It’s next to impossible to put into words how much your support means to me on this journey. Every blog you read, every comment you leave, every message you send me, and every prayer you pray mean the world to me. Watching God use this story in the lives of people back home has been one of the greatest blessings on this trip, and it has encouraged me in so many different moments. So to every single one of you, Thank you! While I am grateful for every form of support, this post is specifically for all of you who have supported me financially… either by donating or by praying and believing that I would meet my deadlines.
Thanks to all of you, I have reached my final goal of $16,255 and am now fully funded! I’m so humbled by how many of you cared enough to support me and have helped to make this trip possible. I want you to realize that you didn’t give this money to me… you gave it to a missions organization that is doing God’s work in these nations! We’re at the halfway point of the race now and I hope that, through this blog, you’re able to get a glimpse of this work and what your support has made possible over the past five and a half months.
In Panama, we got to share God’s love with the indigenous people who are starving for Him. I got to hold the hand of a dying grandmother and watch her stare in amazement at her hand, almost like she felt Jesus himself holding her. We got to pray for children in the hospital and bring their families hope. We saw that there is beauty in the midst of great poverty when God’s love is present.
In Costa Rica, we lived in some of the most dangerous slums and had the chance to be God’s light in a place of darkness. Every kid who ran through the gates of the feeding center got to escape their reality of abuse and neglect for a moment and experience how real God’s love is. This is the same love that goes home with them each night and will protect them when nothing else can.
In Nicaragua, my team traveled nearly 350 miles across the country and back looking for new contacts to send teams to in the future. We met people whose faith inspired us, we had the chance to encourage them, and hopefully teams will serve with them in the future. Because every new contact is an opportunity to reach a new group of people and share God’s love with them.
In El Salvador, we met some of the most incredible and precious children I think I’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting… all orphaned, abandoned, abused, or a combination of the three. And God blessed us with the chance to love them, to give them reasons to laugh, to cover them with His kisses, to share the promises of a Father they can always count on, to encourage them to dream, and to help them realize their value. And we had the opportunity to encourage a staff that loves these kids with all they are and dedicates their lives to raising children who know God… because in one of the most dangerous countries for children to live, this is really the only way they’re safe. And through these kids, God taught me about how to love and what it means to have faith.
In Malaysia, we got to be His hands and feet again. We passed out relief packages to families whose lives had just been rocked by a flood. One woman was brought to tears as she explained that many people had offered her help before, but something felt different this time. That “thing” was the presence of God entering the home of a woman who had likely never heard of Him before. I learned how powerful of a testimony our lives are and that when we’re not allowed to use words, the way we live can speak volumes and be our most powerful witnessing tool. I got to stand in front of the church, filled with Hindu people, and use my mom’s beautiful story to tell them of God’s love and open arms that are waiting for all of them.
In Thailand, we have come face to face with the horrors of the sex trafficking industry and again been blessed with the opportunity to be God’s light in the darkness. We’ve gotten to love on children who have been rescued from being sold and now have a chance to understand their true worth. We walked through the streets on Valentine’s Day and handed out cookies to prostitutes and victims of this industry with notes that read things like, “You are so loved.” God has allowed us to show His very real love to these people and to cover this country with prayers of a transformational change.
In addition to all of these bigger moments are the small moments, the lessons God is teaching me, and the way He is shaping all of our lives to continue this work even after the race is over. And I’m thankful for all of this.
I hope you can see that God is doing incredible work in these places, and by supporting me, you have allowed Him to work through you. The thing is that God doesn’t need us to do any of this; in His power, He could do it all on His own. And it’s so humbling to realize that while this is true, He has allowed us all (including each of you) to be part of it. Why? Because He loves us that much! Because it’s about us too. Because God knows what we love… whether it’s a good adventure, a beautiful sunset, stories of inspiration, etc., and He wants to give us these things. And each time we watch Him move, or hear about what He is doing in the world, or see His wonders, we get a chance to be amazed and fall more in love with Him. God has absolutely done this for me, and I pray He’s doing it for all of you too, because you are very much part of this journey!
I couldn’t have dreamed of the things I would see on this trip, the experiences I would have serving God’s people, or the lessons I would learn, but I’m so thankful to be here… to see Him reaching these nations and to be His hands and feet in these places. So from the very bottom of my heart, THANK YOU for allowing Him to work through you by supporting me!
A Note on Donations: Now that I am fully funded, no further donations will go into my account; any donations made to my personal page will simply go to the Adventures in Missions organization to continue supporting this work that they are doing. However, if you still feel led to donate, please do so because people like you allow this work to keep happening. The best way is to donate to someone on my squad who still needs to meet their final deadline. The money will still be used for the exact same thing as when you donated under my name, and doing it this way will help keep them on this trip. To do so, please go to http://www.theworldrace.org/?tab=participants&group=14W0902. You will see the names of everyone on my squad and can click on their name, read their blog posts, and support them if you feel led to. As of now, the people who still need to meet their final deadline in March follow: Ronny Wilson, Brittany Neal, Craig Bass, Ashley Ganahl, Rhema Kennedy, Brittany Gonzales, Jarin Harvey, Ada Kessler, Lindsey Heller, Nicole Smith, Jenna Orabutt, Heather Snider, Andrea Dunn, Christina Cooley, Britteny Kramer, Josh Hernandez, Jasmine Evans, Tara Mulkey, Anna Murphy, Trish Draege, Jacob Quijas, Kaitlin McElroy, Sydney Roberts, Bree Rossi, and Megan Spradley. At the top of their page, you can see how much of their goal they have raised by how much of the blue bar is filled in… so please don’t donate to anyone who is 100% funded at that point because we want to help everyone reach their goal! Please let me know if you have questions about this.
Again, I can’t thank each and every one of you enough for your love and support. You’ve helped to make this incredible journey possible, and you give me motivation to keep going when it’s tough. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
With love,
Eryn
