October 6, 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
Let me start by saying I write to you because you are dear to me and I want to share with you about an upcoming adventure I get to go on with the Lord. Thank you for being such an incredible circle of family and friends that I can share my excitement, nervousness and joy with.
As you may know, over the years I have grown quite fond of travel and of mission work, and have had a few opportunities to serve the Lord through ministering to His people internation-ally. This is something that God has blessed me through, and He has given me a continued passion to be a part of His mission in serving the world.
I have been given the incredible opportunity, through an organization called Adventures In Missions to participate in a program called the World Race (www.theworldrace.org). I will spend a year among the most un-reached people groups in the world around the 10/40 window, while living a lifestyle similar to that of Jesus’ (The 10/40 window is a term that refers the regions of the eastern hemisphere located between 10 and 40 degrees north of the equator with great poverty and low quality of life, combined with lack of access to Christian resources). Scary? Yes. A bit uncomfortable? Yes. A long time away? Yes. A chance to meet with God on an intensely intimate and life-changing level? Yes!
This means that I will be leaving in January 2008 for 11 months and I will be traveling to 11 different countries along with my team of 5 or 6 other people. We will meet up with local missionaries or associates of the World Race and serve alongside them in their communities. Then we will spend a few days at the end of the month actually racing the other teams to our next destination.
This is definitely going to be a year of stretching and humbling for me, and I am sure I have no clue or grasp of all the Lord will be teaching me through this experience. It is also difficult to try to express to you in this letter why I am going and why I feel an urgency to go to the nations (this is especially for you, family, as I know this seems crazy to you)! I am going to try to briefly attempt an explanation though, with a few verses that God has been laying before me in a recurring manner over the last year or so.
The church I have been attending and been serving at during my time in Birmingham (The Church at Brook Hills, www.brookhills.org) has taught me a great deal about the Biblical view of what it means to be a disciple and a disciple-maker. Brook Hills’ mission statement is to awaken a passion for the glory of God by making disciples of all nations by Showing the Word, Sharing the Word, Teaching the Word, and Serving the World. This mission is made clear in Matthew 28: 16-20 and has been a great awakening to me that God calls us to ALL nations to love and teach and serve, and that this is what it is all about. (The Hokey Pokey isn’t really what it’s all about).
A verse that has followed me through the past few years and given me further commissioning is Isaiah 61:1-3, which says,
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
So, God has been calling my name, been stretching me outside my comfort zone, and been giving me a passion to go alongside Him as He binds up the brokenhearted and preaches His good news to the poor. And I am so thankful that He would invite me to go with Him! That the God of the universe would want to spend intimate time teaching me and using me, when He doesn’t even need us at all to accomplish His mission, is just an offer I can’t pass up!
Whether this explanation or revealing of my heart makes any sense, I don’t know, but this is where I am and why I am going on this journey next year. My hope though, is that you, my friends and family, would commit to being in daily prayer for me as I serve. God has also been teaching me the power of prayer, and I do not take lightly the blessing it would be to know I have you praying for me. I can’t do this without prayer. So, thank you ahead of time for considering this commitment.
A further opportunity that I, honestly, have a very hard time mentioning, is the opportunity to give financially on my behalf. Because of the financial aspect of this letter, it has taken me an abnormal amount of time to write this! The total amount I need to raise is $13,800, which will pay for travel, food, and lodging for the year. I hate coming to you all for this, and again, this is something the Lord is humbling me through. A friend reminded me, though, that this is an avenue through which believers worship and serve the Lord just like any other worshipful act. If you do feel led, you may give any amount you wish by way of check and pay to the order of Adventures In Missions and appealed to me.
Thank you so very much for your love and support, God has so blessed me with an incredible network of people like you. I hope to be a blessing not only to those I am serving, but also to you as you (hopefully) follow along as I post updates and photos on my web log throughout the adventure.
Much love,
Andrea
[email protected]
www.andreawendel.theworldrace.org
