First of all, let me start out by saying that Kimmy is BY FAR the better writer of the two of us. She studied it, she enjoys it, and between you and me (professors, please look away) she used to write some of my papers in college while I did her math homework for her. So bear with me here.
I thought this subject would be an important one to address because I’ve asked the same thing of other people more times than I can count, and maybe you have too. On my 2.7-mile drive to work every day I almost always see 2 different guys selling the Contributor newspaper, which is an awesome way for homeless people to both earn money and learn how to get accustomed to working for a living again. And they’re usually in the same spot each morning. Both guys are as nice as can be, and when I have cash I like to try to help them out (plus I love reading random articles.)
But someone asked me the other day, and I can’t say I haven’t wondered the same thing myself, where I thought that money being donated ultimately ends up. Now this particular example is not what I’m writing this post about (spoiler alert: it doesn’t matter where it ends up; what matters is your cheerfulness to give [see 2 Corinthians 9:7]).
I’m sure most of you see a GoFundMe or Indiegogo campaign in your Facebook news feed every other week or more. Those sites are great for someone who wants to raise money to buy something they can’t afford yet, or to help someone who has lost a loved one, or to pay for vet bills of a dog who saved a 7 year old girl from being bitten by a rattlesnake (if you don’t know this is real, Google it and I dare you not to cry.)
But just like when you’re donating to a homeless person, do you ever stop and wonder for half a second what that money is actually going to be spent on?
While most (or by now, probably all) of you know, Kimmy and I are fundraising to spend almost all of 2017 spreading the Gospel of Jesus around the world. But what I want to clear up is where that $34,034 (I know, that comma makes it look that much more daunting to us sometimes too) will ultimately end up being used. Unlike with the campaigns I mentioned earlier, Kimmy and I will never hold an extra penny in our bank account when that green bar is filled. And yes, we know it will be filled all the way, because we know God always provides.
You don’t have to wonder where that donation is ultimately going to be spent because I can tell you right now. After my sophomore year in college I went on a two and a half month trip with Adventures in Missions (i.e. the organization who runs the World Race) to Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. So, I can tell you exactly what you’re donating to.
You’re donating to buy our transportation to 11 different countries next year. You’re donating to pay each of the 11 host families whose property we’ll be living on and whose utilities we’ll be using for that month. And finally, you’re donating to provide these host families with grocery money to feed us for the month we’ll be living with them. That’s it. That’s what every cent of the $34,034 Kimmy and I are working and fundraising for is going toward.
Sorry if there are too many spaces and bold words. This is my first blog post, so I thought that’s just what people did…
Intangibly, and to sum up this whole post, what you’re paying for is to allow Kimmy and I to fulfill a call we’ve felt to go to people in 11 different countries and teach them about this Jesus they’ve probably never had the opportunity to hear about.
If all these words helped clear up your questions and you feel led to donate, please visit http://bryceandkimmywhittington.theworldrace.org/ to do that (and also check out the other blog posts that are written in a much better way by Kimmy while you’re there.)
If all these words made things even more confusing to you, then please email me at [email protected] or call me at 615.522.7674 and I’d be more than happy to answer any other questions you may have. Or if you just want to catch up we can do that too.
And finally, for the 4 (hopefully that’s really a joke) of you who actually read this far into the post, if you know you’re not in a place financially where you can donate to us, we also LOVE hearing the stories we’ve gotten of people who have told us they’re already praying for us!
Thanks for praying for us,
Bryce (and Kimmy in spirit while she’s at work)
