How do I summarize the past 6 months of amazing adventures? During this past week of being home, I have struggled to answer this question. For those that don’t know, I am back home in Niverville. My trip home was a crazy and unanticipated journey of adventure, but alas, I am home safe, excited to be reconnecting with my friends and family.
I apologize for the lack of communication and updates from myself. The past month, much like all 6 months, have been busy, always exciting, and simply brilliant. Upon returning to New Zealand from Fiji, the semester quickly wrapped up. We had one day off, followed by the grad dinner, the next day grad, and the following day tearfully fare welling our family of the last 6 months. It felt as if my heart was being ripped into pieces and spread across the entire globe. Which in fact, it has been. As difficult as it has been to say goodbye to those I consider family, I know that I am blessed to have such friends as those in my life, and that although we are apart, our journeys continue.
My time at Capernwray has been a concentrated time of learning and experiencing new things. Some of the things that have stuck out to me most are some of the most simple but profound truths of God that are life changers. I have learned that:
-God is already and will continue to use me; I just need to be sold out for God-available, willing and desiring to give Him all of me, expecting Him to use all of me.
-Without Christ I am nothing. But He is everything, and He lives in and through me. To truly allow Him to use me, I need to stop trying, ‘drop dead’ (as Ron Lowry says), and allow Christ to live-He is all we need.
-I can, and must trust God, with everything. Phil 4.5-7 became very alive to me, feeling the unexplainable peace amidst trials, and even the joy in trials James talks about in James 1:2. Isaiah 23:6 became my theme-God is the rock eternal, and when we keep our mind steadfast, continuously and intentionally deciding to trust God, He will give us perfect peace.
-The reason I live is so much bigger than I. Everything of value on earth has become so minuscule and finite compared to that which is infinite. There is no room for me in the trinity.
-What a true servant leader is, and how God has called us all to lead by example.
-I have gained a passion for my bible, for keeping in regular conversation with my Lord, and for bringing everything back to Christ, because of whom I live and can let live in me. PTL.
-and heaps more.
I had the privilege of staying at Capernwray for an extra 10 days after most students left. I spent a day in Auckland with friends, saying goodbye, and then came back to campus and cooked and baked for the staff and students (with help J ) for the remaining 9 days. This time was really enjoyable and needed for me. Although it was quiet around campus, and walking past empty rooms and an unfilled orangery (dining hall) stimulated a lingering feeling of missing the large Capernwray community and family, the 9 days of more silence than I was used to provided me with an opportunity to reflect on the last 6 months, spend extra time with God, and prepare myself for returning home. No amount of preparations, however, can take away the sadness of leaving and make the transition of coming home painless. However, the ~10 of us that did remain made the most of our extra days together and made many more memories. In our spare time, we built a giant fort in the lecture hall where we had many movie marathons and even a sleepover. :P We biked to the café nearby and enjoyed delicious blueberry ice cream, and finally went horseback riding in horse country. Fighting my fear of horses, I hopped on ‘Spirit’, a white horse who lacked none. She was stubborn and moody, but beautiful and fine for the trek up and down the beautiful, large, green rolling hills of New Zealand. I felt like I was in LOTR. Unfortunately the joke of me falling off the horse came to reality when my horse fell (yes, she just collapsed) in the mud, and as she flailed I fell/hopped off the horse. A little shaken, but in true Katelyn fashion, I hopped back on the horse, ironically uninjured.
Only two days later, on my trip home, I broke my foot getting on to the bus heading to Auckland airport. Of all the crazy things I did, it was falling off a curb that broke me. Once I got to the airport, I was assessed by the medical team and sent by ambulance to the hospital. I missed my flight, and spent the following day waiting to board my rescheduled flight with my newly acquired crutches and cast. My flight home continued the trend of adventure with a nearly missed flight and a much delayed flight. My adventure just does not end, and that’s okay with me-even if it means a summer stuck at home, broken, but with a lot of extra time to invest I would not otherwise have.
As I am now home, attempting to adjust to the changes: the time, the lifestyle, the community, the loss of Capernwray, and the regain of life back home. It is challenging to say the least. However, God is continuing to teach me new things day by day and I can rest in the surety that God is the same here and there, and that although I may be leaving one adventure, I am onto another. Please keep me in your prayers as the transition is difficult and requires much patience. Thank you to all of you who have supported me in this journey, and continue to support me as I move forward. If you would like to hear more about my experiences, give me a shout and we can chat. :)
Cheers
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