Kaleo: Week 8!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Well we have now entered the final week of Kaleo....
It's kind of bitter sweet knowing that its over.  But, I can honestly say I've had the best summer ever!  It wasn't always easy or fun but I wouldn't have wanted to spend my summer any other way!

Week 8 consisted of lots of rain, which meant for some very busy days at work.  And for me it consisted of car troubles.  My car has been through a lot this summer and finally bit the dust, but thankfully the people of Niceville are really nice (no pun intended) and I got it all taken car of and she's running like a race horse!

Minus the car and work stress of this week it was overall a great week!
We got to spend some times in seaside which is always fun, and of course we got to spend some quality hours on the beach!

Evangelism this week was absolutely AMAZING!!!! Each week when we go out to the beaches I also go to the person who is already a believer but still doesn't fully understand the gospel which does bring its challenges, but most of the time we show them the bridge and move on to someone else.  This week was different.. me and a girl named Christian went up to these two women, one my age and the other was an older lady.  We ended up sitting and talking with them for almost 2 hours!!! they were both so incredible and we were able to share our testimonies and hear theirs.  Their love for Christ was so visible in their lives.  Both of them had gone through some really tough times and they were able to remain strong in their faith and find hope in God which was incredible to hear and see how God is working in other peoples lives.

God has done and is continuing to do amazing things in my life.  I can't wait to see what he throws at me after Kaleo is over but I know I'm ready to head back to campus and share the gospel with others!

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Kaleo: Weeks 6 & 7!!

Dear Friends and Family,

Week six was a week for the books!!  It's starting to sink in that the summer of my life is almost over and I'm really sad about that. (I’m pretty sure I talk about being sad that Kaleo is almost over in every blog post…sorry)  This week though was a fun one for sure!! It was the fourth of July and we spent it in seaside!  Seaside has become one of my favorite places to go this summer! We got to walk around and eat at one of my favorite food trucks down there, The Meltdown.  Then we got to watch the most amazing firework show on the beach!  This week also marked a monumental moment for me…I had my first waffle house experience haha!! Abby and me decided to treat us to an all-star special Sunday morning before church!  I have to say that I am now a waffle house lover!

Week seven we had mission’s conference! I was kind of dreading it… I was excited because it meant a short work week and a long weekend but I was quick to judge what would happen that weekend.  Going into missions conference I was convinced that all that they were going to talk about was the StuMo team in India and try to recruit us to go to India with them next summer blah blah blah.  But no it was nothing like that.  I learned so much about what it means to be a missionary and how missions got started in the United States and a lot of history behind mission work.  Todd Aaron was our speaker for the weekend and he was INCREDIBLE!!  

I can not think everyone who helped me get here enough!  Because of generous friends and family I have been able to grow in my relationship with  Christ, watch others grow, and learn so much more than I ever thought I could learn about the gospel and what is looks like to share my faith.  I've made so many new friends, and even more unforgettable memories this summer!

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Kaleo: Week 5!!

Dear Family and Friends,

It's crazy to think week 5 has come to an end!! I only have 10 more days of work and three more weeks at Kaleo!! This week was a really fun week. We had our big Kaleo dance party!!  All the D-groups got paired together and were given a letter and you had to dress according to whatever letter you had.  My group had the letter H so we did H is for heroes and all dressed up like different super heroes!

H is for Heroes!

The dance party was for sure one of the biggest highlights of this summer! It couldn't have come at a more perfect time!  I was feeling really run down and exhausted from the long work days, but the dance party was a real recharger to keep everyone going through these last few weeks of Kaleo!

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Kaleo: Picture night!

Dear Friends and Family,

The other day after work we had a chance to get the whole Kaleo Destin crew together for a group picture on the beach.  The Destin project of Kaleo is students from the University of Arkansas, University of Central Arkansas, Missouri State University, and Northeastern State University.  After we finally got everyone posed for a group picture we all just started taking random pictures so I thought I would share some of those pictures as well as some random pictures from the past week.

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Polo crew!

Just a little roomie love!

she'll forever be my favorite dolphin!

alpha tri delta pi????

Ben Rector concert!

Ben Rector!!

StuMo nights and Dylan's photobomb!

Love my Chi O's!

Love my Michelle!

Diamond love!

Kaleo: Week 5!

Dear Friends and family,

As week 5 of Kaleo comes to an end I've started to realize how quickly its gone by.  Thinking about how there are only four weeks left makes me really sad! I'm going to miss living with Abby and Michelle in our cute little condo at Bluewater Bay and eating dinner together, I'm going to miss my morning car rides to work with Elaine and Hannah, and our jam sessions we have! Its hard to believe in four short weeks Kaleo will be over.

This week it really hit me how much I'm missing home and how much I miss my friends and family.  I Dont want Kaleo to end, but I want to be home with my friends and family.  If only there was a way to combine Kaleo and being at home.  I love getting to be a Florida native for the summer but I sure do miss Arkansas! (WOW I never thought I would say that!)  Even though I've been feeling a little home sick lately I know for a fact that this is the plan that God had for me this summer, and when its over I cant wait to go home and share the gospel with my friends, my sorority sisters, and my family.

If you remember please keep us Kaleans in your prayers this week.  We need prayers for strength to make it through the long work days, courage to share the gospel this week, and prayers just that we continue to learn and grow in these last four weeks.

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Kaleo: Week 3 & 4!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

The past two weeks have been crazy busy!! we finally got into a daily routine! But, what was really exciting about last weekend was that we had our relationships conference.  Relationships conference was so amazing!!!  We had amazing speakers and we got to hear from some of the married couples that are on staff with StuMo.  My favorite part was when we had one of the girls break out sessions and we got to sit and listen to some guys talk about guys in relationships.  We also got the chance to ask them questions which was really cool to pick their brains about relationships.  What relationships conference taught me was what a relationship looks like when you follow Christ and put him first, and for both people in the relationship to have that close personal relationship with Christ and then to start a dating relationship.

Its hard to believe that this week marked the half way point of Kaleo!!! I feel like I just got here yesterday!  Im having the best summer of my life and I dont want to leave, but Im ready to see my family when Kaleo is over!  I miss them so much and its been hard being away from them.  I know that I'll get to see them in a few short weeks which makes me really excited but sad at the same time because it means Kaleo is over!

In Christ,

Mary Kate

Kaleo Week 2!

Dear Family and Friends,

                   As week two of Kaleo comes to an end I have to say that this summer just keeps getting better and better!!! I didn't think it was possible for it to get better.  Probably the most fun this week was that we had two surprise parties this week here at Kaleo!  One for my friend Hannah who I work with and one for Tiffany, a d-group leader!  So something i've learned is that here at kaleo we really like birthdays and surprises! We had a blast getting everyone together to celebrate this week!  My wonderful mother also sent me a starbucks and a panera gift card which made for a great week considering the fact that I haven't received my first paycheck yet so i'm living off raman and peanut butter sandwiches!

Hannah's 19th Birthday surprise party!!!

                  This week started out just like last with evangelism training.... Evangelism is such a scary thing to me, but for me personally it is one of the areas that I want to grow in most while i'm at Kaleo this summer.  This week I was paired with my friend Abby who is in my d-group and we are roommates for the summer!  Me and Abby clicked instantly and always have so much fun together so I was excited to get to share with her.  This week the first two people we talked to were two older ladies and as we were sharing the gospel with them it was clear that they had both come to know Christ and were very strong in their faith.  After we were finished sharing the bridge diagram they hit us with some hard questions!  Which was exciting and challenging because we were being taught while we were sharing the gospel to these ladies.  then we shared with two girls who were about a year younger than Abby and I, and they were really encouraging.  They told us that they thought what we were doing was awesome and that we were encouraging to them.  Then we talked to possibly the most real woman we could have picked out of everyone on the beach.  She was so open and so honest with us, which for us we are always really nervous and we never know what to expect from people so for her to be so open and honest was absolutely amazing!

taking a little beach evangelism break with a selfie!

                   This week at StuMo we talked about hell which I feel like is sometimes an avoided topic just because people are scared of it and the reality of hell.  The whole sermon was about facing the reality, the reality of time and the reality of hell.  Then Brent our speaker for the night kept repeating something that stuck out in my mind and that was that reality requires a response.  His message was really powerful and deep and really put into perspective that even though we already know hell is a very real place, but that if you don't come to know christ you will spend eternity there and that is not a place you want to spend eternity in.

 

StuMo night with Natalie!

                   

With some of my favorite Polo co-workers!

                   

                Work this week was tough.  It's tough waking up early, I work 8-9 hours everyday, and working at polo is a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I did get lucky in the fact that I love everyone I work with and me and all the Polo girls have really bonded and become best friends!

              tonight me and my d-group went and just sat on the beach and talked which got me really excited for this weekend since it's d-group weekend and I absolutely can not wait to spend the weekend away from Niceville with my group and relax and just to grow closer to them and spend quality time with them.


              


In Christ,

Mary Kate