Kaleo Conclusion

Kaleo was amazing.
It's been about 2.5 weeks since I've come home from Kaleo and I'm finally making time to process the growth that I've experienced at Kaleo. But before I reflect on the growth, I'll go into a little more detail about the last two weeks of Kaleo, which were absolutely insane.

D Group love<3

Week 8 was pretty normal. Last week of work. Everything was pretty normal... Until Missions conference! Let me tell you about Missions Conference. First surprise was that Jennifer, aka my best friend from TU, flew all the way from St. Louis to Fort Walton to see me and our friends Meg and Charlie (but I'm gonna pretend it was just for me(: ). She totally surprised me by hugging me as I walked into the church. It was so wonderful catching up with her and spending time with her and hanging out with her. She's my best friend for a reason! Seeing Jennifer was so much fun, and it made Missions Conference even better. At Missions, we spoke about being a global Christian. The speaker was absolutely hilarious but was still able to stir up a passion for the world in the hearts of the audience. Never in my life have I so clearly understood God's global purpose. I was so amazed by his teachings. The speaker argued that since the very beginning of his covenant with Abram, God has been trying to reach the nations for their good and his glory. We learned about the Old testament and how out of all the nations God chose one nation (Israel) to reach all the nations. We talked about the 10/40 window, about the 2.7 billion people living in the 6,900 unreached people groups and the 540 million people living in 639 unengaged people groups. Unreached people groups are defined as people groups with a population of less than 2% Christians, and unengaged people groups are those with 0% of a Bible translation and with a population of 0% Christians. Those billions of people that don't know Christ? Those are my problem. The speaker argued that the 10/40 Window and the billions of lost people is every single Christ follower's problem. We have to reach them.
We talked about the purpose God has for his church which calls us to stand in the gap between God and the nations. We are called to bless the nations that they may be reached for Christ. The Great Commission became very clear at this conference: every single Christian is called to reach the nations for Christ because God wants a representative from every tribe and every nation in heaven--he wants the nations because he loves them and died for them!

Meg, myself, and Jennifer!!!!

We as Christ followers are called to reach all peoples, to be the goers who physically go to the nations, to be the welcomers who welcome people from other nations into their lives at home as to reach them, to be the prayers who pray earnestly and specifically that the nations be reached, to be the senders who provide the financial and physical means for missionaries to go to the nations, and to be the mobilizers who pass on the passion for the world to other Christians.

I was reminded time and time again about how reaching the world for Christ is not about our ability but our availability, and I had to open my life up to God at this conference. I could not walk away from the conference without making the decision to completely surrender my future to God that I may reach the nations in whichever way he calls me. I had to surrender my future plans, my future spouse, my future livelihood, my hopes and dreams and where I will live, everything, as a response to God's invitation that night. It wasn't easy and I still have no idea what it looks like, but I know that I am so thankful to know a God who cares so deeply for the nations and who cares so deeply about me that he would let me be a part of his purpose.  Missions conference changed me and reignited a fire for the nations in my heart.

For week 8, I lead World Prayer in our small group time. I chose to have my group pray for Belize. If you would take a moment to pray for the country of Belize, for my friends the Gomez Family, and that pastors would be raised to teach the truth in Belize, that would be greatly appreciated!

Week 9 was our last week, and it was amazing. Monday was our last day of work, and after many hugs and a few tears from coworkers, I said my goodbyes to my coworkers and McAlister's and hello to freedom for the rest of the summer! The managers even went so far as to throw us a little pizza party with cupcakes to celebrate the summer and send us off. Though it began as a rough start, I really enjoyed working at McAlister's and getting to know the people I did. For the rest of the week, we had Back To Campus Week, where we focused all of our time and energy for the day on preparing our individual ministries back on our campuses. We spoke and planned what our goals were, who and what we wanted to pray for, who we wanted to share with, how we would meet new people, who we would invite to Stumo conference in January, who would mentor us, etc etc. We talked very specifically about how we could live out the things we learned at Kaleo in our sororities, fraternities, athletic teams, and in our dorms and apartments. I was so encouraged but so challenged, and I am so excited to get back to campus!

Madison, Steven, Ricardo, Brian, James, and myself! All of us are from Kaleo except Ricardo. All 4 of them are from OSU!

One afternoon during BTCW, I was able to share the Gospel with my coworker who is a year younger than me. It was amazing, and definitely one of the highlights of my summer. We met up at a Thai restaurant near McAlister's and ordered the delicious chicken wontons! One of the things I learned this summer was how to connect to people and make them feel important and valued in a conversation, so I applied some of those techniques and really focused in on my coworker and the things I knew were going on in her life, and I definitely think that made a difference. At some point in the conversation, the topic became Kaleo and we talked about some of the things I had learned, and I felt the Holy Spirit telling me that this moment was the opportunity to share the Gospel that I had been praying for. For the first time in a while, I very clearly felt that voice and I responded with obedience. I didn't ignore it as I am so guilty of doing, but I surrendered to it and asked my coworker if I could share an illustration that I had learned at Kaleo. I went through the illustration and explained to her what it meant to follow Christ and make him the Lord of her life. I felt so confident and bold in that moment. She told me that she was already a Christian and had already made a decision to follow Christ, but that made me all the more joyful. To my knowledge, this girl had never been explained the Gospel in a way like this. God put it on my heart for weeks to share this with her, and finally given the opportunity and the courage to be obedient, I know that He did wonderful things with my sharing. As we continued our conversation, I was able to encourage her in her faith as she begins college this fall, and I was able to give her a few pieces of advice and even encouraged her to share the illustration with her friends. I really have no idea what God is going to do with my act of obedience. There is no way for me to know whether this girl is saved and is having a rough patch or just claims to be a Christian but hasn't surrendered her life to Christ. But I do know one thing--I was obedient. My entire life I have struggled to be obedient to the callings and promptings that God has laid on my heart. Too often I am guilty of half-obeying God's leadings or even just ignoring them, but this time I obeyed and my heart was filled with joy. As I got in the car after sharing, I was beaming. I was not beaming in pride of myself but I was beaming because I had just been used by our great God. I was beaming because God worked through me, because I had been his vessel to bring his word and his truth to this girl. I obeyed--praise God!

I tell this story not to boast or brag on myself. Seriously, God has been faithful in teaching me humility and while I'm still learning big time, my heart has been changed. I tell this story because it gives me hope, and I hope it gives you hope. This story gives me hope to share the gospel and be obedient to Christ at TU. I know through Christ I can do anything he calls me to do, because He did it with my coworker at Kaleo. I know that YOU can do anything Christ calls you to do, because He does it through people all the time. Obey God as an act of love, and it will open up a door to feeling his love like never before. God does not love me more because I obeyed him, God loves me because he is love, and when I obeyed him I was fulfilling his purpose for my life, and fulfilling my purpose satisfies me, and fills me with joy and love and thankfulness.

Micaela and Cherish were baptized this summer! Woot woot, sisters in Christ! 

God is awesome. Kaleo is awesome. Two of my new best friends were baptized this year at Kaleo because God moved in their hearts and they made the decision to accept Christ at Kaleo. God moves at Kaleo. I am so so thankful for every single person who blessed me by supporting me financially, by praying for me, or by encouraging me or thinking about me while I was gone. I loved my experience at Kaleo. I really did, and I believe whole heartedly that I am a better woman because of it. I feel like I have grown so much as a person (Look Mom, I can cook now!) and as a Christ follower. I have made friendships that I pray will last a long long time, and I have been challenged and sharpened more than I ever had. God is at work within me, and I am so thankful for my time at Kaleo. Thank you so much to everyone who has followed along my journey at Kaleo. I have more stories to tell than I can write in a blow, and I would love to tell you more if you ask. Thank you so much for supporting me. Lots of love, Karla