Inspiration

I found some inspirational quotes about going on mission trips. Here are a few:


“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supplies.” — Hudson Taylor


“Prepare for the worst, expect the best, and take what comes.” – Robert Speer

“God uses men who are weak and feeble enough to lean on him.” — Hudson Taylor


“Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God” — William Carey


“If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” — C.T. Studd


“We talk of the Second Coming; half the world has never heard of the first.” — Oswald J. Smith


“Christ wants not nibblers of the possible, but grabbers of the impossible.” — C.T. Studd

“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Unknown

Sometimes all it takes is some motivational and inspirational words to get you to get off your lazy bum and do something. For topics like serving others, I think Satan does a really good job in getting us to be lazy and waste a stupid amount of time doing nothing, but also helps us to come up with soooooo many excuses as to why you shouldn't do something for someone else. I think quotes like these ones are aa good counter-attack... so let the serving begin.


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Why a Mission Trip

Some people wonder why go on a mission trip? I asked this myself, but have found a few good answers. These answers motivate me and help me to see the importance of helping others. Here is one:

"There is just no way to put into words what you will experience while on a mission trip. It is simply amazing to be a part of a team of people who have worked hard, raised funds, prayed and prepared to go serve God in another land. The things that you see, hear, feel and smell are indescribable. It’s so easy to get comfortable and in a rut with everyday life, but when you go on a mission trip like this it will change your perspective and sharpen your world view. You will see people as God sees them, they are just people in need of a Savior, who speak a different language, and have different customs. After being part of a mission team, when you return back home, you will see things in a different light. It’s difficult to go back to the same old way of doing things. Going on a mission trip gives you focus on others and that is what Jesus came here for, to serve others." -Youth For Truth Intl

Matthew 28:19-20 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

Change of Plans

More indecisiveness... very frustrating, but just part of the process. So now, the options are Kenya, Egypt or somewhere in Canada. The plan is to decide in the place in the next couple of weeks, but for this project, this seriously stinks. I can't give the letter to people/stores without writing where we're going as this would have an affect on the donors' contributions. For example, if we decide to go to Kenya or Egypt, the costs would be much higher and the resources we would need would be different than if we were to stay in Canada, where the costs would be less. The cost of the trip is a bug factor in the donations, so I'm hoping to sort all that out before I begin with the letter.

On the bright side, I realized that although though the Bible course passion project ends at the end of January, my personal project of raising $10,000 can extend till the actual time of the trip! This point made me quite happy and made me feel less like a failure... but when May comes and I still haven't done much, that would be bad. Hopefully that won't happen!    

Hype

It's almost time to start going store-to-store/door-to-door, and I'm pretty excited! I'm really hoping people start feeling generous around this time of year... holidays, right?! :D I think that once I receive any sort of donation we'll start rolling and then in no time, I'll have a decent amount fundraised. Altogether I'm pumped for this! 

Every Penny Counts

It's already November, meaning I only have 3 months left. That means about $3000 each month... hmm... sounds tough, but I think it's honestly doable. sure, it'll take A LOT of luck and being at the right place at the right time, but hey, its not impossible. Yes, I know that I said I don't actually expect to raise $10,000 but its possible. Anything is possible. In fact, it's also possible that I won't make over $1000... but I know one thing... every penny counts (or is it "nickel" now because we no longer have a penny?). Seriously though, this is money to help the less fortunate and it doesn't take much to help someone who's got nothing. 

Ready

Website is done, letter is basically finished which means one thing... it's time to get going! I feel ready now to start going to stores and asking for donations. Hopefully, everything will be alright and the managers will feel generous because there is now way I'm raising $10,000 without some significant contributions from the big-name stores like costco and sobey's, etc. Mario has been helping a lot which is awesome, and just having someone to work with you on a project like this is EXTREMELY helpful. Like seriously. I really don't think these stores are going to donate much (if any) but God-willing, I hope that at some point I'll strike gold from a store or two! I mean it really is a great cause. They're not helping me, they're helping the needy, and that's a point I'm trying to stress on in my fundraising letter. Helping others is often in people's nature and I hope that this will be a big factor in contributing to this project. Business-wise, its not helpful for any of these stores to give any money to any cause so I won't be offended if they decide not to donate to a random eleventh grader working on a project. Really... I get it.  

Motivation

I use this list of facts to motivate me to seriously start doing something for others. This project is a good start, I hope.