This is it, the home stretch. In just 9 days I need to have $16,255 in my Fundraising account for the World Race. Right now I have $14,966. That is $1,289 short. If I do not have the full amount by March 31st I WILL BE SENT HOME.
Let me tell you the reasons this cannot happen. Please take a moment to read how the World Race has changed my life and perspective on so many levels, and taken me to the end of my comfort Zone. Let me explain why I need to run this race until the very end.
“Life Begins at the end of your comfort zone.” – Neale Donald Walsch
I was comfortable with my life at home. I felt right with God. I was working for Disney Cruise Line and traveling the Caribbean. I had friends who I loved and had a lot of fun with. I was sitting in my comfortability and I was okay with it. But I also felt like I needed something more. I felt like I was becoming complacent and there was more to life than that. And so the World Race came. I was launched head first into a world that was far bigger than I ever knew existed. At Training Camp in July there were so many hurts that surfaced that I never realized were still there. I was no longer comfortable. I was thrust into a life of total dependance on God. What made it so uncomfortable you ask? Well Let me tell you.
1. I was put onto a team with people I didn’t know. I was pushed past my comfort zone to trust 5 strangers, and to open up myself to them. I was uncomfortable with this new community that I had never experienced before. It taught me about vulnerability, but good vulnerability. My comfort zone of my friends and family was taken away, and I had to find a new family and friends, and it was good. It was great! I learned so much about myself and others, but more importantly about God and his love for me and what unconditional, true unconditional, love looks like. And now on my new team I have learned how to fight for others and that others will be there to fight for me!
2. I had to be vulnerable. I know I already said that, but its a big deal. God placed things on my heart that I knew I needed to share, and it was very uncomfortable. I had to share things about myself that I had never told anyone ever before. I had to open up parts of myself and re-examine those parts with God by my side, walking with me, and holding me in his arms, letting me know that it was okay, that it was good for me to talk about this stuff because that is where he can start healing me.
3. Traveling with 55 people for 11 months is hard. Its very uncomfortable. Most travel days I end up stressed out because trying to get everyone through the steps of travel and get them from one place to the next, and most days I just wish I could travel alone. But it is also in those times that I realize too the love I have for my fellow squadmates. I know that they will be there for me, as a shoulder to cry on, or to understand any of my frustrations and allow me to have them, or to give me the chance to laugh hysterically so I don’t cry (thanks Jessica!). So I am happy for the uncomfortable that God has put me in.
4. Living out of a backpack in countries other than my own. Living over seas is hard. Especially after 7 months and I have not had a bag of Cool Ranch Doritos…… its hard guys. Okay silly example, but seriously. Living in a country where I don’t speak the language, even just trying to get an auto to go somewhere is at times impossible! Trying to find a new outfit, one that I have not worn 50 times that month, another impossible feat. Life around the world is not filled with the luxuries of America. There is not always going to be someone who speaks your language. There will not always be a great restaurant to eat at. There will not always be a grocery store with everything you need. If there is a grocery store what you need may not always be in stock, even for 3 weeks. There will not always be air conditioning even when its 100 degrees outside, or sometimes won’t even be a bed or building, just your tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag. Living over seas is the most uncomfortable thing. It is unfamiliar, it is foreign, it is not home in the slightest, and sometimes it is downright hard. But God has taught me to appreciate the blessings I have been given. I will never again take a bed for granted. I will never again be unappreciative of my hot shower. I will never again complain about the local grocery store. I have found the comfortable of my home out of the uncomfortable of the Race.
5. Fundraising. Fundraising has probably been the most uncomfortable thing. I have grown up with the idea that I shouldn’t ask people for things for myself. I just have this idea that asking for money is a scandal and is selfish and in some ways a sin. I know now how much of a lie that is. God cannot be put into a box. If I am afraid to ask for anything, how can he bless me with it? If someone has been given the gift of generosity, then why wouldn’t I allow them to bless me with that gift? Asking for your donation to help me reach the world for Jesus Christ is NOT A SIN!!
So here I am a mere four months away from finishing this Race strong! I have 125 days (give or take a few) for God to keep showing up and changing my life even more! And I need your help!! Please click on “support me” button on my blog now to donate online, or mail in your checks to
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 742570
Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
I am taking that step and allowing myself to feel comfortable with being uncomfortable and I am asking you to help me now! Thank you for everything, and God Bless!!
