Hey Everyone!
I realized that I haven’t really posted
why I going on this trip. Yeah I love to travel and meet new people, but what else? This is my support letter for those of you who did not receive it, or for anyone just trying to figure out why a guy would give up everything to go for eleven months to all these places, not on vacation, but on a mission. But what is the mission?
Dear
Friends and Family,
I
have heard many people tell me how they wished they had taken advantage of the
opportunities they had when they were young. Many people my age are trying to
find themselves, in an age where there are seemingly endless possibilities it
is hard to narrow down your life to a specific vocation. They have launched out
into the real world to get a “real job” and I have seen how many of them have
lost themselves in the long hours with little to show for it. Most of you have
known me for a while – you know that there’s something in me that can’t settle
for the ordinary – I want to change the world for the better.
I’ve seen all over the news how this world
is full of evil and destruction, full of pain and sorrow and at times, I have
been overwhelmed with it all. What can I do? I am nothing. But I realize that
Mother Teresa was right, “We cannot do great things, only small things with
great love. I am only a drop in the ocean, but that ocean would be less without
that drop.”
Everywhere
I look in the Scriptures, I see Jesus calling out to the unloved, the
untouchable, the unforgivable in a way that I desire to show to others. I think
I have become calloused at times in my life here and Jesus has called me to
learn to love as He does, without expecting anything in return. And so I ask
for your help in answering this call, by partnering with me on a pilgrimage.
The
dictionary describes a pilgrimage as “1) A journey to a sacred place, and 2) A
long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral
significance.” I think both definitions apply to me- to take a journey to the
sacred places in the world where Jesus is disguised as an orphan or as a leper.
The journey I need to make is also one of inward searching, to go looking not
for a particular point but to discover where I am in life and where He calls me
to be. And so I introduce you to the journey.
It’s
called The World Race.
The idea is to
take a year of your life and to live like Jesus lived while traveling around
the world, ministering to those who need help, befriending those who have no
friends and in the mist of the sorrow and pain, experiencing God in a new way
without the trappings of success. During this World Race, I will be discipled
and trained in various areas of ministry and missions. I will have the
opportunity to minister to people who need to hear of salvation through Jesus.
It will be hard and I am scared at what it might mean, or how it might change
me, but I feel that ultimately, it is what God wants for this period of my
life.
What
separates this from many of the other mission trips that are offered is that
this is for 20-somethings like me who are serious about committing to a
lifetime of radically following Jesus.
This isn’t just another experience; it’s a commitment to a
transformational discovery process.
The
Race is an amazing idea with simplicity and servant hood being the keys.
When we travel, we’ll do so cheaply, and in
many places, we’ll stay in tents or wherever people invite us to stay.
As we go, we seek to serve partner
ministries that are caring for the poorest of the poor, and the marginalized of
this world. It means not living my life for myself, but becoming part of
something greater than myself.
I
believe that by taking a year of my life and intentionally learning to live as
Jesus lived, touching the poor, learning to live on little, I will become more
the world changer that God intended me to be. I’ve got one life to live and I
want to commit to making it the radical life that Jesus himself modeled. I know
I’ll learn to abandon all that has made my life comfortable and will learn to
depend on Him as I’ve never had to before. And in each country that we go to,
we will partner with local churches to establish long-term kingdom works that
will last long after we leave. We also want to partner with you, to make you a
part of what will happen this next year around the world. I know how fruitless
the trip would be if I did not have the support of those around me. I ask that
you would consider supporting me prayerfully and or financially. I also want to
build up the defenses against anything the Evil One will try in order to stop
the Father’s plan so I am specifically asking for fifteen people who would be
willing to commit to pray for me each day until I return.
The
cost of this Race is around $1080/month. My entire one-year World Race
experience is $13,000.
My team of 30 is
beginning to raise the funds now, and we begin the trip on January 7, 2007. We
need at least half of the funds by the time we leave, and the other half
pledged in order to focus at the work at hand during the trip, so if you feel
called to give please send in the response card. I know that not everyone is
able to give financially and so I would ask that you would consider praying for
the team and me as we go out into the world.
I have enclosed a response card and pre-addressed
envelope, which invites you to share in this ministry. Please make checks
payable to
Adventures In Missions. You may write “appealed by” and my
name in the memo section of the check if you wish. Including the enclosed card
will provide AIM with all necessary information. In turn, they will send you a
receipt. All gifts are tax-deductible
.
You can find more info about Adventures In Missions
at
www.adventures.org and more info
about the World Race at
www.theworldrace.org.
I will be posting a log on the web
throughout my trip and you’ll be able to read about and see photos of our
adventure during the trip.
Also, you
will be able to write comments and email during the race, so I ask that you
would drop into the website sometime and leave me a comment of encouragement as
you see fit.
I am very excited about how God will
use me and what He will teach me through this experience.
I hope not only to be a blessing to those I
serve, but also to you.
My desire is to
go as your representative of Jesus Christ.
I hope you will prayerfully consider being part of His ministry through
me.
Thank you so much!
In Him,
James Gilbert
“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may
finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me–the task of
testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24
My life is not about me. I have been called to give it up, and that means taking my pack and moving out into the world to find those whom Jesus loves and do not know it. My job and my privilege is to share that truth with those people, that the King of Kings and Lord of Lords loves them- sores and all, scars and all, HIV/AIDS and all. Orphans and widows have a Redeemer-Kinsman that is willing to make them family. I hope this sheds some light on why I am doing this, and I truly hope that you would follow me this year around the world. Love you all!
