Fundraising has always been a struggle for me. Ever since the good ol’ days of Girl Scouts and having to sell cookies always filled my nine-year-old self with anxiety! Asking people for money is so uncomfortable to me and I always feel like I am putting people on the spot when asking them to support me in any kind of fundraiser. Raising money for this trip provides no exception!
As I’ve said in my previous blog, I went on a mission trip to Africa last summer. In preparing for that trip, I was so pumped up and sent out my support letters excitedly awaiting to have people send in money because they were going to be just as excited about the mission as I was!…Or so I thought. Reality hit, and I quickly learned that not everyone will support a mission trip just because you ask them. Weeks passed and it was the day before our plane tickets had to be bought. I needed to have $3500, but I only had a little over $500. I was so heartbroken because I thought that was God telling me that He didn’t want me to go to Africa. I was so upset that I couldn’t raise the money, and that my answer from God about Africa was not a “yes” like I had thought, but that my answer was a “no”. I called my team leader in tears because I was about to tell him I couldn’t go. It was then that he informed me that an anonymous donor had given him $3000 to a person on his team who needed the money!! I had a variety of emotions of relief, joy, then sadness that I didn’t trust God like I should have. Instead of trusting God when things got hard, I panicked and thought it was God saying no, when He was really saying, “Trust me Stephanie.” I will always remember that story because I told myself that I wouldn’t doubt God again and the money will come.
Fast forward a year, and now I’m raising FIVE TIMES the amount of money as last year! I sent out support letters, started fundraising plans/ideas, and now it’s one week away from my deadline… Anxiety found me again. I am currently at $1,505. I need to have $3500 by July 1st. Please pray for me. Pray that I stay strong and confident in knowing that God WILL PROVIDE!! Pray that I don’t get discouraged and doubt the plans that I KNOW God has for me just because things aren’t working out as quickly as I would like them to. And please pray that God will show up in a mighty way and provide for me like only He can.
My teammates had the best idea to do a Facebook event for people to donate a certain amount of money to match that date. I copied them and created “$30 on the 30th!!” My Facebook friends are invited to pledge $30 on June 30th to help support me in order to meet this quickly approaching deadline! I’m praying that this will be a success and that people won’t just see this as a meaningless donation, but a chance to invest in an incredible work of God. I am just a vessel for God to use me to bring others to Him.
I can’t wait to share with you how He provides in this next week because I know He will!!
