This is the second, and final, part to my previous post about financially related questions surrounding my trip….
2. “Don’t you have a church to support you?”
While I do have a church that I have been involved with for years, including a small group as of this past year, they will sadly not be supporting me financially. I am grateful to call Elevation church my own and have been blessed to be a part of it. However, one major downfall of attending a mega-church (with more than 15,000 in attendance weekly at over 10 sites) is that individuals are not given the same exposure and financial support as they would find in a smaller church. Because of the huge number of people that attend, there is not a way for them to fairly share the news of one’s individual trip or needs without doing so for the many others in similar situations.
I have met with my local campus pastor and discussed my trip and needs. They will definitely be praying for me during this journey, but I am on my own in terms of fundraising. While Elevation donates millions of dollars to local and national outreach programs and organizations (and spends countless hours volunteering and serving within our local communities), they do not seem to have a system for supporting individuals going out as I am. I get the logistics, but I would be dishonest if I said this did not bother me some as the main mission and purpose of the church is to spread the Gospel to all nations, and empower and enable one another to do just that. So, more than ever, I need the whole church body backing me, regardless of denomination, location, size, etc.
3. “11 countries in 11 months huh? Seems more like a vacation than a mission trip. Why should I help fund your world travels?”
I am beyond excited to travel to 3 different continents and experience all of the different people, culture, food and beauty they behold. I imagine there will be some pretty cool adventures and experiences along the way, but I also know with 100% certainty that there will be just as many, if not more, challenges and difficulties during my time overseas. For those familiar with what the World Race is all about and exactly what our days will consist of, the thought of calling it a vacation is laughable. If I really just wanted to travel to different countries and have a good time, there are far easier ways to do so. I doubt Zimbabwe (with it’s extreme poverty and disease rates) or Honduras (which is typically referred to as the murder capital of the world) would ever top my list of places to visit for fun. Even so, I could easily save up money and travel to any of these places and stay in far nicer accommodations if that were my main goal.
I have talked with several previous World Racers (yes, that truly is what we call each other) and have been following the blogs of some of the teams currently overseas and the one common theme among all of the stories shared is this…..it is an amazingly unique year in which major growth can occur and it is also going to be one of the hardest years. Besides the understandable stress of adapting to a new place and lifestyle (while surrounded by people who often don’t speak any of your language), just as you begin forming strong bonds and growing more comfortable, you then move on to a completely different country to start the process over again. In addition, it is pretty much guaranteed that you will get sick multiple times during the course of the trip, from the more common travelers diarrhea and foodborne illnesses to more serious problems such as malaria, dengue fever, typhoid, etc. If you want to find out about some of the more difficult realities of this mission trip, you only need to ask those who have been or are currently on the World Race themselves. One squad currently out in India at this time has already experienced multiple medical problems from 3 racers needing emergency appendectomies to a serious car accident leaving one girl with a broken back. From lighthearted annoyances (World Race Problems) to more uncomfortable ones (Why the World Race Won’t Be the Best Year of Your Life), there is story after story of the hardships faced, and also the lessons and growth that came out of them.
This mission trip ultimately is all about bringing God’s Word, and love, to nations and people that desperately need it. We are going to help temporarily take care of some of their physical and emotional needs so that we will have the opportunity to share a message which can permanently provide for their spiritual needs.
