Dear Friends and Family,
Over
the last few years, God has been using us and teaching us in many ways; not the
least of which has been a call to ministry. Seth has been living out this call through
teaching; April with working as a social worker in shelters and hospitals. We believe that God has been equipping us
through these ministries to serve Him in a more intense, hands-on capacity. In
doing God’s work, He has placed in us a passionate desire to reach the world
and share the love and hope of Christ.
As some
of you know, in June of 2007, we took a step of faith and went to China, where
we were able to share the gospel of Jesus to the Chinese people through bringing
them unedited Bibles. Our prayer before
leaving to China was that the Lord would use us for His work. We can gratefully say that God worked in
miraculous ways, but the work is not done! The Lord used our time in China, among other
experiences, to show us that He has bigger plans for missions in our lives.
We are
excited to share with you the things that the Lord is doing! We will be leaving July 2010 to go on an
11-month mission trip, called the World Race.
The World Race is put out through an organization called Adventures in
Missions (AIM). After prayerfully
considering this opportunity for six months, we believe that once again, the
Lord is asking us to take a leap of faith.
The
confirmed destinations for this journey are The Dominican Republic, Haiti,
Turkey, Romania, Cambodia, China, and Mozambique. There are 4 more countries that have yet to be
determined. In the field, we will be
meeting and partnering with ministries that have already been established. Depending on where we are, our ministries
will vary. We will teach AIDS prevention
in Africa, play with orphans in Romania, and work to stop sex trafficking in
Cambodia. We will also be teaching
English in Turkey and reaching out to gypsies in Romania. Of course, in all of these ministries we will
be spreading the love of Christ.
Of
course, this trip is only possible through God.
We thank God for the opportunity that is before us and we trust He will
meet our needs. Our prayer is that He
will do that through you. We would be honored if you could partner prayerfully
and financially with us in this ministry.
To make this trip possible, we must raise a total of $30,000. This amount will cover all of our living
expenses for the entire year – food, lodging, and transportation. We know that this is an incredible
expense! However, we only need 75 people
to pledge $100 per month for 4 months to completely meet our financial
needs. Please
remember that every little bit helps. We must have 60% of the total
raised before our July departure and the total met before the end of December
of this year.
All
donations can be made directly to AIM. AIM
is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit
organization. All U.S. donations to AIM
are tax deductible. All donations are
non-refundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. We have enclosed a response card that you can
fill out to mail in your contribution, or you can go to our blog page: http://sethandaprilblackburn.theworldrace.org,
click on “Support Us,” and make an instant online donation. Know that all online donations will have 5%
of the total deducted for transaction fees before it is deposited into our
account.
We believe that the Lord is
moving in mighty and wonderful ways in this generation. He is asking all of us, His children, to step
out in faith and serve Him in ways we never thought possible. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore
Christ’s ambassadors, as though Christ was making his appeal through us.” Although you may not be able to serve in the
same capacity as us, we believe that the Lord desires to use you to make an
impact in a different, but equally IMPORTANT capacity by partnering with us
through prayer and financial support. We hope you will prayerfully consider being
part of this ministry with us.
During our trip, we will be updating our World Race blog. We would love for you to follow along with us
as we complete the amazing journey God has put before us. No matter how God calls you to be involved in
our ministry, we appreciate your presence in our lives, and we love you very
much. We are so excited to have this
opportunity to be the hands and feet of Christ.
Please feel free to comment with your questions or thoughts. We love you, and we
will be praying for you.
Living for Him,
Seth
and April Blackburn �
But
as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by
the supplies; they shall share alike.”
1 Samuel 30: 24
