Hello, still don’t 100% know what I am doing, so please bear with me as I write about my fundraising experience. I also would like to preface that the fear of fundraising should never keep you from being called to mission as it is a time of trusting God and development of your faith, so 100% doable.
Nevertheless, similar to everything in life, fundraising has been a bitter-sweet experience. One negative is that it can be incredibly overwhelming from different perspectives during your fundraising season. When I first started, it seemed like so much, but I also had my whole list in front of me and endless possibilities of people who would give. Now, as I near the end of my season, I have reached the last few hundred dollars and it really feels like my list is starting to thin out. I know that fundraising is supposed to be viewed as an opportunity to witness to others and as a positive thing, but this is incredibly stressful at times.
While these negatives have reared their heads, I have also had multiple blessings appear throughout this season. Firstly, I have had an opportunity, and a reason, to reconnect with so many people! I have also had a chance to live at home since September, as my parents have been kind enough to let me live here without rent. This has been a real blessing as I will be overseas for two years and will not see them nearly as much as I would like. Overall, I would say to someone that is contemplating mission work and self-fundraising, that this work is not the easiest thing you will do, but the blessings and growth earned through this experience have been incredible.
I don’t really know how to end this thing, so I guess what I am trying to say is value the good and trust God with the bad.