Australia!!!

okay, soooo where to start, where to start! there's so much to say! okay so basics....

Weather- when I first got here, the weather was absolutely miserable. it was freezing(like, 7 degrees Celsius..idk what that is in Fahrenheit,but it's cold.) and it was raining ALL THE TIME. everyone kept apologizing for the weather and was like "oh, you came at the worst time, this is the wettest week Sydney's had in 60 years"......oh joy. but it has gotten warmer, and dryer, and it's great weather for the past few days, especially today, it's beautiful outside! it's about 60 degrees( Fahrenheit) and sunny! Praise the Lord!so things are looking up!

Housing- I was so blessed to be put in a flat(apartment)  people that already lived here, so EVERYTHING i needed was already here, i.e couches, fridge,microwave,tv,furniture, dishes,etc.. so that was such a blessing!I'm in the flat with 3 1 year,second semester girls,all americans, and they're great :) I'm rooming with a girl named Rooney, and then the two girls in the other room are Caroline and Deirdra. They've all been great and sweet and keep me laughing. I'm on the 9th floor of the Meriton apartments, and have a balcony with an awesome view of the city skyline! we have a balcony off of the living room,kitchen,living room, dining area, 2 bedrooms,and 2 bathrooms(each with shower,sink,toilet,and GIANT bathtub). it's nice, i like it alot. It's only about an 8 minute walk from the Campus so it's not a bad walk at all.

Church life- I am LOVING being a part of Hillsong Church! I have only been to a few services but the ones i've been to were such a blessing and just awesome. I've been to Chapel twice(church service just for the college on tuesdays and fridays),Powerhouse(young adult ministry for 18-25 year olds),Fuel(youth for 7-9th graders),Sisterhood(the amazing women's ministry at the church),and then the Saturday night service...off the charts amazing! I'll soon plug into a connect group(small groups on tuesday nights) and then get more involved in the weekend services starting this week. i'm pretty excited! God is moving :)

College!- Enrollment and orientation last week was great! Got to meet alot of the new intakes and kinda get a little bit of the swing of how things work around here. Then I had my first day of school yesterday! it was fantastic! like, bible college is the best, i'm pretty sure. the first 2 weeks are called Intensives...and now i know why... it's class from 10-5:30 on one topic(yesterday's was alll about Teamwork), and sooo it's a ton of really great information at one time, but it's soo good. we also had chapel yesterday during school hours and that was great! it's so cool to be in church as part of College. But yeah, i'm not real sure about how the rest of it goes yet, but i'll find out soon enough! during intensives, student's are off on mondays and wednesdays. sooo it's a nice break.

well that's all for now, but will update more soon!

I will Follow

Let the world see your grace in my hands. Let them hear your name on my lips.
Be my strength when I'm weak, a peace beyond understanding.

And when the world fades away, and no one will call Your Name...

I will go. I will follow You to the ends of the Earth.

I will follow you, anywhere you want me to. I will follow you, anywhere you want me too.
-Flood. = I will follow.


sooo as being on of the co-writers of this infamous Shockwave anthem, It means a great deal to me. However, I will be the first to say-there was a time in life where I was sick of it from playing it SO much, but it's okay because I still and have always loved it. Anyways, I do have a point here.
Clearly, song lyrics have meaning, especially worship songs. Sometimes worship songs are "sticky" business because lyrics you sing  can become the prayers of your heart, and those prayers become your heart song, and that is what God longs to get from you.(I am reminded of a quote- You did not desire a song, but a heart that would bring you one.)
So,when "I will follow you, anywhere you want me to" became my heart song, God took me seriously.(As he should, because it was a serious statement/confession/proclamation/prayer of mine).  I vividly remember a conversation God and I had during band practice one Sunday morning in November 2009

"Anywhere, Kaitlyn?" 

                  "Uhhh, yeah?"

         "So you really mean that.?"
           
                            "yes. I do. Anywhere, Anytime, Any place. I have no clue where I'd be otherwise."
         "Well then Go to Australia. Go here."
               
                       (random Hillsong interview video starts playing on the screens. the video is an interview of the woman who wrote Desert Song and her story behind it.)
                       
                          *Kaitlyn's mini-breakdown quietly inside during practice
        "You said anywhere. I've got you. Follow me. This is where you need to be."



So yes. Moral of the Story here- There are a good number of what we consider "dangerous" prayers in life. The 3 most dangerous prayers I can think of:

1. "Break my heart for what breaks yours,God"
2. "I will follow you anywhere you want me to"
3. "make me uncomfortable with my current state."

I've prayed all three of these. He'll do it for ya if ya mean it, I promise. 

And like Ty always says "I will follow you anywhere doesn't just mean far off places like Australia, Japan, or Africa. Anywhere includes your schools,your family, your friends, and every aspect of your life". So I encourage you to not limit yourself to thinking of "callings" as "oh i'm called to Zimbabwe, Brazil, Germany,China,etc.." As a christian, everyone is commissioned to go and make disciples for God's namesake. Your call is to be a witness to those around yo,wherever you may be, Right Now an in the future.

God takes matters of the heart seriously, so mean what you sing :)

                               
                                 

Hurricane.

Your hurricane of angels is a comfort and a warning. For with their arrival comes your hand, but because of their presence, I know a storm is at bay...


Consume me with your peace so much that i cannot find means of escape. For your means make no sense to me; I will never understand how strength inhibits the weak. But in the curious unknown..I must trust I'll gain back more faith in return.


Why you test if I will fight To have faith is a mystery... but it's worth the wondering. For pondering your ways,and praying for wisdom can only lead to growing closer to My Love.

Oh the places I have been... Paris, France (pt.1)

We spent quite a few days in Paris, and saw and experienced SO much that it would be over kill to post about the whole time there in one blog post!

First stop-The hotel:

views from my room!look!you can even see the tip of the Eiffel Tower!

 
yes.this is my converter hanging out of the window. It caught on fire and was smoking BAD when I tried to use my straightener. note:american straighteners just don't like Europe.dont even try it.

aly and i were kind of messy...but there's NO room in these hotels.

 beautiful sunsets where at 10 p.m!

the circular shape of the hotel made the halls look like a cruise liner! 

The City!:

 yes. it really looks just like this-amazing!

 

Le champs elysees!

interesting architecture.

la tour defense

city scene:my view of the town from the 4th floor of Louis Vuitton!The right picture is the inside of that floor, it was superb!(and then I got busted and almost had my camera confiscated!woops..)

brooklyn and I outside of the Biggest Louis Vuitton!












Dôme des Invalides:
this is Napoleon's tomb. He is apparently in 6 different parts and therefore has 6 different tombs.It all sounds pretty gruesome to me, but it was a stunning building regardless.

all the gold on this door is REAL gold!

 such a HUGE building...or crypt..or both..

how magnificent is this ceiling!!!

so i would have gotten to take more pictures the first full day there....but my camera died. :( soo i pulled some pictures of St.Germain de Paris, where our choir sang that night, from Ryan Taylor's camera!

this is the oldest church in paris!

 waiting outside until we performed

this is our concert that afternoon!

Oh the places I have been... Switzerland-France

so.after Lucerne, we treked off to Paris! However, this was an 11 hour drive.in a bus of 76 people. it was...eh,interesting.and lloooongg. BBUUTT! I felt like I was exploring the land of Belle from Beauty and the Beast! It was simply charming (the scenery, that is.) so, here goes the gorgeous french countryside!:

 my bus buddy- Ethan!

 bus buddies across the aisle- savannah and rachel!

 and so the journey begins..

how cute!!little cottages

there were MANY castles along the way!how cool is that!

okay. i love this guy-but this was torture. He bought Chicken&thyme flavored/scented chips at the french gas station. they tasted JUST like baked chicken.as a chip.yuck. but they smelled SO TERRIBLE.made the trip,ugh.

cottages everywhere..

 finally in Paris! look at that traffic!!

and this is the beginning of our adventure in Paris :)

Oh the places I have been... Lucerne, Switzerland

 After the Choir went to Zurich, we went ahead to the beautiful Lucerne. After we drop off our luggage at the hotel, we explore the old town for several hours. The second day, we toured around all parts of the town, lead by some tour-guide-locals. That night, we sang in the Jesuit church in Lucerne for their Wednesday night mass! It was an incredible experience!

isn't it gorgeous!

 busy old town

so many pretty swans everywhere all the time!

look at this view!those are the Swiss Alps in the background!

 this is the famous Tower Bridge of Lucerne. the story goes it caught on fire many years ago and it's still standing. that's pretty hardcore if you ask me.

i have no idea what that was, but it was HUGE!

My view of Old Town from the bridge.

how cute is this! i love it! i had the best gelato ever from the place with all the umbrellas.

My group(Brooklyn and her mom,aka my chaperone, Mrs.Jennifer,and I) got tired of trying to read german menus, so we settled for McDonalds for lunch :) and look! the trash can says danke! how cute.

the Train station! It almost doubled as a mall, with it's grocery store( Co-Op is the bomb!) shops,and restaurants!good ol' paul eatin in the cafe at the station

these little cookie sandwiches were originated here in switzerland! 

 market! once a month, there is a street market here. it was great and had good deals!

 free coffee from the lady in the green shirt. she hand made the cups!they tasted like dirt though :/

 this is the church we sang in!

 the famous Lion monument. it was soo stunning!

the hotel:

 my roomie, Aly Janes!

 yes folks, this is actual size. and no, there is no shower door nor curtain.