I received my first real donation for my trip two days ago and have been uplifted in a way I cannot explain. God is amazing at answering prayers and renewing faith when we are trying to do everything on our own.
I was able to go home for a night to start on printing, folding, stamping, addressing and sealing my support letters. In the midst of figuring out how we want our assembling line to go, it was time to go to church. We were eating a delicious dinner in the cafe before the service started and I was sharing why God has been good in my life (already tearing up), when my little sister Rhya, who is a sweet girl and very soft spoken at times, asks my dad if she can share it now. I give them both a look of confusion, and then Rhya explains to me, that she has been saving up all of her babysitting money thus far to donate to me. $200. I lost it and was balling in the middle of my dinner and the church cafe, because of the overwhelming sense of love she shared with me. Rhya is 15 years old and she gets it. She understands God's heart in a way that inspires me… she is giving, and loving, and so beautiful because of it. This reminded me to the parable of The Widow's Offering in Mark 12: 41-44. Rhya doesn't have a lot of money, yet she wanted to share it all for the Kingdom.
I have decided to go through my clothes and belongings before I leave this September, to try to sell as much as I can for my trip's funding. The rest I am going to donate to those who need it more than I think I do. With the World Race (WR) being the beginning of almost every thought of mine, I have noticed the Holy Spirit changed my view on so many things. Changing how I interact with others, how I decide to spend my time, and how I chose to think. Things of this world do not matter, and I understand that more and more. Whatever I can do to further my Father's Kingdom – I am there!!
Jon Foreman's song, Baptize My Mind, has been singing to my heart lately. Here are some lyrics…
Reaching always reaching
Never reaching solid ground
Seeking always seeking
Never seeking what I've found
Hey, baptize my mind
Hey, baptize my eyes
Hey, baptize my mind
For these seeds to give birth to life
First it must die
I feel this calling to let all of the things of this world that I know and hold onto, to let them go. I want to give life, and feel that this old Amanda must die. John 12:25 – “Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”
