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Thursday, October 19, 2006
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boston is pretty awesome
i am experiencing a growing love for this quaint new england city and i liiike it! not that i hated it before..but God is opening my eyes to His heart for boston and inviting me to share it with Him..and it's pretty sweet.
pictures from kit's visit --
^somewhere in the north end..
^walking over to quincy market
^too expensive to ever ride, but we can still take pictures
^flattering shot amongst all those nasty fat garden animal statues haha..i was trying to be crosseyed but i guess it didn't work..
^prettyyyyy
^pat bing soooo :]
^we're gonna coach vball together one day
^north babiess
^mm beacon street, can't wait until the leaves change!
^how cute is that little T station?
^view from my window -- ruggles baptist
^nastyyyy pomegranate juice. gross.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
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bloom where you're planted
so i've been home for about a month now, readjusting to the american culture that is oh-so-incrediiibly-different from that of the dominican republic. i listen to 97.9 all the time [mega noventa-siete-punto-nueve! the latino station] because they play alot of bachata, which is this really chill genre of latino music--music that makes you imagine swaying palm trees, pina coladas, and the little colmados from the DR :] my mind wanders back to the DR often, especially at express, where half of our customers are dominican women who love to ask me about my trip and help me practice my spanish...and my prayers are very often down there, focused on my precious special education kids, on the friends i've made, on SI's ministry. and i don't think that's a bad thing, hay realmente un lugar muy especial en mi corazon para la republica dominicana..but God's been patiently teaching me that there is also room in my heart for america--yes, a less warm culture that revolves around achievement and materialism..but a country filled with people who desperately need the grace of Christ, just like any other place. just like me. i want a non-discriminatory heart of compassion that beats and breaks with the heart of God..
"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. when He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." [matthew 9:35-36]
here's a little taste of my DR experience :]
^my favorite picture ever. becky playing with lilia :]
^manicuring + pedicuring our precious maria :]
^family friends :]
^some chiquititas and i went to the river to swim :]
^they call me "tia katalina" :]
^representing good old BU :]
^representing korea, china, norway, jamaica and italy :]
^almost the entire intern group at el rancho :]
^mercedes' class :]
^mi princessa, ruht :]
^precious daniel :]
^mercedes + wilman :]
^nelito, our dominican steve urkel :]
^nairoby, darwin, kata hanging out on the playground
^brothers :]
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
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salgo para la republica dominicana
para diez semanas! :O
i am excited, scared, happy, sad, joyful, nervous, calm, expecting much, ready, and yet not ready at all, confident and yet totally insecure. ahh! i need You, Jesus, to come to my rescue..where else can i go? there's no other name by which I am saved...capture me with grace.from "my utmost for His highest" [oswald chambers]
"If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself." Matthew 16:24Individuality is the husk of the personal life. Individuality is all elbows, it separates and isolates. It is the characteristic of the child and rightly so; but if we mistake individuality for the personal life, we will remain isolated. The shell of individuality is God's created natural covering for the protection of the personal life; but individuality must go in order that the personal life may come out and be brought into fellowship with God. Individuality counterfeits personality as lust counterfeits love. God designed human nature for Himself; individuality debases human nature for itself.
The characteristics of individuality are independence and self-assertiveness. It is the continual assertion of individuality that hinders our spiritual life more than anything else. If you say - "I cannot believe," it is because individuality is in the road; individuality never can believe. Personality cannot help believing. Watch yourself when the Spirit of God is at work. He pushes you to the margins of your individuality, and you have either to say - "I shan't," or to surrender, to break the husk of individuality and let the personal life emerge. The Holy Spirit narrows it down every time to one thing (cf. Matthew
if you want email updates with prayer requests, leave your email! i'll add you to the list fo'sho.
send me letters, but no packages please :]
Kaitlin Ho
Unit 3022 SI/DR
Monday, April 24, 2006
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firsts
i had my very first mango on good friday. i had heard all sorts of good things about them. their tropical origin elevated their status from the delicious and yet mundane apple, orange, and banana to the ranks of the illustrious pineapple, coconut, and papaya. i always wanted to try one, and yet i hadnt had one for the first 19 years of my life. my family just doesn't eat mangos..we’re more of a watermelon, pineapple, cantaloupe, and peach type of family.so i went home and my family's in this mango craze. naturally, my sister peeled one for me the second i walked in, warning me that the pit is long and thin, kinda like a hard tongue? or the sole of a shoe. i'm glad for the warning, or i would’ve broken a tooth. i bit into it carefully and my tongue was like whatttt?? this is totally different, i've never tasted anything like this before. ahhh, what do i think about this?? this is new, this is scary…but hey, i think i like it!? yeah, i think i do..
i am glad my tongue was introduced to some mango lovin’. hearing about its unique scruptious delectabilityyy isn’t the same as tasting for yourself, you know? but yeah...keep warning me about the pits. it's good to know.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
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spring break in new orleans!
pronounced "new orlins," or "nawlins." i had the superawesome opportunity [thanks to IV!] to be a part of the rebuilding that's going on there. seeing how things were just getting started, six months after the hurricane was pretty heartwrenching. the city is trying to get back on its feet, but it's a slow process. crime is returning, people are suffering from post-traumatic symptoms from the flood...pray for new orleans.
we got to "gut houses," which is basically taking all of the [moldy, wet, smelly, toxic] stuff out of the house, then taking out the cabinets/walls/floorboards/doorposts so that all that remains are the studs, so they can eventually rebuild the house with those same studs. it was intense, because you saw everything--records, shoes, dresses, pictures...all of it had to be thrown out. it was also pretty nasty work because of all the mold--there was a fridge full of meat + seafood [that had been there since the katrina!] and we had to get that out of the house. it smelled SO BAD, you have no idea. like every bad smell you've EVER smelled before. i thought i was going to throw up, faint, or die.when we first started gutting, i didn't understand why we were doing it at all. why not just bulldoze and start over? but after our team discussed this, i realized that it's kinda like how God is in the business of making things new, of taking the nasty crap out of us and rebuilding around the original studs. and He's not afraid [never has been] of getting down and dirty with us--He humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross! He says "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow!" ahhhhh grace is beautiful :)
so all that stuff [cabinets too] had to come out
driving through the 9th ward was an intensely sublime? experience...seeing the reality of how bad they were hit, learning about the poverty of the area and how many of the people couldn't get out, seeing houses that were crushed and warped as if they were made of paper...
those masks were soooo nasty afterwards, man..
we also worked with habitat for humanity and got to build the foundations of a bunch of houses, which was pretty cool. we did lots of weeding and digging and painting and rebarring..and our team [45 BUers!] became one big family :] our team really came together, it was beautiful. it was my second spring break experience of good fellowship and unity! we had a good time taking showers together [communal showers--we stayed in a place that used to be a homeless shelter but now it's used to house relief workers], eating krispy kremes--hundreds of them were donated to us every day! and had really good discussions and scripture studies at night. it was so awesome getting to learn/see/experience the richness of new orleans' culture with them..
some girls :] look at the nifty home depot aprons!
at this nice restaurant
united colors of benetton! :)
we needed to stop for some nice cold drinks..
renecito, katalina, elisabet
and of course, some lovely small group awkwardness. i love freshmen!
some boys..dont ask me why eric looks like that..
wasadre, me, yayne, kelsey :]
wanna see a totally awesome video of it? [thanks ingrina, you rock!]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5170957682006910356
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