Fundraising $16,285 is as daunting of a task as it sounds, but it has been one of the coolest experiences for me! It has been so humbling, and is also teaching me to fully and completely depend on the Lord, and to trust Him and His timing, because it is more than perfect.
When I very first found out about the Race, I immediately (and very briefly) shared with my church family about what I was doing. The very next Sunday, somebody handed me a check for $1,000. Amazing, right?!! For me, that was God reassuring me, saying, “See, it’s going to be okay. I got this! Don’t worry about it.”
And boy has God been providing and He continues to do so in the most unexpected of ways — my mind has been blown away day in and day out from the very get go…
- I’ve sold 84 t-shirts and am still selling them – praise God! (My goal is 100…I’m almost there!)
- An anonymous person gave me $100 – if it was you, THANK YOU!!!
- Monthly givers who are giving $20, $50, and $100 for I don’t know how many months – amazing!
- I went to a high school basketball game and was telling someone about the Race – right then and there they gave me $50. How awesome is that!
- The 17 people who have pledged $100 – after doing the math, I needed only 63 people to give $100 and I’d be fully funded. I only need 47 more! Cool, right?!
- Having the opportunity to speak about the Race at 4 different churches – that has been one of the biggest blessings! It has been awesome getting to meet and connect with so many people I wouldn’t meet otherwise. And how about that time when I was scheduled to speak at a church, and someone named Kayla, who just weeks before returned from the World Race, happened to be in Chanute, KS visiting her grandparents who go to that church, the same weekend I was scheduled to speak there?!!! I was able to talk with her before and after, and we both got to share during the service! It was wonderful and such a blessing!
- And what about the church who after giving the message, the pastor gets up and walks to the back of the room to get something and tells me to stay right where I am — little did I know, the congregation had put their own personal money together and surprised me by giving me my pack! I cried of course. And then they prayed over me! So incredible! I hadn’t met a single person in that room other than the pastor prior to that day, but I walked out of there not feeling like a stranger at all.
- Just this last week I received a card in the mail from someone I only know the name of – I’m afraid if I saw her at Wal-Mart I wouldn’t know it was her! She used to work with my mom though, and when she found out about what I was doing and after reading my blog, she sent me a card with a check in it, a super encouraging note, and she told me she wrote my name down in her prayer journal and that she would be praying for me.
- Then today, I shared at my home church about the Race and after the service someone handed me a $100. There were also a few envelopes people had left to be sent in to Adventures in Missions.
Isn’t that awesome?!!!! This is just a glimpse of how the Lord has been providing for this trip.
All glory to God!
I keep trying to think of the perfect way to say thank you to all of you who have donated towards my trip thus far, those who have and continue to pray for me, those who have been reading this blog, and those who have been there to encourage me when I need it, but all the words I come up with just seem so empty and not enough to express my deepest gratitude to you.
Just know that I appreciate every single dollar you’ve given, and every prayer you’ve prayed, and every uplifting word you’ve said/wrote! It means more to me than you can ever know. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! I absolutely love that so many people are a part of this journey with me – the body of Christ is a beautiful, beautiful thing!
Please be in prayer for me as I finish this last stretch of fundraising — under $5,000 to go! And please be in prayer for my squad-mates as they too are in the daunting process of fundraising $16,000+. We have some deadlines coming up soon that need to be met, so join in with me believing that God is going to provide every penny that is needed in perfect timing! Pray that we wouldn’t lose the faith even when it seems we are getting nowhere with fundraising. May we rest in the fact that God, the Creator of the Universe, is our great Provider and He has every detail already worked out!
As I was writing this, the song “We Won’t Be Shaken” came on the radio by Building 429. It was encouraging to me, so maybe it will be to you as well! Some of the lyrics say:
“I know You go before me and I am not alone
This mountain rises higher
The way seems so unclear
But I know that You go with me so I will never fear
I will trust in You”
Fundraising this amount of money seems like such a huge mountain that is impossible to climb or get around, but rest in knowing that God is with you in this process – we’re not doing this alone. We cannot do this alone. Though it’s unclear of how or when the funds will come in, keep your trust placed in Him alone to provide! I have all the confidence in the world that He will provide and take care of every need!
I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to travel around the world, sharing the Gospel with this amazing group of people! Most of them I haven’t met yet, but the more I talk to them and the more I get to know them, it makes me so excited for this journey to begin! You’re going to want to get to know them, so click HERE and browse through their blogs if you have some down time!
