As I opened my Bible to look up some verses that would be good to put in my fundraising letter, I simply asked God to show me something from Him. Leafing through my Bible I found myself at the first page of Nehemiah and kind of grew skeptical as to what I could find in this part of the Bible that would relate to fundraising.
I read Nehemiah 2, which explained how Nehemiah planned to travel to Jerusalem to rebuild the city where his fathers are buried. Artaxerxes [ar-tuh-ZERK-sees] was the King at the time, and in order for Nehemiah to be able to leave he needed money and supplies because he was not financially capable of gathering materials on his own. Nehemiah prayed, then asked the king to send him to Jerusalem and to give him letters that confirmed the commanders in charge of supplies would give him all he needed. The Lord provided for Nehemiah through the king’s letters.
Honestly, I am still awestruck by God’s incredible power and wisdom. The way he presents himself in the smallest and biggest parts of my life completely floor me. But today as I stressed and worried about my fundraising letter going in the mail soon, it was such a relief to see how God worked through Artaxerxes and his commanders to provide Nehemiah with all he needed on his journey.
I can’t help but compare my own situation to Nehemiah’s, because I have nowhere near the funds needed to go on the Gap Year of my own accord. I am solely relying on God to work in the lives of those I know, and those who I don’t even know yet, so that I am able to do HIS work in countries that need it most.
In Peru there is devastating flooding happening which has caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of casualties, Europe is plagued by the sex trade running rampant through its cities, and India is putting up a large barrier when it comes to evangelism within their borders. These are just three very broad reasons why I am taking this trip, but what I truly pray to be able to do is love those who need Jesus in their lives.
I really hope that God would move in your heart as you read this and compel you to support me as I prepare for a journey that will change everything about my life, and change everything about the lives of others through Christ Jesus.
Peace and blessings my brothers and sisters!
ellen
