Well today (and tomorrow, and whenever you want) you have the opportunity to be.
You see, Paul presents this line of questing in Romans 10:14-15
How then can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? (emphasis mine)
So you see, whilst the people needing to hear the message hear it from one group who goes – i.e. us – that group has to be sent by another group – i.e. those of you back at home. The Bible, and therefore God, considers those who support missionaries as much a part of that mission's work as the missionaries themselves.
Which brings me onto how you can practically be a part of our race. It's about three weeks until the final financial support deadline hits and there are 18 members of our squad of 41 who have yet to reach their target for fundraising for the year, ranging from needing a couple hundred dollars more to a couple thousand. Those who are fully funded have been paired (or tripleted) up with someone who still has funds to raise so that as a squad we can support each other and (hopefully) help each other get to that target. Failure to do so results in people having to go home due to lack of funds. So you see "how can they [go] unless they are sent?" They cannot.
So, (re-)meet Michelle Lasko, my team mate
Michelle is a whopping $4,000 short of the target, which she needs to either have donated or pledged to be donated by March 1st. But there is hope – she does have a support network at home that she is doing her best to exhaust, but she now also has myself and Kip from Team 2:20 working to help her reach her target.
RIGHT NOW, go and read some of her blog and see her heart for the ministries that we have been and will be a part of – michellelasko.theworldrace.org – and you will see that she is someone worth supporting.
So I have a request – and I don't make this kind of request lightly or even often – but I want you to consider giving something to support her being here. And then I want for you to go beyond considering it and do it. I believe it is all well and good to support people by praying for them (and I of course ask that you continue to do so for us, it is one of the most important ways we are supported) but I also believe we need to put our money where our mouth is, and that if we are not prepared to be invested in something financially then we are probably not truly invested in it at all. "Your heart is where your treasure is" to paraphrase Jesus' words concerning how we use our money and resources. [And yes, I will also be donating a sum into her account too :-)]
Having signed up for the Race, at no point did I approach any church, any group, nor any individual to request any money to be here, and although I have had to do so in the past when I was with YFC, at no point so far on the race have I asked anyone for money to support me. Please keep that in mind as you consider supporting Michelle – I do not and have never come to you to plead money for myself, but to request help for a friend of mine who truly needs it do the work that God has called us to around the world, work that you can partner in and be a part of by supporting.
If you are prepared to support me this year, if you want to be a part of the ministry of the World Race to nations throughout the world, please do so by helping Michelle meet her deadline:
Thank you for taking the time to read this and the time to consider. I hope I have not come across as forceful, but rather as passionate about our work, passionate about my team and passionate about how you can be a part of this.
God bless you all, and thank you again for your continued support of myself and our squad. This year would not be the same without my squad, my team and you.
