Fundraising. The very word sends shivers down my spine. I whine, I worry, I fret, I fear. The what ifs far outnumber the days I have left until the next deadline. I sit, staring at that number- $17,561… and that’s in AMERICAN dollars, so I do the conversion and it grows bigger still. I am reminded of all the money I am losing by ending my contract early in order to attend training camp in June. I’m going the wrong way! I feel defeated before I’ve really begun. One word fills my mind. How?
Like many, I’m not a fan of fundraising. The idea of asking people for money is unsettling. In fact, I have actually told myself in the past that I would never do it. I’m sure God laughed when he heard that. Here we are just one day after my first deadline of $5,000 and I breathe a sigh of relief. I made it.
Correction: God made it.
I write this truly humbled by what God is teaching me through this season, and I want to give Him all the glory for everything I am about to say. I share this with you completely in awe of Him.
To begin this test they call fundraising, I held a Paint Night event. It seemed to come together easily enough: a friend offered her apartment as a venue, another baked up a storm to keep everyone’s tummy happy, a coworker agreed to lead the guests through the painting, and a principal of the school agreed to lend the use of some tables and chairs (thank you so much to those amazing people!). The problem came as I gathered supplies. After purchasing all the canvases at my local art store, I only had half of what I needed. I scoured Kuwait in search of materials. Meanwhile, all the spots for both nights had filled up. As I drove toward my last resort only two days before the event, I prayed these words: “Okay God, you provided the people, now you’re going to have to provide the supplies.” Ten minutes later, I purchased the remaining canvases I needed, plus a couple extra for good measure, which ended up getting used as well. To some this may seem less than extraordinary (the canvases may have been there regardless), but in that moment I firmly believe that God answered my prayer and showed me that he will follow through on even the smallest details.
Over the next weeks, I was left amazed time and time again by people’s generosity. So many have given toward my mission already. As my jar filled up and the deadline approached, I felt extremely grateful, but still a little worried because as much as had received, I still didn’t have enough. I sat with my lifegroup two weeks before my first deadline and explained how I wasn’t sure if God wanted me to wait and trust in Him to provide what I needed, or if he wanted me to make my own financial sacrifice and put some of my own money toward meeting my goal. Either way, I wanted to be sensitive to His voice and obedient to His plan. They prayed with me for guidance and trust, and then we resumed our regular routine and ate some brownies. That very night, though, I was given a generous donation that took my breath away – it was literally the precise amount I needed to reach my first goal. I was amazed. I AM amazed. God knows EXACTLY what I need, EXACTLY when I need it.
I’m overwhelmed. Our Father in Heaven is here. He is personal and He dwells among us, not on some faraway cloud that casts a shadow over our lives from time to time. He is relational and intimate. I never expected to feel this way about fundraising, and I especially didn’t foresee how it would affect my relationship with God so profoundly. I am learning so much through this process. I’ve especially noticed that I have become more bold to speak out about what I believe through all of this. As I share my plans for next year with people, I share my story with people, which leads me to sharing Him with people. There’s no doubt that God is preparing me for this expedition in more ways than one.
I want to publicly thank everyone who has been part of this journey so far.. you have no idea how much your prayers, words of encouragement, donations, and acts of service mean to me. Without your love and support, I really don’t know if I could do this. Most of all, I’d like to thank God the Father for being faithful and for the miracles He’s working in and around me. Without Him, I am nothing, and so may He receive all the honour and the glory.
If you’re reading this and feel you’d like to join my support team, the more the merrier! You can subscribe to my blogs, pray, donate, or anything else that you feel led to do. God knows I need all the help I can get, so, as I told my pastor when he asked if he could pray for me, bring it on!
