Some logistical things support wise...

If you feel uncomfortable sending a check directly to Campus Crusade for Christ, please know that you can address your gift to my parents (Steven or Caroline Phillips) and we'll handle it from there!! If you would like their address - or if you have any other questions - please feel free to email me at katelyncaroline91@gmail.com.


It's been so great to hear from a few of you so far :) It's amazing to see how trust in the Lord is ultimately the most fulfilling aspect of Faith. I feel so blessed that Ocean City is looking more like a reality every day - and that fellow students that I will be going with are having a similar experience!

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted" Job 42:1-2

Letters are sent!!

Finally! The letters are off!! I have letters going to six different states and even a different country!! So dear United States Postal Service: please be nice to me and get them there safely! I am so happy to be done with this part of the adventure, but I know that there is still so much more to come! I know that this is an extremely short post - but that's just some exciting news I thought I would share :)

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which

God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

A little bit (or a lot) about me...

Hello all! So I thought that I would take this time to share with you a little bit about what has been going on since I got to Chico...mainly what has lead me to where I am today: my testimony.


So to start things off, I was raised in the Catholic Church - baptized, confirmed, the whole bit. So I always knew about and believed in God, but I never pursued having a relationship with Him. It wasn't until my freshman year at Chico that I started to discover that aspect of my faith. The Sunday before classes started, my roommate in the dorms, Kayla, invited me to go to Church with her. First of all, I had only known this girl for about two and a half days and she knew very minimal information about my spiritual background  - so I can't imagine what a huge step of faith she had to take just to ask me! But anyways, boy am I glad she did! Together we went to Bidwell Presbyterian - an adorable brick church located right next to campus that held a college service in the evening. It was there that I met another good friend of mine, Colin. His older sister is an intern for Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU), and he invited me to the meeting on that Wednesday. Me, being a brand new freshman in college, thought "Oh! How nice! That will be a great way to meet new friends!" Looking back, I honestly don't even know if I recognized the fact that it was an religious organization. But after I went that first time and encountered the absolutely amazing community I found there - I knew there was something different about that place. Everyone was so welcoming - everyone wanted to know my name, wanted to know what I was all about. A few weeks into the semester, CRU holds its annual Fall Retreat in Lassen National Park. Now, if you would have told me a few months prior that in September I would be spending $100 to spend a weekend with complete strangers at a Christian Retreat - to be honest, I probably would have laughed at you. That is what I like to call and "God Thing"; something I never thought I would do - but God totally tuned my heart to His will. It was there that I really started what you would call my walk with God. I finally purchased a Bible and made a point to read it on a regular basis and find fellowship with others. Now, I'm not saying that after that weekend I was on the right track. I definitely fell back into the ways of "freshman dorm life" without a doubt. But unlike before, I realized that I didn't find that lifestyle fulfilling; I didn't enjoy staying out until all hours of the night doing nothing proactive, I didn't like having short, meaningless relationships with people. Simultaneously, I actively plugged myself into a freshman girls bible study put on through CRU. There I met my future roommates and some of the strongest most amazing women I know. Through being plugged in so much and having that community and fellowship - I slowly began to draw myself out of my dorm lifestyle. I found myself  - instead of going out on Friday nights - getting up early on Saturday to go on hikes in Bidwell Park with CRU people. Since last year, God has grown me a lot and shown me what I'm supposed to do. More about this next time...

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Pslam 40:1-3

This was the verse that I first discovered at Fall Retreat 2009 - so perfect :)