Hello Beautiful People! Below is a letter that I will be mailing out to my previous supporters of the World Race. Please share with anyone else that would like to hear this story as well.
Dear
I hope this letter finds you well today! I know it has been awhile since I have last updated you about my whereabouts since first telling you about going on the World Race (WR) back in January. A lot has happened over the past 8 months that has really taught me much about God, my relationship with Him and how that even dissipates to my friends, family and community. I just wanted to take a moment to update you about how that has been going.
First of all I just wanted to thank you for your support thus far, whether it be financially, spiritually or emotionally. Every prayer, thought, and dollar spent on supporting my mission on going on the World Race has been such a blessing in my life! I was initially supposed to leave this past January, but deferred my launch to a later date due to some personal relational issues I had with a couple of folks that are near and dear to my heart. Since then, I can honestly say that a lot of positive things have been happening in their lives, but not as a result of me staying, but by the Lord’s will and the faithful prayers and support of his living Saints!
The Christian life is far from being safe and comfortable. If you received my first support letter or read any of my posts on my blog for the WR, I shared a little bit of how I first came to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s a beautiful, heartbreaking, yet joyful story that points towards the redemptive power and love of the gospel. Like most people that begin new relationships with loved ones, there’s a honeymoon period. That is how I would describe my initial relationship with the Lord. Then there’s the roller coaster ride, which is how most people’s relationships are like with their loved ones. The dips, turns,drops and glides can change according to how we grow as individuals, external circumstances or the choices/decisions we make. The last several months have been one heck of a roller coaster ride! A part from the external circumstances, how I have been growing and the decisions I have been making have not been maturing or wise.
I have been growing distant with God personally, but hardly showed that truth around my friends, family and community. But God was not growing distant from me! As a result I was unsure if the WR was still for me. I was unsure if I still had the desire to travel the world at the expense of sharing the gospel. Last week at training camp (for the WR) that changed. I still decided to go to training camp to see what exactly God had in store for us as you have faithfully joined me in supporting my journey in pursuing the WR.
From August 10-20 , I drove down to Gainesville, Georgia where I met hundreds of individuals who are on fire for God. Together we learned a lot about our personal relationship with Jesus, how that translates into our relationships with our teams, what it means to be a disciple versus a discipler and of course practical missions training while on the WR. However, the most important thing I learned while I was down there was that the WR is not about going on a mission’s trip. It’s about living on mission for the rest of your life in the great commission. The Gospel of Jesus Christ offers more than just salvation and eternal life. It offers the inheritance of God’s Kingdom! Living on mission is the Church bringing God’s Kingdom here on Earth till Jesus comes back! God does not need us to do that, but freely gives us the opportunity to be his hands and feet in loving, caring and healing others. God met me where I was at and addressed my hesitation on going on the WR through reading/hearing/meditating on Matthew 10: 38-39 “And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” I am 100% confident in saying that the only thing I need to go on the WR is to say YES! I am looking forward to experiencing and knowing my true identity in Christ over the next 11 months and beyond by being his hands and feet! “Since his love got a hold me on me, I’m a new creation, I’m forever changed”… and that is the truth that I want to share with the world.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to my blog www.maryblizballesteros.theworldrace.org to be apart of this journey with me. I will be updating it weekly with stories of what the Lord is doing all around the world. I am still $5,982.00 shy of being (63.88%) fully funded. I know that God will provide! Will you consider helping me reach this goal before launching on October 2? You can donate directly on my blog (mentioned above) by clicking the “support me” link in the upper left side of the page.
Thank you so much! I will be in contact with you over the next month to follow up with this letter. Much love and appreciation.
Through the Cross,
Mary-Bliz Ballesteros
