Firstly, I am so incredibly psyched to be able to log onto this webpage and write out my heart as I progress towards the World Race. It was so interesting how this all came about and the time frame of it all: I was sitting in our kitchen at home when I overheard my brother talking to my father about some type of mission work that piqued his interest. Now I had been offered the chance to go and do mission work in the past, but never had the call or drive to get up and go; this time was very different. Hearing only a few murmuring details, my soul was seemingly lit on fire, bubbling up inside of my heart. I was filled with an urgency like I've never had for missions and began pursuing more information about it only minutes after. The World Race, it's called. The World Race, I am on only days after hearing of it.
For a minute there I didn't know what the next part of my life was going to look like, although I was indeed praying about it. After I was to get my associate's degree in Visual Fine Arts this December, my life was looking rather blank. I am going to save up for my college and pay it out rightly instead of getting into debt for it, which gave me about two or three years before I would be off to some university. I thought a lot about what that span of time would look like. As I contemplated my future, I looked around at the environment which I would likely be living in for a good portion of my life and found.. that it wasn't as involving or meaningful as I would have liked it to be. I began to wonder where the real purpose of my life was and where the eternal value of my actions would land me. Then along came the World Race.
This will be my first act of mission work: eleven months out of home, traveling with a group of people who will undoubtedly become my family through great fellowship. I expect that my limits will be tested and broken, that I as a person will emerge an entirely different from this experience (YESSS!). My biggest goal is directly intertwined with this mission's purpose: to grow exponentially in the Lord, to know Jesus like I never have before, and to be His hands and feet, serving Him and His people across many nations. There were a couple verses that caught my attention while reading the Word and contemplating the World Race: James 1:27, "Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." & James 2:26, "For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." I thin I'm going to find out first hand what these verses truly hold (:
I have also never blogged before, so please bear with me as I go forward into the world of virtual journaling. I want to keep you all as updated as possible so that you, too, can adventure with me. I've attached my fundraising letter just in case you wanted to read/reread it. -And please pray for me as I go forth in the venture 😀
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I hope this letter finds you well! I wanted to write to you to tell you about some of the incredible developments in my life. About one year ago, the Lord did drastic spiritual surgery in my heart and revolutionized my life and my perspective through a generous dosage of severe mercy. Since then I have been trying to live as His Spirit calls me to move and I believe with my whole heart that these next few months will lead me to fulfilling a great call. I recently overheard my brother talking to my father about a mission program that serves across the globe. I heard only a few details before I felt a profound fire building within my soul and the Godly nudge to go out into the world and live His words from Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”– to live not for myself, but for Him. So just after graduating with my associate’s degree in December, I will be diving out into foreign lands through Adventures in Missions in January, 2013 to serve Him and His people!
2013 will surely be a most challenging, deepening, revealing and tough yet fabulous year. This AIM program, the World Race, will take me to eleven different countries over eleven months to serve the people of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Nepal and India. Through adventure, ministry, community, humility and self-discovery, my team and I will further develop servant hearts: propelling our hands to do His work by serving in partnership with churches and ministries in local areas. We’ll be preaching Jesus, planting churches, working in orphanages, ministering to women and children trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking and bringing the restoring love of Christ to many tribes and nations.
I am so grateful for this opportunity that God has given me, and have every confidence that He can provide for me! Ultimately, my prayer is that this goal can be met through you. I am writing to you to ask if you would consider partnering prayerfully and financially with me in my ministry. I must raise $15,500 in order to go on the World Race, which covers all my expenses on the field. This financial support can be given through a one-time gift or as a monthly donation, wherein you choose the amount you would like to donate, and beginning and end date. If 30 people were to give $50 over the course of a year, I would have 100 percent of the funds necessary for my trip. Whether $5 or $500, any donation is greatly needed and appreciated!
I have enclosed a response card and pre-addressed envelope, inviting you to share in this ministry. Please make checks payable to Adventures In Missions and return the response card with your donation to Adventures In Missions, PO Box 534470, Atlanta, GA, 30353-4470. The response card will provide AIM with the information necessary to send you a receipt for your donation (great for tax deductions!). If you would prefer to make your donation online, you may do so by visiting my blog site at: abbysoucy.theworldrace.org. Just click the “Support Me!” link in the upper left side of the page and complete your donation as instructed (once on the Support Me! page, select the “Support a World Racer” option and my name should already be filled in on the next line!).
I am so excited to see how God will move in my life and in the lives of others in the coming year!! I hope not only to be a blessing to those I serve, but also to you. I just want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter and considering in what way you might be able to assist this journey. May God bless you as you prayerfully consider partnering with me in this ministry!
Agape,
PS. Please continue to read my blog and tell all your friends about it! I'll have updates and more info about the Race and all we'll be doing. 🙂
