Dear Friends and Family,
I’m writing to you to share what my plans are for next year, and how you can be part of making them a reality. I admire those who wholeheartedly push past their fear, reservations, and weaknesses in order to live out what they believe in. I never thought of myself as that type of person, but as I read about the lives of my heros and she-roes – Martin Luther King, Jr., Maya Angelou, Dorothy Day, Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa – I noticed they experienced every human weakness that I have, but they decided to focus not on themselves and their fears, but on their faith. Just like my heros, I’ve decided to abandon the selfishness of my insecurity and timidity and take a bold step in living out my life’s objectives – loving God and my neighbor.
Next year, I will be embarking on The World Race. The World Race will take me to 11 countries – Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, Swaziland, Lesotho, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mexicom and the USA. There, I will have the privilege to serve in orphanages and slums, to further learn and spread the message of love that God has taught me through others that have served, loved, blessed, and empowered me.
As a Salvadoran-American, who is neither here nor there, not fully part of mainstream Anglo-American culture, not fully part of Salvadoran culture, I have been blessed with the ability to navigate places of ambiguity, to build bridges from one people to another or expose the ones that are already there. I’ve lived, worked, and studied in places of extreme privilege, but have been exposed to stories of the most poignant human suffering often due to lack of resources and, even, discrimination. I hope that as I live with my teammates from all across the United States and interact with our hosts in each country, that I will continue to build those bridge-building skills, and use them for something good, powerful, and much bigger than me.
In order to do this, however, I need the partnership of my friends, family, and brothers and sisters in Christ, both in prayer and in raising the funds necessary for this trip. This trip costs $15,000 – this includes training, intercontinental travel, food, lodging, transportation, supplies, and support for our local contacts. If you want to share in this with me, donations can be made by check, money order, credit card, bank transder, or EFT (Dynapay). Checks are payable to Adventures In Missions and can be mailed to Adventures In Missions, PO Box 534470, Atlanta, GA, 30353-4470. You can also donate online using your credit card by visiting my blog at: nathalymoreno.theworldrace.org. Just click the “Support Me” link in the upper left side of the page and complete your donation as instructed. To make a monthly donation, go to adventures.org/dynapay to fill out an online form for a monthly Electronic Funds Transfer from a checking account. Please if you have any questions about donating.
If it’s not possible for you to donate, the power of prayer is real, and I so badly need it. If you would join me in that, I would be honored. If you don’t believe in prayer, words of encouragement bring life to dry bones. This process will be hard, and my character and perseverance will be tested. It’s the encouragement of my family and friends that help keep me going when times get rough.
Thank you for coming alongside me as I move forward in this.
Love,
Nathaly
