By no small margin, the most-read blog I have written in the last 2+ years is about a 6 year old girl named Ellie that single-handedly re-shaped my understanding of trust when she became one of my biggest supporters, in both prayer and finances.
~Ellie and I shortly after I got home, wearing the punjabi I had made for her in India~
Sometimes I wonder if God gets exasperated with me. Like when He sees me making the same mistakes twice, and He shakes His head and sighs and says "Why does she do this to herself?"
The number one lesson God taught me in preparing for the Race and on the Race itself is currently trying to evade me at every turn. I find that the seemingly simple decision to trust God is again managing to taunt me as all of the scary "What ifs!?" come at me at the prospect of leaving home, quitting my job again, and taking on squad leading.
Most of these "What ifs?" are actually coming from others rather than just popping into my head the way they once would have. I am no longer the worry wart I have the potential to be, as I realize that almost of the "what if?" factors are out of my control anyway.
But I still feel an occasional wave of anxiety, the kind that makes your stomach clench and your hands fidget, when I think about the money, the planning, and the physical and spiritual energy this is going to require.
Knowing that I will be going full-throttle around the clock again soon (and remembering how bone-weary exhausted I was after round 1), I kind of wish I could hibernate and store up nap-energy. This isn't particularly feasible when I am trying to work 50+ hours a week to help financially, but just one or two self-indulgent naps a month seems reasonable, right? I find I am having to fight the fear of how mentally and physically demanding the Race can be. Trust.
~Pinterest. Naptime.~
I started spreading the word that I was squad leading several weeks ago. I am still praying hard about how to raise the money I will need, and have asked God to move the hearts of the people He intends to have give to and be a part of this ministry.
But my support account hasn't budged. Not so much as a dime has been given so far.
Fear and doubt began to creep in. My ability to trust God as I knew I should felt like it was wavering.
And then Holly, Ellie's mom, messaged me and brought tears of gratitude.
Ellie was thrilled that I was going out to be a missionary again, and immediately hit the ground running to raise as much money as possible for me to be a leader to new missionaries. She and her mom came up with the idea for "Muffins for Missions", Ellie's first non-profit business undertaking. Her brothers Ben and Sammy are also helping, collecting things to sell and drawing pictures to include with the muffins.
Healthy, delicious, vegan muffins are being sold for $10 a dozen to friends and family in the area, and out-of-town friends can have the recipe and a picture drawn by Ellie sent to them for a $5 donation. All profit is going towards the medical insurance for my trip.
Yet again, a humble family whose hearts beat for Jesus have come together and reassured me that God does provide financially for missions, often in the most beautiful ways. Trust.
Although Holly is a genius in the kitchen, I hesitate to have everyone bombard her with muffin requests, as that could become simply overwhelming. If you are interested in buying muffins or perhaps supporting her to buy ingredients, message me and I will get you in touch.
~Little Sammy bought muffins to support me! And they come with a home-made note!~
But if you have felt moved by the generosity of three small children and how they restored me to trust in the Lord, I would deeply appreciate any financial support you feel led to give. I need to fundraise at least $5000 in order to squad lead, plus several thousand more for personal expenses, and you can give a monthly or one-time donation by clicking on the Support Me link below my profile picture.
And if you haven't already, please read the original story of how Ellie supported me. I love it and I love her whole family, and I have had complete strangers send me messages saying it moved them to tears. God is doing big things through this humble family.
http://bethanywaddell.theworldrace.org/?filename=a-6-year-old-answered-my-prayers
~Having fun with the kids on a summer evening.~
