Hello everybody!
I would just like to share a little bit about myself and why I am extremely excited to be going on this race.
I am 25 years old and live in Latrobe, PA. I have a younger sister named Kelly who is 22 years old and a younger brother named Jon who is 19 and who I am extremely close with. Almost all of my relatives live within 5 minutes of my house so we are a pretty tight family, which I am very blessed to have.
I have played many sports throughout my life but I have played ice hockey the longest and am still involved with playing in some adult leagues. Unfortunately it is just not the same after you’re too old to play for travel and high school teams, but it is still a blast.
I currently work for Adelphoi Village. It is an organization that places children ages 11-20 into group homes when they are ordered there by their counties legal system. They have homes focusing on things such as drug and alcohol related issues, sexual offense, and anger issues. I work at one of the anger issue houses where I am a counselor. It can be a very stressful job at times, because the kids will sometimes get physical with each other and even the staff and we have to restrain them, but it can also be a very rewarding job when you see kids come through there and change their lives around for the better.
So far I have only been on one mission trip. I went in August of 2013 and it was the most life changing experience in my life thus far and it is the reason I have been drawn to the mission field. I have never got so much enjoyment out of life than when I was spreading God’s word and love to those who are unreached. I will be attending a mission trip to Mexico from January 25- February 1 of 2014 to help build a dialysis clinic.
I have never been more excited for anything in my life than going on the World Race. Not just because of the traveling, but to be able to help so many people in so many different ways, and also to be able to build life long friendships with those I will be going with!!
Dear Friends and Family,
How are you doing? I hope that God is doing as many wonderful things in your life as He is in mine. Since April 2012, God has been at work in my life and has changed me in ways I never thought possible. Because of all He is doing for me, I feel his will upon me to accept the challenge He is presenting to me and do more for the world around me.
As I stated above, my life has been changed in amazing ways. For many years I struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. I was in a very dark, selfish, and lonely place in life. I lost all belief in God and all hope for my life. During my second rehab stay, which was a 30 day program, I was ready to pack up and leave after being there only three days. The suitcase was on the bed ready to be packed even though I didn’t know where I was going to go or how I was going to get there. It was at that moment that I had an overwhelming sense of peace and calm come over me and it was telling me to stay and everything would be okay. So, I stayed. That night I knew that was God speaking to me, telling me that there is hope for me yet. Ever since that night I have put my faith, trust, and life in God’s hands and I am trying to nurture the seed that He planted in me to share the love that He has shared with me.
In July 2013 I spent one week in Haiti with a team from my church, Cornerstone Ministries. We worked on a building project and helped to care for children in an orphanage. We thought we were going to Haiti to help the people there but, even though we didn’t speak the same language, they taught us lessons we could have never learned at home. This experience opened my eyes to the needs of God’s people throughout the world and the calling in my life to continue to spread God’s love and joy.
I would like to share a little bit about the challenging ministry God has presented to me. In July of 2014 I will be embarking on an 11 month mission trip that will take me to 11 different countries to reach out to the unreached people and to provide medical, spiritual, educational and physical assistance in some of the world’s most remote areas. The countries that we will be ministering to include: Albania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, South Africa, Swaziland,Botswana, India, Nepal, Mongolia and China.
The organization that I will be traveling with this time is called Adventures in Missions. I’m excited about the opportunity and experience that lie ahead. As you can imagine, a trip like this requires financial support from a number of people. I need to raise $16,252 by the time I am six months into the trip. If you can support me in a financial way, I would be very grateful. If you feel inclined to support me financially, here is a breakdown of when I have to meet certain goals by:
- $3,500 – Due 5/3/2014 (2 weeks before Training Camp)
- $7,500 – Due 6/17/2014 (2 weeks prior to your trip)
- $11,000 – Due 10/1/2014 (End of 3 months on the field)
- $15,500 + $752 (*Insurance) = $16,252 – Total Due 1/1/2015 (End of 6 months on the field)
*The insurance is medical coverage for the individual Racer that is provided through Adventures in Missions. It is a per-day cost.
While money is important, it comes in a distant second to my need for your prayer support for my team. Prayer is the fuel that will allow us to be successful as we follow God’s leading in ministry in these countries. Without prayer, nothing will happen.
If you would like to be part of this mission through your financial support, please see the attached flyer that explains the options available. Also, as a partner in prayer, I want to keep you updated on what your support is accomplishing and what prayer needs we may have for our team and the people we encounter. I have a blog site, that I am already posting to and that I will update as often as possible while traveling. My ability to update the blog will be dependent on how often we will be in an area that has internet service available. I hope to include pictures, videos and a little bit about what our mission is for the area we are ministering to. Please visit my blog, josephstickle.theworldrace.org, often to see how God is moving in our world as I continue to on this journey.
I want to thank you in advance for your prayers and financial support. May god bless you richly!
Your friend in Christ,
Joe Stickle
If you feel called to support me financially, you can go to the “support me” section of my blog. If you would like to see other payment options, here are some payment methods and some pros and cons to them:
1.)Credit and Debit Card Donors
– PROS: Quick and efficient. Most preferred method. Able to setup automatic monthly withdrawals. Easy online access.
– CONS: 3% fee added to donor payments which goes to the credit card company to pay for that convenience.
2.)Bank Draft Donors
– PROS: Still quick and efficient online access.
– CONS: 2% fee added to donor payments which goes directly to the processing company to pay for that convenience.
3.)Written Check Donors
– PROS: No fee deducted. Sent directly to our bank where it is deposited. The bank then sends an image of that check to our accounting department to apply toward your support. Please make all checks payable to: Adventures in Missions and mail it to, P.O. Box 742570, Atlanta, GA 30374-2570. And if a check is your preference please get ahold of me and I can send you a donation card that must be sent with the check.
– CONS: Can take approximately 2 weeks from the date you mail the check before you expect to see it in your support account. Also please note that you cannot receive letters or any correspondence at this address.
4.)DynaPay Donors
– PROS: Automatic deduction from a checking account each month with no fees. To sign up for DynaPay, your donors can go to www.adventures.org/dynapay or they can print off this form and mail it in with a voided check to
Adventures in Missions
ATTN: Donor Relations
6000 Wellspring Trail
Gainesville, GA 30506
– CONS: The donor MUST create an end date for their donations. If they do not DynaPay will not automatically end the donations and DynaPay will continue to deduct each month unless the donor calls to have it cancelled.”
* DynaPay is for monthly donations ONLY. If you or a donor tries to submit a one time donation on DynaPay we WILL NOT process it, and a check will have to be sent in.
5.)Cash Donors
– Please Do Not Send Cash!! Please avoid sending cash (particularly foreign currency) under any circumstances
