Jehovah Jireh

Last week I was lying in bed while visitng my sister in Texas, getting ready for one of my favorite pastimes: sleeping. Curled up under the warm comforter doing the cozy stick-one-foot-out-of-the-comforter-to-stay-semi-cool, I was just about to doze off when a sick dread came over me. Quickly, I bolted upright and checked the important reminders section of my lovely outdated flip phone and my uneasy feeling was confirmed:

World Race Fundraising Deadline: $3,500 by May 5th

Instantly, I knew I was in trouble and worry started creeping into my entire being. At the moment, I had only $1,700 in my account. Funding was coming in slower than the world's oldest sloth and I hadn't been recieving any support in the past 2 months. Somehow I was going to have to raise $1,800 more in a matter of weeks.

At this point, my mind began racing. How many more support letters could I write? Who else could I tell about The World Race? How in the world was I going to get $1,800? Fundraising ideas, letters of plea, and desperate thoughts bounced around in my head as I thought about how to quickly raise this amount of money (who needs two kidneys anyway?).

At this point, I was starting to get really anxious. What if I couldn't get the money in time and wouldn't be able to go on The World Race? Everyone had told me that if I was supposed to go, then God would raise the money for me. But what if it meant that I wasn't going to be able to go? What would I do then? Tears started welling up as I thought about a possibly of not being able to go.

At this time, I started having a really honest talk with God. More like a desperate pleading, begging Him to provide the money so I could go. My mind kept revolving around Matthew 7:7 "Ask and you shall recieve" and I simply kept hoping that God was feeling rather generous. 

And finally I gave up. Mainly because it was 3 a.m. by this point and I was at the point of exhaustion. I couldn't do anything anyway. So I sleepily told God, "It's all up to you now." and hoped for the best. Maybe in the morning I'd try to figure something out.

The next day, I checked my World Race account. I cannot describe the joy that I felt in that moment as I saw $150 more dollars placed in my account by family friends. $150 is a small amount compared to $16,000 but to me it spoke volumes.

God was giving me his blessing to go on The World Race.

God will provide for me. Every single dollar until I am fully funded.

And to make things better, He didn't just stop there.

I came back to my apartment at Lee late on Sunday, two days after I had recieved my gift of $150, to find a card laying on my desk. Another friend was donating $100 to my trip and wished me all the best. The next day, I come back from class to find another card lying on my desk. After some coaxing, I recieved the story of how it ended up there:

As I was gone during the week to visit my sister in Texas, some girls from my hall organized a pizza-making party. Each girl that came brought whatever ingredients they had and together, they created pizzas. Then they went around to other apartments and friends that they knew and sold the pizzas for $1 a slice. In total, they ended up raising over $140.

As I listened to the story, I stood there in awe. Sometimes, God simply provides and that's all we ask of Him. But sometimes, God not only provides, but also creates beautiful stories to go along with His gifts to remind us how great He truly is. He has, after all, been creating stories since the beginning of time. 

But no, God didn't stop there. 

The very next day, I check my World Race account again. My mouth drops open and I refresh the page to make sure I'm not hallucinating. Another family had been led to donate $1,000.

In a matter of 5 days, God had raised $1,390 for me. I didn't do any of it. Right now, I know God's just chuckling at me, nodding His head as He murmurs, "I told you I'd take care of it."

And He truly is Jehova Jireh. The God who Provides.

So at the moment, I only need $500 more to meet my final deadline. But then, I still have $12,000 more to go before it's all due in December.

I still need your help.

First of all, I'm selling shirts! The profits will go towards my trip and they're really cool! $15 a shirt for either crewcut or V-neck shirts. Check out the link if you're interested: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/NPWV8X6

Design by: Zeke Tucker

Please help me raise this money. God's the provider, but He always uses his people to do his work in order to teach them lessons. Every dollar means a lot to me! Ask God to show you how you can help. Check out the Support Me! link on the left.

And to all those who've already donated: 

THANK YOU!!