Start date + 20 days

This song was part of the worship used over the weekend of the 50th Celebrations, such awesome words of truth that I really benefited from hearing and singing.

Start Date + 19 days - Celebrations

 YWAM - where we are, where we will GO from YWAM Kona on Vimeo.

This year sees YWAM celebrate it's Golden Jubilee. To mark this occasion, 40 of the YWAM bases accors the world have gathered past and present workers as well as friends and supporters to join for '50th' event - giving glory to GOD for the work so far and hearing the vision for the future.

This past weekend, the base I live at in Harpenden hosted the events for Western Europe and up to 800 people came for the 3 day event.

Inside the main tent

It has been a hectic past week with the whole community joining in preparations - putting up marques and tents; giving up living space for sleepers and orchestrating meals for the masses. As hosts we each had work duties during the event and although this meant missing the majority of the conference in terms of teaching, it was fantastic to serve everyone who attended in a way that meant they could enjoy their time with us.

The making of 1200 sandwiches 

For us as 'Forever' this was a great opportunity to join together on our first team task; being responsible for food. The logistics of catering for such huge amounts of people was daunting but it was great to feel stretched and to come together, supporting one another and going the extra mile to ensure that one the surface, every meal time ran smoothly.

View of the Oval

A lot of prayer went into this event and God really answered us. Despite a weather forecast of rain for the entire weekend, we enjoyed persistent sunshine and warmth until every tent was down and every marque packed away. AMEN!

We also experienced some difficulties with the catering when our entire order was delayed by 4 hours and we somehow produced lunch for 700 without needing to run to the shops once! This was not in our own strength and no individual can take credit. Rather God empowered us to complete this work and gave our guests the grace and patience not to realise the problems!


Please continue to pray for:
- Rest now that the 50th is over - may we all recover!
- God to continue to challenge me and change me


Praise God for:
- Friends! I am SO at home here and loving the community I have joined.
- The success of the 50th celebrations - particularly the practical points I mentioned above!

Start Date + 10 days - Pioneering

'Space... the Final Frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.'

Week One was spent on an induction program, introducing the Leadership Team, local area and a tour of the Highfield Oval, our base and my new home. Part of this was an introduction to pioneering led by the band Evergreen, a Christian band founded at this base and ministering both nationally and locally through their music. 

They spoke on what it means to be a pioneer and how that is worked out practically here on The Oval. I found this one of the most challenging and exciting sections of the week.

When I initially left University and joined YWAM, pioneering was not something I felt called to. Yet God has led me to joining 'Forever', a pioneering team and platform from which I feel called to a new Arts ministry. Thought this journey God has been consistently reassuring me through scripture and wise council that this will be a challenge but it is not my ability I am to rely on but His.

This confirmation has continued since arriving on this base, not least with the pioneering talk being opened with the Star Trek Theme. 

I set up 'Catherine's log' following a conversation with my pastor and a friend a church, in which we joked that I should base it on Star Trek's 'Captain's Log'. 

So I did. 

Having Evergreen start their session with the theme, felt like God gently and humorously alerting me to the way he had orchestrated my journey to join 'Forever', and how He will continue to support me and reveal exciting possibilities to me. 

Below are points that Evergreen gave us to leave with. 

Though light hearted at first glance, these are each serious challenges, to continue to think and pray about.

5 Points of Pioneering (according to Star Trek)

1)What is the final frontier? (the unexplored territories)

2) What is your voyage? (the journey to be undertaken in terms of distance and time)

3) What is your mission? (purpose)

4) Are you seeking new life? (in yourself, in culture, in evangelism)

5) Are you boldly going where no man has gone before? (Be original and think outside of the box)

As week one of work begins I now feel very much like a member of staff here. Following a period of artistic dryness, God has already started to 'drip feed' new dreams and new ideas into my head. Tomorrow I meet with my team leaders to discuss plans and my vision for the arts team and I'm excited to work to bring some of these dreams to life.

Start Date + 4 days

I’ve moved! I’m now a resident of YWAM Harpenden and officially staff on the Forever Team. This is SUCH a beautiful base. When I applied to join the Forever team I decided to not visit it before moving; I knew God wanted me here so it didn’t matter what it looked like.
What a fantastic blessing to find myself in a stunning part of the country and in a base where I immediately feel at home.
All going to ‘plan’ I’ll be based here until the team is planted in East London in the New Year.

I’m sharing a room with 2 lovely girls called Gina and Louise, both of whom finished staffing a Sports Discipleship Training School earlier this year and remain on staff planning a new school now. Also new to the Forever with myself are Helena and Lucie, working on Children’s work and Social Justice respectively.

God has really and truly gone before me in relationships and in my own personal reaction to moving. My worries of feeling overwhelmed by the new situation and meeting lots of new people were unfounded and I already feel settled here. PRAISE GOD!

Myself, Lucie and Dean on a 'Scavenger Hunt' style tour of town

This is an induction week and already we’ve toured the local area, met the leadership and are getting to know the ins and outs of all the important aspects of life on this base.

 I remain excited and expectant for this next season of my life. I’ve had times of real uncertainty about whether I wanted to re-join YWAM and each time God has confirmed that this is where I am to be. The peace I felt when I arrived here though has been the ultimate affirmation of this choice. AMEN!

Moving in to my room

Please continue to pray for:
Settling in - may the sense of home increase
Team unity - as we get to know everyone we’re working with


Finances – one of my monthly supporters has had to withdraw for a time due to a personal situation, may their needs also be met.

Praise God for:
Overcoming my initial fears and giving peace
Current financial needs being met – may this continue despite various changes of circumstances
Friendships that are already forming

Start Date - 1 day and counting

After 4 hours of ticking things off my 'to pack' list, my room looks less like a bomb has hit it and more like it is full of varying sized bombs, waiting to explode. Their clock is primed for 24 hours time when I hope to arrive in Harpenden and settle in to my new home.

I'm slowly becoming excited about the move now, not that I am unsure about it or unhappy to be leaving home. I just have a habit to be looking forward always to 'the next thing' and not enjoying where I am. This summer has been such a gift from God, after much uncertainty about whether I would enjoying living back in Corfe Mullen.

After spending 6 months with YWAM, when I returned home in March I needed to decide where I would spend my summer; home with my family or in Winchester where I'd been at university and where many of my friends continued to live. In all honesty my preference was to return to Winchester and it actually got to the point where I had a job and a place to live before I settled on staying at home.
During this indecision I of course was praying for guidance and God, in his Fatherly love gave the choice over to me. Free-will is something I continue to be in awe of; that God would know the best choices for us to make and yet allows us to learn for ourselves, giving direction when we ask. In my gut I knew that remaining with my family was His best for me and although moving to Winchester wouldn't have been disobedient, I didn't see the fruit of staying at home until I had fully committed to it.
Getting back in contact with my old friends was fantastic though. I'd imagined there might be some sort of awkward social entrapment but God really blessed my relationships over the time we'd all been away at university or traveling and it was great to catch-up and fit back into one another's lives.
After moving around for the best part of 9 months with YWAM and being in India previous to this, my heart was becoming hard against new relationships. To develop new friendships and effectively maintain old ones, only to leave and begin again was a heart-breaking cycle that left me unwilling to form new or meaningful attachments. In retrospect I realise that living at home has allowed the kind of stability and continuity I was lacking and it will be hard to leave.

Start Date - 1 day and counting (Procrastination zone)

This made me laugh, a lot. I hope it makes you laugh too.

Start Date - 2 days and counting

It is officially 'Packing Day Number 1'.
Yesterday I was very efficient and made lists of what to bring: duvet, clothes, shoes etc. But also all the little things I ALWAYS forget; phone charger, tooth brush, coat (Yes, coat. I'm such a fair weather thinker, I'll actually look outside and think 'Its so sunny I won't need to pack my coats'. Apparently when the sun shines my mind concludes that England will never seen rain or sub 15 degrees again. Silly) 
Also, I'm sharing a room and planning on only doing one journey its not practical or necessary to bring EVERYTHING I own so making this list was 100% needed. Or else it would have just been a case of putting the contents of my room, half the garage and the loft into boxes (and as a result shocking YWAM into thinking why the ever accepted such a hoarder) In my defense though I do art and I know few creative people who live a minimalist lifestyle, digital or graphic artists are the current exception. 


Right, well I'd better actually get on and pack. 


Brilliant.