MY MISSION

Hi, I am Katie.

In October 2024, I lost my 15-year-old daughter who in a fit of anger over her phone being turned off, killed herself. In the few years before this, her life had taken a turn towards poor decisions, self-harm; where God, through my life group here at church as well as the church leadership had been instrumental in helping me to try to get her the help she needed and maintain my sanity. In the summer of 2024 God spoke to me and instead of trying to lead the charge to help my daughter Eva, I could be seen at the altar visualizing rolling Eva up onto the stage and into Jesus’s arms.
When Eva was in the hospital, we prayed for a miracle for her to come around, for Jesus to lay his healing hands on her, and there was a miracle; It wasn’t the miracle that we asked for, but there was a miracle in that through her organ donations, we were able to save six people lives and bring those miracles into the lives of those families.
 
In the weeks following the loss I was able to receive care from the Stephen ministry team as well as participate in the Griefshare program held at church. Through these programs I was able to see God‘s hand working in my life and when I read a passage in a Grief and loss devotional that said “ask God to love you back into life“ I firmly felt the hand of God on my shoulder telling me that he would love me back into life, but that I would have to step out of my comfort zone.
 
Stepping out of the comfort zone meant that I had to remain obedient in what God had for me, I had to understand what God has done in my life and what he did in Eva’s life, as I firmly believe that he saved her from years of pain from her sickness, and that we were all spared the possibilities that she would be trafficked or missing or take some friends with her in one of her wild, and poorly thought out schemes. So as I listened to what God had to say, I agreed to co-lead the next installment of GriefShare, as well as I all of a sudden became a hugger which I never was before, and God gave me ability to give what people have called healing hugs and God has blessed me with the ability to be able to speak about my experiences and my testimony with other hurting people.
 
In the late summer and early fall of 2025 God kept speaking to me in numerous services once again, telling me that I needed to be obedient, and it was not easy, and not without lots of thought and prayer, as well as a deep feeling of that, it was the right thing to do the  numerous things such as in a message being told to have to burn my plow, and I had a nice sports car that I had to sell, as well another message about “others” where I always felt that there weren’t others in my life until it was mentioned about politics, and I had to mend some bridges with some friends that where a wedge had come between us and it went so far as I said to one Pastor to please ask God if he could stop sending me messages that I had to fulfill every week it was very exhausting and hard, but I remain faithful.
 
My idea has always been to retire from my full-time job and buy a camper and a truck to drive around the country. I had some books that I was planning write which I’m still going to write, but one was in the back of my head that I had always thought was going to be a book written more about the pictures rather than the stories the name of the book is a “A Hitchhikers guide to Roadside Memorials” , and during this time, God told me that this is my mission field that now that I have the context to speak to people about lost loved ones and that he wants me to speak to people and bring the comfort that he’s given me as he explains to pass that on to other people, and it brings healing to the giver and the receiver, which is a beautiful thing. As one day, I went to speak to this same Pastor about some pointers on his work in street missions expecting some information just on the cadence of speaking with people that you may not have time to build a longtime relationship with; He told me that there was an informational meeting in about half an hour from “now” with him around facilitating “Starting Point“ at the church a program for new and returning Christians to our church and once again, God told me I had to go and check this out. Calling me to co-led starting point 2 times now and which has been a fundamentally growing and maturing experience.
 
So I gave my work notice in February and in April 2026, I will be heading out with my truck, my travel trailer and my dog, a stack of bibles, and hopefully the support and  prayers of my fellow church members to pursue this mission that God has bestowed upon me, that he has empowered me with. Because I certainly would never have thought that I would be the person giving comfort to people who have lost loved ones and giving them the message, giving them the comfort that God has told me he wants me to pass on to them.
 
Those of you who are used to seeing me in the front row at 9 AM on Sunday mornings, I am not slacking my attendance  by not being in the front row at church. I’m going to be out there on my “fourth-quarter mission” that God has given to the brokenand hurting at the side of US highways.