Thank you to all of my amazing and generous supporters! Your faithfulness, generosity, kindness and love is now sending me to the nations!!!
Thank you to all of my faithful encouragers, generous supporters, and bold prayer warriors! If you want to join my prayer warrior team, click here and write Prayer or Prayer Warrior in the box. Thank you!
Listen to THIS! Click here-Suggested song to listen to as you read: Trust in You- Lauren Daigle
From the moment I heard about the World Race, I knew I wanted to do this.
It was a dream- and now it’s coming true!
It was something I wanted to do with everything in me.
I prayed about it and lifted it up to God and He confirmed that He was calling me to go- in so many ways!
When I first saw the amount I would need to raise- $16,962, I was not sure how this would happen.
Of course I could not do this on my own!
He was patient with me when I asked for confirmation and more confirmation.
I almost couldn’t believe it would be possible at all.
But I kept praying and trusting.
I trusted that God would provide, even if it didn’t make sense and I couldn’t see how.
I had my moments of doubt, of course.
I knew that God called me to it, but got especially worried as I got closer to the deadline for training camp and was still a little short. But God made it happen!
I got even more worried when it got closer to actual launch (January 7th!) and when the official deadline of December 18th passed and I still didn’t know how this amount would be reached.
It was November- weeks before the December deadline and I still needed nearly $7,000.
Many people compare this journey to a roller-coaster ride.
I would say it’s a roller-coaster ride in the pitch black dark with so many winding twists and hair-splitting turns and mysterious tunnels and near crashes that you almost forget which way is up and sometimes you just want to get off the ride!
Especially because you can’t see where you’re going when it’s so dark in those tunnels!
The roller-coast ride may still be going, but I am smiling and praising God now and trusting Him again more and more.
I always did like roller-coasters anyway!
It is a learning curve on this ride, (pun may or may not be intended!) but it is so worth it!
As more time passed, I kept moving forward.
I pushed past the feelings of discouragement.
I knew God could do this!
Did I forget? Yes.
Did I doubt? Yes.
Did I remind myself to trust God, the King of the Universe, again! YES!
When people asked me if I was sure about this, I still knew God could do it.
When family members and people in my life expressed doubt, I knew God would do it.
When people asked how this would happen in about a month’s time without the money coming in….Yes, it was so hard, but I knew God had called me to this.
I didn’t forget that even in the moments of doubt or fear.
My friends would remind me that God would provide.
“If it’s God’s will, it’s God’s bill.”
“Don’t give up, God will do this!”
“God is your Father and He will take care of you! He will provide.”
“I am glad to see you’re not giving up. Other people might. Keep trusting Him.”
“As you said, you know this is what God has for you. He will make it happen!”
I was so encouraged when an amazing woman of God told me this following story: (Paraphrased)
God can and will show up in the 11th hour. For my mission trip, it was the day before the deadline. Man’s deadlines are not God’s deadlines.
I know a girl who hadn’t met her deadline for her trip and she went to the airport, trusting in God’s calling for her to go on that trip.
It was provided for at the airport!
“I guess I’m going to the airport!” I said, encouraged and remembering to trust in God again.
Fundraising is really not an easy thing. It’s not even just a challenge to get over.
It can be the hardest thing to ask people for support for something God is calling you to do and not to get a response as you’d hope for.
However, you must remember that your identity, your worth, your calling is NOT tied to how people respond to you.
They might not see your vision for this.
That’s okay. God gave you the vision.
They might not understand your heart in this. God knows and gave you the heart for it.
They might not believe God called you to this. That may be hard, but again- God didn’t tell them, He told you!
There’s no easy answer. God doesn’t do things the same way for everyone.
We are all made uniquely in Him and He calls us to do different things for Him in different ways.
He provides in different ways. In beautiful ways.
That’s what can be exciting.
That’s where you can look back in amazement.
That God was there with you the whole time and He had the perfect plan all along.
It was November and I still needed $6700 to go. How would this happen?!
I kept trying and worked harder.
Until I could not go further in my own strength. I could not do it all on my own.
I asked God for helpers to be raised up towards the end of November.
I knew I needed His help.
It was a process of letting go and not trusting in my own strength. It was trusting more in God and putting it in His hands.
December hit and the donations started coming in every couple days or so.
A couple of anonymous donations came in. A couple of my coworkers gave towards my trip on the last couple days I worked.
Results came in from fundraising. But I was still a long way off.
The December 18th deadline passed and I was still not there yet.
Then, right after Christmas, $1000 was gifted to my account.
I was amazed and so thankful for the outpouring of love and support from people around me and from people I didn’t expect!
I was still quite a ways off to meet my goal to go in about 10 days time.
I didn’t know how this would happen in such a short time but was still trusting Him.
Then, one night I received an email titled: “World Race Check-In”
Was it someone from the Adventures in Missions office?
Curiously, I clicked to open it. It was from someone I did not know.
A kind woman with a family and children of her own. She briefly explained how last year she had been so blessed with following the journey of a squad on their Race.
The last couple of weeks, she had been reading my blog and prayed how she could help.
How much do you still need for your next goal to be able to go? She asked.
I was in awe and replied with the details. I thanked her for her reaching out to me and for how much this encouraged me.
I needed $2400.
I thought about how if God provided in this way, this would be hands down, no question, only God.
A miracle.
The next morning, I saw that a gift came through on my World Race account page.
She had gifted the whole $2400!
This was God’s provision in an unexpected way through one of His people to show me He is there. He provides!
I was amazed. Thrilled. Speechless.
I was really going on the Race! This meant I was now at the $10,000 mark raised for Adventures in Missions and could go on the Race!
I was going on the Race in a week.
It was really happening!
God called me on this and He provided in such an amazing way so I would know it was Him and be encouraged and strengthened for this amazing journey. So that I would not lose trust in Him when the the next challenges on the coaster came along.
How’s that for a roller-coaster twist?
But that’s not all that happened- stay tuned for Part 2 to see what else God did!
If you feel led to help me meet my next goals for the Race so I can do the work God has called me to: sharing His love in practical, real ways for the Kingdom, then please join me in this journey around the world today!
(See what the World Race might look like and why I’m going here.)
The easiest way to give is to click on the Support Me tab at the top of the page or click here.
Subscribe for Updates to follow the journey around the world- click Subscribe at the top of the page or click here!
My Goals:
- $3,900 – Due 9/25/2015 (Fundraising Goal 1) Completed!
- $10,000 – Due 12/18/2015 (Fundraising Goal 2) Now Completed!
- $13,000 – Due 2/29/2016-Leap Year (!) (Fundraising Goal 3)
- $16,962 – Due 4/30/2016 (Fundraising Goal 4)
Paypal: [email protected] I set this up for cash donations that can be used towards other travel expenses such as vaccines, travel equipment & gear, travel money, or airfare costs as well to and from the take off location! There are additional expenses not covered as well, and this will also help to create a buffer for when I return to the states after the Race.
#jensjourneygo
The World Race Journey:
January-Costa Rica February-Nicaragua March-Honduras April-Bolivia May-Chile June-Balkans July-Greece August-Romania September-Ethiopia October-Rwanda November-Uganda
Thank you!!!!!!
