India is brilliant. It's bright, crowded, friendly, flavorful, and magical beyond belief. The people we meet never fail to leave me in awe. The hospitality here puts even the finest of restaurants to shame. The traffic is intense, but a wonderful adventure. India has changed me. I don't say this lightly. I'm changed.
The other morning, I woke up with an immense gratitude toward those who brought me here. The ones who opened their wallet toward the spread of the Gospel from my hands and heart. The ones who decided their hard earned money was worth this vision God flooded my head with. When Jesus first planted the thought of this experience into my mind, doubt immediately took over.
"$15,500 is too much," I reasoned with God.
"Too much for who? Because it isn't too much for me," he responded.
You have to understand where I come from. My mother raised me entirely by herself. By no means were we in any sort of poverty, but we never had an overabundance of funds. I navigated through two years of Bible college by the grace of God and had every intention of moving onto my junior year at a university close to home. I was living an entirely normal life.
And then came my wonderful, abnormal God who speaks in ways I rarely can comprehend and ravishes my heart in ways most people wouldn't believe.
"I want you to go. I have a plan for you."
People always told me that the funds would come in. When I would ask how, they would respond with a smirk. "They just will."
This answer seemed wishy-washy to me and I was not a fan. At the time, I was working at a kiosk in my local mall. My first donation came from my kind boss and it was $20. I was ecstatic. I felt more gratitude then I can ever remember feeling before that moment.
Money came in slowly at first. My account remained at $650 for a long, long time. I was beginning to question this so-called plan. And then God moved. Customers at the kiosk would want to chit-chat. They would ask about my future and when they heard about the Race, they wanted to know more. And then the strangest thing would happen. They would donate. Right there. To someone they met five minutes prior. Some knew Jesus, others hadn't a clue. But all across the board, they said they felt something in their heart telling them to give me money. I watched God move in these conversations. I saw the Kingdom being built through fundraising. And it didn't seem so scary anymore. Those months showed me just how passionate I was about seeing the Kingdom of God come to earth and spread like wildfire.
Now my account sits at $12,500. Many people I know and love have given me money that I know was a sacrifice for them. Other people I do not know placed their hard earned money into the account of a girl desperate to see Jesus' face shine through these countries and they haven't even met her. So, to these people, I say thank you. I don't think thank you is enough, but I'm more or less speechless. I stand amazed by your generosity. You challenge me to give, no matter the cost, to see people know Jesus. I am changed, not only by India, but by you.
I am here because of you. Because of your $20 or because of your $200, I am here. I get to draw pictures with orphans. I get to hold the abandoned elderly's hand. I get to pray over those taking their last breaths. I get to live this abnormal life with this abnormal God because of you.
So grateful doesn't even cut it.
But it isn't over. The miracle can't stop here. I still have $3,000 left to raise before I can be guaranteed to stay for the entirety of the Race. And I need help. My heart is to pour myself out in every way imaginable. Manual labor, door-to-door ministry, praying for healing, holding hands, anguishing with people, laughing with the untouchables. These things comprise my heart. How I long to be here. How I long to see Jesus' heart move these communities. How I long for every knee to bow and every tongue to confess Jesus is Lord.
So I would ask this of you. Share my heart. If you can't come to India yourself, share my story. Share my need. Share it to your family, your friends, on your facebook. Share with your church, your community group. This is not just a trip. This changes things. This is everything. This is the Gospel. The living, breathing Gospel with legs going to four more countries desperate for something that they can't seem to grasp. Send me there. Let's go together.
Because the truth is where I go, you go. Because I think about you all the time. We go together.
Hand in hand.
I can't do this without you.
I simply can't.
So to those who have donated, thank you. And to those who haven't, please prayerfully consider doing so. I know it's not the easiest decision, but people are being impacted all around the world. Lives are changing. It's a crazy, unpredictable, sensational revival stirring in this place and anything you can give keeps this wonderful dream a reality.
I love you. All of you.
Photo credit: Kristin Wood and Tayler Patton
