THE FINAL DEADLINE IS UPON US.
Praise the Lord Almighty. As much as I’ve learned through fundraising, I’m really happy it’s almost over. BUT, this being said, I’m pretty behind on my goal. I now have 27 DAYS to raise OVER $4,000!
Yikes.
Let me be real with you guys for a minute. I’ve neglected posting about fundraising on purpose. For a few weeks now I’ve been pretty seriously considering returning home early from the field. I no longer felt useful, I missed my family, I definitely did NOT want to spend Christmas on a beach. (I’m on Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand this month.) I know that’s probably annoying to you as you are reading this bundled up in your cozy sweaters with hot cups of coffee and snow is falling outside and you’re probably daydreaming of the warm sunny beach by his point. No. I’m really jealous of you. Christmas is supposed to have snow not sand and it made me sad to think that I was missing that this year. I fell into a deep rut and it started to not just affect me but my entire team. They could tell I was off because I wanted nothing to do with them. I convinced myself that I shouldn’t be around anymore and when I found out that we’ll be having a layover in NYC when we travel from Malaysia to Ecuador in 2 months, I thought it might be my time to end the race and go home.
So why would I continue asking for money? I had given up so there was no point in continuing to raise the funds. So I didn’t try.
Then I had a change of heart. Yesterday. I had a long sit down with God and we hashed out some stuff and I argued and cried and he was patient and gentle like always. He told me that if I really wanted to go home I could, but I would be missing out on some pretty great things that he had stored up his sleeve.
One thing I have learned about the race, now that I’m about half way through it, is that it constantly changes. We move countries every month. We travel a lot within the month. (Like this month, I’ll be traveling the entirety of Thailand to teach English and deliver OCC boxes!) Teams change, languages change, currencies change and my mood changes about 5 times a day. Nothing stays. There’s no permanency. The only thing that stays is Christ. So why would I choose to cling to a feeling I have now because it’s the holidays and I’m homesick when I know I can put my trust in Jesus and count on him to bring me peace? I know there will be more times than this that I want to give up and go home. But there will also be days that are full of stomach aching laughs with host families that feel like real families and many more testimonies of what the Lord is doing.
I’m not going home. I’m going to stay and finish what I started. I committed to this and I’m only leaving when the Lord says it’s time to leave. Not when Anna decides it’s too hard. And with that I know the Lord will honor the choice I’ve made and help fund the rest of my trip. Yeah, I’ve waited until the last possible minute, but I’ve seen him do more impressive things than bring in few thousand dollars.
PLEASE PLEASE continue to keep me in your prayers. This year is literally the hardest year of my life. It’s easy to want to give up, but I don’t want to.
Also, please help me raise the rest of my funds! When you donate, know that you’re donating to someone who is actively choosing to be here, choosing to get the most out of each country and also choosing to give back even more. I can’t wait to share the things that are already happening in Thailand, and what will happen in Malaysia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile!
