I want to start this post off with a declaration of His goodness. GOD IS SO GOOD! I seriously cannot fathom the love He has for me and the provision that He has given me. It’s astounding.
After a long and anxiety-ridden journey of applying for this amazing opportunity and going through interview after interview, I was finally accepted into the World Race Gap Year in April! I was so jazzed and excited about the trip, but I had no idea how to get there. $12,500 seemed like WAY too much to do all by myself, and I was discouraged almost immediately.
You could tell by the way people responded to that amount, if they believed in God or not- “Oh. Well, you have the funds to back yourself up, right? You’ve been saving? Not trying to be mean, but that’s a lot of money and I really hope you’ve worked hard for this.” Or “OH MY GOODNESS! This is so exciting! Nothing like a time of great need to really witness The Lord’s goodness and provision, huh?”
I had been planning on a couple of ways to fundraise, with sending out support letters, a yardsale filled with donations (click here to read how that went!), a concert night, etc. But what I chose to do was take my time- after all, I did have 3 months to raise the first portion of it. I decided to trust.
By the beginning of June sometime, I had written my support letter and sent some of them out, and thought about fundraisers. Then I get an email from my mobilizer on June 11th, saying that I needed to have $9,000 in my Adventures in Missions (AIM) account by June 27th. At that point I had $800 raised, and I was screwed.
I immediately hyperventilated, decided that it was impossible to do without Jesus, and I wasn’t going to make the deadline. At that point, I decided to obey, and started working my butt off to fundraise for the trip.
I called my mom in tears and got some encouragement from her, wrote a blog post about what I had just found out, went on Facebook and pleaded with people to support me, and decided to plan a yardsale.
Every day I went onto Facebook and shared either a blog post or my Home page, asking people to donate. Almost every day I went on Facebook and asked people to give me stuff for my upcoming yardsale. And I sent out over 220 support letters to all of my family and friends. I was a cat with it’s tail on fire. I was doing everything I possibly could to get this money.
And the money slowly started trickling in. I remember at one point I was talking with one of my mentors, and I told them that I had $3500, but that meat that I still had $5500 left to raise. I was discouraged, because I only had about 5 days left until that deadline, and I wasn’t even half way. But what they told me was this: “Do not look at what God hasn’t done yet. Look at what he has done. Look how far you’ve come, and be expectant for the rest.”
So instead of saying, “Thanks God, but I need more.” I would say “Whoah. Thank you God for everything you have done, and thank you for everything you’re doing.” It became simple to trust him.
By the time that I had the yardsale, which was the weekend before the deadline that Monday, I still needed $4600. I was praying for $3000 from the yardsale even though I was told that was an impossible number to get, and I was trusting Him with my entire being.
We ended up getting so many donations for the yardsale (like mentioned above, check out my post about what God did!), that we ended up making over $2800!! I was in awe of what He did! I’m still not entirely sure how He did that!
That sunday, it was announced that I would be going on the mission trip, and people came up to me and started handing me money, saying things like, “God asked me to give this to you.” or “I felt like I was supposed to bring cash with me today, and it was for you.” I ended up receiving another $230 at church!
It was like God was saying, Oh, you want $3000? How about a little bit extra? Like, $30 extra??
I started out this entire process with the thoughts of, “Hey God, thanks for this opportunity. If I could raise even $10,000 for this trip, I will cover the rest. You know I’ve been saving since I was 11, so I can just use that money if need be.” But what He answered me with, was “Okay, sounds good! I’m so glad you’re willing to pay as much as you can! But I’m not calling you to send yourself, I’m calling you to go. I’ll take care of the rest.”
I should also probably mention that at this point, I had been working so hard nannying and babysitting, that I had saved up enough money to get about half of my gear. But God also took care of that! I had people handing me cash and checks made out directly to me (which I couldn’t put into my AIM account), and it paid for all of my gear! I had about $1500 to spend on gear! I mean WHAT?! So not only did I know that He was doing some incredible things with the funds for my trip, He was also stirring individuals’ hearts to pay for the things I wasn’t ben asking Him for! (Not gonna lie, even as I’m typing this I’m tearing up again! He is SO good!)
So at the end of the yardsale weekend, I still needed $1,600 to meet my deadline. I looked at what He had already done. I focused on His love for me. And I realized that there was almost nothing else I could do- It was in His hands.
I was talking to my mentor about it, and I told them that at this point, God had proved to be my ultimate provider in every way, and I knew it would happen. It would be no effort at all for Him to get the last $1,600. It would be the equivalent of Him twitching his pinky finger, and the money would come.
Monday (the deadline) came around, and I knew that all I could do was pray. I was exhausted but pumped from the past weekend, and my heart was in a confident, trusting, and anticipatory state. I was thanking Him for everything He had done, and just resting in His presence. “God, you are my ultimate provider. You are my comforter and my rock. I know that this $1,600 will be coming in, so I thank you in advance. You are so good.”
Then whaddya know? About an hour later, someone walks up to me and hands me a $1,500 check.
Just. Like. That.
Boom.
Obviously I started crying. Like, that’s a no-brainer. Of course all my emotion would come up in tears.
So I went on Facebook, and posted something along the lines of, “Yeah, um so someone just handed me all the money that I need to make my deadline except for $100. Anyone want to partner with me on the mission field for $100?” And I had three takers.
So not only did God meet the deadline, but He went over and above! I was on my way to fulfilling the full $12,500! I checked in on my account with AIM, and in that time that I was posting on Facebook, $700 more was processed into my account that I wasn’t even aware of!
A week later, I had so many donations that I was fully funded. Fully flipping funded.
In 20 days, God had given me all the provision that I needed. And then some. I ended up going over my goal by about $3,000. Holy cow!
Let’s say it together, shall we? God is GOOD!
Let this be a reminder to you- He is your ultimate provider. He is your ultimate comforter. He is your strength and your energy. And He is your biggest Cheerleader.
Declare this over your finances, your faith, your illness, your heartbreak, your weariness, your injury, your friend, everything.
Because Fun Fact: God cares about the little things in your life. He cares about even your unspoken desires, and He cares about your needs. There is nothing He wouldn’t do for you! You’re in His thoughts always! Be at peace, for He has you in His arms, and there is nothing He wouldn’t help you with. Be blessed!
