By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. (Hebrews 11:7)
God asked Noah to do this absolutely insane thing- to build a giant boat in the middle of a desert. Just stop and think about that for a moment. Not only had people probably never seen anything like it before, it did not make sense. God promised great waters would come, but they had also probably never seen anything like it before. (They lived in a desert. Hot. Dry. Full of sand. Not exactly a place where you'd expect to find water.) It probably didn't seem possible that God could provide something out of nothing.
I feel like that’s exactly where I am at right now.
Right now, I am 56% of the way to being fully funded—which is a miracle among miracles. I currently have raised $8,610, which means I am $2,390 short of meeting my next deadline of $11,000 by October 1.
Realistically, there is a possibility that I could get sent home if I do not reach this next deadline.
But that’s not even a possibility to me.
I know—without the shadow of a doubt—that God has called me to be on this Race and not only that, but I also know that I will be here for the entire time.
I'm not going to lie, sometimes fear tries its best to grip my heart…fears that perhaps God will not provide. Perhaps he will not come through. Maybe he's brought me this far only to let me go. Sometimes it feels as if my heart is being strangled, like I cannot breathe.
But in the moments that follow, I take a breath, and God reminds me in some way that he has called me to this Race, and not only that, but that I will finish it.
Many times he has reminded me of these things through you—through your actions, your encouraging words, and timely gifts.
In fact, if you are reading this, it is very likely that I am here because of you. Whether it's because of kind words you have given or because of a financial gift, I would not be here without your help.
It is not easy for me to ask for help. Having to ask for money or help is not something that I enjoy. It is easy to feel embarrassed about not being able to do this on my own.
But I have seen God show up and provide in so many powerful ways, so I will continue to choose to look at fundraising and The World Race as a huge opportunity for God to show his faithfulness. It is a chance for all of us to join together and partner in ministry around the world.
This is an opportunity to ask great things of our great God.
I need you to pray. I am looking for 7 people to commit to praying for me one day a week while I am on The Race. I need you to spread the word. I have prayer and informational cards that you can pass out to your church or pastor or a friend who might be interested. I have received support from people I have never met before—who knows what that one card you pass along to a friend might do.
I need your help. I need your financial support. I cannot do this on my own. So many of you have given so much already, and I do not take that sacrifice lightly. I am able to be here sharing the gospel because of you. Please consider partnering with me further and helping me to reach my next deadline of $11,000 by October 1. (My final deadline is to have all $15,500 in by December.)
Just as a reminder, you can make an online donation here or by clicking on the “Support Me” link on the upper left side of this page and completing your donation as instructed. Please remember that your donations are tax deductible, just make sure all checks are made payable to “Adventures in Missions,” specify “Susannah Bretz- World Race” in the memo line, and mail your donation to "Adventures in Missions" at PO Box 534470 Atlanta, GA 30353-4470.
I cannot imagine coming this far and not finishing The Race. In the past two months, I have seen God do absolutely incredible things in the hearts of the people around us and in ourselves, in myself. I have set foot in places I have only read about or seen pictures of, and seen how God is bigger than any cultural line or language barrier. Jesus has given me his eyes for his people and shown me his jealous love for them to come to know him. This is the craziest experience of my life, but I have never seen God more at work or more present than I have seen him here.
In Isaiah 42, God promises that “I will take the hand of those who don’t know the way, of those who can’t see where they are going. I’ll be a personal guide to them, directing them through unknown country. I’ll be right there to show them what roads to take, to make sure they don’t fall into the ditch. These are the things I’ll be doing for them—sticking with them, not leaving them for a moment.”
Like Noah, we don’t have to worry about how God is going to do what he has promised, we just have to follow him, to take both the little steps and big steps of faith, and trust that he will provide.
It is absolutely incredible to know that we can ask anything of our God and have confidence that not only he will hear our prayers, but he will answer them. Raising the rest of my support and participating in The Race is far too big of a thing for me to do…but I praise God for that. He has brought me this far, and he is not finished with me yet. If I know of anything to be true, it's that our God is a trustworthy God.
I will choose to trust that when God has asked me to build a giant boat in the middle of the desert-
I will trust that he will provide the rain.
