Kat and Nate's Adventures

Contrary to popular belief, we have a life outside of work! I know, it's shocking. We love our jobs and the ministry God allows us to do, but sometimes we spend so much time describing all that God is doing at Crossroads that we forget to mention everything we've enjoyed in our personal growth and lives.  So here's a small timeline of some of the significant things that have happened in the past seven months. Each event has a small description in the second picture. Enjoy!

Last week we had the privilege to attend and participate in my childhood best friend's wedding. It was truly beautiful. I will never forget Grace's face as she came down the aisle, scrunching her face, trying not to cry, staring at her husband-to-be in complete wonder, amazement, and joy. Now, I'm not normally one for romance. My friends say I'm improving, but ask Nathan and it's still more likely that I will respond to any romantic gesture with confusion and need for a logical explanation rather than warm fuzzies and batted eyes. But, I must say, Grace and Austin's relationship is one of my all time favorites. As I said in my speech at the wedding, they exhibit the definition of love. They are selfless, kind, forgiving, caring, hard working. Grace sees the absolute best in Austin at all times. He is her rock. Austin adores Grace. He lives to make her happy. They can't stand to be apart for more than two weeks (and now they don't have to!). As Austin exp...

Hi! Katrina here. Over the summer, we take a break from weekly program (in order to give our volunteer staff a break) and instead meet with our students for summer bible studies. This summer, a close friend and I are leading a study together based off of the book Captivating.  We met for the first time last Thursday with seven girls attending and we've added a few more since then! This book has made significant impact in both Grace's and my life, and we're so excited to share it with these girls. It focuses on what it means to be a woman, which I know, sounds really cheesy, but I love the way the author approaches the topic. Rather than giving a list of ten things we need to do to become more feminine, or more beautiful, or more independent, or more loving, or more servant-hearted, the author looks at a woman's heart and how God originally designed it-- for life-giving relationship in glorious beauty. The author talks about the messages we receive as children, the good...

Check out this cool picture comparison of Historic Hillsdale! Small towns often have such rich History, and they don't change much! One of my tasks right now is researching the geographic factors involved in planting a Crossroads Farm in another rural community. In that process, I stumbled across a website that has the data I need. I wanted to share it with you all. So here's a quick tip from the development process here at Crossroads! If you like data, comparing places to live, or you're just curious, you will love this. Check out this link . This Reading, the small town where Crossroads Farm is located. If you're really interested, try the compare button on the right of the page and type in your city. Let me know what you find! 

Every day when I arrive at The Shed, I set up my laptop and make sure coffee is brewing. I run into my fellow staffers (sometimes literally pre-coffee), check my calendar, then email. When Dawn arrives, she gives us her customary greeting, "Good Morning, World Changers!" It's an encouraging, thrilling, scary, humbling sort of greeting. But that is what we're here to do. There are kids growing up all around us without parents or any form of parenting. Often times the world of the average rural teen is lonely, quiet, boring, dark--and it's our calling and job to change that world--to bring them the light of Christ. Brenna and Olivia are settling into the office routine this week--their first week of the summer serving rural youth at Crossroads Farm. As I write this, they are currently working on the process of building a team of dedicated supporters. And as they work, I can't help but think, wow, you all are so amazing. If you are or have supported Katrina...

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5 Today's the first day for our summer residents! God is continuing to provide. Last night was the last normal program night of the year, marking our transition into summer mode. As we prep and plan for the fall, the residents will be focused on summer trips and summer bible studies. I'm so excited to have Brenna and Olivia join the team! It is going to be so strange to not be the youngest staffers in the office.

After program last Sunday, a small group of staff and volunteers met at the Finish Line, a wonderful diner with all day breakfast. It was so refreshing to meet after an exciting but long week and talk through ministry, prayer requests, good movies, and life. Today, on this beautiful Tuesday morning, I'm driving from Hillsdale to Chippewa County in the Upper Peninsula with Doug, Dawn, and Jerry. While we prep for time with local pastors and church representatives, I can help but think, wow! God has blessed us with such an abundance of opportunity--and while I know I can trust Him to provide everything to accomplish His purpose, I am actually pretty overwhelmed by the pace He is setting. In some ways it feels like last week that Kat and I joined the team. We grow more and more each week, but I still feel stretched every day. I know I said I'd talk more about our marvelous summer residents this week, but due to the U. P. trip, I'll save that for next week.

Every Tuesday morning, the staff at Crossroads crowds around our office "kitchen table" for staff meeting. We write postcards and pray together, we learn more about our mutual callings and ministry, and we plan for future success. It's always entertaining, worthwhile, and encouraging.  But this week it felt different! This Tuesday marked the official first staff meeting with our new staff member, Nancy McNeil, who has finished raising support and is joining the team to take over Accounting and Office Manager, a role Rich is happy to give her as he transitions to a full focus on newsletters and all things graphic design. While our kitchen table only naturally seats six, every week we slide in where we can with borrowed chairs, cramming Doug and Dawn, Jerry and Rich, Daniel and Stephan, and Katrina and I somewhere around the table. This Tuesday, we felt... full! Ready to expand! As I looked around the full room, buzzing with conversation, jokes, and new ideas, I couldn...

First, let’s just clear the waters of any rumors. I am not pregnant, nor do I plan to be any time soon. Teaching overly rambunctious piano students and mentoring overly dramatic teenagers has cured me of that impulse. Let me also say that I absolutely love all of those students just referred to, no matter their age and no matter the strange scenarios through which they put me. But it’s actually the second group that I want to mention. What do you do when you have a student who doesn’t want to go home? Or when you have students who’ve never been taught those skills that your parents teach you- like cooking or laundry or basic cleaning- and now their house is a mess? What do you do when a student says you’re basically like their mom? Well that’s cool and I’m thankful for that relationship and opportunity, but that’s a lot of pressure. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to be a mom yet. But that’s the profession to which Nathan and I have been called. We’ve been called not only to show our ki...