Excited! Thankful! Flabbergasted! Blown away! Humbled! Grateful! Joyful!!!!
I leave for Launch in two days and I am FULLY FUNDED!
I knew this day was coming, but I’m still sitting here shaking as I type this.
I want to say thank you to each and every person who chose to partner with me financially. You have invested in me, in the Kingdom of God, in the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ around the world, and in my own personal transformation and journey over the next 11 months. I am so honored by and grateful for each and every one of you!
Each World Racer has a different fundraising story; we all hit our full funding in a different way. Because fundraising is a challenge, it’s usually our first “World Race Lesson in Trusting God.” Here’s mine.
When I was accepted to the World Race in January, I knew there was a large price tag, but I never doubted God’s ability to faithfully provide for me financially. I expected Him to! I thought, “He doesn’t call us into places where He doesn’t provide for us.” And, “My God is (a lot) bigger than $18,017.” And, “Thousands of Racers have met their funding; I will too.”
What I didn’t expect was how He would provide for me.
I had all sorts of plans for how I would get the funding. We learned here that starting the fundraising process for me was a huge hurdle of fear, anxiety, and shame. And yet, God provided for me in His own way; not by my plans, but by His – despite my fear, anxiety, and shame that threatened to snuff out my faith.
A few weeks ago, when I was sitting at 98% funded, I began to feel guilty. I was so close to being at 100%, and I thought about my squadmates who are – to this day – fighting for their funding. I have sisters who are orchestrating fundraisers every weekend of the month. I have sisters doing manual labor to earn funding. I have sisters selling possessions, including beloved cars, for their funding. But I’m not. I didn’t work for my funding. Sure, I put on a few fundraisers like selling t-shirts and my closet sale and the recycling drive, but I feel like didn’t do work for those. And when I thought about it, I felt guilty. Because I didn’t do anything to earn my funding; it was given to me by 111 supporters.
God provided, not because I did anything to earn it, but because He loves me.
Oh man, there’s a lesson for me to learn here. Remember here and here when I talked about how I struggle to believe that God loves me or wants me unless I’m perfect? Even in my fundraising, God is yearning to teach me, “I LOVE YOU! AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO ANYTHING TO EARN THAT!!” Wow, what a good Father we have!
God loves me, not because I do anything to earn it, but because He loves me.
So thank you, dear friend, for being God’s hands and feet in this lesson. Thank you for responding to the invitation to partner with me and with God on this journey. It’s a crazy, foolish journey, but we serve a faithful, loving God.
You all have gone above and beyond to support me. People who I didn’t think knew my name wrote me checks or handed me cash. Monthly supporters faithfully gave every month. My Amazon registry was bought literally overnight. Every dollar added up and now we’re here. I couldn’t have done it without y’all.
Like I said in my last post, if you missed your chance to support me financially, I ask that you direct your donations to one of my squadmates. The Csterhood is a Body of Christ that cannot function at its best if members are not fully engaged or are missing. As we launch in three days, there are Csters who will be leaving the country without their full funding. Fundraising overseas while engaged in full-time mission work is incredibly stressful, and if they do not meet their financial deadlines, they may be at risk to coming back home early. PLEASE consider supporting one of my squadmates financially. You can access their blogs from the left-hand panel through the button that says, “Meet My Squad.” You may also send me an email ([email protected]) and I can tell you who is in need of funding. Thank you in advance for continuing to support ME in this way!
Additionally, I need all the prayer partners I can get! Here’s how you can be praying for us: safety in travelling to Cuidad Vieja (our first ministry site) and safety while we are there; opportunities to share Christ’s love and His Gospel to the people we meet; healthy communication and community on our team; peace about leaving home and joyful expectation for what God is going to do in and through us on this journey; and funding for my squadmates.
I am beyond thankful for all of you and for your partnership on this journey. This will most likely be my last post from the United States! Launch is October 6-8th and then I will be heading to Guatemala! The best way to reach me from now on will be by Facebook message, What’sApp, or email – [email protected].
Please pray for safe travels for Racers and their families to Atlanta for Launch, and pray specifically for me and my parents as we say goodbye on October 8th.
Thank you again. I’m beyond thankful.
To God be the glory forever for His goodness and faithful provision!
Jess
