Big praises all around today! On my very first missionary journey to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, I encountered quite a few obstacles that weren’t funny at the time, but when I look back today, I just laugh. One of them was my passport. The leader of the journey can testify to this because I remember him messaging me and my mom everyday asking “Is it here yet? Keep me updated. We really need it to be here, the launch is in a few weeks!” Again, at the time, it was a bit stressful for all of us, and no one likes things to be done at the last minute and feel rushed.
We spent weeks in prayer, hoping that it would get to us in time because I wasn’t going to Bolivia without it; we were also discouraged that it was taking so long, but we trusted that God would provide. And boy did he! I kid you not, on the night before we were meant to leave, it came in the mail! I can’t remember if we submitted the application late, or if it was just the UPS being slow, maybe it was a combo of both, but we didn’t care because we were ecstatic that it was finally here! Why did I choose to tell you this story? Because today, my new passport for this journey arrived this morning! Join me today in praising our glorious God for always providing what we need, and when we need it! He knew that I couldn’t handle the stress of a last minute passport again, so he made it come within 3-4 weeks of me submitting my application. That is a miracle only God could do, and I’m celebrating today because of it.
There were quite a few more, but only one (besides my passport) really stuck out: funding. On this particular journey in 2014, both my mom and I were going. It’s hard enough to raise funds for one person, let alone two people in the same family. You both have relatively the same contacts to ask for support, making it seem like a competition even though it’s not; you will be going together, so that can be complicated too, especially when it comes for feedback time and you’re embarrassed if you didn’t “do well” even though there’s no such thing when we are doing God’s wonderful work. Going with relatives can be hard, but it can also be rewarding. After all, you have a constant support partner with you, doing field work with you, being a present encourager who can literally pat you on the back when you need some tough love or comfort.
But you’ll say, “How is that a complication? It sounds like it would make it easier to me.” It does in regards to them being present, but it can be difficult because the whole evangelism team is meant to be that: a team. If you’re focused on helping one person, you’re not being a whole team and that can cause a lot of problems. Luckily, the biggest problem for us was the funding. She got funded a few weeks earlier than me, and I was feeling drained, discouraged, almost wanting to throw in the towel and go on the next one; but I didn’t. I pressed on, and thanks to a last minute support offering from a family friend, I was fully funded the minute we were about to board the bus to the airport. Talk about a divine appointment! Now you are undoubtedly asking why I chose to share this story; well, along with an update, I want to mention the last, biggest part of my funding process that I am 100% sure will be blessed by God and am personally excited to see the results of: getting to 100% in 100 days.
I know what you’re thinking: how in the world can I get the total of $18,700 in 100 days? Easy, the God Ask. It’s not just a book that was recommended by my squad members and the World Race; it was/is the result of a spiritually obedient decision made by Steve Shadrach. Steve Shadrach is a truly gifted “inspirer” who also formed a mission-oriented (evangelical) ministry from the ground up. He doesn’t just spout his own facts, propaganda, or boast about what he has done, he forms all of his information off of the Bible and some of the faithful, evangelical-oriented missionaries of that time (Paul and Nehemiah are the two biggest ones).
Most importantly, he knows that all of his success, all of his blessings, they all come from God and His resources. God has an endless, bountiful supply of resources that he welcomes us to take from, but oftentimes, we don’t. We think “Oh, if it’s really meant to happen, the money will just be given to me. I don’t have to try.” Or “I don’t have the time to spend hours upon hours of planning and organizing appointments with people.” Those are all excuses, and I have vowed that I will not make them, even when it starts to get tougher as the date for launch gets closer. I wish I could just share with you everything He’s been teaching me through reading Steve’s book, but it’s not something I can just summarize or even tell you in a way that helps you experience what I’ve experienced while reading it. It has molded my thinking, made me have more of the mindset that all things are made possible with God, that I can break the mold and trust that God will go before me, that I’m going to grow immensely in my faith in God because of this massive challenge I’ve been called to/ and have chosen to take on.
As of now, I’m at $4,285.00 (22% of the way) which is a massive praise! However, I have a long ways to go to get the rest ($14,415.00) but I know that God is going before me, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that the rest of the funds will be locked in by June 8th, 2021. I decided to launch it yesterday (March 1st 2021), and let me tell you, that pressure is there, but God is lifting it off my shoulders so that I can focus on going above and beyond to reach this goal. Let me be clear: this is not me asking, this blog post is not that. I want to meet, in-person, with everyone. Meaning all the people that I sent letters to: family, friends, strangers/acquaintances, anyone I’ve handed letters to, even the people that I’ve already met with; I want to meet with you again/for the first time. I don’t want to just sit around and wait because realistically, I’ll never reach my goal if I did that. I want to be a faithful servant of God, willing to put in the work to get the necessary resources in order to work even harder to do my part of fulfilling His Great Commission.
“Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?”- Proverbs 20:6
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”- Luke 16:10
That being said, I really need e-mail addresses, phone numbers, any basic contact information because I really want to make it personal, to grow relationships with everyone I talk to. Please, use my contact information on my World Race profile page and send me your e-mails/numbers, however you prefer to receive information from me because I want to get to know all of you a little better with an activity I want to send, even if I’ve known you all my life or a good portion of it. By raising personal support, I’m not only growing in my own faith, but I’m also helping to grow yours.
I want all of you to be a part of the mission even if you’re not physically going with me. Seeing lives changed, watching God’s Kingdom expand, it’s all wonderful to witness and to be a part of; sometimes it’s the change you need, to see just how many lost people are out there, to have your heart break for them when they go through trials that we may never face because we are luckier than most. Seeing all the broken, hurting people will change how you look at your own life. I want to see the whole world reached, every person on Earth praising God’s name, and I can’t do that without you and definitely not without God.
“For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight, in love.”- Ephesians 1:4
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day-by-day.”- 2 Corinthians 4:16
“Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.”- 2 Timothy 2:21
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”- Isaiah 6:8
I remember how our faith was challenged that year. I remember meeting with our team leader about our large gap in funding. But it wasn’t just any amount, it was the amount of one whole team member. You were so young then and I was so afraid to allow you to go without me to a 3rd world country so far away and not be able to be there to protect you. Of course I also wanted to go, but more than anything else, I wanted you to experience what only God can show us when we say yes and allow ourselves to be available, flexible and surrendered. for me that was trusting him to keep you in his perfect care without me, as if I could do anything without him smh. I knew in that moment (as I was driving and praying about it) Abrahams faithful journey to the mountain top to sacrifice his son Issac, and then it hit me, the problem was me, my faith, my trust in our great big God was being tested. I needed to be willing to allow you to go without me and allow God to keep you in his perfect care. I went to our team leader immediately and Confessed my fear, and pledged all my funding to your journey, placing all of my faith in our great God to use our team leaders to keep you in his perfect care… But God….I don’t know if it was the next day or that week but it wasn’t long and I got a call from our team leader… Guess what… We had an anonymous donor and they provided exactly what you needed…! it still takes my breath away…God is so good…! He just wants to know that we trust him completely with every little thing but especially what we care about most, and I do! I have every confidence he will provide exactly what you need AND keep you in his perfect care on this journey into over 15 third world countries. To God be the Glory!