Category: Mission Work

What can I say? What words can perfectly describe a whole year? Well, I don’t have any perfect words, but I can try to articulate my feelings that have come up from this year.

The year started off with a blast. Literally.

It began on a roof in Kipseli, Greece. Rain fell on us while fireworks exploded in the sky. From the street, explosions of light and color were easily missed due to the surrounding buildings. However, we gathered on the roof of our building in the freezing rain to cheer whenever we saw fireworks explode.

By January, we were midway through our outreach journey in Discipleship Training School (DTS). Greece, was our first location, is the first European country I have ever actually been to (this means getting outside of the airport). Because of tourism and the refugee crisis, there are a lot of different nationalities roaming the streets of Athens.

My outreach team and I teamed with Streetlights, a youth café for Greek and refuge children alike, and were able to experience a small sample of the life they live during our outreach. Despite conflict in the country, it was beautiful to see all the hard work that Streetlights does to pour out love in their little community in Kipseli, Athens. Their heart is that all are welcome into the loving embrace of Streetlight.

Our journey with the refuge crisis didn’t end in Greece. In fact, it only seemed to increase even more in Jordan, our second country we served. People from surrounding countries come to Jordan to seek refuge, but sometimes find none due to rough living conditions. Of course, there are people thriving in Jordan and are reaching out to those around them. Yet, I can’t ignore the pain and suffering so many of these people face. I met so many people with stories of losing everything. Jobs, families, and lives that had been completely destroyed because of devastating situations back home. Even I found it hopeless at times, but they inspired me.

For instance one of the biggest events that broke me the most was a dinner with a lovely refuge family. A couple of teammates and I came to visit this family at home for a “house check up”, to see how they were doing. They invited us to have dinner and gave us a home cooked meal, despite our polite protests. Walking back after dinner, one of the locals told me that that was the majority of the food they had for their family. My heart sank, but was filled with so much gratitude. This moment of sacrificial hospitality stuck with me the rest of the year.

After another month or so, we finished our time in Jordan and went back to Muizenberg to graduate from DTS. Once at base, we had two weeks of “processing time”, but apparently it wasn’t enough for me. Coming home was weird to say the least.

As most of you know, before this venture I worked in the film industry in Los Angeles for about seven years. When I arrived back in the famous Hollywood, I couldn’t help but feel appalled. Driving by multi-million dollar houses after just witnessing people barely staying alive made me sick. I couldn’t comprehend how these two worlds could exist in the same reality.

In Muizenberg, the area I live in is a much smaller bubble of the wealth-poverty dilemma I struggled with earlier. Since Muizenberg is a popular tourist and surfing spot, you can find all sorts of wealth. A few newer BMWs pull up racking surfboards some times. Meanwhile, ten minutes away is a township, running with poverty and injustice. While people are complaining about the use of plastic straws at the beach, nearby the township is a growing mountain of garbage.

You can clearly see the injustice of it all.

In spring, I started my 11-month School of Biblical Studies (SBS) with YWAM Muizenberg, studying and reading the Bible. I’m starting to better (not perfect, but better) understand God’s heart for humanity in this crazy world that we live in. I believe we have 12 more books out of the 66 until we are finished.

With what information I have collected now, here is what I can summarize about God. (Please note: There are better theologians, saints, pastors, and other smart people who do a much better job than me at explaining God and his character. I am explaining from my own experience. )

God is love.

“Duh,” you might say, but it’s true.

One thing that is quite clear in the New Testament is that God loves. He loves each and every one of us. So much so, that he sent his Son, whom he loves. Could you imagine sending away your own child? But because he loved humanity, he sent him. Not just to die- the part that most people focus on- but to be born, to be a baby, and to be human like us. Through that, we can relate to him. God isn’t some far away glowing entity in the clouds. He became flesh to be with us because that’s what he has always wanted, to be with us.

The Old Testament shows that God is constantly reaching out to his own creation, which unsurprisingly rejects him again and again. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s love. In a poor example, imagine the Old Testament is almost like a script. Jesus is the movie. Every word that God ever spoke and all his actions can be rolled up into the person of Jesus.

Everything that you see in the Old Testament points to Jesus.

Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus, the one that everyone in Old Testament put their faith towards, is reigning over death and sin. This means that you and I have the chance to experience the life and love that God has been extending to us from before we were even born.

There are a whole bunch of other details that I am missing out on. Again, I am absolutely no expert. However, God, who loves so vastly and infinitely, fearfully and wonderfully made me, a little human being in the vastness of time and space. This year I have felt a deeper weight to what it means to be loved by God.

I can’t explain why things happen. This year I have witnessed for myself first hand what tragedy can look like nationally, communally, and individually. No tragedy can be compared to another nor can anyone discredit another’s experience. We all go through wins as well as hardships. How we handle it makes the difference.

Jesus doesn’t promise an easy life. In fact, he says it will be pretty hard for those who follow him. I’ve yelled at God this year, even questioned if he was really even there. No matter how I felt (or how you may feel) he is still there. It won’t change.

Our feelings and situations don’t change who he is or the love that he has for us.

There is no way in heck this little blog actually describes my whole year. I kind of just typed where my heart led me. Funny enough, it led me to Jesus. So, in conclusion, 2019 has had its challenges as well as its beauties. I can say, “I have learned in whatever situation to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Not content in where I am at. That would be depressing. I am much rather content through this wonderful and dreadful time that I call my life in the abounding and steadfast love of God.

Merry Christmas everyone and have a blessed New Year!

Blessings,

Catherine H. Fisher

Where have you been?

Well. A little bit of everywhere.

Before I begin, I want to thank you for your prayers andsupport. My last prayer requests were focused on financial provision and travelsafety. All our outreach fees were paid for not only my team, but other teamsas well. Our team also made it safely to every destination we had. Praise God!! Thank you for your constant prayers. They made a big difference.

In my last update, I told you I was traveling to Greece and Jordan. A lot has happened since then. So let’s hop into it. We will attack this thing in two blogs. For your sake and mine, I think it would be best. Let’s talk about my first destination: the beautiful country know as Greece.

Our first month was spent in the lovely Athens, Greece in a little area called Kypseli. Something that I love about Kypseli is that there are so many people who live here (about 50,000) and, yet, it is so peaceful. Greeks and immigrants are combined in this small area, leaving potential room for conflict and sparks to ignite. Instead, you can find kids playing football/soccer on the streets, old men gathering to play boardgames in the square, and people grabbing coffees and hanging out.

One of my first experiences in Kypseli has stuck with me ever since. One of my teammates and I were waiting in line to withdraw money from the ATM. This little girl showed up and started asking people in line for money. I didn’t have any money yet, but I was planning on buying her some foodonce I had some. I tried asking her name and how old she was, but there was alanguage barrier. A Greek woman behind us saw the situation and helped us translate. She was so moved by our action of trying to talk to this little girl, she left her spot in line (which was a big deal because the line was very large) to go buy the girl some food from a bakery next to us. It was so amazing to watch that unfold. When I finally got my money, the little girl had gotten her food and left. The woman also left. It just goes to show how caring people can be if you give them a chance.

My team was mainly focused on a youth café called The Hive. Here, refugee children and Greek children could come and hang out. Most of our days were spent playing with the kids, teaching them English, and really just connecting with them. Before we came, I had started learning a bit of Arabic. It was definitely not the easiest language to learn. When we arrived, I was quick to learn that there were more Afghani refugees and they spoke Farsi. In case you don’t know, Farsi and Arabic are different. So while we taught English, they taught us Farsi. It was actually quite fun for both sides. This exchange really helped us become more familiar with the kids.

At one point, our team had become very familiar with one refugee family in particular. As an entire team, we had fallen in love with their kids and were quickly introduced to the rest of their family. In fact, they invited us over for a meal. We had a beautiful time interacting with the family. Another team member and I actually stayed at their house eating, dancing, and sharing stories for about a total of 5 hours. I can honestly say I was physically and emotionally full. They treated us as if we were just an extended part of their family even though I had met some of them for the first time. Even though they were Muslims and we were Christians, we had a great time enjoying each other’s company. We didn’t have to talk about Jesus in order to show the love of God to them. Spending time with them, eating their food, engaging in their culture were examples on how we shared Jesus’ love with them.

Around this time, the refugee crisis became more and more real to me. A few years ago, it was pretty big on the news. Everyone was constantly talking about it; especially when it came to American politics. News reports constantly buzzed about the millions of people who had to flee for their lives. Eventually the news channels stopped talking about it as much. People started caring less and less. However, the problem is still here. It’s just been pushed aside.

Spending time with families like this made it become more than just a number or a statistic. These were real people with real lives that had drastically changed. I talked with many different children from places like Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan. Many of them have lost their parents and families, friends, and homes. It was no longer a general story that I heard every once ina while on the news. It was a living human being sitting a couple feet away from me.

One time, some of us painted the walls in one of the buildings that was being used for refugees. The refugees that lived there weretrying to make a nice community center so that they could bring some hope intothe building. We were able to connect with them and help out as much as wecould. As I was painting, I was able to have a couple conversations with the people who lived in the building. One little girl stood out to me the most. She seemed like a very bright, talented girl. I had asked her if she went to school that day, but she replied saying she wasn’t able to attend school at all. She went further on to tell me that she lived with her father, but was separated from her mother, brother and sister, who were in another country. I used this opportunity to encourage her and speak life into her. It seemed kind of new for her, but she took my words all the same.

There are plenty of more stories like this. Stories that can’t help but affect the heart. It can be easy to feel hopeless about the refugee crisis. I’ll be honest and say I did at one point. It is so much bigger than my 17-year-old self. However, despite the seemingly bleak situation, the goodness of God is shining in incredible ways. He is constantly raising up people to face the challenge and they are not just coming from people visiting Greece. Hope is emerging from the people of Greece. The staff who work at The Hive are perfect examples of how Greeks are stepping up and out to impact their community for the better. Even the refugees are making a light out of their darkness. No one person can fix this. Together, with the love and power of God, every single one of us can make a difference in this world.

Blessings, 

It has taken quite a bit of time for me to write this update. My recent posts have been about my personal growth here in South Africa and how this place is changing me every day. The past few months have been very life-altering. I have met people from all over the world from different cultures and backgrounds. Each person has taught me a valuable lesson in one way or another. They have all shown me that there is beauty in listening to others.

Sometimes it just flabbergasts me that I am even here right now.

Not only that, but to be so blessed by being surrounded by so many beautiful  people. The moment I walk down the stairs of the building, I can’t help but find joy because each person here is so special. The views and the adventures are just as amazing, but having people to share those moments with make it even better.

Anyways, it’s time to get to the main point of this post.

We have arrived to an intermission in my journey in South Africa. It is time for a quick break before the story continues on. And where is this break to take me?

*small drum roll please*

GREECE & JORDAN

A few months ago, I found out I would be venturing to Middle East with a team of seven other people. I really wanted to surprise everyone. So….. surprise!

Through the church, my team and I will be volunteering our time to serve the people of Greece & Jordan.

Because a lot of our activities are still up in the air, there is not much I can share with you on the details. However, I can tell you that we are going in with humble hearts to listen and understand the people. The team I am on has incredible people in it. Each person has a passion to be servant to the poor and broken. My leaders, Tim & Sav, have such integrity & trustworthiness. Already they are leading the team to greatness. Even though we have not left yet, I can tell that this is going to be an excellent trip.

Traveling to the Middle East has always been a big dream of mine. I am beyond honored and grateful to even have the chance to  go to these places. Some of the members of my team are struggling to fundraise as well. Our team needs to raise about $3,800 (or R53,400). If you would like to partner with me and or my team, you can make a donation to my GoFundMe here (proceeds will go to me) or my team here (Please make sure to clarify that you want the proceeds to go to the Greece/Jordan Team). Thank you in advanced for your support and prayers.

Prayer Requests:

- That my entire team will be able to go. Every finance and need would be met in one way or another.

- All our travels will be smooth and easy.

- We are not the only team who will be traveling to serve 
other countries. Please keep my other friends in your prayers as they travel to other countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and Uganda. That their financial and travel needs would be met.

Blessings,

Catherine H. Fisher

These past 5 weeks have been really great. Every day I am always moving and doing something.

Every morning I wake up at 6:30AM, which may be nothing to some people, but for me it’s pretty crazy. The rest of my day is usually quite active leading me to finally go to bed between 11PM-12AM. Generally, I am busy studying or working with my DTS or exploring the gem that is South Africa. 

Very rarely you will find me actually resting. In fact, to keep up with this busy schedule, I have coffee as a useful crutch on really hard days. Maybe not the best addiction, but they make them really pretty. It’s hard to resist. I mean look at this cuties.

Anyways, my main point is I am finally taking time to stop and relax. It’s actually taking a lot of self-control to restrain myself from pursuing another activity versus taking time to write this blog update. So here we go!

The lectures here have been very challenging in a good way. To makes things worst (or better; I am not really sure yet) the staff and leaders challenge us to challenge these challenging teachings. Although they have great speakers and teachers, they always emphasize the importance of questioning everything they say. The leaders here truly want us to have our own unique relationship with God and don’t want to be an interference to that. Confusing a bit, right

Through this confusion there has been a lot of breakthrough in my life. Even in the areas where I didn’t know I needed breakthrough. It’s really helping me understand who I am, how God sees me, and how He sees others. Every week I am able to apply what I learn on my outreach into the surrounding communities and townships.

One thing I am working on when I go to these places is just loving on people. A lot of times missionaries, or even just some Christians in general, feel like we must get straight to the point and bring people to “salvation”. Sharing the Gospel is important, but God calls us to love Him above all and love His people.

These are the two greatest commandments. Loving people isn’t always preaching. It’s playing soccer with some kids on the street, or having a friendly conversation with someone sitting by themselves, or even picking up trash in your community.

I am currently practicing love by listening to people. Very often I am quick to speak and am already thinking about the next thing I am going to say rather than intently listening to the other person. Sometimes the best way to reach out to somebody is to just listen and understand.

I am going to cut this blog just shorter than usual because there is some subjects I can’t talk about yet on here, but I can’t wait to. The most I can give is that God is good and He is working in BIG ways in my life and lives around the world. Thank you so much to everyone who still supports me today. If you want to be updated on blogs like this, you can sign up with your email on the bottom of the page. It will notify you whenever I post a new update.

 
Prayer Requests:

- There have been fires in the surrounding townships. Please keep these people in your prayers as many search for
new homes.

- As we prepare for our big outreach, some students in my school lack financial support. It would be very appreciated if you could pray that God opens people's hearts to donate to them. 

- Pray that somehow, by God's incredible grace, that I can be as awesome as Kyle, please please please pray hard. (My friend Kyle hacked my blog.)

Blessings,

Catherine H. Fisher

Hi Everyone!

This update is long overdue. It has been a whirlwind of an introduction to the Youth With A Mission, Muizenberg. It’s only been three weeks and there has already been so much breakthrough in my life. Of course I will never understand the complete nature of God and who He is, but this time is already changing me. Everyday I am learning something new.

Before I hop any further into this letter, I just want to explain how grateful I am for your support. Being in this place now, away from home, has made me so very appreciative of all the love and support I received when I was home and how you all still share your love with me today. Thank you so so much. Words will never be able to describe how grateful I am. (Most of you are probably wondering about South Africa already so I will hurry along.)

As some of you may know, traveling to get here was a bit of a mess, but in the end, God prevailed and pulled us through. I was greeted with familiar faces and a new community of people who love God like me and even more so. The first week was pretty relaxed because students from all over the world were just showing up and classes hadn’t started yet. We were able to explore a bit of Muizenberg and some of the surrounding areas during this time.

Muizenberg is truly one of a kind. It’s always pretty windy here. Honestly, I don’t even need a hair dryer. I just have to go outside. The wind is such a blessing though, especially on hot days (which are rare so far, but summer is coming/here). Our base sits right next to Muizenberg Mountain, a gorgeous steep mound. Just this last Saturday, we woke up at 4 in the morning to hike the mountain to catch the sunrise. It was breathtaking. Literally. I was out of breath going up that mountain. The sunrise was gorgeous too.

Later that same afternoon, my new friend and I went surfing at a nearby beach and caught a sort of intermediate wave (more like thrown off). That was the second time I had ever been surfing in my entire life. My first lesson had been the week before. You can imagine how that wave ended. They have Surf Ministry here in Muizenberg, so I am hoping to join in on that perhaps.

Speaking of ministry, the spiritual stuff that is going on here is crazy. I am not talking exorcisms or anything like that. It’s the little breakthroughs that are making all the differences in the world to me right now. My understanding of who God is as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and their fellowship with me as well is deepening more and more. To be completely honest, I did not know God completely. I mean I still don’t and probably won’t ever, but it’s incredible how much I didn’t really understand about God.

For instance:

• Want to know more of what Heaven is going to look like? Genesis 1 & 2 Fam.
• Jesus was the first fully human being since Adam.
• Worship isn’t just singing or dancing. It’s way bigger than that. (I’ll get into that later)
• Ephesians Man. Ephesians. That is wrecking me right now.
• There is no ladder. There is literally nothing you can do to climb up to get closer to God or take step down and get further away. There isn’t even a ladder to climb. Stop pushing yourself away from God. Come sit in His lap boldly (Ephesians 3:12) and talk with him.
• Still don’t really fully comprehend this yet, but working on it: the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Spirit, the Spirit is not the Father, and vice versa. BUT the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God. *pfft mind blown*

This week is Identity in Christ, which will be real interesting. Recently, we have been talking about God’s character, but now we are going to see what He says about us. We haven’t even been really talking about us and already how I view life is being affected. For example, did you know worship is so much more than just raising your hands and singing a couple verses? It’s a daily thing. Everything that can declare the glory of the Lord is worship. That means cooking, cleaning, long boarding, surfing, doing nothing, and etc. are all ways to worship God. It’s living life for God and with God. Adam and Eve worshipped by naming animals, having fellowship with each other, and just living in the Garden that God gave them. It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are with. As long as you do it in spirit and truth (John 4: 23-24), you are worshipping. At first, this was hard for me to understand, especially because we have work duties. I thought, “How can doing chores for two hours every day be worship?” However, I am starting to notice a difference in my life of how I serve others. I find myself to be more willing to do the things that most people don’t want to do. Being responsible and doing our chores is also a way for us to honor God for giving us beautiful building to live in.

Oh, I could just go on and on, but I am already close to 1,000 words. (Which, by the way, is the minimum word count for our first book report of the school season. Foreign To Familiar by Sarah A. Lanier. A good read.) There is also the chance I am overloading you with too much, so I am going to wrap this blog off by saying thank you one last time. I hope all is well. Thank you for reading this.

Blessings,

Catherine H. Fisher