I didn’t want to write this blog post. I didn’t want to write this blog post because I am going to be open and vulnerable, and that can be a scary place to be. So I’m just going to jump right in to what I want to share.
Fundraising is difficult. It is challenging me in more ways than I had thought it would. It is a constant roller coaster. Seeing a donation come through my World Race blog gets me excited and hopeful in raising my funds, but when nothing comes for a while, it gets lonely. You feel like no one is experiencing what you are. Continually putting yourself out there to tell people about the mission God has called you to, and sometimes getting denied, makes it difficult to keeps your spirits up. But God is Good, and Faithful, and Loving, and Perfect in every way. Though this is difficult for me now, I know He is a Good Father and He will provide.
When I first got accepted to the World Race in June, I thought that I could easily balance fundraising about $17,000 and working as a counselor at Camp Gideon. Ha! Oh how gullible I am!
“Some jobs allow you to earn your living while you serve. In missions this is sometimes called ‘tentmaking,’ since the Apostle Paul sometimes earned a salary as a tentmaker during his missionary journeys.”
As I began leading at Camp Gideon in June 2016, both campers and younger counselors, I soon realized that I could not really invest in fundraising how I wanted to. Because of this, I decided to push my launch date back to January 2017. Even more, this specific route is unique because my squad is a “fusion of racers from a variety of nations and cultures who will practically experience deferring to His Kingdom rather than their own cultural bias.” Typically, the World Race has a one week training camp in the United States where all the squad members meet. With my route, called Fusion, we will have training overseas and then will officially launch after that.
Fundraising is not a one-way street. Just as the saying goes “It takes a village to raise a child,” in the same way, I believe that it takes a community to send out a missionary. Being a support-raised missionary involves everyone. We are all part of one body, and each called to different ways to serve. We are meant to rely on each other for strength in our weaknesses and vice versa.
Fundraising is meant is to be effective. Giving financially or through prayer is an investment in someone to believe in the calling God has placed on their life, and it is their duty to give that investment back into others. In other words, it is my job that when people invest in me, that I invest back into the lives God has blessed me with encountering, including: orphans, prostitutes, homeless, lost, abandoned, and everyone else who I meet while on the World Race. It was also my duty to invest into YOU through prayer, encouragement, sharing my testimonies of God’s work and more.
My question to you is: Will you join me in this mission? Will you seek out how God wants you to participate in this mission and answer the calling He has placed on your life? You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” in the image of Christ, and you are a crucial part of the body. You were created with a divine purpose. You matter!
There are many ways you can get involved in this mission.
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Prayer partners: I need people who are willing to pray for my team and me. We need prayer for protection and safety while traveling, openness to God’s Will, discernment to see people through the eyes of God, and for God to provide the finances.
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Fundraising: I have many opportunities for people to support this mission.
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Handmade Necklaces $15 – Simply donate $15 by clicking Donate! above, and then contact me via email or by phone (770-543-9661) to let me know the donation is for a necklace and I’ll send it your way
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Murder Mystery Dinner – I will be hosting a real life Clue! Event on Saturday, September 17th. All details can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1135748593134171/
Thank you to everyone for supporting me financially and through prayer.
God Bless!
Tori McCrite
