Four months ago my world got rocked. I took a huge leap of faith and decided to dedicate a month of my summer to serving kids on Work Crew at Castaway Club in Detroit Lakes, MN. At this camp my life was changed completely. I found a new love for Jesus and for serving. After my first week there I could feel God doing powerful, amazing things. Jesus was drawing me closer and closer to who He is.
Castaway is a Young Life camp that shows kids Jesus’ love with their extravagant adventures. Most of these kids didn’t even know that they were looking for God themselves, and I spent my hot summer days doing everything I could to make sure that they had the best week of their lives.
In nine months my world is going to get rocked again. I am going to be leaving the country to participate in a nine month missions experience called the World Race. The World Race is a non profit organization that sends people anywhere from 18 to 35 to share the love of Jesus and serve others around the world. The route that I chose to be a part of will be bringing me to Romania, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. At each stop, I will sharing Jesus in various ways. In Romania, I will be focusing on relational ministry and possibly passing out eyeglasses to the locals for three months. I get to partner with local churches in Costa Rica to share the Gospel with rural communities, especially in impoverished border towns while getting used to the slow, “pura vida” lifestyle. While I’m in Ecuador for three months, I’ll be focused around building relationships and sharing hope and joy in Christ with everyone I meet along the way.
Last summer at Castaway, God gave me the strength to get up at 6:30 in the morning to do a devo, then get the dining hall ready by 8:00 for the kids. I would then bus the tables, serve, and repeat two more times. Every day. Week after week after week after week. More kids; more meals. It was grueling. It taught me to lean on Jesus. It taught me to rely on Him for my energy, my patience, and to provide everything that I would need for that day.
Next summer, on the World Race, God is going to stretch me even further. I will need to trust Him, lean on Him, and rely on Him to provide me with what I need, every day. I want to go on this insane journey is because I found a heart to serve. I want to go to other countries where the people have not been given the same opportunities as I have, I want to go and do everything in my power to make sure that whoever it is I am helping that day has the best week, day or even minute as possible. As well as show them the insane love of Jesus.
Will you join me? You don’t have to hop on a plane, you can partner with me from right where you are. I will be able to keep you updated on my journey around the world regularly–it’ll be just like you being there! I’ll take pictures, share the stories and struggles, and let you know how much God is stretching and using me. I have a goal to raise $16,600. That seems like a lot of money to a high school senior! Good thing my God is bigger than me. Please consider supporting me and my World Race by donating. One-time gifts are great, but I would really like to have 10 people come on as monthly supporters. Whether it’s $10 or $1,000, your support and prayers mean so much to me.
Thank you.
