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Quietly Brave

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I think the local church gets a bad rap. · This week I've seen multiple people who have said they no longer attend church because they don't think it's worth their time. They'd rather just watch online or listen to a podcast. It breaks my heart. In an age where people are giving up on church, I still wildly believe in it. There is a ministry that happens in and through the church that you can't get anywhere else. And even though it's messy sometimes, when a church is truly seeking to better they're community and add to the Kingdom of God, it's breathtaking to watch. I've had my own share of church hurt, but the church also helped me heal. When the church is working the way it's supposed to, it brings life to the community around it. It's a beautiful thing. · I refuse to give up on the local church. I've seen too much good come from it to walk away from it.

Anyone who knows me knows that my happy place is on the mission field. Whether that’s in a remote village drinking chicha, mentoring young women, or talking to teenagers about God. There's no place I'd rather be. Would you consider joining my team this #givingtuesday ? I'm trying to get to Brazil by the new year and need your help to get there. I'm only $625 in monthly support away from being fully funded. If you'd like to give, DM me or click the link in my bio to give online. 🇧🇷

Can we be real for a minute? Some Sundays, you wake up and you just want to roll over and go right back to sleep. · Today was one of those days for me. · But I still went even though I didn't feel like it and I am so glad I did. There's only ever been one time that I regretted going anyway, and honestly it was only because I was dealing with my great grandfather's passing and could not stop crying long enough to be in service. 😅 Every other time that I've gone anyway it's always been just what I needed. Today was no different. I know it can be so easy to stay home but there's something about being in God's house that's different. It's not the same as watching it on Facebook or listening to a podcast. Those things are fine, but I find that I still need time to be around His people. That's where I'm encouraged. It's where I find community. Some of my best memories are in the church. I could tell story after story of ways God has used others to speak into my life in church right when I needed Him. His people aren't perfect, but isn't it amazing how He still chooses to use ordinary people to encourage and built us up? I don't want to miss out on that. And I don't want you to miss out on that. · Next Sunday, if you wake up and you'd rather sleep in, decide to go anyway. Get around God's people. You never know, He may have exactly what you need waiting for you at His house.

The past few months, I've been studying the life of David. After months of dwelling in the Old Testament, I found myself a few weeks ago SO READY for Jesus. Not David. Not Elijah. Not Paul. Jesus. · We always talk about the amazing things David did, but his life was ROUGH. It was not perfect. He wasn't perfect. It hurt to look at how far he strayed from the Lord at times. There were parts of his life that were dark and seemed hopeless. When I got to the end of his life, I was in need of some light. · Isn't it like that with us sometimes? We go through something hard and dark and when we reach the end, we just need a little bit of light. A glimmer of hope. · There's been so much hurt around those that I love. I know so many people who are struggling with life. Countless situations that need hope. But sometimes it's easier to see all of the hurt and none of the hope. · I've had such an anticipation for December because I know Jesus is coming. We get a whole month to celebrate His birth and I am READY. I'm gonna be reading all in the Gospels because I need a little bit of hope. I just so happen to know where to look for it.

I've got so much to be thankful for. But the thing I've thought about a bit today is that I'm thankful for a family that supports my calling. There were no questions of "When are you going to come home and settle down?" "Are you seeing anyone?" "Will you ever get married?" Not a word. It was "When are you leaving?" "How long will you be gone?" "What do you need?" · I don't take lightly how blessed I am to have my family supporting me. I know of other missionaries that don't have that and honestly, I can't imagine living this life without it. Knowing that they have my back no matter where I go makes things a little bit easier.

2009 Caitlin: scene kid. Super pale. Was 17, but looked 12. Couldn't wait to go to Brazil. Like wouldn't shut up about it. Had no idea I'd go to the jungle in 2010 and have my entire life changed. · 2019 Caitlin: still a scene kid at heart. Not pale??? 27, but looks 17(or 15, depends on who you ask). Can't wait to go to Brazil. Thanking God my entire life was changed when I went to the jungle in 2010.

You guys!! We're getting so close! 🎉🎉 · I'm currently waiting for some paperwork for my visa to get back, and then I'll have meeting with the consulate to get approved for my visa and head out! · I'm also SO CLOSE to being fully funded! Just 13 people at $50 would put me over the top. If you want to join my team and partner with me monthly, click the link in my bio or DM me and I'd love to tell you how. · I'm so grateful for all of the incredible people who have already joined my team. Your partnership makes my ministry possible. Let's finish strong and get to Brazil! 🇧🇷

I'm generally pretty quiet. I'm quiet because I think. A lot. In my head, I am the wildest encourager and my friend's biggest champions. But most of them probably have no idea, because somewhere between my head and my mouth, there's a missing connection. · You see, my head is filled with bouquets of flowers I've made of compliments and the words of life that I think when I'm talking to you. But in the hurry and the trying to keep up, they were left on the kitchen counter. They wilted before the words could ever reach my lips. · I think a lot of us have left our bouquets to wither for fear of awkwardness. · But what if we didn't? What if we let life pour out like rain onto the gardens of our friend's souls? What if we saw something taking root, something JUST starting to bloom and simply called it beautiful? What if we didn't worry about how much rain we had left in our own gardens? · Instead of being surrounded by souls full of weeds of gossip, and gifts in the form of flowers that couldn't take root, we'd be surrounded by life. We'd be surrounded by gardens teeming with blossoms of every kind, all pointing toward the God who made them all. And it would be beautiful. · These tongues we have are fragile things. They would rather create a desert than an oasis. But they were made to speak life and to speak out the God we see in others. · We seem to think that the more life we speak, the more life we ourselves will lose. But no, we will not dry up and wither away when we choose to pour life into others. Instead, we will bloom more than we could ever imagine. Because life creates more life. · Don't leave the bouquet on the counter. Take it and give those words away. You never know what might be planted.

Gonna take a sec and share a few books I've read lately that I loved... Fundraising update coming tomorrow. 🙂 but I wanted to give y'all a 2 second break from it. 😂 · You Are The Girl For The Job by @jessaconnolly This one... WOO. Ladies. Go pick this up. It's a life changer. I've talked so much about this book already, but I wish I could buy it for all of you. It's one of those books that you just want EVERYONE to read, ya know? Jess encourages you to live out the call on your life, no matter what it is. Every woman can get something out of this. · Welcome to Adulting Survival Guide by @jpokluda This is a great daily devotional for young adults, especially for new graduates. It's 42 short daily readings, but they are packed. I love JP's direct approach to the hard subjects. · The Girl Behind The Red Rope by @teddekker and @rachelle_dekker Honestly... It's by the Dekkers. Do I really need to say more? I've read almost every book Ted has written, and this is one of my faves. It combines the classic Dekker writing style with his newer way of storytelling. If you've read a number of his novels, you get what I'm saying. · If you ever need book recommendations, I love trying to help people find a book they'll love. I'm convinced everyone can love to read if they find the right book. 💚📚 #readmore #allthebooks #YATGFTJgiveaway #yatgftjteam #wtasurvivalguide

A quick update. We are O N E W E E K away from the end of my fundraising term! 🎉 To those of you who have partnered with me, thank you! We're getting closer! If you've been wanting to join my team and haven't, now's the time. All it will take is 19 people giving $50 a month and I'll be able to go to Brazil to help raise up the next generation of leaders. 🇧🇷 · Would you pray with me this week? The reality is if I don't have the rest of my funding in the next week, I won't be able to go to Brazil. But I know that we serve a God who can provide more than we can imagine. Most people may see this as a setback or impossible; I see it as a set up for a miracle. Pray that God would move on the hearts of those to give and miraculously provide all that I need so that I can get back where I belong. · Maybe God is speaking to you to partner with me. It could be $1 or $100. If He is, feel free to DM me with any questions you have about what God has called me to do in Brazil or on how to give. · I'm ready to see what God is going to do. Aren't you?

"We are the girls for the job because of the God of all capacity who not only calls us but equips us, and dwells within us, enabling us to carry out His plans. We are able to live, to love, to move, to repair, to receive, to heal, to hope because of Him." - @jessaconnolly · · · I remember when I was around 18 telling God I didn't want to work with teenagers or college students. I knew at that point that I wanted to be a missionary to Brazil, but I didn't know exactly what God had called me to. While in Ecuador, God started to stir in me a desire to work with young women. It wasn't just one thing that made it finally click, but multiple things. Looking back, I think God was preparing me for this during my entire time in Ecuador. I just didn't see it until the end. And even though I still feel unqualified at times and can come up with all of the reasons that He could have chose someone else who would be better at this, I know that He chose me for a reason. I'm the girl for the job because He is the one who strengthens me to do it. He's the one who called me to work with the young women in Brazil who one day want to be missionaries. He's the one who put the desire in my heart in the first place. Who am I to question Him? #youarethegirlforthejob #yatgftj

Ever since I got my first camera at 11, I've been obsessed with photography. I would run around and take pictures of anything and everything. It has been so many things to me over the years. · · · It's been my therapy. It's been my way to communicate how I've felt when I couldn't find the words. It's been my joy. It's been my memory, freezing moments and people that I will never see again this side of heaven. It's been a window into the depths of my heart, revealing who I was when I didn't speak. It's a part of me. · · · It has also been a tool to show others how I see them. A tool to tell the stories of people across the world and right next door. It's told my story, and the stories of countless others. · · · But more than all of those things, it has been a form of worship. God can use every bit of talent we have for His glory. I've been able to share through photography the incredible things He's been doing in the lives of those around me. All of that to say that photography is the greatest gift He could have given me. I am so grateful He chose to bless me with it. · · · 16 years down, a lifetime to go. #worldphotographyday

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