“I’ve sat by far too long and I’ve watched the hurting suffer on their own. I have chances every day to live like You, die to myself, give Your love away. And I wonder why I feel so empty inside…..”
Dear family and friends,
Happy summer, happy life, happy day! Woo-hoo! The past several months I planned to get my master’s degree for Art Therapy at Nazareth College, but in April I had a change of heart. It was one of my last weekends at Houghton College and I had time to reflect on what’s happened the past 4 years and where I am now. As a Christian, I believe my purpose is to tell the Good News of Christ. My main goal in being at Nazareth is to evangelize, but on this day of reflection, I realized I wouldn’t know where to begin. I was feeling humiliated by how I spend my time, little of which I devote to God. This in and out, complacent and selfish lifestyle has been eating me up and I, with guidance from the Lord especially through scripture, decided I need to change.
God has called me to serve as a missionary through an organization, Adventures in Missions (AIM), in their World Race program. Through adventure, ministry, community, and self-discovery, World Racers develop broken hearts which propel their hands to act for God’s kingdom around the globe. My team and I will serve in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities to preach the Gospel, plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children who are trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, and more. We will travel to eleven countries in eleven months!
I am grateful for this opportunity and I am confident God will provide the money necessary for all 4 financial deadlines of the trip. Ultimately, I am confident He will do that through you. I must raise $15,500. I am asking if you would consider partnering prayerfully and financially with me in this ministry. The financial support can be given as a one-time gift or as a monthly donation, wherein you choose the amount and beginning and end date. I leave January 1st, 2013.
I have attached details, prayer requests, and scripture that has inspired this trip. If you prefer to not make an online donation, please contact me! If you prefer to make an online donation (after considering the important options to contribute page, also attached), you may do so by visiting my blog site at www.ChelseaEllis.theworldrace.org . Just click the “Support Me” link on the left side of the page and complete your donation as instructed. Eleven months is a long time and I will miss all of you immensely. Thank you so so SO much for reading this and for your contribution to this trip.
With looooove and hugs,
Chelsea Ellis 🙂
“…..Church wake up, we’re sleeping in an empty tomb. Church arise, arise and shine, shake yourself from the dust, God is calling us to go!” – Leeland “While We Sing”
Attached:
TRIP DETAILS: I’ll be going to training camp in Georgia October 13th-20th. I’ll be traveling with people ages 21-35. One-hundred and fifty of us travel everywhere together, but I’ll mostly be with my “family” of 7 people the whole year as each group (of 7) is stationed somewhere specific. I’m allowed 1 hiking bag and 1 carry on pack. My group of 7 will start our own ministries as well. We are heading to Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Romania, Ukraine, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia. I’ll be going to 1 semester at Nazareth, and if that’s where I’m supposed to be a year later, I’ll continue my education there in 2014. God has revealed His perfect timing and planning to me. I thought there’d be a lot of complications with graduate school. I sent Nazareth an e-mail, unsure of how receptive they’d be to the idea of me leaving, especially because it's a secular school. Not only were they supportive by allowing me a year-long leave of absence, but they offered creative ways to give me class credit while traveling. I am bringing a computer with me because we are responsible to maintain a blog throughout the year. I will not have an address while away, so e-mail ([email protected]), Facebook, and Skype will be my main sources of communication.
PRAYER REQUESTS:
– I’ll be an assistant teacher for the summer as an AmeriCorps volunteer. Almost immediately after that I will go to graduate school, and 3 weeks after the semester ends, I LEAVE! I have to fit in several appointments and fundraise for the trip with little time off. I need many vaccinations and I have several health problems myself. I’m asking for prayer that I can get these things done before deadlines happen, and that my insurance will allow me medication for a whole year at once.
– I ask for prayer against doubts or worry (specifically: missing two of my best friends weddings, missing my mom’s cooking :), fear of spiders – not a joke).
– Kate, Brittany (friends from college) and I planned to live together next year. We already went apartment shopping and they applied for jobs. They are fully supportive of me because they are amazing(!), but the cost of living where we intended is too much to split between 2 people. I ask for prayer for their year and finding jobs, wherever that may be.
– Prayer for wisdom to the people who choose the groups of 7 (a lot goes into the decision, they meet us at training camp, we take personality tests, etc). Also, please pray for my group of 7, the transformation that may take place in our lives, and our teamwork.
SCRIPTURE:
I know this is where God has called me after prayer and scripture reading. Telling the Word of God is the reason we are here. It’s the one thing I know, for certain, is God’s will for me. Going about it this way, for now, is what has to be done. God is fighting for justice and He’s using us to fight for it too. I read the scripture below the night I decided to go on the trip. Before opening my Bible, I asked God to give me direction and help me learn what He wants. I first opened to a Psalm about trusting and praising no matter the circumstance, and then I opened to Acts 13, which is titled, “Barnabas and Saul Are Commissioned, Paul’s First Missionary Journey.” After this I foolishly felt superstitious and decided to shut my Bible, forget about the prayer, and just open and read it like usual. This took me to a passage in Exodus, “Signs of the Lord’s Power”. Amen.
So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant. – Acts 13: 4-5
Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him. When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. – Acts 13:9-12
The Lord said to Moses, “If they do not believe you and are not convinced by the first miraculous sign, they will be convinced by the second sign. And if they don’t believe you or listen to you even after these two signs, then take some water from the Nile River and pour it out on the dry ground. When you do, the water from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground.” But Moses pleaded with the Lord, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.” Then the Lord asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”- Exodus 4:8-11
OPTIONS TO CONTRIBUTE:
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Credit and Debit Card Donors
– PROS: Quick and efficient. Most preferred method. Able to setup automatic monthly withdrawals. Easy online access.– CONS: 5% fee deducted from Chelsea’s support account which goes to the credit card company to pay for that convenience.
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Bank Draft Donors
– PROS: Still quick and efficient online access.– CONS: 3% fee deducted from Chelsea’s support account which goes directly to the processing company to pay for that convenience.
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Written Check Donors
– PROS: No fee deducted. Sent directly to our bank where it is deposited. The bank then sends an image of that check to their accounting department to apply toward Chelsea’s support.– CONS: Can take approximately 2 weeks from the date you mail the check before it’s in Chelsea’s support account.
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DynaPay Donors
– PROS: Automatic deduction from your checking account each month with no fees. To sign up for DynaPay, you must fill out a form upon request (you can ask Chelsea) and return it signed with a voided check to Adventures in Missions, Attn: Accounting, 6000 Wellspring Trail, Gainesville, GA 30506.– CONS: You MUST contact the office to stop the automatic withdrawal when they no longer wish to keep giving. DynaPay will continue to deduct each month unless you directly say “Please cancel my donation now.”
Adventures in Missions, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and a long-time member of ECFA. Your donations are tax deductible based on the policies and principles at www.adventures.org/policies
