Hey Everyone,
Please consider this my two weeks notice. I don’t know about you guys but the realness of leaving is beginning to set in. Last Wednesday was my last day at Arden’s Garden. Regulars came by to say goodbye to me and wish me luck. It has been such an honor to work there. The whole day was bittersweet but so good. I also wrote out my first attempt at a packing list…I’m overwhelmed…You guys I have to fit my life for a year in a 60L pack! Lord help me. Please pray for the packing process…seriously I want you pray for me while I pack.
I want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has donated to my trip so far. You guys have no idea how amazing you are and how much it means to me to have your support and you prayers. As launch is draws nearer and nearer I want give you guys a rundown of important information so bear with me this will probably be a bit long. Thank you for taking the time to read this.
Financial Update
As of this moment (3:42pm on Monday afternoon) I have $5366.37 in my support account. I still need $2200 to be able to launch with my team on June 30th. I know this is a large number but I am fully believing and trusting in God to provide.
If 50 people gave $40 TODAY I would meet my next financial deadline TODAY.
You can donate to my trip by clicking the “Support Me” tab on my blog and making an online donation or mailing a check. If you mail a check please make sure that it is made out to Adventures in Mission and that you write JESSICAJOHNSONRAVIN in the memo line to make sure the donation gets to me.
Upcoming Deadlines:
After meeting my next deadline of $7500 there are still two other important financial deadlines.
- October 1, 2014 $11,000 is due
- January 1, 2014 16,300 is due
There are several ways that you can help me to meet these deadlines while I am in the field.
If you haven’t already considered a monthly donation please do. If 35 people committed today to give $100 a month over the next 3 months I would be fully funded in 3 MONTHS. You can still continue to give through my blog site and mailing a checks in. If you would be interested in a monthly donation but don’t want to worry about the online processing fee you can call Adventures in Missions and set up and account through dynapay.
All donations made to my trip are 100% tax deductible.
Launch and Logistics:
My official launch date is June 30th. So what exactly is Launch? Great question. Launch is 4-day training event. We will get more logistical information about travel plans, have endless worship…because worship is awesome, get trainings and useful information about sharing the Gospel and doing ministry, safety information, and spend lot of time praying over each other.
On July 3rd I will be getting on a plane and saying adios to the USofA for 11 months. There have been a few changes to my route. We are no longer going to Turkey (I know this is sad. I was really looking forward to spending time in Turkey and drinking their awesome coffee J), we will be headed to India sooner than we originally thought, and Albania will not be the first person we got too…we still are going to Albania though. As of right now we do not know the first country will be visiting but it will be in Eastern Europe.
Contact:
My goal is to blog once a week with a monthly update. In some countries we will have easy access to Internet and blogging and communicating back home will be really easy. In other countries Internet will not be as accessible making blogging and communicating back home more difficult. If you want to contact me in at any point the best way to do that would be through the “contact” tab on my blog page or emailing me at [email protected].
At training camp this was said to us. “While you are home be 100% present so you can be 100% absent, while you are in the field be 100% absent so you can 100% present.” This is how I am going to attempt to look at communication. I will be blogging as much as I can. Blogging is a huge priority in keeping each of you up to date on what is going on, how the Lord is moving, processing, and general updates. As much as I may want to I will not always be able to Skype, Facebook, or email back home. The Lord is taking me away for a reason. I wan to be as present there as I can so I can absorb all that his is doing in me and around me.
Know this. I want to hear from you guys. There will be days that I need you encouragements, wise words, and incite so much. There will be days when I really need to vent or cry or just be ridiculous with people who already know me and have known me. Opening up my blog or email and seeing comments and emails from my supporters, family, and friends will brighten up my day. So keep me in the loop, share funny stories, random thoughts, pictures, high and lows. I want to see your pictures. I want to hear your stories. I want to celebrate with you. My promise to you is when I can will do the same. I will share as much with you as can. I want you to be apart of this journey with me. Your love, support, prayers and finances are a huge investment in me. I want to see, hear, and feel as much of this journey as you can.
Thank you so much for reading this update. Thank so much for investing in me. As always please contact me if you have any questions, thoughts, comments, and encouragements. I want to hear from you guys!
