Guys!! Oh my goodness!! First of all, I want to thank all of you for your support these past couple of weeks. It has meant the world to me knowing that I am surrounded by such an amazing community of people that support me going on this trip and want to be a part of it. I made around $1,000 for my T- shirts, YAY!!! My goal was to have 100 people signed up to order, and guess what? I had exactly 100 orders, see how God works through even the little things? I am also doing a second order for those of you who missed the deadlines but still want one, so message me if you’re interested. As of fundraising right now for the trip total, I am doing great with that as well. I see those of you that have donated through the blog and it blesses me, thank you!
I have also decided to make a registry for the items that I need to purchase before I go. I decided to do this because I know that some of you want to donate, but just don’t know how much or are wanting to see how it will directly impact me. These are items like my backpack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, etc. These items can be expensive, and if you would like to purchase one or more of these items for me it will help just as much as donating to my blog for the general fundraising portion. These items may look a little extra spendy, but I would like to remind you that these are the essentials for nine months worth of living. I would appreciate this gift to me just as much as any other form of donating that you might choose. Here is the link to my registry: https://www.myregistry.com/wishlist/Natalie-Koppendrayer-Princeton-MN/1909284
On another note, I am in a season of learning to fully trust God. If I am being real with you guys, fundraising and trusting God through all of this is VERY hard. I have good days and bad days. I am setting up and planning fundraisers pretty much nonstop in the midst of school, but I have to trust God to provide the way for this to happen for me next year. It’s not about me, it seriously is all about God and doing this crazy trip for Him and His glory. Yes, I get to go to these beautiful places and meet and speak with beautiful people and do all these crazy things, but it is not about what I get to do, it’s about what God gets to do through me. I’m learning to trust this process and trust that He has it figured out, which is very hard to do consistently.
There are fundraisers that I am worried about if they will be successful or not, but these are things that I am not meant to be stressed about. God is this amazing dude that has the ability to figure this whole thing out for me, I just need to rest in Him. I get insecure about fundraising, feeling like all I am doing is asking for more money, but God’s like “Natalie, really? I am right here with you, I will see you through this. I’m not going to call you away for nine months and leave you alone to figure it all out.” Obviously God didn’t say those exact words, but I do feel like it’s somewhat of a slap in the face. Of course God will work this out for me if this is what He wants for me to do for His kingdom’s glory. I am beyond stressed about how to purchase the items for packing next year, how to find the extra funds for spending while I am gone and am not able to work for money, and on how the fundraising in general will go, but it’ll all be okay. I need only to be still and keep doing my own part, God will do the rest. I can only do so much and that is where God meets me and does the rest. I choose to trust in Him.
I will trust God because 1. It’s not as stressful 2. He’s my partner that is coming with me on this journey, why not actually let Him help me and talk me through it? (Love Him for that!!) I will always love having a buddy by my side instead of me trying to do everything on my own. 3. He knows me better than I know myself and He will continue to give me the courage to step out of my comfort zone throughout this entire race.
Guys, this is not easy at all. I want to remind you that you may be going through things that are not easy either, but to trust God. Just the other day I was crying (I know, I’m dramatic) because I looked at my bank account and wondered how in the world I am going to do this. Give Him your worries, it helps! I constantly have to remind myself that God will help and I am not alone. It doesn’t just happen, it takes conscious effort every day, but I would rather make the effort to trust Him than stress myself out and lose sleep about it. God is the same God that He has always been, even if you feel like you’re lost and all over the place. You only need to be still and know that He is there with you, cheering you on. Trust Him.
Again, I want anyone that reads this to know that I seriously appreciate you so much. This blog is going to be my main way of communicating while I am on this journey and seeing that I have people that want to be involved with my life fills me up and reminds me that I am blessed by the people in my life. THANK YOU!!
