South Campground Amphitheater (left) and the 10am @ the Zion Lodge Auditorium (right). If you happen to travel to Utah, come worship with us!

Second, a little more about Zion. Located near Springdale, UT, Zion National Park is full of sandstone cliffs and narrow slot canyons. If you want to see some amazing pictures, just Google Zion NP, Angels Landing, Zion Subway, or Zion Narrows. As a team, we certainly plan to explore, hike, go canyoneering, and anything else we can do outdoors! And we hope to bring others along with us as well. Surprisingly, as many park workers are trying to get away from life, most are not in the park to explore. We know, however, the power of getting people into God’s creation.

This leads me to my third point, and probably the part that my heart is most passionate about – relational ministry. If you’ve seen me do ministry before, you know that the relational aspects are where I live and move and have my being. J Part of serving for ACMNP is working a concessionaire job in the park. Our team will be living and working alongside mostly non-Christians who have a variety of issues, including serious drug and alcohol problems. While many of them have experienced judgment or even hate from the church (and thus are wary of ACMNP workers at first), at training we heard story after story of ACMNP workers who loved those people so deeply and sacrificially that they created lifelong friendships. Though I wish it didn’t have to be this way, it would be a blessing to be a part of redeeming the church or even the name of Jesus Christ for someone who has never experienced true love or grace. And what a celebration it would be if those people (even in the long term) ever came into relationship with the Lord!

This is where you come in. I am reminded of an illustration a preacher used once about how pointless and ineffective a flashlight is in a room full of light. We are leaving whatever Christian “bubbles” we might currently be in and going straight to darkness. We are going to need your prayer and encouragement in order to maintain our brightness – that it might be effective in shining into the hearts of those we’re ministering to. Would you be willing to commit to pray for us? Perhaps even writing out some of those prayers or other words of encouragement to send us while we are in Zion from mid-May to mid-August? Or some type of encouragement care package? As a seminarian, I am also our Team Leader. Would you pray for my leadership? And for Jon, a 27-year old transitioning to a new life in Austin, TX, and Molly, a college junior at Baylor? For God to move in our relational ministry and our Sunday services?

I cannot stress enough how much we need and will value your support throughout the summer. A letter from you may come at just the right time to give us hope to persevere. Your prayers will help cover us in ways we hope to tell you some about, but also in ways you may never know. As part of this endeavor, I am also doing some fundraising to cover expenses related to training and travel, as well as funds to cover my rent in Denver for the summer. This will allow me to save money for school and life expenses when I return in the fall. It would never be my intention to guilt anyone to giving. Seriously. If you feel led to come alongside me in this process in a financial way, I will be incredibly grateful. But I will also be incredibly thankful for your prayers and encouragement. My hope and prayer is that you will be blessed and enriched for your generosity in either or both ways. (2 Cor 9:10-15).

     If you would like to give financially to my budget below, there are two ways you can do so:
     1.     Through cash or check made out to Katie Loew. Unfortunately, there are too many of us to raise through ACMNP and therefore your donations are not tax deductible. I promise your money will be handled with utmost integrity.
     2.     Online through my GoFundMe account. Go to http://www.gofundme.com/8cd2is & click “Donate!” Then follow the instructions & enter your credit/payment info. GoFundMe is a trustworthy fundraising website that has been featured by CNN, NY Times, USA Today, etc.

      If you decide to fund me online, please send me an email telling me you have done so at katieloew@gmail.com (or if you'd like my address to support by cash or check). Also, please contact me via email if you wish to commit to prayer for my team and I or to commit to sending encouragement via snail mail during our summer. (Zion address to follow when available.) I am so excited for the summer ahead and so thankful for your support in my life now and in the past. If you choose to make your prayers, encouragement, or financial support known, I promise to be in touch. I cannot wait to share testimonies of God’s work!

      Thank you so much for taking the time to read and support my team and I! I truly appreciate it.

      In Christ,
      Katie

Journal 7/16/10

When our view of God is small
We won't get to see Him do much
Because our eyes will be bitterly closed.
When our view of God is BIG
We get to partake in His BIG picture
His redemptive plan for the entire world...

BIG 
Holy, Powerful, Higher
Strong, Trustworthy, Mighty to Save
Every heart, Everywhere
Constantly moving

Be fully persuaded that
God has the power
To do what He has promised

FULLY
Like the little daughter who leaps
Into a Father's arms
Without even considering the possibility of not being caught

She trusts completely
Subconsciously

How can we get to that place?
Pure, subconscious trust?

Oh, to fall in love...

It's Official.

Well friends, it seems the time has come yet again for me to enter a new phase of life.

It's official. I'm moving to Denver, Colorado. 

(Well, not until later this summer. Actual date tentative.)

In late August of this year, I will officially start school at Denver Seminary working towards a MA in Youth and Family Ministries with a concentration in Counseling Ministries. I also hope to (fingers crossed!) work for a church in the area (as an Associate Youth Director). Right now I am in the middle of the application process and have a phone interview in about a week and a half. I would love your prayers for God's will in this!

I came to this decision after lots of prayer and consideration, mixed with a known (well, re-realized last year!) call to full-time youth ministry. God opened the doors by allowing me to be accepted to a couple different seminaries and I feel as though He has been leading me to Denver. I can't wait for the adventure.


I am really excited about this new phase of life for several reasons:
1. It finally means getting out of Missouri (at least for a while).
2. I will still get to be close to and be able to watch my little brother play basketball at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, CO.
3. It also means living close to two of my great friends, Adam and Tyler.
4. Last "people" post - I will get to live somewhat near good friends and former leader Courtney and Jake and their newborn baby girl.
4. I will be able to travel even more around the state of CO - even though I've already been to several towns, including Buena Vista, Salida, Winter Park, Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Gunnison, Creede, Alamosa, Lake City, Grand Junction, Silverthorne, Boulder, Fort Collins, Estes Park, and so on and so forth. But there is plenty to the state I haven't seen!
5. I WILL GET TO GO ROCK CLIMBING - like, whenever I want when the weather is nice. (God Bless my friend Tyler for working so many random jobs and hopefully being able to get me a prodeal on equipment.) I think rock climbing is secretly my favorite sport, even though I've only been able to go for real a few times in my life.
6. Great hiking! However, don't expect me to be one of those "hike all the 14er's" people. I like shorter, relaxing hikes that I can get out and do within 2-3 hours during my day. (Although I will hike whole mountains occasionally!)
7. Chacos. Fleeces. Northface. Patagonia. Mountain Hardware. Outdoor stores. And more outdoor stores.
8. Learning how to ski better. (If I can afford it!)
9. 300 Days of sunshine!
10. Being able to take seminary classes and be in community with fellow classmates. I never thought I'd be excited to go back to school but this will obviously be different! And much better.

Just remember that wherever my Colorado home might be - you are always welcome! I want visitors so come play in the mountains and stay with me!

The House on Q Street

Today I'd like to take you on a little trip to the land of the Huskers...specifically a senior-citizen filled, calm little town called Auburn, Nebraska. Auburn is where both of my parents grew up, and where all 3 of my living grandparents still reside. (In the same homes they've been living in for 40+ years).

As many of you probably know, my Grandma B (my mom's mom) hasn't been doing so well. She is currently undergoing chemo and has complications off and on because she is pretty weak. Currently she is in the hospital getting over a case of pneumonia. I just got back from visiting yesterday and I am happy to report she is getting stronger every day and is just as sweet as ever.

I have somewhat of a special attachment to my Grandma.....when I was just one-year old, my mom had major jaw surgery. Part of her recovery included having her jaw wired shut for at least 6 weeks. During that time, my Grandma took care of me a LOT. She would either help out in KC, or even take me back to Nebraska with her and take care of me there. Even though I obviously don't remember this, it certainly created an extra attachment between her and I. As I grew up, I began going up to Nebraska for at least a week every summer by myself (as in without any of my immediate family) to hang out and play with my grandparents. I did that since before I can even remember, and it lasted all the way until I was at least in high school. Even then I went up occassionally by myself. I was the only one of us Loew children to do this. And even though my parents are both from Auburn and my other grandma only lives a mile away...I split the daytime between the two homes as much as possible, but I always stayed with my mom's parents.
I realized while reminiscing about all the time I spent here as a child that I am more attached to my grandparent's house than any other house that has been a part of my life. I think part of it is probably the fact that most of the furniture hasn't changed over the years. All of my memories take place in the same rooms, with almost exactly the same stuff.

Here are some pictures of my favorite home (and I just realized I don't have one of the outside! Dang):

When you walk in the front door, this is what you see:

The recliners in this room have changed occassionally and the tv that is in the left-hand corner has gotten bigger...but much of it has remained the same. Every Christmas Eve except this last year took place in this room.

Just through the opening of the last picture is this, the kitchen and dining area. Many meals have been eaten at that bar and table. Some classics - homemade waffles, popcorn, cheese potato soup, and ice cream cones at night! Also, probably thousands of card games have been played at that same kitchen table.

One side of the office I played in a lot. This room is the first room on the right down in the hall in the last picture. The main computer desk is actually on the other side of the room. The big desk here is my grandpa's - he was a banker pretty much his whole life.

My grandparent's room. Second room on the right. I didn't spend much time in here, other than when I would go into snuggle in the morning when I stayed there alone.

Next, at the end of the hallway, is a picture of "my" room. I have been calling it "my room" for years now...even though really it is my mom's room...but I look at it this way - no one has slept in this room more than I have over the last 24 years. Even on holidays, I never had to sleep in any of the uncomfortable beds downstairs...I always got dibs on this room. I shared it sometimes. But I was never kicked out of it. :)

(It is very pink. But it has looked this way my whole life!)

My mom and aunt's senior pictures hang on the wall by the door of my room...isn't my mom a babe?

Now to the basement...the laundry room, door to the garage, and door to the basement are all behind where I am standing and taking the kitchen picture.

Main area #1. Yes, that is red shag carpet on the wall by the stairs! ha

Pictures of my grandparents on the wall. My grandpa was a handsome young Navy lad and I think my grandma is a babe just like my mom!

Main area #2. Pool room. It didn't used to be this filled with stuff. We played pool and piano all the time in here.

The Loew Band. haha. This is taken standing in main area #1 looking into main area #2. We look GOOD. (I never knew how to play guitar then...but that is the guitar I eventually taught myself on in high school!)

Now for some other fun ones....

HAHA. (This is taken in front of the house.) I found this in some pictures this weekend. We have some pretty bad family photos, but this HAS to be one of the funniest. My sister just totally makes this picture.

Totes presh. My little brother loved to sit on grandpa's lap in that chair.

Lookin' good in the backyard tree.

Dancing at their 25th Anniversary bash.

Because I spent so much time at that house, and because my grandpa still worked when I was little, I really have spent more time with my mom's mom than any other grandparent. I have a lot of great memories with her. We played tons of games and she took me to parks and the pool and anywhere I wanted to go.

She might be 76 now, but she's still as great as ever.

I am incredibly thankful for my Grandma Bergmann, and I can't wait for her to get out of the hospital so I can go up to Nebraska by myself again and hang out like old times.

If you still have grandparents...you should give them a call today. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you. :)

Sarah. (A Woman Worth Knowing)

It has been quite some time since I blogged. But there's always a good reason to start again!

I have this really great friend. When I say really great, I mean like, REALLY great. She kind of does awesome things for the Name of the LORD in this world. She loves and honors her husband more than any wife I know. She is about to be the mother of a beautiful, long-awaited child. She builds up youth to also serve in this world. She is one of my best friends, and she has impacted my life more than words can describe.

Her name is Sarah Beard, and (if you don't already), I would like for you to take a moment to get to know her.

Sarah is a frequent blogger. You don't have to read all of these, but they're all pretty great...so if you have time, you should.

These posts will give you a sense of Sarah's rich love of the Lord:

• Faithful. An honest conversation. - The occasional struggle to trust the faithfulness of God.
• Learning is Fun this Week! - A post about obedience.
• Good. - God, the Ultimate Good.

These posts relate to Sarah's marriage to Andrew - posts that have inspired me and I hope will inspire you about what you desire in marriage as well:

• Intention - READ THIS. You will seriously want this kind of relationship. 
• Marriage Purity - Self explanatory, a message about purity even within marriage.

And these, well, these are shorter snapshots of Andrew & Sarah and how seriously HILARIOUS they are. If you don't already, you'll understand why I love them so much after reading these:

• What Happens When I Don't Reply
• Airplane Humor
• Chuck

Basically, Sarah is one of the greatest people I know. Here's where you come in. Sarah works for this awesome organization, His Voice Global. Check it out more here. HVG is in the midst of some awesome Kingdom projects. These include building orphanages in Sudan (& partnering with people there to sustain them), partnering with a boys home in India, and feeding thousands of orphans in North Korea (a RARE and amazing opportunity). Sarah is the Director of Partnerships for HVG, which means she is constantly finding new people/churches/organizations to partner with HVG in various ways. She also plans missions conferences and loads of other things. 

As another part of her job, Sarah has to raise her own salary. This year, with Baby Beard due in June, Sarah is hoping to raise $30,000. This little nugget growing inside of her has been an answer to years of prayer, and I want to do everything I can to make sure he/she is well taken care of! :)

Sarah is also one of the most humble people I know. You can believe that no matter how big or little your donation, she will be humbled, maybe even to tears -- or maybe it's just the pregnancy hormones. :) She is a gracious woman who is deserving of any dollar you could give her way.

If you would like to give a one-time or monthly donation to Sarah (AND YOU SHOULD!), please follow her directions in this post:
The Ask.

If you really still feel like you don't know Sarah enough, here is a video testimony she also used to announce to the youth group that her and Andrew were expecting a child. Enjoy! And PLEASE, be a part of Christ's hands & feet in the world and help her reach her goal! ANYTHING HELPS!

Volunteer Testimony - Sarah Beard from HPUMC & Munger Place on Vimeo.

Hiking with the Lord - Busiek Revelations

Well hello world!

So I know it has been a while...I also know that I never finished documenting my summer road trip travels. Maybe I'll get around to that eventually so that I do indeed have it documented.

But for now...I return to the blogosphere for a different reason. I've been doing some reading lately...and also a bit of hiking out at Busiek State Forest in the Ozarks. Busiek used to be the place where I had a lot of fun college camping memories (which I still do...freeze the gnats and tats November camping! ha) but this time around living in Springfield...Busiek has become my place to hike with the Lord.

Which is exactly what I did this last Monday. 

At one point, I felt like the Lord just wanted me to sit down for a second...and take some time to just listen. So I did. My thoughts had kind of been overwhelmed the few days prior...and this is what I felt like He revealed to me.

I looked to my left, then to my right, and this is what I saw. (These pictures may look very similar to you, but to me there were definite differences.)

First, to my left:

From my view, the path kind of trailed off vaguely, consumed by the trees and leaves. It was like the past, no matter what's back there or where you've come from - it's constantly being consumed by the Lord's beauty. We just have to keep walking on and trust that His beauty is consuming it behind us.

To my right...

 

The path is a little more defined. But then it turns the corner and disappears. I had been way over-thinking my future, caught up in the details of what might possibly be and how to take care to get there. Sitting on the rock, I had the realization that we all know but too often forget - Yes, the Lord has plans for us, plans to give us hope and a future (Jer 29) - but that does not mean He lets us see all of those plans whenever we want. No, we are to live in today and take care of the right now. Why worry about tomorrow, for today has enough trouble of it's own? I believe He lets us see just enough....but when we try to make too many future plans (like me going back to school to teach, or moving to Dallas)...we are just fooled. Our lives are but a mist...so let's not get caught up in our 5 year plans.

And then...this caught my eye, straight ahead of me.....a fallen, dead tree.

 

I couldn't figure out why it so grabbed my attention for a bit...and I was fixated on it just for that reason. And then all of a sudden I had this thought - sometimes we are so concentrated on death that we miss the beauty that is ALL around us. And I don't mean just literal death. I mean any kind of darkness that feels like death in our hearts - could be pain that hasn't been dealt with, could be sin, could be the tendency to dwell on the negative. But if we could just take our eyes off of that thing for just a second...we would see LIFE......

 

So this week, that's what I would encourage you to do. Take your eyes off of the things that are bringing death to your heart...take a look at the life, light, and beauty around you. The Lord is here. The Lord is EVERYWHERE. And He is magnificent. He is consuming your past. And taking care of your future. So trust in Him. And follow the path in front of you. Wherever He's leading you...He'll be with you. And that's all you need to know.

God bless. :)

Vulnerability.

Ok so I know I need to update...I have more coast pictures and redwoods and sunsets and Arches National Park in Utah! But I want to pause for a moment. To say this.

About 4 years ago or so...my first couple of years of college...I was in this super vulnerable place. For the first time ever, I was just very honest with myself and conversations were going on with lots of different friends around me and I just started to realize the power of vulnerability.

I think it has power...for a few reasons. 

1. For our past issues... maybe it's suffering. Maybe something crappy happened to us that just weighs on us or that we don't understand. Or perhaps we did something. Something that is so far removed from who we are now but nonetheless, we know we did it once. And maybe the emotions of that weigh on us. I think in these situations, we have to know a couple of things:

• 2 Corinthians 1:4-5 tells us that He will comfort us in our troubles, SO THAT we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. I think that in order to provide this comfort with those who might be walking through the same things...we ourselves have to be willing to share what happens.
• John 5, where Jesus heals the crippled man by the pool...He tells the guy to "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." One time I heard someone preach on this passage and a huge part of it was about the phrase "Pick up your mat and walk".... the mat. The sick, nasty mat that the guy has been laying on, defecating on for THIRTY-NINE years... "Pick it up and walk." Carry that thing with you. SHOW God's glory in where He has brought you from. Get up. Don't get stuck in it, don't walk in that sin, don't drown in that suffering anymore. Get up. But take the mat...and show God's glory in how He has healed you. You have to be vulnerable to be willing to carry around your mat.
• I don't have a verse for this one...but we've all been through healing processes. And to kind of go along with my first point...some people are further along in the healing journey. We can't gain their wisdom unless we, as the un-wise, learn to open up.

2. For current issues, namely, current sin:

• James 5:16 tells us to "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." I mean there it is. Confess your sins. Name them. Be honest and vulnerable. Pray for each other. Be accountable. Find healing. 

I learned a lot in that vulnerable season of my life. But then life got hard and I went through this weird depression which was so unlike me, and afterwards I started running away from a lot of things I used to know. I closed up. It was easier to just help others and not deal with myself.

This trip, God has no longer let me do that. I had to quit running. And it sucked for second. I don't like some of my mats. I would rather put them down. And there are some other things I would kinda like to keep hiding. But then I realized... especially with past mats. It's important to not shut them up. Because we start to THINK they are things we have to be ashamed of... when really, we are just stinkin' robbing our GREAT God of His glory that He deserves. I wanna give that glory.

Sorry this is long...I want to end with this. I wrote this poem in a class my sophomore year of college. I don't pretend to be a great writer by any means, ha, but it got good reviews for the class so I feel okay putting it out there. haha. It's called "Little Soapbox"...because seriously, I preached vulnerability like crazy back then. 

Little Soapbox

We shared life stories the other day

But I could see in your eyes that you were offering only so much

Replacing details with

And yeah, I just don’t know

But I know that the pain lies in what you avoid putting into words

It just wasn’t a good time you say

But the darkness of your past covers your eyes

And why?

I’ll tell you why.

Because no one talks.

Because we’re taught the past is supposed to be just that.

The past.

Secret.

Almost as if it doesn’t even exist.

But we’re dying to talk

Because we’re dying for someone to listen

To know the real us

To forgive our mistakes

And to understand our suffering

And the thing is

When we do step out and talk

We fling open the floodgates of realness

Allowing those who identify with us to rush in

Because really, we all have a lot more in common than we thought.

So talk.

Because true healing lies in your words.