Sunshine Lollipops and Rainbows....

SUNSHINE!
Now I understand why the Beatles wrote: "Here Comes the Sun." It truly is a magical thing to see it's golden rays poking out from beneath the never-ending expanse of gray clouds, even if it is only for a few minutes before it goes back into hiding.
Today has been an incredible day so far. We had morning lectures, and then split the boys and girls into different groups. The women staff of Capernwray had us all stand in the middle of the room, and then they stood around us and one by one prayed for all of us. They prayed for things like home-sickness, not fitting in, feeling lonely, being beautiful in God's eyes, not comparing each other or competing against each other, and also that God would radically open our eyes to his will and that we would not be the same people who walked in those doors. It was truly beautiful. We got secret sisters, which they say is so "North-American." haha. I'm excited for it.

After that we had 2 more lectures and then headed out to lunch. And oh heavens. It was SO GOOD! It was beef curry, rice, and...gasp! Nan bread! It took me back to good times in Japan eating CoCo's Chicken Cutlet Curry and Nan bread. It was so fantastic, that my table hardly talked we were just eating as fast as we could. It's the first meal I've walked away from feeling full...since I've been here. There's really no worry about gaining a "freshman 15" when they don't feed you lots!

After sitting on a bench soaking up the beautiful sunshine, I went to talk to Carolyn Keats, director of Outreach, and I'm going to be on the Jr. High Outreach program and leading worship. I am SO EXCITED to get to work with Jr. Highers again. They truly are the best...and the craziest :P

After this I'm going to head out on a walk around the loop to go sit by the pond and play my guitar and read my bible with my friend Kate. The sun is out and I can already tell it's going to be amazing. I'm really trying to relax as much as I can before all the assignments begin and I'll actually have homework again.

Cheerio darlings!

9 units. 1500 word essays. Leading group discussions. 10 day outreach. 6 months. Madness.

We went through our course schedule today......and if I thought regular school was hard...geez I was not expecting this. However, it is all interesting and things I actually want to learn about so that makes it a lot better.

We met with our "family groups"this morning...aka the Capernwray version of Pause groups. My family is awesome and I love our family parents. We get to go to their house of Friday to make pizza and play games...our Family dad is a really funny old Irish man and his wife is the sweetest little English lady. It'll be a blast. (And oh- just so you know, an Ijit, is an Irish Idiot....that's what I learned today :P)
It keeps raining, as rain is in the forecast for the next 4 days, but that's England for you!

We've learned all the things we have to study and all the things we have to lead and all that other stuff, it was a little stressful but I'll get through it....hopefully ;)
The internet is still slow and all that but I'm getting more used to it. Who needs to be on facebook everyday anyway? :P

I'm going to be on the worship team and I am super excited for that, I can't wait to lead others before the throne through music. It's going to be fantastic.

This weekend is a travel weekend to the Lake District but I'm not going...because I'm saving up my money for Liverpool where the Beatles came from....and Pemberly...well, actually, it's not called Pemberly but it's Mr.Darcy's house from Pride and Prejudice for those of you who don't know. :P

Well that's it for now, when I actually have exciting news I will post it...and when I get better internet (hopefully on Saturday when everyone is gone on the trip..wink wink) I will be sure to try and post some pics. Love you all!

SLLLOOOWWWWW internet

I can't complain about Hume internet anymore, this is 10 times worse :P
I'm havin' fun and getting stuff situated, figuring out where I'm workin, getting to know my roommates, attempting to stay warm, dreaming about good coffee, missing Chic-fil-a, but all in all, having an AWESOME time!
Send me mail! It's so exciting to get letters, and since email is so shaky, letters would probably be best.
I wrote the address in an earlier post, but if it says LAG 1A6, then it's wrong. It's LA6 1AG
:)
miss you all!

120 girls. 55 boys.

Capernwray Bible School. It's incredible, and love it here already. I've already gotten to know so many people and it's amazing how quickly we all connected. I don't live in the castle, unfortunately, but my room under the conference hall by the garden is roomy and I love my roommates. I've got 3 other girls, 2 from Canada, 1 from Portland. I think we'll get along well, none of them snore so that's a bonus ;) And after all, we can only upgrade from here, in January, it's Castle time.

Yesterday as we arrived and our principal Rob Whittaker introduced the staff, one of the first things he said was, "As of right now we have about 174 students, not all of them are here, but gentelmen, you'll love to hear this, : 120 girls, 55 boys." Everyone laughed. It's going to be a good year. So daddy don't worry, there aren't any British boys who've caught my eye, but there are some Canadians and Italians ;)
Today we've had breakfast, cereal and croissants no less, and then headed out to church. I've done some exploring, took some awesome pictures, hung out with some cool people, ate a lunch of dry chicken and..gasp! potatoes :P, and now we're heading out on a walk throughout the countryside. And, tut tut, it looks like rain. Time to finally wear my Wellies and carry my umbrella. I can't wait!
I miss you all!
And oh- I only have internet from 2-5 and 9-10 my time, so either 6-10 am or 4-5 pm your time. So if you REALLLLLY wanna Skype with me, it's gotta be early ;)

Oh hello England :)

Made it safe! Plane ride was long, I sat in the middle, next to two older ladies who didn't talk. Landed all right, found a girl going to Cape on the same flight as me, met up with everybody, headed out to the Victoria Coach, and now we're all on 2 giant buses driving through the English countryside.
I already love all the people I'm with and can't wait to be at the castle hanging out with these awesome people.
Keep me in your prayers! I love and miss you all!

Sittin' in LAX

Woke up early this morning, spending it trying not to cry. Made it to the airport at a wonderful time of 8:45...then found out my flight didn't leave until 12:45. Oops ;)
Ate some breakfast since I was ravishing, and then it was back to the airport. Cried in the parking lot, waitedin line, found out I did have to pay for an extra bag, lost 50 bucks that way, made it into the security line, got stopped for having a laptop in the bag, then had to have my bag checked twice because the security guy saw something sharp...which turned out to be my crayons for my princess coloring book my parents bought me :P
Now I'm sitting in the airport, waiting to board my flight.
Keep me in your prayers, and that I meet everyone I need to meet up with, and that our flight goes well. I love you all!
Katie

The Last Day

It's finally arrived. The last day at home. After months of praying, dreaming, and counting down, the day has arrived. So far it's been spent lying on the couch, thinking about all the things I need to do, and not acting on them at all. My last day at home, where my parents are in charge, there's no such thing as rent, and the food is free. Soon that's all about to change, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

I can't believe the house that's been my home for the past 10 years won't be quite, mine, anymore. But I suppose everyone has to grow up sometime. As my mom always quotes to me, "You're gonna miss this." Yeah mom, I am.

Tonight the tears will fall as I say goodbye to my family, my community, my friends. Sad, but not at the same time, because this place bonds us together. It's not a "goodbye" really, it's just a "see-you-later."  Yes, I'll miss them. But it's not the end. Like many cheesy movie sayings before me, "It's just the beginning."
The beginning of one of the coolest and one of many adventures I'm bound to have in this life. I can't wait.

My flight leaves LAX at 11:45 a.m on Friday, the 24th. I land at 7:10 a.m across the pond in Heathrow. Please pray for safety, and that I meet up with everyone I need to at the right time. Pray for the people I sit next to on the plane, that I will shine Christ's light brightly and not be afraid. Pray for my family as their baby girl leaves the nest.
Pray for this next year, that God will absolutely rock my world.

If you would like to send me letters, which I would LOVE by the way, here is my address:
Katelyn MacDonald
Capernwray Hall
Carnforth
Lancashire
LA6 1AG
Keep watching, the next blog post just might be from across the pond ;)

Cause when I am weak your strength is complete
It's perfect
Completely all I need
Sufficient for me
Your grace and peace are perfect
Completely all I need
You're all that I need.

In the madness of packing, figuring out how to get 6,000 dollars to the UK, saying goodbye, and all the other stress that's constanly surrunding me, this song came into my head. Why is it so hard for our human heads to understand that Christ should be our sufficiency? That his grace and his peace should be all we need? Why are we constantly searching for more?

Today I took a step back to really think about this. If God is all I need, sufficient for me, he is perfectly all I need, then the rest shouldn't matter. All the things I've been worrying about, shouldn't be worried about anymore. God obviously wants me here, that much is clear, especially in the way he's provided the money for my tuition without having to ask for support. He's gotten me a flight for hardly any money at all. He's given a Visa. He's given me an independent spirit just for things like this.

So today as I sipped a pumpkin spice latte a friend graciously gave me when hearing about my little freak out, I realized that God is enough. He WILL go before me. He WILL provide the way. He WILL give me the strength to carry on through the tough times. He WILL hold me tight in his arms while the world spins madly on around me.

And because of this, I'll be okay. I've got God on my side, what should I be afraid of?

 

5 days left on the mountain...

I cried my first tears about leaving the other night while I was laying in bed thinking about my family. I'm going to miss them, even though they think I won't. I'm going to miss seeing my little brother grow taller, laugh as his voice starts to crack, and roll my eyes as he does all those weird things 11 year olds do. I'm going to miss going to see my mama at work. I'm going to miss hi-fiving my daddy. I'm going to miss listening to the silence on the othe end of the line as my sister tells me all about her day in 3 word sentences. I'm going to miss my friends. I'm going to miss my bed. I'm going to miss these mountains, this lake, this incredible view.

But, as much as I'm going to miss it all, I'm more excited about this next adventure. Sure I'll miss everyone and everything, but the excitement overwhelms the sadness, in a way that I'm so thankful for. If I didn't have such an independent spirit, I would absolutely be freaking out right now. But thankfully, God didn't make me afraid of things. He made me in the exact way that he planned, exactly for moments like these, where I can be excited for change instead of dreading it. I am so thankful for a God who knows me better than I can even begin to understand. So thankful for the love of the Savior who choses to go before me so that I know I'll be ok, because I'm always safe in his hands. And oh how that thought calms my anxious mind.

So yes, I will miss my home. But God knows me, planned out my life for me, has everything under control. So who am I to dwell on sadness, when I can be excited that the God of the Universe has every single step under control?

One more week

One more week in my room, in my bed, surrounded by all my things, listening to the dryer dry all my clothes for free, hearing the sound of my brother stomping upstairs like all 11 year olds do, turning my head to tell my dad about my day as he leans on the doorframe, sitting in the comfortble silence watching Say Yes to the Dress with my mom, one more week ofbeing surrounded by all things that are familiar. One more week under my parents guidance, one more week of being cared for by everyone I know, one more week of home.

In one week I will leave all this behind for something completely foreign. In one week 'home' will just be a distant memory. In one week, God is going to rock my world.

In one week, my life will change as I jump on an airplane and just.... go.

I can't wait.