I stood alone on the edge of the Baltic Sea with the water licking my toes. I could just barely make out the waves right in front of me in the faint glow of the sun that never seemed to fully set, not even at midnight. The sea seemed to go out forever and fade into the blackness of the sky leaving no trace of a horizon. It looked infinite. It was a beautiful reminder of God’s endlessness. His love has no ends, it’s constantly flowing. He continuously gives and takes away, ebbing and flowing like the waves in front of me.
It was easy to sing out my own worship to God. No one could hear me except Him. But there came a time when God told me to stop. Stop singing. Stop talking. Stop. Take a moment to listen, to rest in the arms of my Father. Stop being strong and take a moment to be weak so I could be comforted by the ultimate comforter. Those were words I didn’t know I needed to hear until allowed myself to break down and let God be the strength in my weakness.
Throughout this race, even in preparation for it, I’ve had to learn to rely on God to be my strength in so many new ways. I’m almost halfway through and I’m still learning dependence on Him daily.
I’ve been so blessed in the people I’ve got to meet, work with and serve. The ministries I’ve been privileged to work with have ranged from evangelism to lumberjacking. I’ve hauled water, painted chicken coops, prayed with former drug addicts and ex-convicts, brought pastries to the homeless, sorted donated clothing, filled a room with stacked wood, “taught” English classes, led a youth service, pulled weeds and many other things. I’ve learned so much about what ministry really is. I’ve got to see God move in incredible ways. I’ve been able to experience and hear Him in so many new ways.
The only way any of this is possible is through complete dependence on God, especially in fundraising. I’ve seen God provide in ways that seemed impossible. As each deadline creeped up upon me, I had no clue where the money would come from, but it came. I’ve been so blessed by my supporters! You all have no idea. Whether you’ve given your stuff, time, money, prayers, Facebook statuses, encouragement, anything, I am SO grateful for you. Not everyone in this world has the support I do and I don’t take it lightly. Thank you for letting God use you!
Needing to rely on the hearts and wallets of others was probably my biggest struggle in deciding to do the World Race. But because of that, God’s used my weakness to show His strength to stretch me in my dependence on Him. The miracles of my fundraising have become my favorite stories to tell of how great God is and how amazing his provision is!
With all that being said, my final deadline is very quickly approaching on July 1st. I’ll be in China and our squad will not be using the internet for the month.
This means I won’t be able to do any fundraising from the field.
I am only $3400 short of my final goal! It would mean so much to me if you’d take a bit of time to pray about supporting me financially. You can support directly through this website by clicking here. You can also mail checks directly to:
Adventures in Missions
P.O. Box 742570
Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
With “Amanda Gummels” in the memo line.
Please please please take a moment to share this blog and share with your friends the incredible things God is doing overseas. Thank you all so much for your time and your prayers!
See you on the other side of China!
