I trust this letter finds you well. You are someone who has been an influence in my life, and I would like to share about an opportunity I have been given. After graduating from UW-Stout in December of 2007, I spent a short amount of time adventuring in New Zealand, and then took a job in Waverly, IA with Terex Corporation. I came to admire my older and wiser colleagues at Terex for their knowledge and consideration, and I recognized some of this was gained by means of international experience. At the same time, I found myself searching for a deliberate way to strengthen my relationship with God, and to spend some time serving Him in a manner more direct than my accustomed way of living.
In the winter of 2009, my cousin returned from a three-month trip to Kenya with Georgia-based Adventures In Missions (AIM), and told me about an extended and more ‘hard-core’ program called The World Race. Using The World Race, AIM deploys hundreds of twenty-something Christians every year, with each squad traveling to eleven countries in eleven months. The mission is to be the hands and feet of God on the earth – rebuilding in the wake of natural disasters, serving children who have been orphaned by illness or genocide, bringing light to people who have been repressed by their governments or society – and encouraging ‘Racers to be broken and strengthened by these experiences.
I am pleased to share with you that I have been accepted for The World Race leaving in July 2010, an adventure centering on the people of these nations: the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Romania, Turkey, Mozambique, Malawi, Cambodia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines. Of course, a journey of this magnitude has significant financial cost, and $14,300 will cover all my lodging, meals, and travel expenses during the eleven months abroad.
God has blessed me these past two years, and I feel compelled to use this trip as a means of returning some of those blessings to His cause. I am grateful and humbled to cover half the required funds. If you have a desire to join me in this investment by making any contribution to the remaining $7150, I will be the steward of these resources and do all I can to help us carry out our mission. Most important, my teammates and I need your prayers. In addition to our safety, please pray we would be given wisdom to know the needs of those we seek, and enough strength and compassion to be the answer.
I have enclosed a response card and pre-addressed envelope which invites you to share in this ministry. Please make checks payable to Adventures In Missions and return the response card with your donation to Adventures In Missions PO Box 534470 Atlanta, GA 30353-4470. The response card will provide AIM with the information necessary to send you a receipt for your donation. Please send all donations by 14-May-2010.
Adventures In Missions is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donors will receive receipts for their gifts with the understanding that the disbursement of those gifts lies completely at the discretion of Adventures In Missions and that the gifts are nonrefundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. Gifts may be tax deductible; please consult a tax advisor.
Please visit my blog at the address below, where you can follow along, learn about specific needs each month, and leave your comments. I hope to connect with each of you personally to share more about this ministry and how you can be involved. I look forward to answering any questions you might have about The World Race, and to hearing about what’s going on in your life.
Jake Van Norman
