"But who says I can't raise $4,500 more in 65 days??? It's totally possible! Maybe I'm crazy, but maybe this just might work!!"
These were the last words in a blog that I wrote about a month ago called, Maybe I'm Crazy. I was being pushed out of my comfort zone to expect more from God.
To dream big.
To believe God is who He says He is.
To relinquish my control.
I was soooo afraid to publicize my desires of raising $10,000 before my launch. In my opinion, it sounded crazy and greedy. I mean, I do realize that in order to complete the World Race I HAVE to raise $16,250 but I was thinking that I was only required to have $6500 in order to launch and I was only $1000 away from reaching that goal. So why ask for more?
And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:19
Once I informed my friends, family, and supporters that I was believing God for $10,000 before my launch in September, I began to worry. I was constantly checking my account, constantly reminding people of this $10,000 dream, and constantly praying for God to come through. Although I was praying regularly, my prayers were generated from fear rather than from faith. For a second, I forgot that my account was in the hands of my Father and that His riches far exceed the resources of people. I prayed for God to come through because I was afraid that He wouldn't; and since I had already put my requests out there for the world to see, I was afraid of looking like a failure. Because I was nervous of not meeting my goal, I began trusting in what I could do in order to reach it.
But fear is crippling.
Fear is the opposite of Faith.
Fear makes you focus on yourself and the limited abilities of man.
Fear takes your eyes off the fact that it is impossible for God to fail.
A couple days ago, God stopped me in my tracks in the middle of the day to pray for my squad members who still needed to meet their $6500 launch deadline. I was still thousands of dollars away from reaching my goal, but God was asking me to pray for someone else. He was asking me to be selfless, trust my life in His hands, and intercede on behalf of my beloved squad who was going through some of the same things as me.
Being obedient to a gentle prompting in that random moment has significantly helped to increase my faith in the power of prayer. And not only praying, but praying with the confidence and authority that we have in Jesus' name. And not only praying with confidence, but also praying selfless prayers for others. When we genuinely intercede for others, we unite with the heart of Jesus, which in turn positions us to receive God's unlimited blessing. The chain of events that occurred shortly after I began praying for my squad has given me unspeakable joy!
- Less than an hour later, I checked my fundraising account and had a new, totally unexpected donation of $1000
- That evening I began seeing testimonies from my squad mates of God's provision, including one team member who had an anonymous donation of $515 added to his account! Anonymous!!
- The next afternoon, I spoke at a small house church (with approximately 20 members) and they took up an offering for me. They gave me a $1200 offering!! TWELVE HUNDRED DOLLARS from a small church meeting in the basement of someone's home!!! WOW!
- Shortly after leaving the church and praising God for that miraculous donation, I saw another Facebook post from a squad mate. She told me that someone offered to donate to her the remainder of what she needed to reach her $6500 goal. This amount was more than $1500!
You can say what you'd like, but testimonies like this are no coincidence. Testimonies like this come from a God who answers prayers of the faithful! All of this occurred in a matter of 48 hours, and I know that God is not done yet. I'm waiting in expectation to hear and see more testimonies from my squad of how God is providing for their needs according to His riches and glory.
Oh yeah, one more thing … Remember that crazy goal of reaching $10,000 that I was initially afraid to talk about and later afraid to believe I'd get? GOD COMPLETELY BLEW IT OUT OF THE WATER!! I now have a month until I launch and already have raised $10,426!!! My God is AMAZE-BALLS and all I needed to do was trust, believe, and give to others. I may not have money to give away and I may not be able to personally donate to their accounts, but I can give my time, attention, and love to them through prayer.
How is God asking you to give of yourself? What is God asking you to pray for? Whether it is a gentle push, a feeling in your gut, or a blog that you've read inciting you to action, I challenge you to move rather than ignore it. You never know how God plans on using your obedience to bless your life and the lives of others.
And I have been a constant example of how you can help those in need by working hard. You should remember the words of the Lord Jesus: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' – Acts 20:35
If you would like to support my mission trip and help me in becoming fully funded, there are a few ways to do so.
1) Click on the "Support Me" Link to make a donation
2) You can also send a check made out to “Adventures in Missions” with “SmithKristina” in the memo line and mail to:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
3) Lastly, you can click on the "Food for the Hungry" picture/link on the left. When you sponsor a child through this organization, Adventures In Missions will donate $50 towards my account as well. Please visit my "HOW TO SAVE A LIFE" blog for more details on how this works!
