the work has begun

I have been back in Danmark for about a week now. And I have been busy busy. It is go time for work in the shop. I jumped right in with the cafe team. We have been working at the shop every evening and all day on Saturday. We have had a number of volunteers from the church that have been helping us. Our first goal is to get the main rooms fixed up and ready to use. We also need to do some serious cleaning in the bathrooms and kitchen before we can open. But remodeling them and turning to old beer storage room into the children's room will have to wait until we have work and witness teams to help us. 

So it is time for us to do the hard core manual labor. I can now add floor ripper and wall sander to my resume. We needed to rip out the old carpet to be able to lay a new floor. We pulled up the first layer if disgusting beer and puke stained carpet only to find another layer and then another and another. We tore up 6 layers in all before we found the bottom wood floor. But that was only in half of the main room. When we started pulling layers on the other side of the room we found that the previous owners had laid cement in place of a couple layers of carpet. So we get to bust cement in the middle of our carpet ripping. The other great task has been to sand all of the wooden walls in the shop so that we can paint them. And by all wooden walls, I mean the entire shop. It has been hours of arm work-outs and dust baths. 

On the exciting side of work (because let's just face as accomplished as the construction work makes me feel, it would never be my first choice of work) we have been designing a bar, looking at different appliances/machines and talking about menus. All the wonderful things that make this old dirty bar a cafe. 

This has been a week of the joys of being a volunteer missionary. Switching from manual laborer, barista, cook, and minister. Life as a volunteer is never boring. 

Leaving the States.... Again

It is almost that time again. Soon I will be packing that big suitcase, weighing it, stuffing it, hoping to get every little last thing into it. Then there will be airport checkins with heavy bagage payments and security checks, followed by long boring waits, feeling completely trapped in a little space for hours on end, wishing I could actually sleep on a flight. Only to land across the ocean, go through it again, but at least this little space is much shorter. Then there is picking up the heavy suitcase and going through customs and finally seeing someone, anyone from the church is like seeing the most important person in the world. Because that person will be the one who drives me to the place I get to crash, my Danish home. Yeah, it's that horrible traveling time again. I don't think I will ever enjoy this process.

But, even though the travel time is a pain, it will all be worth it when I walk through the door of my home in Denmark. I am ready to go. (maybe not physically yet, but emotionally and mentally.) I am returning to some new exciting adventures. We now have purchased a location for our shop. The team has already started the process of cleaning it out and preparing to do some remodeling work so we can open it soon. I am really excited to return to the shop and get things started.

I have raised enough funds to live and work in Denmark for another year! Thank you to all who helped me raise all of the funds. I appreciate all of the help. If you want to help me through out the year, you can donate online at- Katie Fitch in Denmark . Also, remember to check back here for info of what is going on in Denmark!

My time in Danmark is coming very quickly to a close. Soon I will be packing up and boarding that forever long flight to home. Like the end of every trip I have been busy taking care of final things and reflecting on my time here. I have really loved being in Denmark. I did not think I would ever love another country like I loved Poland, but Denmark has won my heart. I think the biggest lesson I have learned since I have been here is to be still and wait for God to move. So much of the work with the cafe has been waiting. We have not gotten answers quickly or in the time frame that I would want. But, God does not always work in the way we want. We have to wait and for His response. Now we have a found a location that we love. The owners group is very supportive of our cafe plan, including our desire to help people. So, now we once again wait through the negotiation process. Our hope is to have the place by January and open around March. We are communicating with different Work and Witness teams interested in coming and helping this summer. Things are beginning to happen!

And I am in a position where I have to go home. The main reason is once again, I need to fundraise. Right now, it's hard for me to see how it will all work out. I am still $6,000 short of what I need to work for a year here. If you are interested in helping out you can donate online-  http://web.nazarene.org/goto/kfitch. Or email me at katie_rae27@yahoo.com. I would love to come and share what we are doing at your Church, Sunday school, or Small Group meetings. God is moving here in Denmark. I am so excited to return and open the shop and start the church. There is a need, we want to fill it, and God is moving us to do it as we glorify Him.  

Fundraising

All too soon, but not soon enough I will be returning to the States for a break. Well, not really a break but for a time of fundraising. I am looking for different churches, small groups, sunday schools, to share in. God has done a lot in my life and the life of the church while I have been in Denmark. I have been asked to return to Denmark and continue working with the youth and coffee shop ministry here. I still need to raise $8,000 more to be able to work in Denmark another year. If you are interested in hearing about the work here please email me at katie_rae27@yahoo.com. Also, I can now receive donations online at katie fitch mission corp. Thank You for all the support!

Permission to Move Forward

We finally have an answer! The cafe team is now able to put a bid on the property that we would like to purchase. I am really excited!! Please continue to pray for us as we go through the paperwork process. Hopefully it will all pass smoothly.

Watching, Waiting, Hoping, Waiting, Waiting... and did I mention Waiting?

Every time I try to start and write this blog, I get one sentence done and then never finish it. I guess it is because I feel like I keep writing the same thing over and over again. We are still waiting.........

Last week the cafe team met with the church board. We had a very long meeting discussing the building we found, how we all felt about the cafe work, and our understanding of the commitment of the ministry. It was a good conversation.  And we walked away with the church boards full support.

But, it is the district that has to find a way for us to have extra money. Since the down payment for this property is much higher then we originally planned. So, we are waiting. The District will give us an answer about the funds in 2 weeks.  It is a difficult situation because the churches on the District will take a big cut if they purchase this shop. So, they are discussing different options on how we can get the money needed.

And so we continue waiting and praying. Everyone is ready to go and ready to move forward. It is great to know that the church is behind us. But it is hard to have so many plans and to continue waiting.

Fundraising Time

Time has been ticking away and soon I will have to leave Denmark. My year contract might be up, but my work in Danmark is not finished yet! I know God has called me to see this cafe project through and so I will be returning for at least another year. So, that means I need to come up with some more funds! It cost me $1,400 a month to live in Danmark. That means I need to raise $16,800 for the entire year. There are a few different fundraisers and ideas I have to help me raise the funds-

My Running- It keeps me sane! No really, I love running and if I ever gave it up I would loose my ability to de-stress and process. So, I have 2 races coming up, both half marathons. I am going to run a back to back race over New Years with my brother and sister-in-law. That means I'm running a half on the 29th of Dec. and then another on the 1st of Jan. If you are interested in sponsoring me in these runs, all of it will go towards my work in Danmark and the benefit of me keeping my sanity.

Golf- In October there will be a golf tournament in Pittsburg, Ca. The tournament will go to helping raise funds for my work here. More details for this will follow. If you are interested in playing in the tournament, email me and I will put you in contact with the organizer for this event.

 Speaking- I will be home in the end of November until February. I would love to share in any type of services, small groups, Sunday school classes, any thing like that. Please email me and we can arrange a time.

I will be returning to California at the end of November and staying in the States until mid-February. Then it's back to Danmark to open a shop! If you are interested in more details or helping me in anyway, please email me at thrower_chic@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook. Thank You so much! Please Pray with me about my next year commitment to Danmark!