Chicago...full days...

Orientation started on Sunday...it's been ok so far! We had some trouble getting everyone in on time on Sunday so I just hung out here at Jesus People USA for a while with a couple of the other participants in RJ. We have had very busy days from then on from 8am-8pm of orientation meetings. I'm ok with that though because it's kept me pretty busy and kept me from thinking about home and missing home. Which I miss a lot but I'm also very excited too. My emotions are a bit of a roller-coaster these last few days. I go from completely excited to go and can't wait to get there and dive in and then totally terrified and missing home immensely. I am nervous about a lot of things but I know this is where God wants me to be and I have to keep reminding myself of that. God is the reason I'm going!

Just a little bit about where we are living right now in Chicago. We are staying at Jesus People USA. It is a community made up of about 500 people that took over an old hotel and turned all of the rooms into apartments. The community lives off each other and the businesses they run. They have a roofing company, a skate shop/ coffee shop, and some other small businesses. They also run a couple homeless shelters in the area. So all the proceeds from those businesses goes to the housing, food, and life of the people in the community. They eat every meal together and live in 2 buildings all together. It's pretty neat and interesting to see how this community works and lives together. I think it would be a little difficult at times but they seem to make it work well. We are staying in a small flat in between the two buildings. There are 3 floors and we are on the bottom. The flat has 4 bedrooms with bunks that they made 3 bunks high! 3 bathrooms and some living spaces. Its nice an cosy with all 14 of us sharing that space. It actually reminds me of college quite a bit! :)


So our Bolivian team seems like it's going to be pretty great! There are 3 guys (Riley, Andrew, and Tim) and 2 girls ( Cara and me).  We've already been able to connect quite a bit and have had some good laughs with each other already, it's going to be a lot of fun with them! :) We also were able to meet our leader's (Isaac's) Bolivian mom and uncle over Skype! That was really cool, and she told us our jobs! I think it's ok that we know because they were the ones wanting to tell us. So my job is going to be working in the After School program with one of my team members (Andrew). I hear this is a great job, the people that had it last year loved it. I don't know any details yet about what I'll be doing exactly but I will let you all know as soon as I do.

I am one of two members in my group that didn't bring a computer so it looks like getting on here to tell you all what I'm up to might be a little more difficult but I will still do my best. I will just have to go to Internet cafes or borrow someone's computer. It'll all work out great though, I'm sure. Talk to you soon hopefully! :)
~Katie

Leaving home...

Today I leave what I know as my home. I'm leaving the people I love the most to have the experience of a life time and to do what I feel God has called me to do. This is a day of long, sad goodbye's and I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself that this is going to be amazing, even though I will miss my family and friends. I will be stopping in Goshen, IN for a day and a half and then head up to Chicago for 10 days of orientation. I take off for Bolivia on September 9th and it's going to be great I'm sure. Thank you for following me on this Journey, I hope to have some exciting stories to tell you soon! Goodbye Arizona, you will be missed!