WOW!
So….it’s only been 4 days and over $4,000 has already been raised! That is exactly 25% of our goal!
That’s $1,000 a day, y’all.
To say that my team and I are blown away is an understatement. And…even more GOOD NEWS! We are praising Jesus right now that we got an EXTENSION on our deadline!!! We now have until Tuesday, May 30 at 11:00 am EST to raise what we need! God is good! We know if He can provide $4,000 in 4 days, He can raise the rest in 7 more days! The Lord is making big moves and answering our prayers for this miracle.
We have been firm in our faith that this money can and will be provided for this ministry we are partnering with in Thailand.
Its been really encouraging to partner with the Body of Christ in Asia. However, being a short term missionary can be hard because we plant seeds more than we see a harvest. On the Race we only get three weeks with each ministry, and its hard to leave because we grow a passion for each ministry and the people they’re serving. We always desire to invest more. As a short term missionary, its hard to make tangible long term investments, especially on the Race when we’re going from country to country.
This is why we are so thankful to have an opportunity to invest into this ministry by fundraising for a better van. This is something we can leave behind for our ministry hosts that will literally help them reach their community.
Let me tell you what I mean…
Pastor Pirot’s mission is to visit surrounding schools with World Race teams to host English camps and through teaching English share the Gospel to the students, as well. It blows my mind that we can go into Thai schools where 99% of the people are Buddhist and the faculty allow us to share about the Bible and Jesus. This isn’t even allowed in America! Pastor Pirot’s heart is to reach the unreached.
Our team has been able to visit four schools so far that are new connections for Pastor.
Yesterday, what could’ve been a two hour trip to one of these schools, we had to allot three hours of driving time due to the condition of the van and its consistency of breaking down.
Praise the Lamb we got there in a timely manner! We had a great day with 391 7th-12th grade students, playing games, teaching English, performing a skit, and telling them about Jesus. The school faculty were so thankful for us and told us to come back.
To know that we made a positive impression on the school and that that relationship with Pastor Pirot is in good standing means that he’ll be able to bring back future World Race teams to continue what we started. Pastor Pirot makes a point to contact a local church in the area to support the schools and students that he shares the Gospel with so they’ll have follow up.
With the help of some great connections, we are currently researching vans for sale in the area. However, because of how laws work in the United States, if we do not raise the full amount, we are not allowed to just hand our hosts the money. We have to spend it/buy something with it. So, here are our options if we do not raise enough funds to buy a van:
-Pay to have the van fixed (we are not huge fans of this idea because this is what the family has been doing and the van continues to break down)
-Pay for the rent that goes towards housing World Race teams (while this is a tangible need, they usually do not have trouble paying)
This is why buying a used van is our goal. This is the need that we wish to fulfill.
Not only by donating would you be investing into a van, you’ll be investing into hundreds of kids. We can’t stress enough how thankful we are for your support, your encouragement, and especially your prayers! Your efforts do not go unnoticed by us or by the Lord.
If you desire, here is the link to donate: https://give.adventures.org/campaign.asp?campaignid=4119
Team Bamboo with Pastor Pirot at a Thai street market
