Somebody Praise Him

So many of you have been texting, emailing and asking me about how my deadline turned out.

First off, I can not even tell you how much checking up with me means! In my mind, this means people are actually following my journey and are invested in what I'm doing. That alone is so exciting and thrilling to know that you have been thinking about me, praying for me and maybe even financially investing in my journey.

Second, Here's how I turned out funding wise ...
Let me tell you how awesome God is and how he showed how his sovereignty in my funding process:

So last week I had $450 dollars to go on my trip. Let's just let that sink in.
I need $5,950 and I had $450 ... leaving me $1,700 short for my deadline of $2,150 that I had to meet in 3 days. So needless to say I was a little stressed.
But as I prayed bluntly with the Lord (sounded a bit like this: God, I have to make this deadline and I need some help so if there's anything I can do you HAVE to let me know), He gave me the idea to make a video. Most of you probably saw it ... I think it's incredibly embarrassing, but apparently: it worked!

After I published the video, I had my team manager Cody call me to tell that in just a few hours I made $350 dollars. Then about an hour and a half later I got a text from Cody: "Another $200! Keep praising!" I'm sorry, WHAT?! God was (and still is) blowing my mind.

I spent the following day responding to emails from you guys about funding and my trip, almost all of them leading to confirmation of donations! I was so excited ... and later that night, the team got a funding update via email. Before I opened it, I prayed. I knew I made money the day before, but if that was the same number I saw, I couldn't be disappointed. God was still working so I took a breath and double clicked on the email. I read through it and saw my update: $1,615. I think I got a little dizzy at the sight of such a huge number, but under it was a note from Cody: "SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!"
After about 4 weeks of getting funding emails, seeing $450 and a note under it that said "let's talk about your strategy again," I was so excited to finally get pumped about funding with Cody and have it hit me in a big way that I am actually going to Kenya.

The money wasn't the only thing God was doing. About every hour, I'd get a Facebook notification that someone tagged me in a post. Usually, it was my name and link to this here blog and a link to donate. I had lots of friends share my need, but I was surprised to see so many sorority sisters do the same. Not only was it an affirmation of how the trip is ordained, but also such an excitement to see how much favor the Lord has blessed me with in my sorority and how He really does work where we least expect it. I can not even say how excited I am to see God's plan and desires reveal themselves. I even had sisters walk up to me and hand me checks towards my trip! WHAT?!

But finally, Friday came and I couldn't wait to see if I met my deadline. When the email arrived in my mailbox, I scrolled down to see: $1,905. In one day I made almost $300 more!
So ... funding turned out pretty good. I am still $245 short, but in two days I made $1,455! Unreal.
Attached to my update, was a list of people who donated (but not their amount). That was the most exciting part to me. I got to see all of my family and friends who decided to invest financially in my trip! What surprised me the most was that I had SO many sorority sisters donate. Realize that this means kids in college still thought it would be an awesome idea to give ... even when on a tight budget. I even had a donor WHO I DIDN'T KNOW!! How cool is it to see how God works?

But the funding journey is not nearing an end. In about a week, I should have $3,075! That puts me about $245 short with $925 to raise by February 7th. I KNOW that this deadline can be met. So keep praying, keep getting the word out and if you feel called, donate!

I am so excited that y'all are getting excited with me! I'll be leaving in only 108 days ... SO SOON! Thank you for all your support and encouragement and love. I honestly couldn't do it without every single one of you.

"I thank God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now."
Philippians 1:3-6

In Him,
Catherine