The clock is ticking and I keep checking my fundraising account almost daily for updates. Thoughts float through my mind. Will I be going home early? Am I supposed to stay? How is the money going to come in?
Anyone who has ever had to fundraise knows what I am talking about. It’s tiring, it’s trying, it’s growing, and it’s hard. It’s tiring to type up a hundred support messages and send them out to all those people on your “potential supporters” list. It’s trying to be in a place of uncertainty when most of those messages go unanswered. It’s growing to have to trust The Lord for things that are truthfully out of your control. It’s hard to have to fight for yourself every step of the process.
As a member of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) for the greater part of my college career, I was used to receiving letter after letter from friends and classmates asking for donations for the summer projects, spring break mission trips, and any other mission-related endeavor that keeps Cru students so busy all the time. I always felt like I couldn’t make a significant impact with the measly balance in my bank account, so I usually never donated. I thought my donation would be “too small” and I was ashamed to make such a tiny contribution. (Read the blog here)
Being on the other side of fundraising changes the way you view things. While the bigger donations are the ones that stun you and knock the air out of you for a few seconds, the smaller ones are the ones that keep you going. They’re the donations that say “I can’t give much, but I support what you are doing and I am willing to give what I can.” They’re the ones that encourage you in times when you are doubting if you are even supposed to be here. It’s like God is whispering, “Be still; here is a glimpse of what is to come.”
Fundraising has been hard for me from the very beginning for a myriad of reasons, and I am currently the person in my squad with the largest need. I am in the “danger zone” of being sent home next month if I don’t raise $2,000 by the end of July. By the grace of God moving in people’s hearts, $695 of that has already come in (THANK YOU, SUPPORTERS!!!), but I still need $305 by July 22nd, and an additional $1,000 before July 31st. If I don’t make these deadlines, I will be heading home in a few weeks. I won’t finish the World Race.
Will you come alongside me and support the work God is doing around the world through us? Will you prayerfully consider donating?
