I have already told many of you this story, but it's one that I have been thinking about a lot since I have been here and wanted to share with the people back home some of the things that God has pointed out to me about this story. Everybody knows how I felt God impressing upon me that He had an African mission trip planned for me for this summer. But what many don’t know is all the “behind the scenes” aspects of this story.
As 2012 came closer I felt that call getting stronger until I knew I had to figure out what He had planned or I would be walking in deliberate disobedience to His call. I set out online, researching for organizations that work with orphans in Africa. From the moment I stumbled across EOH, I knew that this was where God wanted me. Once I had called to inquire the possibility for an internship or volunteer ministry, I got a peace and an eagerness that I knew had to be from the Lord.
Within a couple of weeks the intern director called me back and we started the application process. From then on there were several phone calls and emails that were exchanged between us, and I started to receive many affirmations from the Lord that this was the right path. My parents on the other hand were not so sure. For the first couple weeks they were really adamant about not feeling this was right. Finally one night, we sat down and had a long talk about it. In the end they agreed to keep praying about it and to call the director themselves to inquire in the trip.
After the first phone call my mom told me they felt more comfortable with it and a short time later they agreed to let me apply. In one of our phone conversations, the director told me that before my application was even turned in she knew I needed to go on this trip, that God has indeed called me here, and that I was already accepted onto the team. So once I turned in my application and was formally accepted, I immediately started brainstorming for fundraising ideas.
One night my grandma came home from a church function with cake pops for us to taste. Looking at those cake pops, all of us got the same idea: my “first” fundraiser would be cake pops. I would make those for “special occasions” with different decorations and themes. Little did we realize how great of a plan God had in mind for those pops! 3 months later I was fully funded and God had even supplied more then I needed to go towards my next trip, and the majority of the funds had come from cake pops. God had faithfully supplied me with daily orders that kept me busy for 3 months. In addition to the cake pops, God had moved 2 churches to support me with huge amounts, while leading various donors to do the same. Overall, my church backed me up the whole way, weekly purchasing pops or cake jars and even giving me donations along the way to continue helping me. It was an incredible, faith based journey.
Throughout fundraising, I felt led by God to not count my money myself so as to keep my faith based upon genuine faith and not be based upon numbers. This had it’s ups and downs. I had many days when I was struggling with my resolve and was very tempted to count the money, but each time I would turn to God and He would supply me with the strength I needed to resist this temptation. Coming out of my fundraising process, I found that my faith was stronger than before because of the trial of relying upon God, turning the situation completely over to Him, and trusting Him to supply the funds even during the most stressful times in the fundraising process.
God was totally in control of those months and was leading me and guiding me in the way that He wanted me to go. With each new obstacle in my path, He was steadily revealing Himself to me in ways that He had never done before. He was little by little unveiling His plan for me and directing me down the path that He laid for me. That whole fundraising process and the faith trials that came with it was all part if His plan to show me where He wanted me to go next and to prove to me that He is a great God, capable of many wonders, who is always in control of my life. I discovered that even fundraising can become a “God hunt”, when you are really searching for Him in everything you are doing.
“For the glory of God!”
As 2012 came closer I felt that call getting stronger until I knew I had to figure out what He had planned or I would be walking in deliberate disobedience to His call. I set out online, researching for organizations that work with orphans in Africa. From the moment I stumbled across EOH, I knew that this was where God wanted me. Once I had called to inquire the possibility for an internship or volunteer ministry, I got a peace and an eagerness that I knew had to be from the Lord.
Within a couple of weeks the intern director called me back and we started the application process. From then on there were several phone calls and emails that were exchanged between us, and I started to receive many affirmations from the Lord that this was the right path. My parents on the other hand were not so sure. For the first couple weeks they were really adamant about not feeling this was right. Finally one night, we sat down and had a long talk about it. In the end they agreed to keep praying about it and to call the director themselves to inquire in the trip.
After the first phone call my mom told me they felt more comfortable with it and a short time later they agreed to let me apply. In one of our phone conversations, the director told me that before my application was even turned in she knew I needed to go on this trip, that God has indeed called me here, and that I was already accepted onto the team. So once I turned in my application and was formally accepted, I immediately started brainstorming for fundraising ideas.
One night my grandma came home from a church function with cake pops for us to taste. Looking at those cake pops, all of us got the same idea: my “first” fundraiser would be cake pops. I would make those for “special occasions” with different decorations and themes. Little did we realize how great of a plan God had in mind for those pops! 3 months later I was fully funded and God had even supplied more then I needed to go towards my next trip, and the majority of the funds had come from cake pops. God had faithfully supplied me with daily orders that kept me busy for 3 months. In addition to the cake pops, God had moved 2 churches to support me with huge amounts, while leading various donors to do the same. Overall, my church backed me up the whole way, weekly purchasing pops or cake jars and even giving me donations along the way to continue helping me. It was an incredible, faith based journey.
Throughout fundraising, I felt led by God to not count my money myself so as to keep my faith based upon genuine faith and not be based upon numbers. This had it’s ups and downs. I had many days when I was struggling with my resolve and was very tempted to count the money, but each time I would turn to God and He would supply me with the strength I needed to resist this temptation. Coming out of my fundraising process, I found that my faith was stronger than before because of the trial of relying upon God, turning the situation completely over to Him, and trusting Him to supply the funds even during the most stressful times in the fundraising process.
God was totally in control of those months and was leading me and guiding me in the way that He wanted me to go. With each new obstacle in my path, He was steadily revealing Himself to me in ways that He had never done before. He was little by little unveiling His plan for me and directing me down the path that He laid for me. That whole fundraising process and the faith trials that came with it was all part if His plan to show me where He wanted me to go next and to prove to me that He is a great God, capable of many wonders, who is always in control of my life. I discovered that even fundraising can become a “God hunt”, when you are really searching for Him in everything you are doing.
“For the glory of God!”
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."
Proverbs 3:5
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