Join in this week as Katie Barok, HOPE community member, small group leader, and experience hiker shares how her passion for hiking led her to grow in her faith and discover the value of a spiritual family in her life. Listen in!
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.live! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
Join in this week as Katie Barok, HOPE community member, small group leader, and experience hiker shares how her passion for hiking led her to grow in her faith and discover the value of a spiritual family in her life. Listen in!
Thanks for being a part of the HOPE community as we continue conversations about faith and hope! You can learn more at meethope.org or find us on socials @meethopechurch. Join in for worship on Sundays at meethope.live! Have a question? Contact us at podcast@meethope.org.
Welcome to the Meet Hope podcast, where we have conversations about faith and hope. Hope is one church made of people living out their faith through two expressions in person and online. We believe a hybrid faith experience can lead to a growing influence in our community and our world for the sake of others. Welcome to Hope.
Speaker 2:Hi everyone, welcome to the Meet Hope podcast. My name is Ashley Black, I'm the communications director here at Hope and I'm excited to be with you today. We're going to be talking about worship in our everyday lives and I'm extra excited because our guest today is someone. Her name is Katie Barrick and I know Katie personally from a small group that we've done together. But before we get into that, hi Katie, hi Ashley. I was wondering if you could maybe tell our listeners a little bit about yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sure. So I'm 30 years old. I grew up here in New Jersey. I did live a little bit away out of state, but we'll talk about that in a little bit. I went to school at Rutgers-Chamden and I have my master's through Rowan. Through learning disabilities. I'm a special education teacher, slash general education teacher and I currently teach in E-Sham and I teach three-year-olds.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. Do you like teaching little?
Speaker 3:kids I do. They've taught me a lot more recently to be very patient. Their feet don't walk as fast as mine do. It really allows me to slow down and take a step back.
Speaker 2:Yeah well as a parent of a little kid. We are grateful for those of you who are patient with our little kids. They teach us to be patient too. So, Katie, can you tell us a little bit about how you have become connected to Hope Church? How did you first find Hope?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I was in college and my sister-in-law, Courtney Barrick, comes to Hope and attends here. My nieces went through the preschool program and one of them is still in the kindergarten program here. She just kind of felt like she felt called to invite me to Hope and just said you know, just come out, just come and try it. And so I started coming to Sunday service with her and then I really felt like I wanted to do more. So I think I was just looking on the Hope website and then I found that they were doing like the 20s and 30s small group. Then I reached out and got plugged into that.
Speaker 2:And that's where you and I met right. Yes, yeah. And did you know anybody in that group when you signed up for it?
Speaker 3:Not initially but once joining Lex Banner, who kind of hosted it at her family's house. She was on the soccer team at Eastern so she was a couple like a year or two ahead of me so I kind of knew her from the team. But other than that I feel like a lot of the people that I had encountered or met through the group weren't necessarily people in my circle that I would see all the time.
Speaker 2:So you kind of knew someone. But you signed up without knowing anybody, Just jumped in.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just showed up at the house and was like I'll try this, Like I'll give it a shot, We'll see what happens.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm so glad that you did, because that's how I got to know you, and one of the things I got to know about you pretty quickly was that you at the time we're just starting to try out a new hobby, you were trying to go hiking more, which when I say that now it makes me laugh, because if you don't know Katie, if you've never met Katie, what I know about Katie is that she goes hiking like all summer long right. So can you tell us a little bit about all the hiking that you've done?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I'll kind of talk about like what got me involved, like into hiking. I grew up like car camping and just being outside with my family that was our family vacation and then being like plugged into the small group. Lex Banner had given me, or given all of the women, a devotional. It's called 100 Days to Be being Brave, and I had always wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail and I had told my dad about it in high school and we started buying the gear and we're like, yeah, yeah, we're going to do this. And the idea kind of you know you have different goals and your life events happen and it kind of got away, got pushed to the side as I went to college and then that idea kind of like came into fruition again and I I read that, started to read that devotional and I just felt called to face something that I had been wanting to do for so long. But I was so scared Like there there may be creepy people, there may be animals, like logistical challenges of having to get around on the trail and like the gear. So reading that devotional kind of got me dialed into wanting to go and do that. So I tried it for a weekend by myself. I had a lot of fun and I kind of had hiking differences. So I was like I'm just I'm going to go for it, like this is what God's telling me to do, like I'm just going to full send. So I went out for a weekend and I remember the first night on trail I couldn't light my stove and that's how you cook things sometimes out there, if that's what you choose to do and I called my dad because I had service.
Speaker 3:I went on the Appalachian Trail in New Jersey and was like we tested out the stove and called him. I was like, can't eat dinner, like I don't know what I'm going to do. And then another hiker comes into camp and I was grateful because I was like, yes, okay, I don't have to sleep alone. Like there goes a one fear out of the way. And he was so gracious and he was like let me look at it, couldn't figure out how to fix the stove. And then he's like what are you trying to do? I just needed to boil water. So then he ended up like boiling water for me so I could rehydrate my meal and then eat it. And then the next night the stove worked. Of course, that's how it always goes right.
Speaker 3:But yeah.
Speaker 3:So then I met a bunch of people from Hungary and Austria and all over the place that were through hiking from Georgia all the way to Maine and I was like okay, like this is really cool, all these people coming together and doing the same, same shared experience.
Speaker 3:Like I want more. So then I didn't go back out for a few months because I had an injury just from carrying a lot of weight on my back, not knowing what I was doing, and so then it kind of just blossomed from there, where it took three years but I hiked the entire Appalachian Trail, just spending my summers like doing really big sections or doing like long weekends or breaks from school or spring break I would spend out on the trail. And then I hiked the Colorado Trail, which is 500 miles, and the long trail and I've done a lot of like peak bagging up in New Hampshire and things like that for day hikes. And then more recently this past summer I went out to the West Coast and I did 1500 miles of the Pacific Cross Trail in 70 days and my plan is for this summer to go back out and finish the rest of the trail.
Speaker 2:And how much is left of the trail.
Speaker 3:I have 1100 miles. That's crazy yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean like crazy in a good way, but that's awesome. Do you know how many miles you've done, like with all those trails? Do you track that?
Speaker 3:Sometimes. I mean the Appalachian Trail is like 2200. The Colorado Trail is 500. This has 2700. The long trails like two, something probably like between 4000 and 5000 miles. So, that's all of the calculations I just like.
Speaker 2:Whenever you share about your hiking and how many miles your feet have moved your body around the country. It blows my mind and so I know. When you and I talked about doing this podcast, one of the things we were talking about was when you're out there and you're hiking, it's a lot of time by yourself, and I asked you a little bit if it's helped you grow your faith at all.
Speaker 3:One of the reasons why I just find you can have solitude out there. But you can also be hiking with a group of people if you want, because there's usually a lot of people always around that you encounter. But for me, just being in the daily go, go, go, and we're always so hustling and moving on to the next thing and thinking about the next day and the next weekend and things like that that, like hiking, really makes you slow down, Kind of a theme here with the students that I'm working with now, you know, with the three year olds but, you know.
Speaker 3:So it just I'll read the Bible in the morning like on my phone on a Bible app. I may listen to podcasts when I'm out there, but I just really enjoy that time and the solitude by myself because it it just put you, get to this state of mind where you're just so at peace. The only things I'm really worrying about is where my next water source is for that day and where I'm sleeping at night, you know, and nothing else really. Of course things pop up, but not as significant, because I feel like I have time to kind of, if a major problem happens which it doesn't too often like to really think about it and process that problem, but a lot of the times, like when I go out on long hikes.
Speaker 3:I met this girl this summer, peach, and she talked about how when she goes out on hikes, she thinks of like objectives, like things she's mentally working on maybe in her life outside of hiking, and she's a teacher as well.
Speaker 3:And if I was to reflect back on this time, like even in the summertime, like I had lost my grandmother in December, so like my walk this summer was spent kind of grieving her, so like I would just put on worship music and no one's around me and I'm just belting it out or like just tears streaming down my face, if it was just like a song that really had me connected to her and just even just taking time and just praying and talking to her and just like how proud she would be of me if she was still alive with me to have a conversation about, like you know, about the hike, and I'm like, well, I'm, you know, she was the one that, especially this summer, we would go on walks together when I was younger.
Speaker 3:So just thinking of how far I've come just since, walking around, like near the Cherry Home, all like how many miles we shared together now, like thinking just spiritually, like she's with me there in that moment, just as being my angel, my protector, and like watching out for me on the trail, so it's just like a just almost like a spiritual walk and it's just a way I notice signs of God easier and more pronounced on the trail versus just what in everyday life, because we are so distracted by everything that's happening around us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I was thinking when you were talking is do you find, does that time on the trail and like the piece that it brings you, does it, does it show up in your everyday life? Like, do you feel like it transfers, it helps me more patient or it helps you focus on a problem easier, or do you find, like that, that carries over?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think so there's I haven't found, like cause you dedicate so much time, day after day, like just hiking? Like you know, on this summer I was hiking between 20 and 30 miles every day. So it's like I'm not listening to music all day, I'm not listening to audio books, Like I'm really just like being present and being mindful and and just worshiping a lot, because in the morning I would listen to worship music, but I haven't found something in my everyday life that like captures my mind and attention, like the trail, like walking in the summer. But there's definitely things that I can learn to take away from my experiences from the summer and then bring them back into my everyday life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's really beautiful. I love what you said about like that hiking was a place that it allowed you to like grieve that, like moving your body and walking, just like you would have with your, with your grandmother. So I know that this. So I love that. You said like this was one of the things that you kind of decided to be brave about, like you were like this is something I've always wanted to do. I'm just going to go for it and figure it out. Another thing that I know that was kind of a brave like leap for you was that you chose to move away. For what a year were you away? For? A year.
Speaker 3:Almost a year, a school year, but yeah.
Speaker 2:And so so you moved to Virginia for a year, right, and I remember, because I remember running into you at the Collinswood Farmers Market and I remember being like hey, how are you doing? I haven't seen you in a while. And you're like I'm moving next week. And I was like what? And you're like, yeah, I just just decided like I need to give this a try. And so so what went into that decision to just give something a try?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So after talking to you, I feel like it's kind of like this common theme where I'm like something is presented. You know, god, put something in front of me. I'm like, okay, sure I'll try it. Like, sign me up, we'll see what happens. Yeah, so I always, just after spending so much time hiking and, you know, really getting involved in the trails system and like driving far places to go hike, especially out to like Pennsylvania, I always wondered like what, if, what if I lived closer to the mountains, Like could I have this peace and tranquility that I achieve on the trail all the time?
Speaker 3:So I had some friends that we would visit occasionally in the summertime down in Lynchburg, virginia, and they were, you know, they have present a very nice lifestyle and have it's. The mountains are right there, they have a lake house and things like that. And they're like you know, like we really think you would do well here. Why don't you just try it? Just try it for a year. And like they told us the one year and I was like nah, nah, nah, like I would look into it, but then the next year, they're like, no, like we really think you should like take this, just try it for a year, like what, what could possibly happen. So I finally took them up on that offer, like after the second summer, of going there.
Speaker 3:So you know, I always wondered what, if so, like, why not? So I ended up moving. Well, I got a job down there, another teaching job, teaching kindergarten. I found a place to live. I had like a roommate for a short amount of time and just decided to move down there. And I knew when I was going down there like I needed a support system, because I only knew one family that was in Lynchburg and everyone else was new and of course I could always come back and drive, but it was a six, six and a half hour drive on a good day. So I knew I had to build relationships with people, because I kind of had to create somewhat of a new family, because I needed a support system or I knew I wasn't going to make it.
Speaker 3:So as soon as I moved there I just tried to make a goal for myself, like, hey, I'm going to commit to doing something outside of my comfort zone, not necessarily like an activity, but just not knowing anyone and just like signing up and going to it so I can start building relationships and making connections. So the first like a month or two, I just went to different events and, like any time anyone asked me anything, I would just say like yeah, yes, like I'm in, like all in. So you know, I worked at my school and then the family that I knew down there invited me to their church and they were super big on volunteering and getting involved. And someone was like, hey, like you should try the connecting point, which was they would feed breakfast on Sundays to people in the community and cook for them and you just sit and have a meal and like hang out with them.
Speaker 3:So I ended up going to the connecting point and it was there wasn't that many people there. There was probably more volunteers there that day than there were actually people from the neighborhood. So I started talking to this one girl, anna, and she's just so great about like noticing if someone stands out or they're like new there and like finding something to talk to them about, like a really great quality. So she came up to me, started talking to me. She was a teacher as well. She's like, hey, well, we have a small group that meets every Wednesday, like do you want to come try it out?
Speaker 2:And I was like yeah, yes, like I said, I'd say yes, right.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So at the time I didn't realize I was doing this but I was like, yeah, so I ended up meeting with a small group and we would meet weekly and we would share a meal together at someone's house and kind of rotate and we were all around like similar ages but I these people knew so much about my life that was going on, more so than like my family knew, just because they were just on the day to day and we just knew so much about each other. So I feel like that really, you know, helped me grow in my faith, because I was spending just just the kindness that they offer to me. You know, within the first five minutes of meeting people down in Virginia, you kind of know, like what church they go to, because it's something that comes up pretty quickly in conversation, but just like the quality of friendships that I had, it was just so authentic.
Speaker 3:You know, when they were asking like hey, how was your week? They were like truly asking and they weren't distracted by anything. You know, our phones were away and they really cared about what was happening in my day to day life. Or hey, like what can I be praying for you about? Like they'll just text us, or like we would hang out outside of work too. It just made it really special and just like made my time, you know, because I obviously am in Voorhees right now speaking to Ashley doing the podcast.
Speaker 3:Ultimately, I ended up. It wasn't meant to be. I came back but it was a struggle with God and myself to kind of figure out to come home, to not come home because there was such good experience with it and I had grown so much spiritually just being dialed in down there. But it kind of like one of the messages that I heard when I was down there was about your family and I was like, oh, I just want to be back in New Jersey with my family, my family, my family. Well, god always shows up when you need it, when you least expect it. And he was like the he, um, the service was preaching about your spiritual family and I was like, oh, okay, like I have a spiritual family right here in front of me like a really good one, and we had our twenties and thirties group, but as we kind of got older and things like that, we didn't meet as often or people had kids.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I know right.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what I would say to you is that that I was so happy for you when you um like embarked on this adventure because when I had had you in my, in our small group, chris and I, like we knew that was something that you like were thinking about for a little while.
Speaker 2:And then to see you like take this risk and and move and then find a spiritual family in a new place and and have all these great experiences, like I was always so excited for you. And I'm equally excited when I heard you were coming back to New Jersey because, um, a big fan, you know we love you, um, but uh, but I know that was a big, a big decision because, like you said you had. What I love is that you um you like challenged yourself to get uncomfortable and you discovered all of these incredible relationships that you wouldn't have discovered if you hadn't been. And I think that that's such a that's so true about, like any of us in our relationship with God is that that's that's how it happens. Like it doesn't happen by us just kind of sitting and saying I wish this would happen. It happens by us like stepping out and volunteering at that thing where, like, it's really obvious, you're the new person you know, and and. But then you, you wound up in a small group. That really meant a lot to you, yeah.
Speaker 3:Um, um. So it really taught me about you know your spiritual family. And I was like, okay, god, like I see you, like I have my spiritual family here. I keep saying I want to go home, I want to go home, I want to be with my family. And God's like we're right here, your family's, right in front of you, like open up your eyes. So I was like, oh man, am I supposed to stay here now?
Speaker 3:Like you know, like ultimately I did decide to come back, but I interpreted it a different way. I was like, okay, God, like I have this great spiritual family here, I know what I need to do. I just need to go back to New Jersey and recreate that spiritual family. And you know, you can have multiple spiritual families.
Speaker 3:But like yeah this is what I'm craving, so I'm going to try to recreate or rekindle, like my spiritual family, or make new ones new relationships with people, cause I feel like he taught me a lot about relationships on authentic connections and people who have kind hearts versus people who may not have the best intentions for you.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that as you're talking and I know you obviously know your story because you lived it, but I love listening to you talk about it because there's this like really incredible through line that I feel like is obviously God of like you going away and discovering something that you like didn't know that you wanted or needed in your life, maybe like discovering this, like new understanding of family, and then, like in almost like a just as an uncomfortable step, of coming back home and leaving that comfort that you would like. So you like went, you went somewhere and you got uncomfortable. You found comfort and then you chose to come back home and you kind of like lost that a little bit. But then this I love that because you had it in one place you were like, well, now I just need to find it here like, okay, god, so you and I, this is the next thing we're gonna do.
Speaker 2:I think that's really cool that you interpreted it that way, because it could be so easy to come back and just be like, well, I don't have that anymore. So I'm not gonna get connected or to a church, or I'm not gonna try and be in a small group, or I'm not gonna try to do X, y and Z, because it's just not gonna be the same. And I remember when you moved back, you reached out to me because you were looking for a small group and I remember us kind of going back and forth about it and I remember you saying something about like I mean I would do it, but I just didn't know if there was anything that existed, and so you, but then you wound up kind of doing it right. So you wanna talk a little bit about that.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So I really like certain aspects of my small group that I had in Virginia that I felt like made it more homey and like having that connection where, you know, I lived alone. I had a roommate and then I lived on my own so I didn't know that many people, so I was often eating meals by myself. So it was like that simple gesture of like everyone bringing a piece of the meal and sitting together and like just and having a meal together and, you know, following up on conversations oh hey, how did that job interview go? Or like you know, just like they were just invested. We were just so invested in each other's life, but in like a healthy way, but yeah, yeah, but. So I wanted to bring that back here.
Speaker 3:So I was like, well, I don't really have a space to do that, Like I'm still just getting. You know, I took a really, really big risk. I feel like I'm still kind of recovering and licking my wounds, you know, from taking that risk. I'm like I don't really wanna have a small group like in my parents' house, like I just don't feel like I would feel as comfortable if they're sitting in the other room and like opening up about things. And so Heather reached out. Well, actually, let me backtrack for a second. I attended the well at the end of 2023 with a friend and she kind of I kept having this re-encoring conversation, kind of like what Ashley said about like hey, like I'm kind of really looking for a small group haven't quite figured it out, found out, like I, maybe it's just not time. And my friend Lacey was like hey, like now's the right time, like let's talk to Heather right now, and she kind of put me on blast and was like hey.
Speaker 3:Heather like she wants to start a small group, get her connected. So then Heather and I just planned you know, there wasn't something that I was looking for. So we were like, okay, let's just start it. Then you know. So she's like you keep bringing this up, like I'm helping you out here, like we're gonna get this ball rolling. So I had a small group here. It was just a five week study and some of us got really connected and close. So then we are still meeting, but now instead of meeting in Heather's office, now we're meeting in someone's home. And it's a similar aspect. It's we're only doing our second study, but it gives me those same like feelings that I would get down in Virginia of just like being really close and people know what's happening in your life and praying for you and just really great authentic connections.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I love that and you're still like, and you're so, you're like nurturing this new thing, right, like you said, like we're still getting to know each other, we're still figuring it out, but you're all committed to this process of like. We want to know about each other's lives, we want to grow together, we want to, you know, be family together, and I just think that's like that's really exciting and really really beautiful, awesome, yeah. So, katie, if someone's listening to this and they they're listening to you, you know kind of say yes and try new things and trust God, and there's something that's coming to their mind where they're thinking about stepping out of their comfort zone. What encouragement would you give to them?
Speaker 3:I would just say say yes, like don't. I mean it's going to be scary, but you just need to take that leap of faith and just trust in God, that he has your best intentions at heart and even if you just try it once, it's not like you have to commit to anything one time. You know like I have fears too and I could make so many excuses. But I think just saying yes and just trying it at least once, and if you're not happy, then you don't have to keep going back and you can always kind of change your mind about it.
Speaker 2:I love. I love that you said you can just try it one time, cause I think sometimes we think like, oh, if I, if I do something one time, like I go hiking one time, if I go hiking, then I have to go hiking forever. Or if I go to a small group, I'm stuck in this small group, even if I don't like it, you know. And it's like, well, no, you can try it, and if it doesn't work, try something else. What about when it comes to trying to extend your understanding of family? So, whether someone's looking for, like, a more spiritual family or just more community in their life, what would you say to them in their effort to try and find that?
Speaker 3:I would say the easiest way to find a community or like a family would just be your hobby. You know, like I just looked at things that I was invested in and things I was interested in spending time at in New Jersey and what could I do to recreate that in Virginia, like doing the small group. Or I liked to go to the gym. So you know, I joined a gym down there and I had the community of those gym members or I started going to like I liked to bike and like be outside. So I started going to like a biking event that would just like bike and then hang out at a restaurant, so like kind of like meetups in a way.
Speaker 3:But I did things that I knew I was comfortable doing. But then I wasn't necessarily comfortable with not knowing anyone. So that kind of like I have different families for, like different hobbies. So I'd say like kind of pick a hobby and see if you can find like Facebook groups or like meetup groups or reach out to other people to see if there may be interest in doing something along those lines. But do something you're comfortable with, you know whether it's art or pottery or dancing, and then you know if you keep showing up, people are gonna notice.
Speaker 2:I love that. I love that Again, while you were talking, I was thinking about how, when you were telling us your story, how that's what you did right, you sought out the things that you really enjoyed doing, and then God met you in those places, which I think is really cool that. I think it's just like it's such a good thing to remember that, like when we seek out things like for us because we're wired by God to love certain things that then he shows up and he meets us there and he'll like work with whatever we, you know, kind of go after. I think so cool. Well, katie, thank you so much for doing this and for sharing so much of your story with everyone listening. Is there anything else you wanted to say?
Speaker 3:Just, I guess, if you see me around church or anything, feel free to ask questions. Or if you need like help or advice, like get involved or take risks, or if you even want, like a friend, to take risks with you, I'm like pretty fun and I would go to things too. If you need like a tag along, I love that so much.
Speaker 2:If you need someone to take risks with, that's gonna be, I'm gonna point them to you. Yeah, okay, great, well, thank you, katie. Again, this is the Meet Hope podcast. If you have any questions that you would like to ask or would like to contact us, you can reach out at podcast at meethopeorg. We hope that you enjoyed this conversation about someone exploring God in their everyday life and we hope that it encouraged you to do the same, and so until next time. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1:Thanks for being a part of the Hope community as we continue our conversations about faith and hope. If you don't already, please join us for worship on Sundays or on demand. You can learn more at meethopeorg or find us on socials at meethopech.