Hello All,
I hope that the holidays were full of love and cheer for all of you!
Christmas 2015 and New Year’s for me were spent with my entire Squad, 45 people, in White River, South Africa and in Pretoria, South Africa. This was the most unique Christmas and New Year’s I’ve ever experienced thus far in my young life. My home is Ohio where the land is flat, cold and icy around this time of year, but instead of experiencing the lovely gray of Northwest Ohio I got a flurry of colors and heat during the holiday season. It is hard to explain what it is to miss my family from half-way round the world, and also what it is to miss the chilly air of the North, believe it or not. Home is far away, and I think I finally understand all those songs about missing home.
Despite how unconventional my holidays were I received a wonderful gift from over seas, albeit a bit unconventional in and of itself.
I’m Fully Funded!
About a year ago I started the application process for the World Race, and God took me step by step through every challenge of this amazing journey. However, from the very inception of the trip I was worried about fundraising. 4 years ago I had to support raise for another trip that was about a fourth of the cost, and I ended up paying a good chunk of it out of my own money. Asking people for money isn’t something I take lightly, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to pull much from my own funds. Those reasons led me to make God prove to me that I was supposed to do this trip with The World Race, not because I wasn’t willing, but because I could throw all my money at the trip and still come up pitifully short. It was blazingly clear that God wanted me to go, but still, answering a call that I didn’t know how to provide for was a huge step of faith for me.
I began the process, and it was rough for the first few months. There wasn’t a whole lot of progress, but then I started to connect with people who I hadn’t talked to in years who still cared about me dearly. God used al the supporters from my past, from my schools, from my church, and from the present to lavish His love on me- It was completely uncalled for – I didn’t expect it at all. But I don’t think I felt His love nearly as strongly before.
Now I’m fully funded 16,000 dollars later…and It feels unreal.
Thank you all so much for the part that you have played in supporting me.
More updates to follow soon. I’ll catch you up on what I’ve been doing. There’s a lot to cover though.
