My Next Steps...

Dear Friends,

           You may have been wondering what ever happened with my 3-month internship. In response to my first letter I received an overwhelming amount of prayer and financial support. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Little did I know that it was all a part of God’s awesome plan for this new chapter in my life.

            Because of what you gave and prayed for, I was offered the opportunity to stay through the fall, build relationships with the students, and participate in the big end of the year out-reach event called Winter Blitz. I had no plans for the fall, so it seemed like a wise choice. And that was only the start of it all.

            This past summer was wonderful. I learned so much! I am no stranger to the military brat life but I sure was a stranger to all of the paperwork. The first two weeks were spent in-processing.

But, I wouldn’t trade that time for anything. All the interns were able to spend that time together, get to know each other, and encourage one another. We became a family. They were such a blessing in my life. Once all the paperwork was complete, we all headed to our prospective communities in Germany, Belgium and Italy. I was originally assigned to Grafenwhoer, Germany but because of the possibility to stay longer, I remained in Heidelberg. Within a few days, we all met up again in Romania with high schoolers from 10 different military communities for Service Project 2012. We spent a week building a playground at a school, conducting Vacation Bible School and playing sports and other games with the Romanian kids. During that week I also had the pleasure of leading a small group of 6 girls, one of whom rededicated her life to Christ. I am still in touch with her and doing my best to encourage her in this new commitment.

             Back in Heidelberg we had a summer event for our students called Epicicity (Epi-kiss-ity). We divided the participants into 4 teams which competed against each other in different crazy games

each week for points. Cherry Bobbing in Syrup, Pancake Batter Crawl, Egg Smacktastic, Greased Pig, and Domination Donut were only a few of the games we played. It was such a success that week 1 started off with about 30 participants and by week 4 we had around 80! The winning team was to win a trip to Europa Park (an amusement park). Before the very last game there was a 2 point difference and after the last game, THERE WAS A TIE! We didn’t plan for that, so naturally we resorted to Rock, Paper, Scissors! Thankfully, the Chapel offered to pay for every participant to go. Praise the Lord! No one likes to lose because of a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors!

            Soon after the summer, things in Club Beyond Heidelberg began to shift, and drastically. Four full time staff started the summer: Tim, Austin, Olivia and Bruce. Olivia departed after service project to pursue another calling in her life. We gained Kayla, a 6-month intern, in August. Two weeks before he was due to move, Austin found out that he was being transferred to another community in Germany so Club Beyond could continue. The announcement was made the very first week of Club (the weekly youth outreach), September 10^th and it was his last Club event. Sept. 14^th, Tim was notified that he would be moving to Japan to begin Club Beyond. That very next week Bruce was told he was moving to England to begin Club Beyond. He announced on Sept. 24^th that he was leaving – AND he was to move the very next day. After all of this, it was just Kayla and me (two interns) left to conduct Club events. Thankfully, another staff member, Suzann, graciously stepped in to lead us for the next several months as U.S. Army Heidelberg comes to a close.

For the first three Club meetings this school year, it was announced that someone was leaving. After these announcements I heard some teens say,

  “I’m afraid to come back next week.”

 “Why is everyone leaving us?”             

 

        “I don’t know if I can take this anymore.”

            It broke my heart to hear those things. I do not want to be just another person who invests in these teens and then all of a sudden has to leave them. Was that just my emotions or was that the Lord leading my steps? Both! These students have so much potential; they need Club Beyond and Club Beyond needs to stay until the gates on U.S. Army Heidelberg closes. There is no consistency in these teens’ lives right now. It is not a question of if they will move, it is now a question of when.

I feel that I am being called to stay here until the final gates close, until every child is gone – until July 2013. This is why I ask for your prayer and financial support. My monthly budget is $2,054. Because they have asked me to stay longer, Young Life has blessed me with $1,000 a month. That leaves me with $1,054 a month to cover remaining costs. For me to stay until January, I need to raise $6,000. If I were to stay until July I would need to raise another $6,000. (And that doesn’t include rent. Although I have been blessed with a host family, they may be moving in December… more adventure!) 

            I am not sure if I will be able to stay until July, but this is where I need to trust God to provide. Would you be willing to pray for me and Heidelberg Club Beyond? Would you consider contributing to this important effort to support these great military teens in transition? If you can pledge a small monthly amount, or contribute once, we will all greatly appreciate it! And please know that your prayers and resources are going to a very specific cause that is making a huge difference for youth in need of some small measure of stability in their lives this year.

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If you would like to have a financial part in my work with MCYM/Club Beyond please log on to www.younglife.org/giving and click ONLINE GIVING. My account number is X976

Make checks payable to ‘Young Life.’ Memo line: Caitlyn Riley X976. 

Send checks to Young Life PO Box 520 • Colo Springs, CO 80909   

              

Only By Him

Encouragement.

Encouragement is something I have been needing.  

But what's funny-

 is that no human words would do.

What was it that gave me encouragement the most?

The Father. The One. The Only.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever." 

Isaiah 40:8

I think my need for encouragement was the Lord calling me to Him. 

He never leaves me.

Encouragement was found.

Only by Him.

What Really Matters?

The past few days I have wanted to update my blog. But I just couldn't figure out what to write on. Do I tell you about my travels? Do I tell you about my hardships and ask for prayer? Or do I think of something good to tell you? I just wasn't sure what I wanted to say.

But. Tonight. I know.

First, this past weekend the other interns came back into town. It is amazing what difference it makes to have a small group of people your own age that you can talk with, laugh with, relate to, and just fellowship with. I've come to realize that fellowship with others is important. Spending time with the Lord is vital, but being able to voice that with others and having people who can help answer those tough questions is so important. I don't like to be vulnerable. But honestly, who does? But who disagrees with me when I say that it's refreshing and needed?
I thank the Lord for the people in my life. You know who you are... thank you for following God's call and coming over here for the summer. I am truly going to miss you. You have been a great blessing in my life. More than you may know.

Philippians 1:3-6

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

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Secondly, ministry is not easy. It's not just playing games with kids. It's not just hanging out and laughing. It's no where near just fun and games. There were a lot of things these past two weeks that I found to be very discouraging. For some reason, the little things just consumed my mind. Funny how it works that way.

Week 2 - This is was Crawling through pancake mix under
ropes only the beginning of the relay.

We have a summer long event we call Epicicity. (Epi-kiss-ity) It is what it says. Epic. But there was a lot of planning and a lot of little things that just seemed to get in the way. Frustrations set in. The devil seeped in. My flesh got in the way. I simply lost focus.

Then, tonight happened. Youth Ministry happened. Kids were everywhere representing their teams. Smiling. Laughing. Getting dirty, sticky, gross and a brain freeze in the midst of it. None of the planning, stress and confusion mattered.

Life comes with challenges. Sometimes it seems that for every step you take, you end up going two steps back. But, praise the Lord he is there next to me. I am here for God's glory. My work is not in vain.

(From last week 1 of Epicicity)

 By the end of the night tonight, kids were so pumped. They wanted to continue playing, getting gross and giving out pancake batter, egg, syrup, and cherry gunk filled hugs. (How sweet...) It was the smiles on their faces that did it for me.
I just pray that they didn't just see a silly relay or a silly game but they saw something in us. Something different. Something brighter than they've ever seen. Something more loving and caring than they know. I pray they saw Christ.

What REALLY matters?

It's not the money. It's not the fame. It's not the glory. It's not because it seems 'easy.'

It's because He loves us. It's for the moment when the teen begins to trust you. It's for the moment when the teen realizes that God is real. It's for the moment when the teen gives you a hug. It's for the moment when the light bulb finally comes on. It's for the moment they ask whats different about you. Trust me, the list goes on............... To Him be the Glory.

I hope you are able to decipher my thoughts. All I know is that God is there reminding me of why I am here, why I am doing what I am doing and why He is worthy.

 

-- 2 Corinthians 4:17 -- 

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

Romania - Open My Eyes

I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since I returned from Romania. I am not sure why it took me this long to write a blog about the trip. There was so much that happened in just that one week.

First, I want to thank you for your prayers! Things happened that week that I did not expect. Things that I needed help with, things that I desperately needed prayer for. And man, I sure felt the prayers being sent my way! The theme for the week was "Open My Eyes" out of John 9.

How your prayers helped:

> I was put in charge of a small group... I have never led a small group ever before! It was a bit intimidating and I was unsure of how to lead it. As the first few sessions passed, I was disappointed in myself. It just wasn't going the way that I had hoped it would. I don't really know what I wanted it to go like, but I do know that it worked out. One night at Club (the session we had each night, led by Tara Leigh Cobble(music) and Jonathan Hill(speaker)) we sang a song, a song that I have heard many, many times before. The lyrics were:

Our God is greater, our God is stronger

God You are higher than any other

Our God is Healer, awesome and power

Our God, Our God... 

And if Our God is for us, then who could ever stop us

And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?

For some reason, these words spoke directly to ME. I was here to lead these kids, and yet I was the one learning. My eyes were opened! I prayed to God to speak through me. That night at small groups, the whole dynamic changed. My girls started opening up! I spent hours walking, talking and praying with some of them. The rest of the week was incredible.

All in His perfect timing. Praise the Lord things don't happen on my timing. The Lord was, once again, faithful to me!

Club

>I had asked you to focus your prayers on lives being changed and not so much on safety. Well, we all came back safe and LIVES WERE CHANGED! I can't tell you how many stories there are from the week about what the Lord had done. One of those... very close to my heart. One student, decided to rededicate her life to Christ! When she came to me and told me, I jumped for joy. (I'm not kidding!) My mouth was not big enough to express the smile that was on my heart. I could hear the Angels in heaven rejoicing. I cannot express to you just how excited I was! I have found that it is my passion in life to win people over for the Lord.

Thank you for your prayers.

What we did:

Our project this week was to build a playground at a school. We had 4 days to build and 1 day for celebration. Each day we had two groups, one was building and one was doing relational ministry. I was the assistant relational person and was put in charge of sports ministry -- couldn't have been more perfect! I would take the kids and play games with them and then would take them inside for a VBS lesson. Seeing the smiles on the kids faces was well worth the headache of trying to organize details with those of another language. 

>Sports fun:

 

Sprinkle, Sprinkle, Rain.

Their favorite game. It's similar to duck, duck, Goose. You have a cup with water and you sprinkle a little on the people in the circle. Then, whoever you want to chase you, you dump the rest of the cup on them! They loved it, and so did we! A very refreshing game on the HOT Romania days.
This became our favorite game as well.

(It somehow turned into a water fight at the end of each game.... I may or may not have had something to do with that.)

We played Red light Green light several times.

We also played soccer, basketball, frisbee, many different types of tag, and even just talked and laughed with them.

>VBS

We acted out a Bible story and then had a craft for the kids to do.

getting ready for the Bible story

craft time!

 

>Playground

Our site was FULL of rocks. One so large, we had to call the mayor to get a construction company to help us get it out! Here are a few pictures of our work.

Working hard with the electric tools. (to the left - the massive boulder  I mentioned earlier)

Relaxing in one of the 24 holes we dug.

      

Putting up the parallel bars.

The final product (minus the staining)

Our final day we had a ribbon cutting ceremony and carnival. The principal, P.E. teacher and our site leader all cut the ribbon together. The kids were able to officially enjoy the playground.

ribbon cutting

Bowling at the carnival

                                     Kids playing

One of the many kids we touched this week.

The whole Heidelberg Club Beyond Group

"One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see."

John 9:25

Again, thank you for your prayers and your willingness to support this ministry.

Pray With Me

In a few days I will be heading to Romania. My team and I will be doing anything from VBS with Romanian children to building a playground. This is going to be an exciting trip for many reasons. But it will also be a hard one.

Why will it be exciting?
1. It is my first real chance to truly connect with the teens I will get to minister to over the next few months.
2. Many will see a way life they have never experienced before.
3. Lives will be changed. Changed for the Lord.
4. Lord willing, the Romanians we will work with can see the brightest of lights shining through us.

Why will it be hard?
1. Romania is a dark country.
2. The devil is very much alive and active.
3. The days will be long and tiring.

-- Commit -- 

1- to put into charge or trust : entrust,

2- to carry into action deliberately. 

I trust you. Can you COMMIT?

Can you please COMMIT to pray for this trip?

As I think about the importance of this trip, one thing keeps coming to mind - That the Lord will become known. That He will become known to the people we are reaching out to, but also to those of us reaching out. Yes, safety is a concern but I ask that you focus your prayers on the saving of peoples souls. Even if it is just one soul saved. Its for ETERNITY.

Please pray that the devil be cast far away. If he grabs a hold of us, please pray that we have the strength - through the Almighty God - to shake him off and that the Lord's unmistakeable light will wipe away the devils darkness.

I know I may be asking a lot of you, especially when I can't give you very many details. But please know that your prayers are very much needed and appreciated.

" The light shines in the darkness, 

                    and the darkness has NOT overcome it." 

                                                                                   John 1:5

The Light ALWAYS Prevails

My time here has been amazing! And I haven't even started working with teens yet. It has just been all the interns hanging out. We have been working in the office, hanging out and touring.  It's sometimes hard to believe that I am in Germany. It can be a bit confusing when constantly surrounded by Americans. But, I am trying hard to take it all in.

Today was the best day so far. The first half was called JAM day. That means its just "Jesus And Me." We spent our time at the Schwetzingen Castle Gardens. It was so beautiful there. The purpose of my time was to spend time alone, just me and God.

No matter what kind of work you find yourself in, whether it be ministry, business, coaching, teaching, etc., it always seems to be too busy. "I don't have time!" Taking the time to spend with the Lord, takes effort. But nothing is more important than doing that. Why is it so hard? Because the world sees busyness as success. If you aren't busy, you aren't successful. That is a lie.  There is no such thing and there shouldn't be such a thing as 'being too busy to spend some time with God.' Everyday may not look the same, but there must be Jesus time everyday. Jesus time may not be the same everyday, but it must happen everyday for there to be fulfillment. He is more than worth it.
Matthew 11:28-“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Like today, I spent about 45 minutes just sitting, relaxing, thinking and praying. Then spent some time walking around the gardens with the other interns. We were joking, laughing and, of course, taking pictures. Even during that time I was able to see God's work in everything. He was in the beauty of the clouds, grass, trees, flowers, ducks, geese, and water. After that, we had another hour to ourselves.

I decided to sit by the lake and watch the ducks. I ended up writing down my prayers. I was writing in my journal about needing encouragement in some areas of my life and all of a sudden, as the sun started to shine through, a pure white and very beautiful Swan swam right up to my feet, stuck its head out towards me and then just swam off. Talk about the Lord working in mysterious ways.

His reminder: though there are dark days in your life, the sun ALWAYS overtakes darkness. Keep your eyes on the light.

John 16:33- “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

 

The First Few Days

I have been in Heidelberg for about 36 hours. After a LONG 30 hours of traveling I finally made it to here. I am so excited to be here!

It is very unreal that I am actually here. Last night we (fellow interns and I) walked around this small town we are staying in called Rot. We were geochaching. (First time I've ever heard of it... look it up on google.) We went to two different sites and found nothing. But I just can't believe we were just walking around a small town in Germany. I can't believe it!

I've been able to walk around Patrick Henry Village, where I lived just over 10 years ago, and see my middle school, soccer field, bowling alley, youth center.... so many memories. Here are some pictures of other places/foods:

My old home!

 The skate park where I almost broke my wrist. (Thanks Daniel!)

 Pommes Fritz! With a Gyro and Cola. The best part of all, the Pommes Fritz (French Fry) man is the same guy and the fries taste EXACTLY like I remember!

 A restaurant we used to eat at...

 Finally got my jagerschnitzel mit spaetzle!

We are going into the city tomorrow to walk around the city and see the castle illumination at night! 

It is very unreal that I am here. Last night we (fellow interns and I) walked around this small town we are staying in, geochaching. First time I've ever heard of it... We went to two different sites and found nothing. But I just can't believe we were just walking around Germany. I can't believe it!

The Lord is good and I am excited for what he has in store for me in the next several months.

Stay tuned for prayer requests and updates on what the Lord is doing here in Heidelberg and in one week, Romania.

In Him,

Caitlyn

The Days Before

Please join me as I pursue my passion; serving the Lord by serving military youth.

If you would, please be in prayer as I prepare for my journey to Heidelberg, Germany in June.