Hello everyone!
I just wanted to take some time to update everyone on what God has done so far through all of the people who are going through this journey with me and helping support!
Now for those of you who don’t know my goal is 13,805 dollars. I have to raise that amount to go on this trip! Every time I tell that to someone they are shocked most of the time, but i don’t blame them. That’s a big chunk of change for a 20 year old! The thing is I’m not raising this money alone. God is with me through all of this, and 13,805 dollars is child’s play to him.
My very first fundraiser I ran was a Stevi B’s fundraiser where I had friends and family come out and eat food and I got a portion of the proceeds from Stevi B’s. It was really cool to see a lot of my friends come out and support me and show that they had my back in this decision that I’m making with my life. The coolest part of the night was when two strangers I didn’t know came up to me and started asking me about my trip and asked what I was going to be doing and what it was going to be like. I answered their questions as best as I could and the next thing I know they were writing me a check! I truly feel like God had sent them that night as a reminder that he is in control and he can put it on anyone’s heart to give, even strangers.
Following this fundraiser, I did a Super Bowl squares fundraiser. Super Bowl squares fundraisers work similarly to 50/50 fundraisers. The people donating have a chance to win a portion of the pot if the score of the Super Bowl lines up with their square. There are 4 different winners (one for each quarter) and what was awesome about this fundraiser was that two of the winners donated a portion of their winnings to my Gap Year mission trip and the two other winners donated all of their winnings. I was only supposed to raise 250 dollars from this fundraiser but thanks to people donating their winnings i raised over 350 dollars.
I actually just started a new fundraiser through an organization called “Threads of Hope”. This organization is actually super awesome. What they do is they take women who are poor, jobless, and living in the Philippines and they give them a job! These women make bracelets and threads of hope distributes them. Threads of hope sent me hundreds and hundreds of bracelets for free and I sell them. I then send a check for half of my profits to threads of hope after I’m done fundraising and I send them the extra bracelets back too. I then deposit the other half into my Gap Year account! What this does for the women in the Philippines is it helps them support their families and live a more comfortable life. Many poor women in the Philippines go into prostitution just because they see no other alternatives to make money and help feed their family. When you buy a bracelet you are helping support these women while you are supporting my trip at the same time!
Moving on, God has obviously already had his hand over my fundraising and has put it on many different people’s hearts to give and to help support this mission trip. I have seen a lot of selflessness during my fundraising and it brings joy to my heart knowing that I’m not alone on this nine month trip. I have friends, family, and strangers all backing me up in my walk with God and on my journey out of the country. God has spoken to me through these people and I am so grateful for them. I am grateful for you!
One thing I’ve learned while fundraising is that I can’t approach this as a salesman would approach it. I can’t guilt people into donating. I can’t sell God. I don’t want to sell God or myself while fundraising. The moment I start coming at fundraising with that kind of attitude is the moment I push God away from this whole thing and it’s the moment I put myself in the middle of all of it. Everything I’m doing is not for me. I’m not going on this trip because I want to travel. I’m not going because I wan’t a resume builder. I’m not going to impress family or friends. Im going so that God can be known throughout the world and I’m going so that I may grow closer to him and get to know him better. All of this is for Him.
If you feel like God is putting it on your heart to donate after reading this then I would say do it and you won’t regret it. Don’t donate for me though, do it for Him and for the people that it is going to affect across the world. If you’d like to become a part of this journey and donate you can click on the link at the top of the blog that says “support me!” and you can choose to support me monthly or just one time!
Thank you guys so much for caring about me and for taking the time to read my blog. If you can’t donate or don’t feel called to then I would like to ask you to keep me in your prayers as I continue to fundraise. Love you guys!
Peeeaaaceeeee outtt!
