Friends! I am so excited to announce that I am now FULLY FUNDED for my World Race Gap Year trip! Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of many of you, God has provided all the money I need!
My heart is filled with joy and with thanks as I think about the last 6 months of fundraising. At times it felt like raising $14,000 was impossible. At other times, I sat back and almost cried in amazement and thanks. Through it all, I learned that God will never ask you to do something for Him and then fail to provide the means to do it. It may not always be easy, pretty, or timely, but God will provide what you need to do what He has asked of you.
So, you may ask, how exactly has God provided? Here I’d love to share just a few stories of what He has done.
Around 70 people have given money directly to me or to my Adventures In Missions account. People from all across the country and even from other countries gave generously. For those of you who gave in this way, my heart overflows with thanks!
Several months ago my mom discovered two scholarships for young people going on mission trips: Callie’s Mission scholarship and a scholarship from Christ’s Church of Flagstaff. I applied for both, and received $1,100!
In April, with the help of family and friends, we hosted the biggest yard sale I have ever been a part of. For months ahead of time, we put out the word about the yard sale, and many people generously gave stuff they no longer needed. We did the yard sale for two days, and made over $2,000! There is no way I could have done that without lots of hard work from my family and some friends at my church.
I already wrote a whole blog about this, but at the yard sale, two small kids from my church came and sold farm-fresh eggs, giving all the proceeds to my trip! (You should definitely read the full blog!)
I have a friend from church who knows everything about making money off scrap metal. He helped me raise lots of money by collecting scrap metal from church friends, breaking it down, and turning it in.
Another friend from church regularly hosts jewelry parties, and she hosted several for me, giving all the proceeds to my trip.
Two dear friends from my high school entered a Chaco photo competition and won a free pair of Chaco sandals. They knew I planned to buy some for the Race, so instead of using the prize themselves, they gave me a free pair of Chaco sandals.
I have spoken at several churches about what I am going to do, and many of them have taken up love offerings for me. My own church even gave $500 from its missions fund.
I sold t-shirts through Fund the Nations, and over 40 people bought these shirts, giving hundreds toward my trip.
Because I grew up as a missionary kid, there are many people who knew me as a kid, but who are now separated from me. I have been amazed by how many people from the missionary community in Russia have given, despite not having seen me in years. Thank you, missionary/Russia family, for all your generosity.
This blog would not be complete without a huge thank-you to my mom. She has been with me every step of the way through this fundraising process. She worked so hard on the yard sale, counted money, deposited checks, encouraged and pushed me, and did so much more. Thank you, mom. I wouldn’t be fully funded right now without you.
To all of you who have given financially toward my World Race Gap Year trip, thank you so much! All of you are truly my partners in ministry, and God is going to use your generosity for His glory.
Now, I want to ask you to keep supporting me, through your prayers. I believe God works powerfully through prayer, and that is how you can be involved in what God is going to do through my trip.
As I look forward to what is to come, I’m so excited! I leave for World Race Training Camp on Wednesday, and then in a few months I’ll be spreading the Gospel around the world.
Again, thanks to all of you.
