I’ve been on several mission trips in the last 4 years. I’ve been to Kazakhstan ($3,800), Thailand for 3 months ($4,000) and Thailand for 2 weeks ($2,800ish). Equaling to a grand total of about $10,600, give or take a few hundred.
I’m 21. The only job i’ve had is partime daycare worker and babysitter. I come from a regular working class family. We never went without but we never went on spontanious shopping sprees in dallas either.
All this to say, I’ve done a LOT of fundraising in the last 4 years. I’ve learned how to set up fundraisers. I’ve learned what works (restaurant nights) and what doesn’t work (babysitting nights). I’ve learned the importance of speaking in churches, sunday schools, one-on-one, blogging, ect. Most importantly I’ve learned that the only thing I can do is trust God to provide.
But let’s be honest.
FUNDRAISING SUCKS!
I’m a control freak. I like to know when my funds are going to come.
I’m impatient. I’ve checked my WR fundraising link everyday thinking maybe someone just donated all of it to me and I don’t even have to worry about it! (this didn’t happen either)
But above all, I HATE having to ask people for money. I’ll babysit for ya, housesit, house clean, í’ll even rub your feet! I’ll set up fundraisers. I’ll make tshirts. I probably won’t give up coffee…but I’d make you coffee!
But sending out those fundraising letters is so hard for me everytime I go on a mission trip. It’s hard because I know no matter how hard I fundraise or work, it won’t be enough. I have to rely on other people, and for some reason that’s just insanely hard for me to do.
I also think that’s why God didn’t give me a surplus of money because he wants us to work together. He wants some of us to be parents to the future generation. He wants some of us to teach children, teenagers, college kids, to grow in education and in their walk with God. He wants some of us to have a mission field right here in America. He wants some of us to go to other nations. But he wants ALL of us to support each other. Whether that’s with an encouraging word, helping out during hard times, praying for each other, looking out for each other, sticking up for each other, or financially supporting each other.
I do truely believe that God wants me to be a missionary overseas, and if that means I will be support raising for the rest. of. my. life. Then so be it. I’ll keep sending out those letters, making T-shirts, having restaurnt nights, babysitting, housesitting, cat/dog/bird/lemur/kuala/hamster/guine pig sitting, if that means that I get to do what I love most.
So yeah, that’s all. Just needed to get that one off of my chest. Bless you if you read this. And bless me if you want by clicking that support button on the side. 😉
#fundraising #alldayerrday #hashtag
