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 Quickly, I bolted upright and checked the important reminders section of my lovely outdated flip phone and my uneasy feeling was confirmed: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!!

Upcoming Adventures: The World Race

I want to change the world.

I know this sounds rather forward, but, then again, pastors and Sunday School teachers have been quoting Luke 1:37 (“Nothing is impossible with God”) to me my entire life, so I decided to dream big on this one.

In May, I will be graduating from Lee University with a degree in Middle School Education. Then, in July, I will be headed off with a missions program called The World Race to 11 different countries: Bulgaria, Romania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala for 11 months (11 countries in 11 months). Through The World Race and its parent organization, Adventures In Missions, I will be working alongside various churches and organizations to assist the missionaries living full time in each of these countries in reaching out and sharing God’s love among the nations. During this time, I will be involved with many various ministries, including youth ministries, orphanages, teaching English, manual labor, evangelism, and ministries reaching out to prostitutes and victims of sex trafficking.

However, I can’t change the world until I’m changed first.

So, for those 11 months, I will be joining with a team of about seven other World Race participants and live in a close and raw community with them. I’ll be giving up a home, adequate sleep, food, and even basic hygiene, and instead choose to live out of a backpack and on only $3 per day for food. In doing this, I will experience the world as, well… the way most of the world does. In breaking out of my protected and comfortable world here, I have the opportunity to experience life with bodies of believers in other nations and cultures other than my own.

If you’re wondering whether or not I’m crazy, that’s OK. I wasn’t entirely sure about the whole thing myself. But my passion has always been to serve people, especially “the least of these,” and I truly cannot wait to show people the love of God on this experience.

I’m so excited, and, honestly, completely nervous about this trip. To change the world, I must be changed first, and I cannot wait to see where the Lord takes me on this adventure.

I am asking for your support on this journey. I need A LOT of prayer. Like I previously stated, I will be traveling to 11 different countries, most of which are NOT Christian nations and involved in ministries that bring light to dark, dark places such as prostitution ministries in Thailand, sex trafficking in Cambodia and Moldova and ongoing conflicts in numerous nations. Pray that we can reach out to the outcasts of the world and bring them hope. Pray that God brings to us the people who need to hear about God’s love and for open hearts. Pray for safety and protection for us as we continually travel.

To be completely frank, I must also raise $16,000 for the trip, and I have absolutely no idea how I alone can raise that amount of money. I know things may have been tight lately, but if you can help me out in any way, I would greatly appreciate it! To send donations, you can mail your tax-deductible contribution to:

Adventures In Missions

P.O. Box 534470

Atlanta, GA 30353-4470

And be sure to indicate the purpose of your gift in the memo line: The World Race (Pookie Vergara).

You can also visit my blog at http://pookievergara.theworldrace.org and click on the “Support Me!” tab to contribute online, as well as get updates on my adventures before and during my time on The World Race. (This blog will still be up and running of course, but it will probably be better to check up on my activities on the world race blog once I actually go).

In the coming year, I hope not only to be a blessing to those I serve, but also to you. I would be honored to go as your representative to bring Christ Jesus to nations around the world. May God bless you as you prayerfully consider partnering with me in this ministry.

If you would like to know more about The World Race and the plan that God has been putting in my life, please feel free to email me (stephanieprvergara@gmail.com) and I would love to get in contact with you!

Thank you,

Stephanie “Pookie” Vergara

Around The World In...11 Months?

Prayer. Prayer. Prayer.

Answer.

When I was sixteen, I told God that once I graduated high school, I would go anywhere He wanted me to go and do whatever He asked of me. I was ready to hop on a plane and serve the outcasts in a far away country to live out the rest of my days.

Then, He called me to the exotic country of the United States of America. 

That's not exactly what I was thinking. 

 A few months later, there was a last minute opportunity to be a counselor at my church's middle school summer camp, so I went.

And I loved it. 

That's when I realized that God was needing me to stay here in the United States to work with middle schoolers. 

Really God? When I said I would go anywhere and I would do anything, that's not really what I had in mind.

But God gave me a passion for teenagers and I've truly loved every minute and every opportunity that I've been given.

But still, I kinda wanted to be a missionary.

This summer, for the first time in years, I asked God if I could go out and serve people around the world.

He said yes.

Simple as that. I asked my Father for something and He agreed. Looking back, I definitely wasn't ready as a teenager. He had other things to show me and people who had to help me grow and become vulnerable with. 

So now I go. Well, after I graduate. 

In July, I'm headed out with Adventures In Missions' The World Race where I travel to 11 countries in 11 months so that I can serve all the nations of the world. Right now, I'll be headed to Bulgaria, Romania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, but it will most likely change in the upcoming months.  

I'll update more later about it all when I know more exact details but I did want to let you guys know. I'm going to need a lot of prayer as I prepare for the next ten months, especially as I'll have to raise about $16,000 and having to finish off my last year of school (student teaching...grrr) but I am so excited for what's to come!

It's funny though. As soon as I come back from my crazy adventures, I'll be headed right back to where I planned: teaching middle school in America. 

God gave me a plan and I intend to follow it. But He also knew my desires and what I wanted and took that into consideration. 

I asked and received. 

That's how the Father's love works. Sometimes not how we expect, but all in His time. 

"You say you have a plan for me

And that you want the best for my life

Told me the world had yet to see

What you can do with one

That's committed to Your calling

I know of course what I should do

That I can't hold these dreams forever

If I give them now to You

Will You take them away forever?

Or can I dream again?"

--Surrender by Barlow Girl