Yea... Sorry about that! Better late than never.
All spring and early summer I prepared for a time of fundraising in Alabama. In late July, I hopped on a MegaBus and started a road trip down the East coast.
NYC->Harrisburg, PA->Washington, DC->Atlanta->Sweet Home Alabama.
I had a great time reuniting with some of the best of friends I have made in YWAM and seeing family that I've missed. Highlights being authentic Korean food, lots of Dutch Blitz (a card game), and being in a worship set led by Sean Feucht. If you haven't heard his latest CD, stop now and go listen to it.
So... fundraising. All I can say is God is good! My inclination that it was going to be easy wasn't just wishful thinking. Because of the prayer support I had and the countless hours of work previously put in, I had people actually propose supporting me versus me asking them. Such an encouragement! I gained a whopping 7 supporters in this time, bringing me to just over $400 a month. I was also able to raise around $1,000 through one-time donations and a fundraiser, which helped me to pay off some of the debt that I owe YWAM. No, I did not reach my $1,000 a month goal, but that would be almost impossible in just over two weeks. This walk is a journey, and I must tread on. $1,000 here I come! To those that prayed with me through that time and to those that have committed to prayerfully or financially support me, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! You are making my ministry possible, and I'm so grateful that God has brought us together for such a time as this.
 |
| Vancouver |
 |
| At Cultus Lake with Lauren |
 |
| Top Pot Doughnuts |
After an intense spring/summer of fundraising, God blessed me with an incredible vacation. I often hear, "You travel all the time, what do you mean you haven't had a vacation in awhile." I assure you, traveling in missions IS NOT a vacation. For the first time in awhile, I went somewhere new with no other purpose than to enjoy myself. It was so refreshing and so needed. I spent 7 glorious days with my good friend Lauren in British Columbia, Canada. I spent a day in Seattle, Washington eating Top Pot doughnuts, enjoying a beverage from the first ever Starbucks, watching the fish being thrown at Pike Place Market, and, of course, the Space Needle. I saw Lauren's hometown, Abbotsford, and the surrounding area with all of its lakes and mini mountains. I spent a day in the city of Vancouver and I swear it is the prettiest one there is (that I've seen anyways). I went up to Whistler (where the Olympics were held) to share in her family's vacation. While all the things I saw and did were fabulous, the best part was getting to for-real hug, not skype-hug, one of my favorite people in the world, it was experiencing amazing hospitality from a family that had never even met me, and it was receiving the blessings that only a friendship that is founded in the Lord can give.
 |
| On top of Blackcomb Mountain in Whistler |
The spring and summer of 2012 was definitely one of the hardest in my life, but God is so faithful to bring us out of the refining trials safe and sound and better off than we were before. God is showing me just how much I can trust Him and how dedicated He is to making me more like Him. He is a God that chases us. And we are so undeserving. Although I look back at the spring and summer of 2012 and automatically think "Fundraising!", that's not really what it was all about. It was about God loving me, chasing me, restoring me. I think that's what it always comes back to. Although this song is overplayed at this point, the lyrics still ring true...
"Higher than the mountains that I face
Stronger than the power of the grave
Constant through the trial and the change
One thing remains
Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me"
