It’s been awhile since I posted my first blog! I hope you are doing well! Many things have happened since the last time I wrote! I graduated from college, made my first and second fundraising goal(!!!!!!), and my route has been slightly modified (my next blog post will be on these changes). It has been a crazy couple of month of sending out letters, talking to people, finishing school, and saying goodbye.
Other than graduating, the biggest thing that has happened is the fact that we have passed my first fundraising goal of $5,000 as well as my second goal of $10,000! This amount is amazing to me. This money was due by September, and God has already provided it. I have been faithful to making it happen, but God has delivered. Shirts have been sold, letters have been sent, and people have been talked to in order to make $10,000. I still need $6,382 to completely fund my trip. This is a large amount, but I know it will come.
I think the thing that is the craziest to me is that I will be a missionary and am actually acting like one now. I never wanted to be a missionary. I would see people leaving the US for months, if not years, and would think, “Wow, that is really cool, but I do not feel called to do that… I don’t think.” It never really sounded appealing to me. I like – no LOVE – Charlotte, I love my family, I love the people here. I would very happily stay in Charlotte, and that is what I originally planned to do. I would come back to Charlotte after school and work for a church. My plan was never to be a missionary, and I really didn’t want to go to different countries, at least not for a long amount of time.
Yet, here I am writing fundraising letters, talking to people, and writing tons of thank you notes! I can testify that this is where God wants me because He has provided me with the money to go thus far, but there is also the fact that He is changing my heart. I am looking at the countries to which I will be going and starting to develop a love for them. Before now, they were just names of cool countries, but now those names represent people to me. Those people need to hear the gospel, and I have been called to share it with them.
Thank you all so much for making $10,000 possible with your time, prayers, and donations. God is slowly, but surely giving me a heart of a missionary even though I thought it would never happen. He is pulling all the pieces together, and I am excited about it! I can’t wait to see what the next month holds!
