Sunday, February 24, 2008
Dear friends,
As most of you know, I will be leaving Korea in a few months. I have been so blessed these past five years working at Seoul Foreign School, but now it is time to transition to the next stage of my life. I considered several options (including graduate school and moving to Greece), and I really felt led to pursue ministry opportunities. And so it is with great joy that I announce that I have joined the World Race!
The World Race is an extraordinary combination of travel, ministry, community, self-discovery and growth offered by Adventures in Missions (AIM). As a World Race participant, I will receive training (in July) and be assigned to a team of six people. Then, we will be sent (in October) around the world to serve. Each month, we will be in a different country where we will work alongside local churches and missionaries. For example, we could be working with orphans in Uganda, sex slaves in Thailand, or disaster victims in Peru. Our work could be evangelism, teaching, or construction. As we respond to people’s physical needs, we will also minister to their spiritual needs.
This particular program appeals to me because it will allow me to focus on God, serve others, and continue to explore more of this awesome world! These intense circumstances will demand dependence on God and on my teammates and will push me to step up and practice what I preach to truly become more Christ-like. I am honestly terrified about being publicly “broken,” but I embrace the opportunity to experience the freedom that God promises when we give ourselves to Him. Plus, I look forward to developing a global perspective of how God is working. My hope is that by traveling around the world and serving in various capacities, I would also discover more about my unique purpose and direction in life.
I would be delighted to tell you even more about the World Race! As I prepare for and while I journey on the race, I will keep this blog describing my life and ministry through stories and pictures. Add it to your favorites or subscribe to it in order to stay updated throughout the year! Notice that from here, you can also link to the main World Race website as well as to the blogs of current and past participants.
I thank God for this amazing opportunity, and I trust that He will meet my needs. I believe that He will do that through you. In fact, I could not do any of this without your help. Just as Moses needed his friends to hold his arms up to defeat the enemy (Exodus 17:10-13), so I need you to support me in this ministry. I invite you to partner with me, prayerfully and financially.
PRAYERS
Please join me in praying for my team, for the people we meet, and for our lost world. Even now, my team and I need prayers for physical health, for unity and patience with each other, and for our individual walks of faith. We need courage and love as we develop relationships, and the ministries with whom we will be serving need prayers of encouragement and opportunity as well. Join me in seeking God’s perspective and thanking Him for His grace and His ability to use all situations to His glory.
As you read my blogs throughout the year, I ask that you pray specifically about the various struggles and celebrations that I experience. I am specifically asking for five people who will commit to pray for me each day I am on the World Race. If you are willing to do this, please contact me by e-mail or by commenting on my blog.
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
It is very humbling for me to ask people for money, especially when I have been so blessed, but I trust God to prompt you to give as you can. I must raise approximately $1,255 each month to cover living, travel, and ministry expenses, for a total of $13,800 for the entire eleven months of the actual race. Support could be a one-time offering or an amount pledged per month for a given length of time. You can make donations at any time, starting now and throughout my service with the World Race.
You can donate on-line or by check. Please make checks payable to “Adventures in Missions,” and write “appealed by Victoria Skyvalidas” in the memo section. All donations should be mailed to Adventures in Missions, P.O. Box 534470, Atlanta, GA 30353-4470. Adventures in Missions is registered with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Donors will receive receipts for their gifts with the understanding that the disbursement of those gifts lies completely at the discretion of Adventures in Missions and that the gifts are non-refundable and non-transferable, per IRS regulations. Gifts may be tax deductible; please consult your tax advisor.
PASS IT ON
Finally, I would be honored if you would also pass on this letter (and/or my website) to your friends, your family, your church, and your colleagues so that they too could find out more about how God is working in our world, and so that they could have the chance to participate in the World Race with us!
I am very excited about how God will use me and what He will teach me through this experience. I hope not only to be a blessing to those I serve, but also to you. I know God has an awesome plan for each of our lives and for this world, and I delight in seeing how He accomplishes it. Again, I hope you will consider being part of this ministry. I am so blessed that you are part of my life! Thank you for your support!
Big hugs,
Vicki Skyvalidas
