Whenever I mention or recommend the World Race to someone, the person usually scoffs at me when they hear about how much it costs. “Well, sure I’d love to do that if I had the money,” they say to me. And then I respond, “But really, God provides the money.” I can tell the person usually doesn’t believe me though, and I don’t blame them, – I was the same way. I remember World Race staffers telling me that God would provide the money, and I didn’t necessary believe them, but I wanted so desperately for them to be right. Well, they were right.
God provided the money, and in the most interesting ways. During the first month of support raising the only money in my account had been donated by myself, and Chelsea’s mom (Chelsea was a fellow World Racer.) After a while I stopped checking my account because it made me depressed, and I’m pretty sure I vowed to never look at it ever again.
Then one of my good friends from college gave me $500. Over the course of my support raising I received many contributions of around $500 (which always caused me to jump on my bed and scream for joy), but they were always far between.
It was the smaller, more frequent donations that kept me sane. An old friend gave me $25, another friend gave $30, yet another gave $50 and someone else gave $70 and pretty soon all the smaller donations began to add up. But more importantly, they gave me hope.
Many of the people who were giving to me were friends I hadn’t talked to in ages, or friends I was never even that close with – we had been more like acquaintances at the time. At this point we were more or less strangers, but for some reason they still gave to my cause. It made me feel like we were all a part of something – that this World Race thing wasn’t just about me, it was very much about them as well.
Each time someone donated money to me I was left in awe of God’s grace, and equally in awe of the beautiful community that was being created through this act of support raising. I can tell you this, the World Race would not have been the same if I had earned all the money myself. It was so much more meaningful to have been supported – I mean this in a financial way, but it also translates into an emotional and spiritual and physical sense as well. Going on the World Race was a gift from God – and he gave me this gift by the means of his people…
People from all over the world donated to my World Race experience – I had two friends in England, my sister and her husband in Tanzania, my Dad’s friends in Singapore and Canada and Uzbekistan.
There was my friend Jason, who worked with me at Applebees – one day he gave me all of his tips from his shift. There were the middle-aged guys who often hung out at the Applebees’ bar – one night they handed me crumbled $5 and $10 bills. When this new girl at my other job heard about what I was doing, she whipped a $20 bill out of her wallet and gave it to me – because we worked different shifts, I’m pretty sure that was the only interaction we ever had. There was my friend Claire, who gave me a significant amount of money despite the fact that she was support raising for her own mission trip as well. The night before I left Nashville my friend Dan shook my hand – he slipped me a twenty and said he knew it wasn’t much, but maybe I could buy some snacks at the airport.
I received many anonymous donations, which often left me wondering who the giver was. Everyone I knew was a suspect. If you are reading this, anonymous donator, I couldn’t send you a thank you card. This is all I can offer you: THANK YOU. Really, truly, thank you.
Many of my father’s friends donated money – which is strange to me for a few reasons. First of all, my dad currently makes his income via support raising, so for him to ask for more money for his daughter strikes me as, well, humble. And then, for his supporters to actually give to me, after they are already giving to him – well, that’s generosity if I ever saw it. My dad told me recently that one of his friends did a job for my dad, and when my dad went to pay him he said, “Give it to Hope.” I’ve never even met the man.
One time when I was getting my hair cut by my friend Lauren, she told me I didn’t have to pay. “It’s my donation to your trip,” she said. Another time I was at the cell phone store for a phone repair, and when the woman who was helping me heard about what I was doing, she didn’t charge me.
My roommate Stephanie took me to R.E.I and bought some of my World Race gear (a daypack, watch, nalgene, and a quick-dry washcloth) – she also donated monthly to me. My other roommate Erin also donated monthly to me, even though she lives from paycheck to paycheck. Along with Stephanie and Erin, my other roommates Tiffany, Denysha and Raphe helped me with a car wash and yard sale – they donated their time and possessions to my cause.
One of my managers from work, Nathan, was enthusiastic about helping me raise the money. He was convinced (more than I was) that God was going to provide all the money. He talked to everyone about it – he was always texting his friends and calling people to ask them to donate. He, along with his business partner Shawn (whom I’ve never met), gave me a large sum of money a few months into my journey. Nathan even messaged me last week to say he was about to send another check – I actually had to turn him down, because I had already raised everything I needed.
When I left for the World Race I only had a little more than half of the money raised. I had no idea how I was going to get the rest of the money – I had squeezed dry every resource possible. And yet the money still came. Friends who were already donating monthly would give an extra one-time donation every now and then. Other friends who had never donated would message me out of the blue, “Do you still need money?” My teammate Melanie was an advocate for those on her team who were still raising money – her mother, best friend and boyfriend all donated to me. Again, I had never met them.
There are so many more stories I could tell you – stories of people who gave me money, and consequently sent me around the world in the name of Jesus.
Dear supporters, I’m writing this blog to thank you. I know it isn’t much of me to do, but you have impacted my life forever. I can’t explain to you yet all the things I’ve learned and all the ways I’ve changed – it’s far too much to process right now. But please trust me when I say that I wouldn’t be where I am in life without you. Additionally, your actions have prompted me to give even when I think I have nothing to give.
I’m also writing this blog to give all praise to GOD. He provided the money, despite my fickle faith. He brought together a group of people for a cause – and sadly those people probably don’t even realize it. But I do – I know who you all are and how you are all connected. It’s beautiful, really. Now, when people ask me how I afforded such a trip, I’m able to share with them your stories.
If you are reading this and you are considering whether or not you should go on the World Race based on money – try to trust me, what they say is true. God will provide…even if it doesn’t look the way we think (because, if I’m honest, I was hoping someone would donate the entire sum and I’d be supported from the beginning. But no, it didn’t happen that way. Not at all.)
