WHAT?
WHAT?!?
How is it that only six months after I was accepted to the race, a mere five after I started fundraising, I’m
F U L L Y F U N D E D?!
There were several times before I began this journey that I thought of $16,600 as an impossible goal, one that would take me until at least the time I launched to reach. I was so sure that this was an area of my journey that the Lord was going to test me in, that my patience and faith was going to be stretched and challenged, but now I’m sure it was meant more as a testament of the Lord’s faithfulness and provision. I wanted to take the time to write this blog to thank all of YOU who donated to me and allowed the Lord to use you to bless me, and in turn bless my family and all of the people I’ll come in contact with on the Race.
Prepare yourselves, because I’m about to give you ALL the biggest virtual hug ever. Here we go:
To my church family: I am so immensely grateful to have grown up at GACC. I haven’t ever really given thought to how Scotty McCreery must have felt to have our entire town rally around him to get him the title of American Idol, but this has to be close. I have given so much of my life to our church; it is where my mom grew up, where she brought me and my sister only two weeks after we were born; it is the place where I found my voice, where I learned to feel comfortable speaking (and singing) in front of crowds; it is where I met and loved some of my greatest friends and where I witnessed miracles, even in the face of evil. I have grown to love that building and the people who call it their home, and leaving it will be one of the hardest parts of this journey. Thank you to everyone who donated, who gave their time in mentoring and loving me. I could dedicate an entire blog to writing each individual way I have been impacted by my every single person in my church family, but it would be far too long and I’d never get to thanking anyone else. So, to all of you, thank you. I’ll be praying for you always.
To my family: I have to admit, I was terrified when I first told you guys that I was doin’ this crazy thing. Nana, your support was what I was most nervous about but most encouraged by. I know you want me to stay safe, and I’ll never pick up any strangers. I will miss you more than you know, but I know you’ll wrap me tight in prayer. Grammie, have I ever told you you give the best hugs? I’m going to need a lot of them before I leave. I love you so much MORE. Grandma & Granddaddy, you are two of the strongest, most courageous, funny people I know. Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, Sydney, and Cody. GG and TT, just thank you. To my not-so-little-anymore cousins: You can dream this big, even bigger. I believe in you. I love you guys with my entire heart.
To my friends: This one is BIG. When I first started thinking about applying for the Race, when the Lord was tugging on my heart strings about a year and a half ago, I was, in a word, stoked. But, I wasn’t ready to tell my parents yet, and I’m the kind of person that really needs to verbally express my feelings and thoughts with other people. So, I turned to my friends, who were undeniably supportive of me, even though most of them probably thought it was never going to happen. To Madison, Elaina, Caroline, and Victoria: Creative Writing was a safe place for me to talk about my dream, thank you for making it so. To Molly: you have a whole blog, do you really need more? To Erika: I’ll still send you Glee memes and know whenever I see Sperry’s, I think of you. To Lesley: thanks for always being excited to see me, know I’m always more excited to see you. To Nikki & MM: Thank you for encouraging me always and for loving me without asking for anything in return. #clump4eva To Fred: I’m gonna carry a pic of the 273 tree with me when I leave. To Samerntha: I could write an entire novel about how much your friendship means to me. You were one of the first people to truly believe in this dream of mine, to push me to do it and not worry about what anyone else thought. Thank you for loving me and putting me on all the funny stuff. To all of those I didn’t mention by name: I think about your support and love all the time, and know that I’m forever grateful. I love you all.
To my community: I have to give a HUGE thank you to the Advent Christian Conference of ENC for allowing me the opportunity to speak at churches in my area (an even bigger thank you to Joe Brown for setting me up with that first meeting; it has shaped everything). To those churches: I am so immensely grateful for the Sunday mornings I spent with you, to have the opportunity to answer your questions and hear the support you have for me vocalized was overwhelming in the best way. Thank you for listening with gracious and patient ears, for giving me a safe space to share my story. You are my friends, my family, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Thank you for your prayers.
To those I haven’t seen in a while: One of the most special things about this journey has been being able to reconnect with people who I haven’t seen in a long time through fundraising. There is something incredible about knowing that a few years and a few (hundred) miles don’t change the way people feel about you or their willingness to support you. I have been so blessed by you, specifically, in that I have felt your love and warmth and kindness in your messages and your congratulations and your prayers. I have missed so many of you, and our memories will go with me as I leave. Thank you for your unrelenting support.
To those who don’t even know me: This is beyond fathomable to me—the fact that people who don’t know me personally would take the time to read these blogs, let alone donate to me. It is only through the work of the Lord in your hearts that you chose to do this, so I praise Him for His provision and thank you for your obedience to His will. Your names are written on my heart.
To those who just asked questions: This doesn’t exactly pertain to donations, but I could not be more grateful to those of you who just asked me how I was doing or how everything was coming along. This whole process of fundraising can be a bit overwhelming at times, and just knowing that people care enough to ask you questions can make a big difference. Also, thank you for being patient with me if I ever vented to you or talked about the Race way more than you may have wanted me to. Just as this whole journey is overwhelming, it’s also SO exciting, and I can get carried away. You guys seriously rock.
To the anonymous: There are a few of you, and let me tell you, this made me so mad. I’m kidding (kinda), but I want to thank you personally!!! And I know the reason you probably did it was to forego recognition, but here ya go! Getting it anyway! I am so grateful for all of your donations— it really meant a lot to me to know that people wanted to give to me for absolutely nothing in return, not even a personal thank you. As much as I would like to hug each of you individually, I obviously can’t because I have no idea who you are, so enjoy this giant virtual hug instead. 🙂
To YOU: I want to thank you individually for anything and everything you’ve done for me the past few months. I have been so overwhelmed by the Lord’s confirming Spirit through people like YOU having a hand in this journey; you are as much a part of this plan as I am, and I am praying for you always. Also, I encourage you to search your heart and if you have a desire for missions, pray and ask the Lord if it’s what’s right for you! I think it’s so important to travel and see the world in its fullness, to see the beauty of the Lord’s creation and to meet and interact with His people! Thank you SO much!
Because I’m fully funded, I’m gonna shamelessly plug everyone on my route (Gap Z) because they still need HELP! Go check em out and do as the Lord leads! Thank you SO much!
P.P.S: If it still says I’m a little short of my goal, I promise I’m there! I just couldn’t wait to post (also… squad wars) 🙂
