IM OFFICIALLY FULLY FUNDED!! Praise Jesus he is so faithful and good! A huge thanks goes out to everyone who has made it possible for me to be here, all of your donations and prayers is something that I do not take for granted.
When I first looked at the race I was immediately interested, I felt a stir in my heart to do it. Although, once I saw those 5 numbers lined up together I was quickly turned off. $14,951 is a lot of money, “How could I possibly raise that much money?”. I felt like fundraising would be really hard, a lot of work, and take a great deal of boldness, something that I wasn’t confident I could walk out in. Boy was I wrong, the Lord turned the tables for me! It was all about me, what I thought I could or couldn’t do, but it’s solely comes down to God. It’s through him, his grace and his sovereignty that the funds have all come in. Fundraising for this trip has been single handily the most humbling experience I have ever been a part of. I have never experienced so much humility than when going through the process of raising money for the race.
When I first got accepted on the race I was confident that the Lord wanted me to take this leap of faith. However, I was not very confident in the path God was providing for me. I didn’t really want to tell people about the race, I always had it set in stone that I would go to college right after high school and play hockey, no questions asked. Doubt and fear made it seem impossible to ask people to help me out with this big package God had at my doorsteps. My whole life I always dreamed about going to the same college as my twin and play hockey with her, though God had different plans I guess! Don’t get me wrong though, I was really excited to do the race, my heart was overjoyed just thinking about dedicating a year to the service of God. With that being said, I felt like I was too little, too small, too unworthy to even use my dirty hands to reflect God’s faithfulness and goodness. Pride took hold of my heart and I became blind to all the blessings and opportunities that fundraising would bring to my heart.
Through the process of raising money for the trip, my vision gradually started to become more and more clear. Fundraising for any type of missions trip is truly a beautiful thing to me. The money that goes into this trip isn’t for me, it’s for the work that God does through me. So many people have donated to me and I feel so honored to be in a position where I can use that money as a tool to serve God. It’s just so cool to think that the Father is using me as a vessel for you to serve God overseas. It’s not just my hands that hold the orphaned little girl or the widow, it’s all of your hands as well. That brings so much warmth to my heart. I am so privileged to be the mouthpiece and the physical hands and feet for all of you who have supported me.
I remember one evening when I had just finished a fundraiser, I looked up to God and fell on my knees in awe. Tears fell streaming down my face, I was overwhelmed by God’s grace and provision. How could Jesus, the Son of God, the one who defeated ALL sin ever known to mankind, choose me as an ambassador for the gospel? That is so crazy cool and wild and humbling and exciting and so many more emotions!
I was the apple on the tree that God wanted to pick, the one with bumps, bruises and all. He handpicked me, Ashley Lauren Levesque to be a vessel from the heavens to the earth for his mission. WOW. Is anyone not just in pure amazement that God has called every single one of you by name for the great commission?
I want to say thank you to everyone who is in on this mission with me, for the ones who have donated money, their time, and their council for the Lord to send me out onto the battle field. To me, I don’t look at you all as just “my supporters”, I look at you in a different way and a different perspective. I see you all as my teammates, my collogues, my brothers and sisters, my comrades. We battle together on the field with the Father’s Great Commission in mind, we all walk side by side with the same call. You help me out when I don’t have the weapons to fight. You take my hand and bring me to my feet when I stumble. You give me a bandage when I am wounded. We are one unit, one flock, one church serving one audience. And thanks to the Man above, we all are fully armed to withstand the evil one.
I love you all so very much, my thanks goes out further than you can ever know. The human language fails to exemplify my gratitude. Thank you for being obedient to the Lord and the plans that he has for me. Thank you for believing in me, for picking me up in battle, for lending me the weapons I need, for loving me through the eyes of Christ’s on my journey.
And most of all, I thank you Lord for giving me and everyone else who is walking by my side, the opportunity to make disciples and be your light. I thank you father for the victory you have given me and my brothers and sisters. I come trembling at your feet; you call me worthy and set me free.
