Hello everyone! These past few months have been so wonderful and crazy as I finish up high school and prepare for the next chapter of my life. As of today, I have 8 days until graduation, 36 days until my team meets in Georgia for training camp and then to fly to Thailand, and 90 days until I move to Austin for my freshman year at the University of Texas, where I’m studying aerospace engineering. These days are just flying by!
But today I want to talk about another crazy countdown: 23 days until my final fundraising deadline on June 17th. I’m about $500 away right now! Thank you so much to everyone who’s already partnered with me to make this mission possible. In this post I’m going to talk about the new information I just got on what my team will be up to in Thailand as well as a few ways you can help me fundraise if you feel led to do that.
Ministry News!
I got an email earlier this week with ministry information for my mission. Adventures in Missions (the organization that runs the World Race: Semesters program I’m doing) partners with local groups to serve the current needs of the community. This allows them to sustain ministry activity and continually make a positive impact on the people they serve. But because the needs are often so immediate, we haven’t really known what we’d be doing in Thailand until recently! We’re helping with an organization called Place of Grace, so here’s a little about them:
Place of Grace has a vision to see lives transformed by the grace of God. They run children’s clubs, youth groups, a food bank, and groups for children and teenagers interested in learning more about God. They seek instruction through prayer and reach out to the local community leaders so their work in the Mahathai communities is done in a supportive, sustainable way.Our primary ministries will be kids’ ministry and slum ministry. In the mornings we’ll help out in the slums in Bangkok and in the afternoons we’ll work with the kids at the after school camp at Place of Grace. I’m so excited to see what God has in store for me and how I can help share His love in Bangkok!
I absolutely can’t do any of it without support, though; ministry takes the Kingdom to grow the Kingdom! Prayer support is most important and is sooo appreciated. I’ve never been out of the country before and I’m sure the culture change is going to be crazy to experience. I would appreciate prayers for me and my team to have open hearts and to be receptive to whatever plans God has for us!
If you feel led to help out financially, here are some ways you can help me get to my final fundraising goal by June 17th!
Method One: Online Donations!
This is the easiest and best way to donate. If you scroll up to the top of this page you’ll see a little fundraising bar at the top that lists my current donation total and my $4,600 goal. There’s a button that says “donate;” click that and everything should be filled out except for your name and card info. Online donations take a few days to process, so June 17th is the last day for those. You can donate any amount and it all helps so much!
Method Two: Keys for the Journey
This month I’m also partnering with an organization called Keys for the Journey to help finish fundraising. They hand-stamp keys with words that you can pick and make necklaces. They’re really cute and make amazing gifts! I get a portion of the money when you buy them and it goes directly to my trip. I ordered a key and got mine yesterday, so here’s a photo!
The idea is that you pick a word you want to grow on and wear the key while you learn about that, and then you pass it on to someone else who could use that word. My word is “joy,” which is simple but exactly the point! I want to grow in finding joy in the small moments, whether that’s the wind messing up my hair in my car as I crank the windows down or the music up, or a friend’s smile as we celebrate the end of high school. Life is such an adventure if we look at it that way, so I’m trying to appreciate the small moments more. If you want to get a key you can buy one on the Keys for the Journey website: https://www.keysforthejourney.com/
Method Three: My Craft Store
I love making crafts, so when I first started praying about the World Race a year ago, I saved up a bunch of knitting and sewing projects to sell to fundraise. I’ve got all sorts of small things ranging from knitted hats and keychains to scrunchies to bracelets to refashioned clothes. I sell them on my Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/katiegoestothailand/. I’ll also post photos from my trip on that account in July!
Thank you sooooooo much to everyone who has already partnered with me in this mission. Your support is so valuable and I really can’t wait to share this adventure with you on my blog and Instagram. If you still want to help out, please share this post! I’m so close to my goal and I can’t wait to see all that God has planned for me this summer. I can’t wait to serve the people of Thailand and share the Father’s love in Bangkok. Thank you so so much and God bless!
