I remember my first experience on the mission field, when I was nine years old. At the time we were living in California, so my family and others from our church just drove a couple hours, crossed the Mexican border, and began to work. I spent a couple days playing with the kids there that were my age while my parents helped build them a home.
Growing up, I always wanted to be a missionary. The funny thing is, I didn’t really know what a missionary was. The glamorous life of missions in which I desperately wanted consisted of going to far off places, trekking through juggles, eating insects, living with the locals, and, of course, doing it all for free. Yes, this sounds very wonderful indeed. BUT…where is Jesus in all that??
Over the last four years I have been going with my youth group to build houses in Mexico, and through these trips God has radically shifted my perception of missions. He has showed me that…
- It’s all for His glory! Basically, if you go on a trip to bless people only to make yourself feel important and dignified, you are most definitely doing it wrong. A mission is 100% entirely about serving God and doing what he has called us all to do, love. Through our obedience, God does amazing things, but this often gets confused with our own abilities and workmanship and, as I have experienced, relying on one’s own strength almost always leads to failure. The most important thing I have learned through my mission experience is that to get any real work done, I NEED God! He’s the one and only reason that missionaries do what they do, and therefore MUST be the centre of it all! I can’t change a person’s heart just like I can’t control the weather patterns, but God can do both! In my daily life, and especially the World Race, I pray that God will humble me so that I can honour Him and bring Him all the praise and glory he deserves! I can’t wait to see the huge miraculous things he will show me on this new adventure!
- Missions don’t have to be on the other side of the world! Big news! Being a missionary has no relation to one’s geographical location! I realize that we have all heard this a million times, but as I prepare for the World Race I need to be reminded of it daily, so bare with me. God first challenged me with this in junior high, when I went on a weekend long inner-city mission with my youth group. It felt weird- doing mission work in my hometown. These people lived in the same city as me, and I was doing just fine, so how much help could they actually need? That weekend I had the chance to serve some incredibly broken people, through whom God opened my eyes to both the physical and spiritual poverty of this world. Apparently you don’t have to be in a third world country to encounter these things! He went on to teach me that all I have to do to help His children is love them and seek Him for further guidance. This is what being a missionary is all about, loving the lost, the broken, the rich, the poor, the empty, and the hopeless, and listening to where God calls you to. It could be my neighbour’s doorstep or the African bush, either way I am sure that God will use me to expand His kingdom and give people a taste of His great love.
- I am going to have to work my butt off! Both in the preparation and on the actual field, I know that missions can be very strenuous, but believe whole-heartedly that God is in control and His will shall be done. First off, fundraising is kind of difficult and trying to raise support for a mission can be extremely discouraging if you don’t keep your eyes on AWESOMENESS that is our Father. I have come to the realization that no matter how creative or successful my fundraisers are, there is no way I will raise the funds on-time without God’s blessing and favour! That being said, I think that just like my earthly dad, God wants me to work for what I’m passionate about! He has called me to something, and therefore I will do all I can to pursue it! For this World Race adventure I must send out support letters, host fundraisers, and work full time up until I leave, and I am absolutely okay with that! Though this will be the busiest summer of my life, I am just so excited to set out and bring God glory through ways which I’ve never even dreamed of before! I also realize that this trip will be very demanding physically and emotionally while on the field. I am prepared that I will likely work harder than ever before, be incredibly sleep-deprived, and have a few expected mental break-downs, but I couldn’t be more excited! I am already praying, and would love if you could too, that I will be challenged in crazy new ways, and that he will break me before he starts to heal me.
Currently, I am still owing a grand total of $13,472.41 CAD. At first glance this total kind of makes me want to puke because it just seems SO big. But wait, GOD IS SO MUCH BIGGER! I believe that with His help I will raise at least the $9,768.62 CAD necessary before going to training camp on July 19th. The deadline for this amount is on June 27th -Yes, I know, VERY soon! If i do not have this amount in my account before training camp, unfortunately I cannot participate in the World Race Gap Year. With your help though, my dreams can become a reality!! If only 130 people donate $100, it would cover the entire mission, but any amount of donation is greatly appreciated and makes a huge difference! If you are able to support me financially, click the Support Me! button on the left side of this page, but what I also really need right now is support through your prayers. Please pray that I would have peace about my financial progress, that preparation would go smoothly, and that He would prepare my heart for the work He will do in me on this trip. Thank you so much for all your love and support!
