WOW am I excited to be writing this!
A few months ago I was kinda freaking out. Prior to applying for WR, I looked at the amount I would have to fundraise and just shrugged and told myself “if God wants me there then He will provide.” After getting the acceptance call, posting my first blog and telling everyone I knew how excited I was for this next season of my life, my mindset as far as fundraising goes changed drastically. I had been refreshing my summary page everyday with no change. I got disappointed that donations weren’t coming in as quickly as I had hoped. I didn’t realize that I was frustrated and discouraged until I had a phone call with my advisor.
As I was telling her what I was feeling and thinking, she stopped me and reminded me that my going on the WR is not up to me. If God has called me to the Race then He WILL provide. It was the same thing that I told myself before my acceptance, but somehow my heart forgot it. My advisor then told me that I had already raised $1,000 in just one month and how incredible that was! It wasn’t until I opened my fundraising summary and saw that the $1,000 came from only one donor and it was not who I thought It was. My heart leaped with joy and I literally started crying. Since that moment, fundraising is going so much better than I had expected.
I am SO THANKFUL for all the people who have already donated and am once again excited for the journey that is ahead of me. I still have to remind myself daily that God is faithful and will provide, but I do so with joy in my heart rather than discouragement. The fear that I had over raising $19,000 has been replaced by faith and by hope.
My mom took this picture of me while I was home for Easter. My first order of T-Shirts had come in the mail and I was sorting out which ones I needed to take back to Salem with me and which ones needed to be mailed to various people around the states. I was surrounded by 80 shirts that all served as a reminder that God is sending me. On the back of this shirt is the verse John 20:21 “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” I chose this verse because I love that Jesus reminds the disciples, without going into a ton of detail, that He was sent to this world with a purpose and that He also is sending us into the world with a purpose. He came to love and not be loved, He came to serve and not be served and I too will get to love and serve the people worldwide the way Jesus first loved me and that is something to be pumped about. The part of the verse that is not included on the shirt is the beginning of it. Before saying this, Jesus said to them “Peace be with you.” He wants us to be at peace. He GIVES us that peace through the Spirit and I am blessed to say that I am filled with that peace! I had peace when sorting out these shirts. I have peace when thinking about what I still have left to fundraise, and I have so much peace about the journey that is ahead of me. I have peace as well as SO MUCH JOY and support when I see my coworkers wearing the shirt I sold them, as well as when I receive pictures like the one below of dear friends wearing my shirt or telling me how excited they are that they received them in the mail. I will be doing another T-shirt order soon so if you didn’t get one the first time around and want one, let me know! Finally, I have so many happy emotions about the fact that 80 days before my $5,000 deadline, I have ALREADY raised $5,792! Praise the Lord for He is so good!
To everyone who has already given financially: I appreciate you so much. It means the world to me to have your support. You are faithful, amazing, loved and fully appreciated. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I honestly cannot say thank you enough.
To everyone reading: I appreciate you as well. Thank you for your prayers, words of encouragement, and dedication to reading my blogs and listening to me talk about how excited I am. You are an important part of my journey also and you too are faithful, amazing, loved and fully appreciated.
Now, I still have $13,408 left to raise, but all anxiety over that is gone and replaced by heavenly peace.
Many Blessings!
?? Kaci
These t shirts are amazing! Many of your supporters have told me how much they love them & I certainly love mine. Maybe another order…
That’s a cool T-shirt design! I remember how daunting it was when our son had to raise money for his WR and how impossible it seemed…and then miraculously through lots of hard work on our son’s part and many donors all the funds came in and he was fully funded. It truly stretched our faith and it also was a confirmation that it was God’s will for him to go. His WR changed OUR lives in huge ways by opening our eyes to challenges people face in many countries, the hope God is bringing to the world through this generation, and the part that we can play in it even though we were too old to go on the WR ourselves.(now we’re coaches). Your blogs are powerful and they make a difference for your readers!