HELLO!! I'm Casie Hoffman (obviously) and my name is pronounced KC; although it looks like Cassie, it's not. You can thank my mom for that - ha!  I am from Forest Hill, Maryland which is about 45 minutes north of Baltimore.  I guess you could say I live in the country; my neighbors are farmers (one has a really cute donkey). 

Anyways, that's where I call home but currently I'm living at college.  I am a junior at Penn State University studying Kinesiology with a focus on Fitness Studies.  I bleed blue and white.  I'm sure that everyone has heard a few things about Penn State on the news in the past few months but I assure you, we aren't all awful. I promise.  I am a full times student & a member of the Penn State Women's Rugby team.  Balancing school work, rugby, leading youth group and holding a job proved to be very difficult this past fall.  

I tried to hold a job working on campus in the dining commons and that was not very successful.  I had spread myself too thin and had to quit working.  I found side-jobs babysitting for a local church and also babysitting for my youth pastor here in State College.  I look forward to the days I babysit because I LOVE KIDS!  Seeing their faces and spending time with them and being able to love them each week is such a blessing.   I am also a licensed cosmetologist so I set my own hours of availability and do hair for students out of my apartment for a low price.  My main clients are the men and women's rugby teams and friends of my teammates.

Until this semester I would not have known what it meant to have "free time."  However, in the few weeks following my acceptance for this trip I made a decision about my lifestyle that I had been praying about for months - I temporarily quit playing rugby.  I decided to take the semester off and allow myself more time to spend with God each day so that He can prepare me for the summer with you all.  In the newly acquired free time that I have I enjoy: playing pick-up games of rugby on nice days, skiing, snowboarding, making trips home to spend more time with my family, reading (which I never liked before).  My relationship with God has grown so much in the past few months that I have had more time to devote to Him and His kids. 

A quick rambling about myself ---

You may find this odd but... I dislike pizza, grilled cheese and Pb&J.  Honestly, I cannot tell you the last time I tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich because it brings back an awful memory of being forced to eat one when I was little. (This is not a joke!) I may be 20 years old but I still sleep with my stuffed animal I've had since I was a baby.  Speaking of animals, my favorite animals are DINOSAURS!!! Not any specific one, I like the whole species.  Going back to the topic of sleeping, I frequently talk in my sleep.  I drink green smoothies just about everyday.  I brush my teeth way too much.  I am still dating my high school sweetheart (who helped lead me to Christ) & I have 9 siblings (some are step and ex-step siblings) making me a middle child... maybe that explains some questions you may have.

I wish I could write about my experience, but I have NONE.  I've been out of the country once, to Ireland & it was for rugby.   This means that YOU are the lucky ones that get to share in my first EVER mission trip experience. WOO!!

I am most excited about the chance to live with complete reliance on God.  I sometimes feel that living in America I am so blessed that I do not know what it truly means to live on faith.  Yes, I believe in God, but I do not think that I know the full meaning of what it is to have Faith.  Maybe I'm wrong, but we will see. I am excited to have my eyes opened to SEE for the first time.  Many things that we will see and experience I have never had to endure and may never have to but that does not make it any less real. 

As for being in Africa - I'm not nervous.  I'm terrified of planes, but God told me to go, so what is there to be scared about?  What I am nervous about is what I am leaving behind in America. I am nervous about my family.  I have been called crazy by my grandparents and their friends and I pray for their understanding.  Some members of my family are also prejudice and cannot see past the color of the orphan's skin.  I am nervous that without their support I will not be able to raise the money necessary for the trip.  Though I have my parents blessing for the trip I really just want the rest of my family to understand. I am nervous that when I come back the persecution for my faith will be even more harsh than it is now. 

God has continued to tell me to have faith.  Trust in Him, He will provide for me, He will comfort me and He will take care of my family while I am gone.  So I am ready....

... are we there yet?!