My name is Katy Herder and I am twenty-one years old and God is calling me to be a part of something so much greater than myself. Lord willing I will be leaving in January 2017 to embark on an 11-month journey across the world to serve “the least of these.”
I will be traveling to Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Montenegro, Romania, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia. Each day in these countries will look different. They could consist of construction, VBS camps, spending time with orphans, praying for the sick, spreading encouragement in rehabilitation centers or befriending prostitutes. The days also could look a little slower and consist of simple things like grocery shopping, cooking, praying through the streets of our communities and spending time growing together as a team.
I feel called to do this trip because I believe God has put a desire in my heart to live in full abandonment to him. For some time I have been praying two things consistently: One, for God to change my heart, to bind it to him where I will not be shaken and I will not be moved. The second is a prayer of offering. I have prayed that God would take my life as an offering, that he will use it however he desires to glorify and to testify his name. Like God asked Isaiah in Isaiah 6:8, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” I pray that my life be a life that declares each morning, “Here I am! Send me.” Whether that means God sends me to talk to a cashier in the gas station or God sends me to talk to a prostitute in Thailand, I pray that I will never lose sight of his path and that my ears will never forget the sound of his call.
At this time in my life, God is calling me to be a disciple through the nations to encourage or develop other disciples and enable them to then go and create other disciples. I will be fulfilling this call through the organization Adventures in Missions in their program called the World Race. If you feel so inclined to help me financially on this journey your money will be used for training, a MissionSafe medical insurance plan, food, lodging, sea, land and air travel. I will need to have at least $10,000 of my funds raised by the time I leave in January, though I would love to leave being fully funded.
Each and every donation no matter how big or small will make a difference. It means so much more to me than just a sum of money if you decide to donate. In the fundraising process God has blessed me by reminding me of the network of individuals that have so generously poured into my life. If you have read this far it is likely you have some sort of connection to me, or you just stumbled upon this and were intrigued enough to continue on. Either way, I want to thank you. It brings tears to my eyes when I think of all the amazing people that God has placed in my life. God has given me each one of you to say just what I needed to hear at that one time, to hug me when I was feeling down, to laugh with me about the little things, to cry with me over the broken things, and to rejoice with me in times of joy.
Whether you are an old friend, a new friend, a family friend, a work friend, a school friend, a church friend, I want you to be behind me on this. When I envision myself getting on that first plane, or feeling discouraged in ministry, or scared that I can’t do whatever God is asking or sharing the gospel in a VBS camp, I see the Lord’s angel armies behind me and I see you. I would not be able to fulfill my calling without you and with you I will be able to go into every situation I face knowing there is an army of believers, family and friends behind me, fighting the good fight.
I promise you that I will fight with all that I have, knowing that I am fighting for something so much bigger than myself. I will be a fighter, a warrior for God’s kingdom. I will fight for justice, I will fight for forgiveness, I will fight for the fatherless, I will fight for the heart broken and betrayed… and hopefully you will be right behind me.
God has wrecked me with his love by putting individuals like you in my life. I would be so grateful to have a body of believers, family and friends supporting me, praying for me and fighting with and for me to do this. I will be posting my thoughts and stories on my blog and encourage you to subscribe to follow my journey prior to launch and then to see how your donations and prayers impact my ministry once I leave. Thank you for your faith in me! Love you guys.
