Hello faithful supporters! I just wanted to update all of you quickly on how fundraising for my missions trip is going. All of you have helped me reach to my first goal of $5,000!! Thank you!! Now I need your help again to reach my second goal of $10,000 by August 24!
On April 15 I held my first fundraising event and it was such a great event! It was so encouraging to see so many of my supporters in one place. I had the chance to talk personally to each of them and thank them for helping to make this a reality. After the event I felt so encouraged, remembering that I am not alone. I have so many supporters that want to see me succeed and grow closer to God on this journey I am about to start. At the event I was able to share a little bit more information about my trip. I invited Malorie Finley who completed the 11 countries 11 months missions trip in 2016 to share about some of her struggles and joys on the trip, and what God opened her eyes to after the Race. One thing she said that really stuck out to me was while she was in India her group was not allowed to say the name of Jesus. I suppose I should have known that, but I did not realize that saying his name would be a problem. And that got me thinking and wondering how me and my team could spread the story of Jesus without saying his name. Living that way is a way that I never had to worry about growing up in a free society where everyone has the right to freedom of speech, and religion. So traveling to a place where that is not a freedom is going to be a difficult transition and one I will need to rely on God to help me make. Then I shared what I will be doing on my missions trip, after that I opened it up to questions (which Malorie also was a huge help on!). Lastly there was a time of prayer.
Going back to the question and answer section I was asked one question that in the moment I did not know how to answer but now I do. The question was, “Does anything scare you about your trip?” In the moment I didn’t know how to respond, to be completely honest. I had been worried about where I was going to find the money to go that I hadn’t stopped to think about the trip itself. So since then I have been thinking about an answer to the question. And I come to the conclusion that I am not afraid of how I will change, because I have been asking God to challenge me and change me for a long time. But I am actually scared of how my definition of home will change. I am worried if when I come back if I’ll even want to stay here anymore because I would have gotten so used to a different way of life. That is, one where I wake up every day and instead of consulting a calendar ask God what his plan for that day is instead. I know that my journey is just about to start so I am going to give that worry to God right away. But if you could please pray for safe, peaceful transitions from country to country as I am on my journey I would appreciate it a lot. Lastly I have one more prayer request to share. The 10 day training camp in Georgia is approaching soon, July 10-20, but there are still some supplies that I need that I do not have yet, and I’m a little nervous of traveling there by myself. Please pray for God’s comforting hand as I prepare and travel.
I am looking forward to hosting another fundraising event! If you have any suggestions feel free to comment below, I’d love to see your ideas. Everyone, thank you for your continued faithful support!
