Figuring it Out

Going into college I had very little idea what I wanted to major in.

This is not an abnormal thing, in fact, it can be a good thing. It allows for time to figure out what you want to do instead of rushing into something you later learn you hate.

So, college freshman Katelyn thought through Psychology, Biblical Studies, Ministry, and Music...
A short time later I decided on Biblical Studies, but that didn't stick long once I figured out this was largely textual and Greek/Hebrew language based. Nothing wrong with those things, in fact I think they are fascinating, but my brain leans more toward the people side than the intellectual study-all-the-time side. So, I switched to Christian Ministry.

I chose Christian Ministry because it left for fairly open ended options, it requires work with people, still involves lots of Bible and theology, but leaves room for things beyond lots of scholarly work. Again, nothing wrong with scholarly work (and it can be/is necessary at times), I just connect more with the application/people side of things.

So beyond knowing I wanted to go into some kind of ministry I had no idea what I wanted to go in to.

I'm now two years past graduation and I still don't really know what I want to go into, specifically...but I think that's okay. However, inspired by my younger sister, Hannah, (who is so amazing and inspiring to me) and a blog that she wrote on having a dream for a specific ministry field I have decided to voice a couple of my dreams for ministry that I have just recently begun to realize.

{ you can read Hannah's blog here - seriously so proud of her! }

 This is a vulnerable thing for me, but these are a couple dreams of mine that haven't gone away... for some reason they keep sticking with me. I can only imagine it's for a reason. So here they are:

I want to open a coffee shop.
Specifically connected with Kibo Group International in Uganda by serving their Kiira Kawa coffee and supporting their mission. If you don't know what the Kibo Group is, please check it out! I got to serve a week with them back in 2011 and have first hand seen the great work they are doing through their coffee, wells, trees, and more.

With that coffee shop, I want to raise money for Kibo, have a buy one give one mentality with things people can purchase to support Kibo as well as local missions, create a space for people to come share in community with one another, a place that is safe and inviting for students (High School and College) to come hangout and commune together, a place filled with life and music. But most of all, I want this place to be a hub for community building wherever it is located.

My senior project was on community and that idea has never left me. That passion for creating community, has never left me. And from my experience coffee, food, and an inviting space to gather are catalists for it.

This is one of my dreams.

I want to start a ministry for women.
And this one has kind of already started. But I would love to make it into a larger organization/ministry.
I have a passion for mentoring and supporting women to become confident in who they are and what they want to be and become. I'm not sure what that would look like exactly, you never know what God might do!

Back in 2009 a group of friends and myself started a ministry called facingEve for 11-17 year old girls where we would meet at area churches once a month, do a craft, play some games, and do a devotional with the intention of being mentors to the girls, creating the kinds of mentoring relationships we wished we had had at their age.

Each event had some sort of crazy theme that tied into our lesson. It was a blast, and at one point we probably had about 15 girls regularly showing up for these events. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Eventually the group of us that started the ministry moved away from each other and got involved in other things (specifically the craziness of college) and so this ministry ended in 2012. But this is where I first realized that this was something I really enjoyed doing. Even though when we first started it terrified me.

Last year, my friend Katy and I started a ministry for college age women called "ENOUGH." This ministry stemmed from our own realizations of the importance of being confident in who God has made us to be and embracing our weaknesses so that Christ can work through them.
Our theme verse being 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 

 Katy and I have both talked about continuing this ministry with college age and eventually expanding it to high school. We try to meet monthly off campus in one of our apartments (since we both live close to Rochester College) as a chance for the girls to get off campus, eat some "real food," hangout, and share with one another. We spend time in prayer and our devotionals are largely testimony and personal experience based within a specific theme we have chosen to rest on for a while.  Its honest, real, difficult, and beautiful. I pray we are able to continue this ministry and expand it. 

So these are my two current dreams.  I'm not sure what will happen with them, if anything. 

However, I am confident in God's plan for me, even if I don't know what it is. 

Sometimes I just wish He would fill me in a little faster ;)