I have always been a little shy. I don’t like to initiate things like conversations or activities. I was always scared of it.
With fundraising, I really didn’t like to initiate it. But how would people even know what I needed if I didn’t? So of course I asked people to support me because I was called to go on the mission field and that was part of the job. I love giving to missions but I always feel weird asking other people to support me.
God’s heart for giving is astounding. We think that giving money to others is a gift to them and God, which it is, but it is even more so a gift to the giver. God works in our heart when we give. He is inviting us to be part of His work.
This works with everything from giving your time to hug your kids to supporting missionaries to smiling at the store clerk. God calls us to love.
I am feeling the love. I am loving the children of Thailand by singing and dancing and drawing on stage. I have grown to be confident and not shy anymore. There are days when I feel a little more shy, but God pulls me through. I have grown so much and I want to stay on the race to continue being pushed out of my comfort zone.
In Nepal, I had to teach subjects I had never taught before and overcome the physical hardships of heat, humidity, mosquitos, and sleeping on the floor. In India, I was thrown into all-squad month, sharing a bathroom with 14 other women, sleeping on the floor again, the heat, bugs, and being catapulted into working with special needs orphans, neither of which I had any experience with. I left with a heart of sadness and a relief that I wouldn’t be eating any more curry. Then I came to Thailand, the land of smiles. I have been super busy, ministering to the church, schools, and friends all month. God pushed me to preach and act silly on stage in front of so many people. He has made me to have more confidence in my identity.
I need $1300 by October 1st to stay on the race. $11,000 is the minimum. I will need $16, 275 by Jan 1st to be fully funded. Will you ask God how much He wants you to give to the work He is doing in me and through me? Every gift counts. The heart behind your giving is what matters to God, not the amount. I won’t tell you how much you can or should give because that is between you and God. I just ask for you to seek His will.
Click the support me link above to donate to my race.
Much Love,
Saraya
