World's Apart: April 2009

Here are the two letters that I have/am sending out about Vietnam!

FIRST LETTER

To my family and friends,

The thought of writing you all this letter has been quite daunting to me. I wish that I could grab coffee with each and every one of you and tell you face to face about what God has been up to in my life. Unfortunately that is rather unrealistic, thus this letter will have to do. Please know though, that this is not a self contained letter…I would like to see it rather as the beginning of a dialogue. So please, if this letter sparks an interest or questions please please please feel free to get in touch with me for more information.

Alright, I suppose I will just launch into it :) Travel back with me in time to this past September (2008). Through a chain of events, an APU program called H.I.S. Years was brought to my attention. It is a program that my school has recently started to help mobilize graduating seniors to serve overseas for two years. Upon hearing about it, I was unsure whether it would be a good fit for me but decided to apply and see where it went. In a nutshell, I was accepted, prayed a lot about it, talked about it with a lot of people and committed.

Fast forward to the present; I am writing this letter to tell you about the amazing opportunity that I have to go to Vietnam for two years. Yep, you heard me right…Vietnam! I will be living in a beautiful city called Da Nang and will be teaching English. I have really come to understand English as the felt need of the community. It is a tool that opens up a child’s world of possibilities and opportunities. I will be teaching part time at a school (Fisher’s Superkids English Center) and at an orphanage. I was first made aware of the school through APU as the director and founder of the school in Vietnam is an Alumni. He is a native of Vietnam but came over to the states to get his Masters and then returned to fulfill his dream of starting up a school to teach English. His name is Hai and he is a gentle and passionate man who is in need of people to help him out with his school…thus enters me.

Logically at this point in the letter some of you might be wondering, why? And again, here is where I wish we could grab coffee. I could go on for hours about “why?” I am leaving to go live and serve in Vietnam for two years because I want to see more justice brought to earth. I have come to understand that if I am to ask God for social justice on earth I better be first in line to participate in the creation of that. I am leaving to go live and serve in Vietnam for two years because I want to develop relationships and in the process, share the hope that I have found in God. The hope that I have found in Jesus Christ has been (and will forever be) my foundation. That hope has carried me through hard times and inspired me in good times. More than anything, I want everyone to know that same hope.

All of this to say, I am writing to you all to solicit your help. Firstly, I would love to talk more about Vietnam and my reasons for going…so please get in touch with me and ask me more questions. Secondly, I am looking for people who will commit to praying for me throughout this entire process. I would love to hear from a minimum of 50 people who will commit to partnering me in this way. Lastly, just as I am looking for people to commit to praying for me, I am also looking for people to partner with me financially.

I will be sending out another letter within a few weeks that will have more information like prayer requests, departure date status, budget needs, etc. My hope and prayer is that you will partner with me…that you would journey alongside me.

Grace and peace,

Kaitlyn Phillips

425-591-9619
kaitlynp@apu.edu

SECOND LETTER

Hello again!

So to recap, in case you have forgotten or in case this is the first time you are hearing this; I am moving to Da Nang, Vietnam for two years! I will be teaching English at a school and working at an orphanage. Now, here are some of the details that weren’t in the last letter. First of all, my estimated departure is the end of June-it’s coming up quick! I am supposed to be there at the end of June to help with the school’s summer camps as well as undergo a couple months of training before school starts in the fall.

Secondly, I will not be there alone…quite contrary actually! There will be about six of us there from my school APU (Azusa Pacific University). Among the other five people going, is one of my best friends Audrey, who is actually already in Da Nang! About 6 weeks ago, we received an email from Hai, the director of the school, informing us that he had two teachers that had to leave early for personal reasons. In other words, he was in desperate need of two teachers at the beginning of April. Audrey graduated in December and was planning on leaving at the end of June but instead chose to help fill the need and start the adventure early!

I cannot even tell you how much more my excitement has grown (I didn’t know that it was possible) over the past week as I have heard from her and found out a little more of what my life too will soon look like! Audrey is staying with another American lady for now, but once the rest of us get there, we will all share a house. I really believe that this will be a good experience and will really help with the transition of living in a different country. We have all acknowledged our need to be intentional in relationship-forming and intentional in not letting our house be a way of staying in our own bubble. I am fully confident that I will learn from just being in Vietnam in general, but also from living in community with these three others.

Thank you so much for all the encouraging words in response to my upcoming plans. I cannot tell you how excited I get talking about Vietnam and so many of you have graciously afforded me the time and curiosity to allow me to share. I think part of me is still in such doubt that this is my reality. I mean, come on…I am having a hard enough time grappling with the idea of graduating college much less moving out of the country :) But honestly, as I have mentioned to many of you, serving abroad was something I always wanted to do but never really believed that I would actually be able to do. I am so overwhelmed that this dream of mine is coming true. Not just that, but I stand in complete amazement at how all of this has come together. I am moving to an amazing country for two years and get to do all of this with one of my best friends?!? God is good :)

As I mentioned in the last letter, I am in need of support in all kinds of shapes and forms! One such way-I am in need of many prayers! There is so much going on in my life right now.

A few specific prayer requests that I have are these:

- Please pray that I can end my collegiate career well. The past four years have been amazing, filled with much personal growth and deep relationships…it’s hard to say goodbye to this chapter in my life.
- Please pray that my spirits and excitement about Vietnam continue to remain high.
- Please pray that I am able to raise the sufficient funds needed to move over there!
- Please pray against doubt. I am a self-doubter…it’s my M.O. In light of such a big life decision, my self-doubt can sometimes get the best of me.

Secondly, it would be of huge encouragement to me that we continue this dialogue. I really see this as the beginning. My hope and prayer is that this conversation and story with all of you will continue even while I am out of the country. I have started up a blog, here is the URL: www.kpworldsapart.blogspot.com I will have this throughout my time in Vietnam and from now on my updates will be online. Also, I will be at home in Seattle mid-May till I leave in June and would love to get together with as many people as possible!

Thirdly, I need monetary support. I estimate that I will need about $10,500 in total for the two years. Broken down this means that I need to raise about $360 per month, plus my airfare there (about $1000), plus visa costs (about $100), plus initial start-up costs (about $550). I will be receiving $400 per month from the H.I.S. Years program to help with my school loans and I will also be receiving a $125 stipend from the school. If you would like to send financial support, you can do so by sending a check to:

Thaddeus Foundation
PO Box 1943
Glendora, CA 91740-7943

Checks should be made out to “Thaddeus Foundation.” Please do not write my name anywhere on the check, but on a separate note, write “For the ministry of Kaitlyn Phillips support.”

Again, thanks. In light of your interest, support and love in my life…I stand humbled. As always please feel free to contact me for more information/questions/just to say hi!

Grace and peace,
Kaitlyn Phillips

425-591-9619
kaitlynp@apu.edu

World's Apart

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Support Letters

"Worlds Apart"