To My Family:
*If you don’t have tissues next to you, you may want to grab a few because I can be a little sappy and this is a major testimony that’s about to go down. *
This Monday I get a team update email from my mobilizer. Now, I check my emails a lot with school and everything but God told me to really read this email thoroughly. I did, Thank the Lord. I quickly emailed my amazing mobilizer about my funding status and learned that if I didn’t fundraise $2000 within 5 days I would not be able to attend training on Saturday.
Needless to say I quickly became a bit of a mess.
I messaged my teammates telling them what was happening and the unthinkable that I never expected ended up playing out. One of my teammates messaged me and asked where I was standing with my funds and how much more I needed. I told her and she did the math (I am SO happy people are good at math and God has blessed them with that brain!) She then posted not only on our Team’s Facebook page but also our group chat saying that if everyone in our squad gave $35 dollars I would be funded to go to camp.
When I saw this message I was in my night class and I truly almost fell out of my chair.
My teammates are exceptional.
I learned the saying that we have #OSquadorNoSquad. We are truly all in this together.
Now, money is a touchy subject with everyone, not just when you’re fundraising. When you’re a broke college student, paying off debt, anything- money is simply a touchy subject in general.
Tuesday evening (right before all this awesomeness with my team happened) I was grabbing dinner in the cafeteria and was able to tell some of my friends what happened. One of my friends reached into his wallet, pulled out money and handed it to me. He said he was planning on donating anyway and had been praying about what to do with his money and God was pulling him to donate and tithe and he was realized now was the time to.
Let’s head on to Wednesday shall we?
This past Sunday I spoke at an amazing church in Greenwood I’ve been able to get to know. They were so welcoming and just have some of the most incredibly beautiful souls I’ve ever encountered. Unbeknownst to me did they want to help fund me on my trip. When I heard this I instantly got Wednesday in my mind. So Wednesday rolls around and I get a call and meet up with the Pastor and we chat and he hands me a check with some of the largest numbers I have ever seen.
I went to the bank, put in cash donations I had gotten from the week before, the check, and from the garage sale over the weekend.
When I added up all the donations to my knowledge I was over my first deadline. But deposits had yet to go through so I didn’t know for sure yet if I could go.
My mobilizer asked if everyone could send a receipt to her so she could add them up and then she would know.
I got the ‘ok’ today.
Guess who’s funded for camp and going tomorrow!
God moves mountains when He wants you somewhere. People rally together to get you there. We are a family in the kingdom doing His work.
Now, it would have been really easy for me this week to simply give up, to just say “Ok Lord, it looks like I’m not going to camp. The funds aren’t there, so I’ll go in July or something right?” And believe me, there were a few moments like that. But each time, God showed me the moment when He revealed to me that I knew I was not to be in school in January I was to be elsewhere doing something greater for His Kingdom. When people asked me “How are you going to raise that much money in just a week?” I knew that God has it in His hands. Sometimes the impossible proves to be exactly opposite and be possible when we have Faith.
I wanted to give up and think that I would just go in the later months. But I know that God has a time and place for me know with the O Squad. He has allowed me to make some of the most incredible friendships with them, allowed them to encourage me, and me to encourage them throughout recent struggles and battles. He would not have had me invest in all my gear to just have it sit around my house for months without letting me use it in more than just my living room. There is a serious reason that all of this happens last minute, it’s so I don’t give up and I continue to Look to Him for all my Faith.
So, my beloved O squad, I cannot wait to meet you tomorrow. And yes, you will be bombarded with hugs, just fyi 🙂
