I hope you're having a superb Sunday my friends! Let me start by saying that this post is long... okay it's actually extremely long, but I encourage you to continue reading because I believe you will be blessed by all that God has been doing to prepare me for The World Race. So grab you a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get started shall we?
These past five days or so have been an absolutely crazy blur, and honestly I'm still processing all that God has done for me in this short amount of time. A lot of it I can't exactly put into words just yet, but what I do know is that when God tells you He wants to give you ABUNDANTLYmore... that He means it. Fully, completely, 150 MILLION percent wants to rock your world with just how good and faithful of a Father He truly is! And I mean that in any and all aspects of your life. He hasn't forgotten about you. He hasn't given up on you. He sees you, knows you, LOVESyou, and is constantly putting things into motion in your life that will be the catalyst to bring about that change that you are dreaming about.
So what do you say and how do you put into words all that God is doing in your life when you can't fully wrap your mind around any of it yourself? Let me explain...
On Wednesday I had a fundraiser which I called PIE-FIVE. I still needed a little over $5,000 in order to be fully funded, so God placed the idea on my heart to do a fundraiser on the 5th and ask individuals if they would be willing to donate just $5. For every 5 people who donated $5 (so every $25) it would equal one pie in the face for yours truly. I was excited that God gave me this idea because it sounded like it would be so much fun, but I honestly didn't know how well this type of a fundraiser would do since I was just asking for $5. I remember praying to God and asking if I could raise $500 through this fundraiser. I thought that there had to be a reason that the number 5 kept being so prevalent, so it would be so incredibly cool if this particular fundraiser was able to bring in that much. It was as if God took my prayer and said, "my girl, I can do ABUNDANTLYmore than that." Because of this fundraiser I now have to get pied in the face 57 times... In other words, this $5 fundraiser ended up bringing in $1,445... I'm sorry what?! This is something I truly still can't wrap my mind around. I don't have many words yet because my mind is still blown, but the words I do have are "THANK YOU!" Thank you to a loving God who is creative and wants to give us ideas and inspiration to help fulfill our dreams; who has continuously put people into my path who believe in this mission and dream that my Papa has called me to. Thank you to those of you who donated to this fundraiser and helped to make it such a success! God blessed YOUR donation and multiplied it to do immeasurably more, so thank you for being faithful!
If you haven't read my post from Friday, "But God, I Don't Want Starbucks," I encourage you to go check it out after you finish reading this one. Long story short, I felt like God was asking me to go to Starbucks instead of a local coffee shop that I had intended on going to. Once I arrived I saw why God had asked me to go there instead. He placed individuals in my path within that coffee shop who now get to be a part of my World Race experience. I met two women who now follow along with my blog, and I am so incredibly excited to have them along for the journey! These two women even made a donation towards my trip and for that I will be forever grateful and in awe. I entered that coffee shop not knowing either of them, but now I know them to be my sisters in Christ and two incredible blessings to have come into my life. I was also able to meet an older gentleman who gave me knowledgeable insight into photography and the ins and outs of the particular camera that I will be taking on my trip. This whole experience was already a beautiful blessing, but it was as if God said, "my girl, I can do ABUNDANTLY more than that."
For those of you who don't know, I have been asked to serve as the lead Storyteller for my squad! This is an incredible honor and I could not be more excited for the opportunity! My job is to basically encourage my fellow team and squad mates in their blogging, vlogging (video blogs), and photography, and to find new and creative ways to constantly be sharing those stories that God is placing within our paths on The World Race through these different outlets. Once I found out that I would be serving my squad in this capacity I began praying fervently that God would place someone in my path who could give me wisdom and insight into all things in the "tech" world as far as videography, photography, and creating new and innovative content goes! You see I love to write, but videography, photography, and editing are all extremely new to me. I noticed today that I had an unopened message on Instagram and once I opened it and began reading I couldn't help but laugh because once again my God was showing me that He hears me and wants to bless me in so so many ways. I had received a message from a gentleman who had been seated near me at Starbucks the other day. He said he couldn't help but overhear as I chatted with the two women and it caught His attention as we began to talk about God's goodness, The World Race, and my blog. He said he went onto google and searched "World Race blog" and mine "just happened" to be on the home page. He then went on to explain that he and his wife used to serve with a missions organization for over 3 years and that after that God blessed him with the opportunity to serve as the lead graphic designer at a church, so he is very adept at all things web, video, and print related. He told me to please feel free to reach out at any time if I should have any questions pertaining to these fields and that he now looks forward for he and his wife to be able to follow along with my World Race journey. Once again I say... I'm sorry WHAT?!! Even typing this is difficult for me because it's just as if the words won't come. I'm thankful, blown away, and overwhelmed in the very best of ways! So once again... THANK YOU. Thank you to a God who hears the desires of our hearts and wants to bless His children more than they could have ever hoped for. Thank you to everyone who crossed paths with me on Friday at Starbucks, that was without a doubt the best Starbucks visit I've EVER had. Thank you for donating to a girl you had just met in a coffee shop. Thank you for talking to me and showing me Jesus and His love. Thank you for reaching out to me and offering me help and advice in the very field that I was so longing to grow in understanding of. Thank you!
On Saturday I had the opportunity to tag along with an old boss of mine who runs a mobile car wash company. He asked if I would like to be able to make some money for my trip by helping him wash cars all day. Two summers ago when I helped him, many of the individuals who we would wash cars for would give me tips. I remember praying before our day started on Saturday, "God could I please get a tip of $100 today?" The biggest tip I had ever gotten from washing cars was $50, so I thought that getting $100 would have been absolutely incredible! Yet AGAIN it was as if God took my prayer and said, "my girl, I can do ABUNDANTLYmore than that." As we washed cars I had the incredible opportunity of getting to chat and know the man who had asked us to come wash his and his family's cars. He is an incredibly godly man and he asked me all about my mission trip and was so kind to let me go on and on about it all day. I truly enjoyed getting to know him and am excited that he will now be following along with my journey as well through my blog. As we readied to leave his house he came up to me and said that he and his wife felt led to give to my mission trip. I remember getting so excited as I thought, "Wow God's really going to answer my prayer about the $100." He then left me in awe and unable to form words as he handed a check for $1,000. I immediately gave him a hug and tried my best to form words so that I could thank him and start to externally process what the heck had just happened. So as I'm still processing this moment, this gift, and this beautiful blessing that God and this gentleman gave me, all I can say is "THANK YOU." Thank you Papa for putting individuals in my path who have given and continue to give me opportunities to raise money for this trip. Thank you for reaching out to me to help you work even though it has been over two years since I have washed a car and I probably slowed you down. Thank you for donating to a girl who started out the day as a stranger to you and who left hugging your neck and telling you that you and your family blessed her life more than you could possibly imagine. Thank you!
Last night I was asked to babysit for a family who goes to church with me, and even through this God was able to say, "my girl, I can do ABUNDANTLY more than that," when they paid me DOUBLE what I was expecting at the end of the night. So THANK YOU!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to come hang out and spend time with your kids and for blessing me by helping get me one step closer to being FULLY FUNDED!
This morning at my church a couple asked if they could speak with me. I followed them outside and they each began telling me how God had placed the desire on both of their hearts to donate to my trip and help me be able to go serve on this once in a lifetime opportunity God has called me to. Tears began forming in the wife's eyes as she said they loved me, believed in me, and then handed me a check for $1,000. All of this goodness from these past five days has been building and building and at this point I pretty much broke down out of the overwhelming realization of just how good my Papa is. With my hands on my knees, I bent over crying and trying not to explode from pure, unfiltered joy. As I stood back up, tears streaming down my face, I immediately started thanking them in between sobs and telling them that they had changed my life in that instant. And no I still can't fully grasp the magnitude of this blessing but what I can do is say, "THANK YOU!" Thank you for listening to God's promptings on your heart and for your faithfulness through your gracious giving. Thank you for making me feel known, loved, seen, and believed in. The two of you, and the rest of your sweet family, are such an incredible blessing in my life. Thank you!
If you stuck with me until the end, a HUGE heartfelt "THANK YOU" to YOU! I hope these stories were able to bless you in some way and able to help you in the belief that your Papa can do so much more in your life! ABUNDANTLY. IMMEASURABLY. EXCEEDINGLY. MORE. I love you my friends and I am so so very honored and thankful to have you along on this journey with me!
-Meagan
