Hey everyone!
Well – it’s taken me a few weeks (with all of the various trips, etc.) but I wanted to officially announce that I am now FULLY FUNDED!! This means that I’ve raised all of the funds required by Adventures in Missions to go and remain on the World Race for the entire 11 months! PRAISE THE LORD!
First and foremost, thank You Lord for giving me a taste, even just a whisper, of Your goodness and grace – for calling and drawing me closer to You at the perfect time – and for not allowing me to continue to try to walk my own path. Thank You for giving me the “blueprint” to Your plan for my fundraising and for Your promise for provision. All of this begins and ends with You!
Next, I just want to say how grateful and humbled I am by the generosity and obedience I’ve witnessed throughout this fundraising process – seriously, SO humbled. I’ve received donations from a variety of sources (58 sources to be exact!) – from my nearest and dearest family and friends to people I’ve never met (including a couple anonymous donations)! And if I’m being honest, I have probably spent at least a few hours since December staring in awe at my donations page – my heart rate increasing as I would read and re-read the names appearing there. So to all of my financial supporters – THANK YOU! It’s my hope and prayer that I will be a good steward of your resources and that as a result you would be blessed through this journey.
When I left Texas 7 years ago, I never imagined I would one day be surrounded by such a community as the one I find myself having in Minnesota – and for that I am eternally grateful. To that end, I would like to specifically thank my church (Chapel Hill in Eagan) and my previous employer (Aon in Bloomington) for their overwhelming love, prayers and encouragement as I prepared and planned for this next phase of life. I also want to thank my family (both by blood and my Minnesota extended family) for supporting me unconditionally – even when I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing and I didn’t have all of the answers and you couldn’t necessarily understand what was going on in my head – THANK YOU and I LOVE YOU!
Finally, I want to speak some quick encouragement to my squadmates (and you, if you’re a future Racer!) who are still fundraising and up against deadlines. I remember talking to a squadmate about fundraising (shout out to Julie Sliwinkski!) and something she said just rang so true: ask Him how He wants you to raise the funds! It’s a guarantee that He has a fundraising plan in mind just for You that He’s just waiting to share with you – He called you to this Race and you can trust that He will be faithful to His plan. Allow Him to amaze you! Before I even applied for the Race, God told me (in no uncertain terms) that I would be fully funded before I launched BUT I was going to be doing it purely through support-raising. He was asking me to send out letters and make phone calls and set-up meetings and talk to people face-to-face as I asked them to support me on this journey – fundraisers weren’t allowed – and it wasn’t easy! I tried to walk out the plan in obedience but I still stumbled and bumbled through it (in fact, I still have a stack of about 100 support letters that I never sent/gave out because I was too chicken). Regardless of it all, God was still faithful and I pray that my experience would be just one more testimony of that faithfulness – when we trust in Him and are obedient to His directions, He will not only “come through”; He will blow your expectations in such a way that You will have no doubt as to Who is in control and Who this is all for!
I want to close out my thanks by saying that it is such a HUGE blessing (as well as a fulfilled promise from God) to be fully funded prior to Launch as it will allow me to concentrate and focus all of my attention on the ministry at hand in the months to come – and I pray that you will be able to reap the reward of that blessing as you follow me on this kingdom-building journey!
Blessed to be a blessing,
Nat
**IF YOU ARE A MONTHLY SUPPORTER, PLEASE READ MY NOTE BELOW!**
I have calculated my “FULLY FUNDED” status using expected donations through September. This is to say that you can STOP your donations after September. You have to go into the Adventures website, log into the donor account section and put an END DATE (or change the end date if you previously put one in there) – Adventures will not automatically stop monthly donations just because I’ve become fully funded. If you choose to continue your donations, please just know that your donations will be moved into a “General Fund” which I may or may not be able to use at a later date if I continue on any future trips through Adventures.
**IF YOU ARE STILL INTERESTED IN MAKING A DONATION, PLEASE READ MY NOTE BELOW!**
If anyone is still interested in financially supporting me (whether a one-time donation or monthly – though this method would NOT be tax-deductible), you can make a donation to my PayPal account (which I will be able to access worldwide). While I’ve been very diligent to save up for any personal spending while on the Race, it would be my honor and joy to use any additional funds I receive for discretionary giving and gifts to others as the Holy Spirit leads while on the Race. To make a donation, please click the “Donate” button below and follow the instructions on the next page to use your credit/debit card or checking account. If you would prefer to mail a check, please contact me directly and I can give you the address for where to send the check.
I’m hoping I’ve conveyed all the necessary information but if you have any questions, just let me know!
