Treasure

Hey guys!

So, tonight we had this talk at campaigners on Matthew 13:44

"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field"

The study was focused on what that man gave to obtain the treasure. In short, he gave it all. It says it right there!

We started talking about some of the things (treasures) that we could give up to acquire the greatest treasure, a treasure that few find. Some people were listing items, others were listing things that weren't so concrete, like a social status, problems like drinking and so on. I think a bunch of people immediately jumped to in their heads, "What would my life be like without Christ right now?" Myself included in a sort of round-a-bout way.

I'm very glad that I accepted Christ at a young age and he has kept me safe and sheltered from the world thus far, and that he has revealed himself to me so that I may trust him. And I think that because I've let Jesus lead my life to wherever he wills (not that my willingness to let him has anything to do with it) is why he had removed the "treasures" that might have taken his place this summer. And then again, maybe the fire had nothing to do with me at all. Maybe it was something that affected me but was meant for something more, or someone else.

But having said this, it just goes to show that you don't have to remove the idols that you are replacing him with in your heart, alone. He can definitely help you with that if you ask for it (and even if you don't ;]).

-Caitlin-

Looking Back On My Year

From the Beginning:

In Monterey:

• After a long struggle of living there for the past 7 months, I finally had friends to rely on.
• Before Wintercamp, I felt like I was living in Ecclesiastes. What was the point for everything? Why was I there? At Wintercamp, I realized that even though I may not see it, God's purpose for my life is bigger than me and I should be content in knowing He's got it under control when I don't understand.
• I traveled to Virginia for Spring Break by myself and had to grow up for a day when my flight from LA to DFW was canceled and I had to figure it out on my own.
• I went to Mexico with my Youth Group where I was blessed by hanging out with Casa de Esperanza, The Mission, and Renos de los ninos; and working with the Calvary College to build their new special needs home.
• I realized that before we moved, that my assessment of my own value to those around me was faulty in more ways than one. I was taught what a true friend was.
• I was overcome with Anxiety as a result of so much instability with change occurring in my life that I could not control. I found it was becoming difficult to breathe. Literally. It came about because I thought that nobody cared to know what was going on in my life and that my story wouldn't be relevant to them. So, I kept it bottled up inside, revealing to no one what was going on, and the stress took over. (A song that helped me through this was written by Tenth Avenue North on their new CD that had just come out at the time called "Any Other Way". It was like the song was written for me. I couldn't believe it) I learned that one of the expressions of love is to tell someone whats going on. Good and Bad.

God decided to change our moving plans at the last minute. No longer were we PCSing to Bahrain, but Virginia instead.

In the Summer:

• We took a road trip from Monterey to Norfolk (Where I drove for about 300 miles total!) and our first stop would be to visit some old friends from Yokota in Las Vegas for a few days. A place where I realized there's soooo much junk out there that I'm glad I've been sheltered from thus far.
• We then left for the Grand Canyon, where mid-roadtrip, we were informed by our Dad (who was still in Monterey) that our moving van, that had left ahead of us, had caught fire and nothing was expected to be salvageable. All at once, we were impacted with the reality that what the Lord blesses you with, he can also take away. And surprisingly, even though we were sad about having nothing other than what we brought with us on this road trip (Which was really unfortunate for Torii and me, because we only brought the things we took to Mexico for the missions trip), we were filled with peace that could only come from the Holy Spirit.
• After our stop at the Grand Canyon, where the beauty of God's creation was incredibly displayed, we headed on to Dallas to meet up with our extended family for a few weeks of summer that was hijacked for my parents by all the follow-up junk with our moving truck. By the end of the trip, we were all waiting for this nightmare to be over and to just start over with our new home in Virginia.
• I grew closer to my cousin, Hannah, this summer. I love her very much (as well as the rest of my cousins!)
• We headed on to Louisiana where we met up with some more friends from Yokota, and then on to Atlanta where we visited the CNN studio and the Cococola factory, and then continued our journey to Norfolk.

In Norfolk:

• I was re-united with some of my best and truest friends :)
• After a couple of months of living elsewhere, and after a long search, we moved to our house in Chesapeake, that we would not be able to have if the fire never happened this summer.
• The Lord allowed me to re-enter public school, even though I had no records/proof of me attending school for the past year and a half.
• I was invited to Young Life by my neighbor, who would become a good friend of mine :)
• I was/am being blessed by the girls I eat lunch at school with. (LUNCH BUNCH! X)
• I turned 17! :D
• I went to Rockbridge with Young Life where we paused for 20 minutes outside under the stars to pray and think, and I ended up using all that 20 minutes to pray for the legacy I want to leave here, in VA. And that God will use me to encourage and be a light to those around me.
• I returned to Rockbrige to be apart of the WorkCrew and serve those who were going to the camp that I had just attended two weeks earlier, and it blessed my socks off! It felt great to be serving again and to have that spiritual emphasis put into a retreat.
• I realized that I need to remain patient when it comes to waiting for the guy that I asked God to pick out for me and his timing is perfect, and that's something I don't want to mess with by attempting to interfere with his will by putting my time and giving my thoughts to someone other than Him.

I had a wonderful Christmas and it felt more like Christmas than it has in a few good years. It wasn't about the presents, even though I did get what I asked for, I would've been perfectly content if I didn't get any presents at all. Right now, I just feel so filled by how much the Lord has blessed me with.

And to top it all off, he answered my prayers with snow :]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Growing Up...

It's always weird when you get to Winterbreak and look back on how things were last year. And the year before that. And the year before that. You see how far you've come, and what's changed in you, and you look back and see what caused those changes. Then, you look ahead, and you might realize, "Holy cow! I only have one more Christmas with my family after this one before I move out!", and you wonder what your Christmas will look like next year. And the year after that. (etc)

When we moved to Virginia, we ended up finding a house right next to one of my best friends, Kyhlea. We also ended up being close-ish to another one of my great friends, Kelsey (who lives about 30 minutes away) In the past week, I drove my siblings + Kyhlea to our church for caroling. Or, at least, I attempted to. If it weren't for faulty directions that led us on a detour that got us lost for about an hour and a half, then we would've made it on time. (I won't name names... Dad...) But it was really odd how calm Kyhlea and I actually were in the situation. We were led on to the freeway and were pretty much in Virginia Beach by the time my mom told us we should turn around. I think we both realized that in this 2 hour road trip, we were growing up. Just the fact that we were at a point in our lives where we could drive each other around in the first place! (I think we will always joke that this was our first road trip together ;] )

A couple of days ago, I had a sleepover with both Kyhlea and Kelsey, and Kelsey had driven to my house BY HERSELF! And it's only going to keep progressing from here! Soon, we we'll all be in college, or have jobs, (or both! haha) and we'll be planning out our days without the approval of our parents! (sooooooo weird!)

Fact of the matter is, we're growing up. We've waited so long, yet it's happening so fast! This time next year, we'll all be spending our last Christmas's with our families as dependents (pardon my military lingo...) and I can't wait to see how much we've grown by looking back to the point that I am at right now, just like I'm looking back to where I was at this moment last year.

God has brought me through a lot. All of us, as a matter of fact. We will face trials this year, but God will bring us through again. It is my prayer that whatever happens, we will grow closer to each other and closer to Him, and that his light will be radiant through us. :)

So, World, Bring it on.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

-Caitlin-

This Time 3 Weeks Ago

[Tuesday, June 22, 2010]

Today was the first day of ministry on the trip. We went to a home for abused mothers and their children called 'Casa de Esperanza' (meaning House of Hope). We got there expecting to do some yard work, but as soon as we got there we all just jumped in and hung out with the kids. Walt (the co-directer of Casa de Esperanza) told us, "I would have my weeds grow 10 feet tall if it meant that my kids would be played with." So we played and played and played. We also brought the kids pizza from Costco, which they were very enthusiastic about. :) I made a friend there. Her name was Gabriella. She didn't speak any English, but through God's grace, we communicated with each other fairly well. I found out that she was just about to graduate to the 6th grade, she loves Volleyball and wants to play when she gets to High school and eventually, in the University. She likes Jalapenos on her pizza and apple soda to go with it and she likes to dance to the Macarena and has a beautiful voice when she chooses to sing along.

It was really hard to say goodbye when our group headed back to the church after lunch time. Everyone fell in love with the kids at Casa De Esperanza. We were all so blessed and couldn't believe that it was only the first day.

That night, we had our first debrief and everyone was just overwhelmed. The worship we had led by Dzack was awesome. We all poured our hearts out to God in song, and then headed to bed.

This Time 2 Weeks Ago

[Monday, June 21st 2010]

I was headed to Mexico with my youth group for a missions trip.

I woke up at around 5:30, took a shower, packed the car, and headed to San Jose airport with my friends, Meredith, Danielle, Stephanie, and Chelsea, along with my mom, Victoria, and Abi.

Yeah, the car was packed!

When we arrived at the airport, our group was there waiting in front of the Southwest Airlines terminal with all their luggage. All we did was add to he chaos. :) It was about an hour wait before everyone arrived and we checked our luggage. In the meantime, we were all cracking jokes and making bracelets.

The flight was short (about an hour long) from San Jose to San Diego, and the drive was no biggie (about 4 hours) from San Diego to Ensenada, Mexico. Getting through the border is an adventure in itself.

Nothing bad happened, nothing really scary. (Unless you consider the vicious driving of people trying to cut in lines... but other than that...)

When we made it through the border into Mexico, it was the reality of nonAmerica for me all over again and I loved it. The first things we saw were ads of Chile and Lime in a boxing ring, a humongous Mexican flag, the wall used as the border between the U.S. and Mexico, and Tijuana as we went around it. The whole entrance into Mexico was just an awesome experience of being overwhelmed.

After we settled and unpacked at the church we were staying at, we went to this amazing taco stand across the street. God's will for most of our dinners on the trip led us to the taco stand. Everything was hand prepared right in front of us, from the carne asada to the tortillas to the guacamole. Oh, so good!

That night, we went to sleep anxious for the work to be done in the morning, not knowing what to expect, but we knew we would be totally rocked.

Thanks for you prayers for travel mercies, we made it to Mexico safe and sound!

-Caitlin-

Headed to Haiti

Hello All!
As of January '10, my mom and I have been trying to get to Haiti to help with the relief efforts there. We were just informed last week that we will be going within a month from now. Please be praying for:

• The People in Haiti- They need more help and more prayers for sure!
• My mom and me- That we will get dates for our trip soon and we will be prepared for what we're going to see there.

I'll be sure to give you guys an update when we learn anything else about our trip! Please keep us in your prayers!

-Caitlin-

Death To Life 2010

Hey Y'all!
So, how 'bout this weather in California? CRAZY, no? It can't make up its mind! Its cloudy, rainy, then thunder and lightning-y, then the hail comes outta nowhere and all the sudden, its sunny again. I like it, though. But NOT when it makes me leave winter camp a day early.

This past weekend, I was at winter camp down in southern California and let me tell you, it was AMAZING! It took 9 hours there and back by means of bus, which was a crazy experience in itself, and we all grew closer because of it.
When we arrived, we went to our cabins to unpack then headed over to the dining hall for dinner. (GREAT camp food :]) Getting a seat or a table in the dining hall is just about as crazy as trying to find seats in the Super dome during the Superbowl. Meaning? Your chances are slim.

But that's not even what winter camp was about. Death to Life. That was the theme. Yes, kind of a basic message but who doesn't need one of those every once in awhile? (Especially those who aren't yet Christians) I know I needed it because I'll admit, I was struggling. Not with anything bad, but with being Luke-warm. While I wanted to praise God and obey, be a light to the others around me, I didn't. I mean, I desired it in my head, but not so much in my heart. I wanted to want to act in love, I wanted to want to praise God with my heart, but I really didn't want to. Make sense?

Since we moved from Yokosuka, Japan to Monterey, California; things have been very different. I was not the same person when I moved. I became very closed out and reserved to those around me. (You guys back at One-Way wouldn't believe it, haha) The worst part was, I made it look like that was just who I was, and I came to realize this at camp.

Camp gave me a time to think, to re-evaluate what was going on. For a few weeks, I had been praying that God would light the fire in me again. The one that gave me a passion for pursuing him and for showing others his love. He answered my prayer during the middle of camp. There was a lot of junk going on in our youth group for a couple of hours (to put it basically) and I had a chance to pray with a friend of mine about it. I hadn't prayed aloud with someone in the longest time! It just opened my eyes, and my tears. When I was finished praying with my friend, I went back to our cabin only to release more tears. I tried to toughen up and be a big girl, but the more I tried, the more the tears kept flowing. I went out to the rec room, but I couldn't look at anyone because I would just start crying again! Let me tell you, I was a MESS!

I was only crying so hard because, now that God has lit the fire again, here in Monterey, how much longer can I let my love for the people in this place get stronger? I just opened my heart again... only to let it break? And I couldn't look at any of my friends because I know I will soon be leaving them and I felt like I couldn't talk to anyone because they wouldn't understand. A Youth leader later came and made me talk to her, :) Which I'm glad she did, because I needed to silence the tears once and for all. In basic terms, she told me they would all miss us (my sister and I) but I should not be worried about leaving because God's not going to give me anything I can't handle.

The next day, I told this same story to my youth group when we had a sharing time. And I keep getting positive feedback :) shortly after that, we had to take the bus home because the camp was anticipating one of the worst snow storms in California in 20 years (or something like that). It was hard to feel like we hadn't been gypped, but God blessed the ride home indescribably. We finished our sharing time on the bus, and we had praise and worship, after that everybody was just talking to eachother and praying. So sweet :]

Now that we are home, everybody can hardly wait for youth group (which is tonight).

-Caitlin-