Dear friends, family, and assorted others,
Over the past six months I have felt the still small voice inside of me growing louder and louder, calling me away from college and into missions. More specifically, into the World Race: Gap Year.
What
Gap Year is a nine-month missions trek through a ministry called Adventures In Missions, which is an interdenominational missions organization with a goal of following Jesus’s example in the way He cared for the lost and the hurting and His commission to make disciples of all nations. AIM has been mobilizing people to missions as a means of discipleship for over twenty years. They emphasize prayer and relationships through work amongst the poor. Since it was established in 1989, AIM has taken over 100,000 people into the mission field, some for as short as a week and others for a year or longer, ministering in several places around the world year-round to “the least of these” under the believe that by giving people the opportunity to hold orphans, bring hope to the hopeless, and pray for the sick, lives are transformed.
Why
My wish in embarking upon this trip, which will consist of three months in Central America, three in Asia, and three in Africa, is very similar to Adventures In Missions’ goal: to follow Jesus’s example in the way He cared for the lost and the hurting. I want to take Jesus at His word in the commission given to us in Matthew chapter 28, where Jesus tells us to “GO and make disciples of all nations”. This is why I will go through a week of training camp twelve hours away from home, this is why I will leave my country and everything and everyone I know for nine whole months while I love on orphans and widows and victims of sex-trafficking and everybody else in strange countries. Gap Year is a unique missions opportunity and a challenging adventure for young adults like myself to abandon worldly possessions and a traditional lifestyle in exchange for an understanding that it’s not about me; it’s about the Kingdom. It will be strange and it will be uncomfortable and I am okay with that. I hope God wrecks me. I really do. I hope He opens my eyes and breaks my heart for the things that break His. Because nothing worthwhile has ever been accomplished through complacency, through people who are comfortable where they are. Great things are accomplished through people who see injustice and DO something to combat it. I wish to be a do-er. A disciple-maker. A people-lover. I wish to help the hurting and the lost and show them that there is a light and His name is Jesus. I wish to be like Jesus Christ. And I would like for you to join me in this.
How
However, in order for this to happen I need to raise a grand total of $12,487. This sounds like a big goal, I know. But I also know that we serve a big God. And I need your help. Yes you. Anything you can contribute is greatly appreciated, and you can do so online directly through the handy-dandy “Support Me” link on my blog. Monthly donations would be super fantastic, but one-time donations would be super fantastic as well. And even though the Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver, I would like you to know that I also accept semi-cheerful gifts. I am also selling these really rad t-shirts:
The shirts are $25 and are tax-deductible. If you are interested in one send me a message including which sizes you would like, and I can ship your shirt to you when they come in. All shirts are pre-order and you can pay by cash, check, or PayPal.
So this is my plea to you. Please prayerfully consider assisting me in my endeavor to preach the gospel to all nations. To God be the glory.
-Sam
