Amateur Seattleite: On Location

It's unbelievable but after 2.5 days/32 road hours/2093 miles/7 states I AM IN THE RAINY CITY! AND it ISN'T raining! Thank you so much to everyone who has supported me both financially and through prayer because this adventure is finally underway! I cannot express my gratitude enough.

Mom and I left Tulsa on Thursday night and spent the night in Hays, KS before moving on to grace the interstates of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington before arriving in Seattle on Saturday night! Along the way, we were able to have lunch with my dear friend Sam just outside of Denver, which was such a pleasant treat (at this insanely awesome French crepe restaurant)! We also were blessed to be able to stay Friday night with my friend Josh (both of these friends are OU grads/RUF Alum!) at his apartment in Salt Lake City where he was so gracious to host us for the night! It was a long trip and exhausting, but we were so ready to get here and thankful to have a pretty uneventful trip up (in the best way possible!) Mom and I entertained ourselves by 1) listening to sweet music by Stephen Gordon (thanks, Bentern), Indelible Grace, Sigur Ros, Les Miserables, and some other favorite bands from the itunes library, 2) read aloud from "Freakanomics" and "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," 3) watched/listened to the movies "Oklahoma!" and "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Notting Hill." We stopped when we needed to but made excellent time and enjoyed our time with one another as well!

A family from Greenlake PCA here in Seattle hosted mom and I while she was in town since I'm not exactly settled yet (!) which we were so thankful for! On Sunday morning, we went to church at Greenlake PCA which is where my campus minister, Ryan Hughs, and his family attend church and several RUF students go as well. My friend Mark leads the music there as well, so it was a treat to see him that first morning. As the senior pastor got up to begin to speak my mother unexpectedly said to me, "That's Mike Kelly!" I was confused as to how she would know this and looked at her quizzically - she explained that she and my dad had been at seminary at the same time as Mike in St. Louis at Covenant over 20 years ago! It's been incredible and eery to see the connections that continue to appear between my life and the people here in Seattle, and this was just one more link! We talked with Mike after church and the service was very encouraging and I'm excited to get involved in the community here! I will probably visit a few other churches in town before I decide, but Greenlake would certainly be a wonderful and healthy place to be.

Mom had never been to Seattle, so in the afternoon we did a bit of sightseeing around the city! We came and saw the house I will be living at (!) and then saw the sights around town: Gasworks park, the view from Kerry Park, the Fremont Troll, saw my roommate from last summer (Cilla!) and Eli, then went downtown to Pike Place market and took the ferry across to Bainbridge island to see the city at sunset from the ferry, before ending our evening with Compline at St. Mark's cathedral on Capitol Hill. Mom got to see a lot of the city and we had a beautiful day to enjoy it!

Today mom and I got to go down to the U District and see the campus and Mom was able to meet the staff from SYM that I worked with last summer! (For all of last summer's musings, feel free to visit: www.hellosleepyseattle.blogspot.com) This afternoon I took mama to the airport after we had some awesome Thai food for lunch, and took my first official step into adulthood: I am now a college graduate who has moved away from home, and my mother is no longer with me. Although she did buy me six sweaters today, so maybe I'm not such a grown-up after all.

Hymn Singin' CD

Over the years I've cut a few rough recordings of some hymns and songs (some with the help of sister Anna Tracy) and I've finally gotten around to deciding that you can get a copy of these if you'd like it. $10 will get you 10 tracks (chances are I'll throw in an extra or two) and I'll even mail it to your house. If you'd like to avoid shipping charges, talk to me and we can make that transaction happen. The Google Checkout button in the right column should get you where you need to know, let me know if you have questions or problems. Thanks so much, feel free to spread the word to anyone you know who might like to have a copy of some sweet music, courtesy of Katie Tracy formerly of the Katie Tracy Band.

KT

katie.tracy@ruf.org

The Latest

The move date is set! Mom and I will be departing Tulsa the evening of September the 8th and venture the 2000+ miles to the city of sleeplessness. We're hoping to make it up with a good amount of sleep on our side by Saturday evening. I'm excited to spend some QT with my mom and WAY excited for her to get a chance to see Seattle for the weekend! I know that it seems late to be moving, and that's because it is. Little known fact: The UW is on a quarter system rather than semesters, so their school schedule is off from most of the rest of the country for most of the year. Instead of two 16 week semesters, they will have three 10 week quarters in the same amount of time. Also, for reasons that I think are more weather related, they run their school year from September - June rather than August - May. So, even though I am moving after Labor Day, I will still be arriving in Seattle about two weeks before classes start!

PTL that I have finally found a place to live! While details are still coming together slowly, it's nice to have something a little more solid than...well, nothing. I'll be about a fifteen minute walk from campus in a house with some sweet girls - a couple of nursing students and a couple of girls outside of RUF. I'm getting more and more excited to get up there and start meeting students and getting ready for the year!

In the meantime, I'm spending time with students at OU and helping out the new campus minister, Justin Westmoreland, get the lay of the land as the semester kicks off in Norman. OURUF went on a first-of-the-year float trip in Tahlequah with the RUFs from TU and Arkansas, and so I, of course, came along for the ride. I'm getting antsy to get to campus in Seattle the more than I see RUF kick off down here in Norman and especially as the other interns move to their campuses and begin having large group and meeting up with students. It's a waiting game for me at this point, but I'm trying to make the most of it and spend time doing as many of my favorite things as possible - which mostly means having coffee with dear friends and squeezing as much fun out of every moment as possible.

Continue to be in prayer for the interns who are still working to get the rest of their support together, and that my Seattle housing plan would get finalized in the next couple of days. Thank you all for your prayers and support! I'm so excited to be at this point and can't wait to get started on this journey!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I received the official GREEN LIGHT approval to move from the Atlanta office on Friday! This is such an incredible blessing and I am so thankful to all of my supporters who helped make this possible! The Lord has been so gracious to me, and through your generous help I will be able to start making arrangements to move and live in Seattle! THANK YOU!

Classes do not start until the end of September, and so in order to be there about two weeks before school starts, I'll roll out of town on September the 9th - my goal move date. Please be in prayer for my mother (!) and I, who will be trekking the 2000+ miles over 32 hours to drive up to Seattle in a few short weeks! I still have some money that I have to raise in order to be fully funded, but I am so very appreciative of each and every one of your prayers and the financial support that you have so generously given! Continue to check back for updates and pray as I work to find a place to live and roommates to live with!

The Rain Outside Reminds Me that Our God is a God who Provides

Hallelujah, Grace like rain...

It's been a hot summer in Oklahoma. The hottest in history, in fact. The hottest in the history of the country, to be more specific. Yes, it's official. Oklahoma is a hot, hot place.

Contrary to the norm: the average high temperature for the month of July being 103 degrees, we've been having a few thunderstorms the last few nights but most of them have happened during the night while I slept. Waking up this morning with the clouds pouring rain down on our thirsty state nearly brought me to tears -- of the deepest weather-related joy possible. I walked outside to my car and back to the house with no umbrella, because somehow when the rain is so welcome the raindrops are not so troublesome as usual. It's beautiful to see the way the Lord has provided the rain that we so desperately need, and his blessings are new every morning!

This summer I have continued to work at my position in Norman as an Americorps member at the Center for Children and Families in addition to my support raising and preparation efforts with RUF. This has made for a busy summer and very little down time, but I have been amazed time and again to see the ways the Lord has provided rest and solace for me. Last night we had our last "Girl Power" event (a monthly event with our female staff and middle school girls) that I will participate in, and it was an incredible way to end my time of direct service with CCFI. My contract is finished at the end of August, at which time I will have served over 1000 hours over the last year. It's been an awesome experience and an incredible preparation for future work in social service and relational ministry, including the work that I will begin on campus this fall.

This week has been exciting in the intern world as many of my intern friends have received the "green light" to move to campus! This is exciting for all of us as we are able to rejoice with one another and share one another's excitement as we transition to each of the campuses where we will serve. There are 43 interns in my intern class going all over the country! I love these people and am so excited to serve alongside these incredible men and women of God. Please continue to be in prayer for me and the others who are still working to meet their support goals.

The Lord has continued to pour down his grace on me as I grow closer and closer to my fundraising goal! Right now my greatest need is for one time gifts - of any size! I have reached my 85% goal (Praise the Lord!) with the help of many monthly pledges, but must have $10,000 of this be actual money in my account in order to be officially cleared to move. I have about $8500 of this money already, so every little bit helps so much! You can donate online at www.ruf.org/donate or mail gifts by check with my name and 79753 in the memo to: Reformed University Fellowship, 1700 North Brown Road, Suite 104, Lawrenceville, GA 30043.

Thank you for your love and support. Counting down the days to Seattle 2011!

Postcard Updates!

These were sent out in the mail this week, so hopefully you received one if you are on the mailing list! If you want to be on the mailing list and don't think you are, shoot me an email at katie.tracy@ruf.org and I'll make sure you get on it!

This just is a way for me to keep people updated on the latest with me! I have been so encouraged by the support I have received and the encouragement that you have provided! Thank you!

July Update: The Latest News

This month has been a roller coaster, to say the least. Support raising has continued to be both challenging and encouraging, but the Lord has been faithful to provide and to encourage. I've continued work this summer in Norman at the Center for Children and Families where I have worked for the last year, and so in addition to support raising and the intern study program, have been working full-time for the last six weeks in our CCFI Summer Program with low-income elementary and middle school students. This has been wonderful work but has been exhausting as well. I have learned so much from my work with CCFI and am thankful for that experience and for all the knowledge I gained and the relationships that developed between me and my students.

Support raising has continued in full swing in Dallas, Fort Worth, Tulsa and Oklahoma City this month, and I continue to be encouraged by the time I have been able to spend talking about the ministry of RUF with those I've been able to meet with. Right now I have about 75% of the total support that I need for this year, and still need about $3500 in order to move and about $8500 to be fully funded for the year. This total includes both monthly pledges and one-time gifts. I have been so thankful for the support that I have received and am so excited to be able to "get the green light" and move to campus. My goal move date is September 9th, but I need to have my 85% by September 4th in order to be employed by RUF. Thank for your prayers and encouragement throughout this process, they have meant more to me than I can express!

I would love to talk to your Bible study or community group if any of you are involved in a group who would be willing to allow me to come and share about RUF and my work with them. This would be true for anyone in the Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Norman or Dallas/Fort Worth areas. If you know any alumni of the University of Washington, I would love to talk to them about this ministry! Please continue to pray that my support would come in, that I would be able to move to campus, and also, that I would be able to find a place to live! I am looking for roommates and an affordable residence close to campus and would love to hear about any possibilities you might know of.

This last week was spent in Atlanta for RUF staff training, which included all of the campus ministers as well as the first, second, and third year interns and staff. It was an incredibly encouraging week and I was reminded of the Gospel in so many ways as we talked about the RUF Philosophy of Ministry, evangelism, and the importance of Scripture, Justification, and Sanctification as the pillars of our ministry. I am so honored to be able to work for a ministry that keeps the Gospel at the center of everything they do, and was encouraged to spend more time with my intern class and to grow those relationships that will become such an essential part of my spiritual and emotional support base once I move to campus.

Thank you for your support and your prayers, and if you're on my mailing list, be looking for a postcard from me for your refrigerator to come in the mail this week!