The journey begins.

Fundraising.  I dreaded the thought of asking people for money, especially people who I know don’t have much to spare.  But when given this opportunity to do exactly what I have dreamed of doing—to help the voices of the oppressed be heard throughout the world, ringing truth about the plight so many face and so many ignore—fundraising seemed like a cowardly obstacle to let stand in my way.  Yet as my projected time of departure neared, the daunting task of fundraising grew simultaneously with my love for a country I’d never been and a people I’ve never known.

Humbling? Yes.  While most people graduate from college and get their first “real” job with a salary and benefits, here I am with my dream job trying to figure out how to raise $13,000 to support myself for the next six months.  Sure I believe the cause is good and the work is necessary.  And I truly believe God has brought me into this opportunity and therefore I truly believe, in my head, that I should trust Him to provide.  But the reality of how to actually come up with $13,000 by mid-August just seemed impossible.  Trusting God to provide meant trusting people would give me money when I asked…which meant I had to ask.

So here I was.  My job in DC had finished in June, I moved out of my cute little row house and into a backpack, and I had enough in savings to get my fund started.  Now I only had two months and $10,000 between me and Sierra Leone.

***

It is now the end of August and while I went into this summer anxious for it to be over, funds to be raised and for the journey to really begin, I have realized that it already has.  The last few months have blessed me more than I ever anticipated and prepared me in ways I didn’t realize I would come to rely on.  In an attempt to find ways of fundraising without the traditional support letter, I “cris”-crossed (as I like to call it) the US planning events that would allow me to spend time with family and friends, share about what I am setting out to do, and hopefully raise a little money.

I was excited at the idea of connecting with people from so many seasons of my life but had no preconceived notion of how blessed I would be by every one of them.  From a Farewell Fundraising Picnic in Edmonds with my dearest family and friends I’ve known my whole life, to a Freetown Field Day Fundraiser in DC with friends I’ve known less than a year, to beautiful new friends I met while speaking at churches in Edmonds and Chelan—I have been left utterly speechless at the generosity, support and encouragement I have received at each of these events.  With games and raffle tickets I expected to raise a few hundred dollars at each event and instead walked away with thousands.

My mind is left buzzing, wondering how I can ever thank my supporters for this kind of sacrifice.  And my heart is bursting with the realization of the love and faith all of these people have for me and what God will do through me in Sierra Leone.  While the monetary funds are an easy way to measure support, what is even so much more meaningful and overwhelming is the love and prayers behind these gifts.

I am not only encouraged in God’s faithfulness and His ability to provide for me, I am inspired by the faithfulness and trust my family and friends have that God will provide for them when they make this sacrifice for me.

While I am not quite to my goal, I have no doubt that the funds will come and all will be provided.  But what has really changed my heart is realizing how much more prepared I am to go, knowing that so many are praying for me with complete faith.  Where my faith falls short, it is made up for in leaps and bounds.  While packing lists and immunizations, research and fundraising are all necessary in preparing for this journey to Sierra Leone, it is this true understanding that I am not going alone, but with an army of prayer and support along side me, that has truly been my preparation.

I am going to Sierra Leone to be a voice for the voiceless, to help those who are oppressed and abandoned to tell their story.  Yet what I am realizing, is that my own story is also being written.