I have been committed to World Race since April 26 and have been very busy! First priority though was to graduate high school. I finished strong, graduating as my class salutatorian and have one more weekend of graduation parties until I am in full summer mode. Having that behind me I am now living in the crunch time before my first fundraising deadline. I am starting to feel the pressure of the June 17th deadline for my first five thousand dollars of support. This is so daunting but I am focused and trust God that he will bring just the right people to come alongside me in support of this journey. So far, I have raised about a thousand dollars. This isn’t entirely reflected on my blog page because some checks are waiting to clear and I have a large deposit to make still.
I am working as many hours as I can at a local shop and have been getting creative with other efforts to raise funds. I have had a board on display at my church where people can pledge any amount from one to one hundred dollars…if all the digits from one to one hundred were taken and the corresponding donations were given I would be well past my first deadline’s requirement of $5,000. The board hasn’t had too much success so far but hopefully the hundred letters of support I have sent out will have better fruit. I have also made some cute mason jars to collect people’s loose change. I decorated them to represent each of the five countries along my route for next year. So far all of the jars have been taken and two were returned full of coins. My little sister Mia and I rolled them all up and it (along with my tip money and a jar of coins my dad gave me) added up to over two hundred dollars! Who knew everybody had so much money literally laying around their houses? If you would like to donate loose change, you can contact me via personal message so we can arrange things. At this point I will take recycled cans and return them if need be…every little bit, every nickel counts. The easiest way to make a contribution is through the donate tab directly to your left on this page. Just make sure the donation is clearly marked to support a racer and you leave my full name, Ella Lakota. Personal checks are also good too but they take about two weeks to clear. I am so thankful for the partners that have already come along side me and who are praying for me. If you are one of them, thank you!
I can’t wait until this blog is more fun…sharing the stories from the field and what God is up to all over the world. But for now, I am just working in this tension of fundraising deadlines. Once I have hit this first financial milestone I can look forward to ten days of training in July. I can’t go there until I have reached this first goal. Once at training I have heard it is both a challenge simulating real field scenarios and fun team building opportunities.
In the mean time I am able to communicate with my team members right now over group texts. Everyone is experiencing difficulties as they work toward being fully funded…some in ways of hitting a financial plateau and still others are experiencing tough more personal losses. God is forming this team (just like he is forming my team of supporters) and already has us bonding. It is so cool to see the team start to gel via text messages. How much sweeter will training be!
I am so glad you are following this journey and hope you will consider partnering with me. In the mean time, please keep praying for me. I know this is what I should be doing for the next year, I just have to get through this awkward phase of raising money first. I am definitely learning to work hard and trust God for his provision.
