Dear friends and family,
I hope this letter finds you well. I just wanted to write you to give you an update and share some new things that have been happening in my life. Some of you may know that after I graduated from university last spring I was struggling with deciding on a career path and didn’t feel led by God in any particular direction. It was hard at the time, but looking back it was probably the best thing to allow my faith and trust to grow in Him. For the past few months I have felt an overwhelming desire to get involved in missions and share God’s love around the world. As I was looking into different options a friend suggested the World Race. I was immediately interested and felt the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart to apply.
This July I have the incredible opportunity to serve as a missionary through an organization called Adventures in Missions in their World Race program. The World Race is an 11 month Christian mission trip to 11 different countries around the world, spending one month in one country. Through adventure, ministry, community, and self discovery, World Racers develop transformed hearts that call them to act on behalf of God’s kingdom around the globe. On the World Race, my team and I will serve in partnership with churches and ministries in local communities to share the Gospel. A few examples of what we will be doing include ministering to women and children who are trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, teaching English to children in poverty, volunteering in orphanages stricken with HIV and bringing restoration and hope to many tribes and nations.
The countries in which I will be sharing God’s love include the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Philippines, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia. Pretty crazy, eh? Crazy or not, I truly feel this is something God is calling me to do and has given me peace throughout making this decision. I understand that this isn’t exactly a traditional life path, but I am confident that it is a path that God has chosen for me. I hope and trust that you will join me on this journey as I prepare to be launched around the world. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with this opportunity and trust that my friends and family will support me as I plan for this next chapter in my life.
With that being said, one of the biggest challenges I will face in the upcoming months is raising financial support. In order to be fully funded I will need to raise $16,252 which will cover all of my expenses while in the field. I am writing to you to ask if you would consider partnering with me through prayer and financial support in order to make this dream a reality. If just 27 people pledged a monthly gift of $50 for 12 months, I would be fully funded. As I take this step of faith in trusting the Lord, will you prayerfully consider joining me on this journey? I have included a card that gives further instructions on how to pledge your support if you feel led to do so or you can visit my blog (kaylavanes.theworldrace.org) to donate online. If not, the support of your continued prayers is more than I could ask for. If you have any questions or want to meet up to talk about these exciting things that are happening in the next year feel free to give me a call (705-812-0829) or e-mail ([email protected]). I would love to tell you more about it!
With Love,
Kayla Van Es
