Full Name: Natalie Mercedes Dache
Love Language: time. texting. Starbucks.
World Race: T Squad 1st Generation. January 2011.
Life Goal: Opening an orphanage in Africa.
Love Language: time. texting. Starbucks.
World Race: T Squad 1st Generation. January 2011.
Life Goal: Opening an orphanage in Africa.
I got back from the World Race late November of 2011, and I can say without hesitation that my life has been wrecked for the ordinary.
See what I mean? This is me, moments before my flight to see my family… after breaking down and crying at a Mexican restaurant in LAX with free water.
I digress.
Now, all I really want to do is see this every day:
Yep, those are my little Swazi babies saying the Lord's prayer.
But, that's hard to do when you live right outside of Washington, DC. The only view I'm guaranteed is this:
And unfortunately I see it a lot.
So what's a girl to do?
Pray.
Work.
Study.
Wait.
And that's what I'm doing now. I'm praying that the Lord send me back. I'm working, saving, and supporting other missionaries. I'm going back to school to study nursing. I'm waiting on the Lord in His infinite timing.
Think you have a lead for me in an orphanage somewhere? Please contact me!
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”
Matthew 25:40
GIVE. They keep saying the economy’s turning around, but for right now; I know that most people don’t have loads of extra money lying around. But typically, support letters are mostly asking for money. Truthfully, I have to raise $14,300 for the year, and that doesn’t include insurance or in country travel. That can feel like an overwhelming amount, but I’m trusting in the Lord to provide, and I’m also stepping out in faith in this area as well: currently, I’m working three jobs!
If you are feeling led by the Lord to give financially, there are a few ways to do it:
GIVE. They keep saying the economy’s turning around, but for right now; I know that most people don’t have loads of extra money lying around. But typically, support letters are mostly asking for money. Truthfully, I have to raise $14,300 for the year, and that doesn’t include insurance or in country travel. That can feel like an overwhelming amount, but I’m trusting in the Lord to provide, and I’m also stepping out in faith in this area as well: currently, I’m working three jobs!
If you are feeling led by the Lord to give financially, there are a few ways to do it:
STAY INVOLVED. I’m required to blog, both now and while I’m gone. Check it out, read it, know what’s going on. This will help with the paying and with spreading the word. It might even be interesting once in a while—I’m slowly learning to be a blogger! ;)]
If you read the blog, please comment! Let me know that you’re praying for me, let me know how I can be praying for you! It’s going to be a long year, and knowing that my family and friends back home are supporting me will literally help get them through those long days.
I want to share a story with you. Once upon a time, there was a not- so- little girl who wanted to save the world. She didn’t know what to do or how to do it, but as she learned more and more about all of the pain and brokenness in the world, she knew that she NEEDED to help.
But where to begin? The world is such a big place, and everywhere you go in it, you see children dying from malnutrition, lack of clean water, orphans and sex slaves. How could one girl do anything in the face of such rampant despair?
At about this point in the story, most kids my age give up. They forget the faces of the lost and the dying; they ignore the destitute and abandon the orphans, and instead pursue the fleeting success of the American dream. This is not how my story ends.
On January 1st, I’m leaving this land of wealth and prosperity and travelling to face the deepest needs of the world head on. For 11 months, a group of about 60 other crazies like myself will invade 11 countries: India, Nepal, Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Romania, Ukraine and Ireland. We’ll hold abandoned children, we’ll comfort those who are suffering, we’ll pray for those who are dying.
Every day, I get the question, “why Natalie? Why are you dropping out of your school that you love, leaving your charmed life full of opportunities to go deep into the darkest pits, seeking out ways to bring light and healing to the lost, forgotten and oppressed?”
Because this is not the way the world was created, and God is calling me to step out in faith and do what I can to bring His kingdom to this broken world.
You may not be able to drop your life, flee the country and help relieve the suffering—BUT I WILL. God has called me to go and I can be your hands and feet.
My dreams are no longer about myself, and I’d like to invite you to participate in this chance to BE the will of God in the world.
So what can you do to help?
PRAY. My team and I are trekking to some dangerous places—places where REAL PEOPLE live. We’re going to need prayers for safety and for discretion.
STAY INVOLVED. I’m required to blog, both now and while I’m gone. Check it out, read it, know what’s going on. This will help with the paying and with spreading the word. It might even be interesting once in a while—I’m slowly learning to be a blogger! 😉
nataliedache.theworldrace.org
If you read the blog, please comment! Let me know that you’re praying for me, let me know how I can be praying for you! It’s going to be a long year, and knowing that my family and friends back home are supporting me will literally help get them through those long days.
PRAY. I’m going to be living in close proximity with a bunch of people who are probably a lot like me—passionate, somewhat impulsive, ready to make a difference. There’s going to be a lot of butting heads I’m sure, and the enemy can really use that to ruin this trip. Please pray for unity, both to make our time enjoyable, but also so that we can really engage fully in the work we’re doing.
SPREAD THE WORD. One of the reasons I’m so excited about this trip is because MOST PEOPLE DON’T EVEN REALIZE how messed up the world we’re living in is. They don’t know about the three year olds sold as sex slaves, they’ve never heard of boys abducted and forced to kill their friends before fighting in an army. But the first step to stopping the injustice is to RAISE AWARENESS. Talk about this trip, the places I’m going, the things I’m seeing. At the very least, it’ll be an interesting topic of conversation. But who knows? At the most, someone could be so touched that the cycle of attempting to save the world repeats.
PRAY. There are so many broken lives we’re going to be thrown into. These people are created in the image of God, they are loved and they are VALUED, but they may not even realize that. Please be praying that we can clearly communicate the love of God to them and at the same time, bless them right where they are.
GIVE. They keep saying the economy’s turning around, but for right now; I know that most people don’t have loads of extra money lying around. But typically, support letters are mostly asking for money. Truthfully, I have to raise $14,300 for the year, and that doesn’t include insurance or in country travel. That can feel like an overwhelming amount, but I’m trusting in the Lord to provide, and I’m also stepping out in faith in this area as well: currently, I’m working three jobs!
If you are feeling led by the Lord to give financially, there are a few ways to do it:
ONLINE. On my blog, there’s a link with the remaining amount of money to be raised. You can either use a credit / debit card or a bank routing number. If you choose to do this, the transaction is immediate, but be aware that there is a 7% processing fee for the cards and a 3% fee for the routing number.
BY CHECK: I have enclosed a response card and pre-addressed envelope that you may use to mail your check. Please make checks payable to Adventures In Missions and return the response card with your donation to Adventures In Missions PO Box 534470 Atlanta, GA 30353-4470. The response card will provide AIM with the information necessary to send you a receipt for your donation.
Adventures In Missions is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donors will receive receipts for their gifts with the understanding that the disbursement of those gifts lies completely at the discretion of Adventures In Missions and that the gifts are non-refundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. Gifts may be tax deductible; please consult a tax advisor.
Ok, but what if you actually CAN’T give money? Don’t worry, there are so many other things that I need! The first thing is GEAR: an internal frame backpack (between 4,200 and 5,000 cu in), a pack rain cover, an Airporter, a 2 person tent, a real sleeping back (I don’t know why my Little Mermaid one won’t work!), a sleeping pad, a headlamp, a converter, a clothesline… and that’s just the provided list! If you have anything that you could part with for a year, that would be a huge blessing.
Finally, you can give information. Know a missionary in India, someone working to end human trafficking in Ukraine? Send me their information—there are many months when we will have to create our own ministry contacts, and having some already will just open that many more doors.
PRAY. These 11 countries we’re going to each have their own unique problems, and while we’re there, we’re going to have to identify and address them, Please pray for guidance and the strength to be able to attempt to fight these overwhelming needs.
I am so excited about how God is going to work this year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it. I hope you’re excited, too, because really, this is going to be a TEAM effort. I hope you will prayerfully join me in this incredible opportunity.
"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, so freely give." Matthew 10:8
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'”
Matthew 25:40
In Christ,
Natalie Daché
