Do you ever sit at your desk, in the middle of an 8 hour day and think... what the heck am I doing here? Yes I know, that was a stupid question, of course the answer is YES!
But you know what? That desk is more than just a place to do work all day (or eat candy at 2:00). That office is more than just a place full of people who annoy you and a boss that signs your cheque. That office is a mission field. So is the bus you ride to work each day, and the coffee shop you get your morning latte from.
I truly believe that EVERY place is a mission field. It's not just the little village in Uganda that needs Jesus, it's your workplace, your city, maybe even your home or church.
I also believe you are never where you are for no reason. God has a purpose for everything... even the 'bad' things, even when you make the wrong choice and get stuck, I know God will repurpose that and make it into something beautiful if you just ask and follow him.
It’s not always a matter of changing where you are in life, but instead changing what you’re doing there. Are you inviting people to church? Are you speaking up in conversations with an outright Christian perspective? Do the people around you even know you’re a Christian?
There may be more people that need to know Jesus in your office then in that Ugandan village, and you may have been placed there as the door for Jesus to come in through. I get that it can be hard to be public with your faith, but no one ever said being a Christian is easy. Actually, the bible says being a Christian will be hard, so if you’re just breezing by, maybe you’re missing something?
Be a missionary where you are right now. Speak up at work, invite your barista to church, and chat up that lady on the bus (it’s not like she can walk away).
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I’m writing this blog in response to the many people whose knee jerk reaction about me going on the race is ‘Oh, I want to do that to’. Because for real, I did not want to do this! I wanted to be starting grad school, but God has other plans for me right now, and it’s out of my love for Him that I am going. So, maybe the world race sounds cool, but it seriously may not be what God wants you to do (and please don’t romanticise the race, I really will be sleeping with cockroaches and living with 8 roommates 24/7).
Also think of this… if everyone did global missions, there would be no one doing global missions. Because it takes the money donated by people working steady jobs to pay for it.
If you’re feeling lost or unfulfilled, take the time to pray. Pray about where you are, about what you’re doing, about what more you could do, or about where you are supposed to be. And don’t ignore the possible answer that you may be exactly where God wants you right now.
Share Jesus wherever you go, I mean how could you not? He kind of rocks!
If you know me well, you know I hate procrastination. I like to just get stuff done so I can relax sooner without worry on my mind... kind of like a back ended way of being lazy. So consider the following information my way of enabling you to help me now, so you can relax, be lazy, and simply follow my stories while I'm in the field...
Support Deadlines:
May 5: $3500
June 15: $6500
September 30: $11,000
December 31: $15,500
As of today I have $1500 in donations, pledges and through fundraising efforts. (Thank you to ALL my supporters so far)
It has been a very slow start, but sometimes it's the turtle that wins the race!
If you want to support me financially, you can click on the 'support' link to the left, or you can mail a cheque or bank draft to:
Adventures In Missions P.O. Box 534470 Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Please make the cheque or bank draft out in U.S. funds, and write 'For Amy Weiss- The World Race' in the memo line.
I also need emotional support, encouragement and lots of prayer while preparing and going through this journey. I genuinely appreciate every bit of it!
I started running for fun
I graduated University
I moved
I sold my car because I don't believe in owning one
I sent out ~170 resumes
I became vegan
I went without work for 5 months
In that 5 months I blew through all my savings...
... and maxed out my Visa buying groceries
I found the World Race, or maybe it found me
I got a job... it was horrid
I moved again. This time in with a roommate. Big mistake...don't find roommates on Craigslist
I found a super amazing church to call my own
I fasted for the first time
I prayed so hard for a job that didn't teach me 'what not to do'. I had enough of those
I got a new job. It rocks
I paid off my Visa
I decided not to apply for Graduate school until I return from the race. Hard decision
On paper, it seems 2011 has not been my best year. But really, I learned more this year than any other. I learned to stick up for what I believe, and ignore others who comment behind my back. I learned that my plans suck, and God's plans for me are the best. I learned to pray... not the rehearsed obligated prayers, but the random jumbled conversation type prayers that bring me closer to Jesus. I learned that I would rather eat ramen everyday then ever have to pay off a credit card again. I learned not to rush life... and that 27 is not too old to finish graduate school. I am learning to hear God. I learned I will never ever ever own a cat. There is far more to add to this list, but apparently I didn't learn how to remember!
In 2012:
I will continue to run for fun
I will raise $15,500...check that, Jesus will help me raise it. It's not my burden to carry alone
I will sing outloud in church... okay, I will TRY to sing outloud in church
I will quit my awesome job
I will take a reeeeaaaaalllllyyyyy long hot shower because I can
I will leave. And I will cry
I will get a new family. A diverse, supportive, annoying (ha!), awesome family
I will get baptized on my 24th birthday
I will cry some more because I'll really miss my dad
I will learn how to refuse meat politely. I don't think my usual 'I don't eat dead things' will go over well in Africa
I will consume dairy. Vegan and Missionary just don't happen at the same time
I will have my heart broken, then sewn back together again... but in a bigger size
I will do all sorts of new things, and I'm so excited for it all to start!
Have an awesome New Year, maybe this one will be our best yet!
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I have currently received $1200 in donations and pledges... which means I need $14,300 more. $6500 of that needs to come in by June. Every dollar counts.
Culture shock is a lovely thing. It yanks away your comfort and forces your mind further open. I am truly looking forward to experiencing it in 7 months and learning new ways. But in the last few days, as I've been reading the blogs of the January 2011 Squads who have just returned home, I keep thinking that I have just recently experienced a culture shock... right here in Vancouver.
Here's a brief back story: I was a materialistic selfish teenager who loved clothes, makeup, jewellery, and all other "Western" luxuries. The End.
Well, really this lasted until I was 21... then things started to click. I started to love academia and University, and let myself get totally lost in it. I started doing research and writing my papers on the commodification of religion, the methods World Bank uses to bankrupt Central America, and the damage Canada's 'bandwagon politics' has on third-world countries to name just a few. And things in me changed. I seriously started to HATE America, Canada, and all the crap in the world. I wanted out.
When I moved earlier this year I purged 1/3 of the stuff in my apartment. Then I sold my car. The beautiful 2007 Cobalt that I had once loved had become a symbol of the gas and oil industry, you know the one that is giving people in Alberta cancer and causing economic devastation in oil-producing Africa? I also stopped shopping for anything other than groceries or necessities. But this just wasn't enough... I still felt that I was supporting unnecessary consumption.
I decided to move again (something God was asking me to do... a story for another time). After 3 years of living on my own in a nice one bedroom apartment, I decided to have a roommate. I moved from Port Moody (a small city just outside Vancouver) to the heart of Vancouver. This time I sold all my furniture (except my bed), more of my clothes and anything I hadn't touched or used since my previous move 5 months earlier. Everything I owned fit in a short-box truck and a small SUV, with the majority of it being kitchen stuff.
It's been almost 2 months since that move, and some version of culture shock hit me last week. See, I don't buy anything I don't actually need... like seriously the only things other than food I've bought in 2 months are slippers, a book (Crazy Love by Francis Chan, so good!) toiletries and a bath mat. My jeans now have holes and most of my clothes don't fit because I've recently lost weight... but I just can't bring myself to buy new ones. I do all of my grocery shopping at Granville Island (picture a huge farmers market) and walk or bus everywhere I go.
Then last week my dad came to visit me. We drove everywhere. We went to WalMart. I stepped into Save-on-Foods. I went to a mall to buy new hole-free jeans. I cried. I felt so overwhelmed by choices... but yet could not bring myself to make a choice because I had no desire for any of it.
If this is how I feel about Canada and our culture now... how am I going to feel coming home after The Race? I am so ready for all the culture shock of going into other countries, but I am already scared of coming back home, scared that I will hate this place, scared that I won't belong here anymore.
And really, I WON'T belong here anymore... I never have! Neither have you, but you may not have realized it yet. The Bible tells us we are IN the world, but not OF it. We are physically here, but our hearts, desires, actions, thoughts and love belongs to God. How I feel is so RIGHT even though I am the odd man out.
So while I am already apprehensive about re-entry, I can be comforted knowing I DO belong somewhere... I belong in God's kingdom (so do YOU!).
So bring the culture shock on... whether it happens in the WalMart off Grandview Highway, Oakridge Mall, or at a dinner table in Cambodia.
As those of you who know me are aware, I have difficulty explaining my feelings. I can express emotion and back it up with logic, but feelings are uncharted territory. So, I am sharing this song with you, which perfectly explains the feelings I have had over the past few months and part of why I am going on The World Race. Enjoy!
I have great news to share with you. While this letter will tell you of the awesome stuff happening in my life, it also bares my heart and a brief portion of my life story. I appreciate you taking the time to read and consider it.
Most of you know I graduated from Simon Fraser University last spring with my BA in Communications and Minor in Dialogue. Throughout my undergraduate career I made big plans of what I would do when finished, which included starting an amazing career, moving into a great apartment and generally having what I thought was an 'ideal' life. Well, to put it bluntly, that did not happen. I graduated all right, but life did not fall into place like I planned. After sending out 100-something resumes, with no responses, I knew something was not right (yes, I did check if my email was working correctly!).
Here is a back story to fill you in on some of my spiritual journey to this point: Although I was raised in a Christian home, it wasn't until I started University in 2006 that I began to choose Christianity and seek Christ, rather than believe because that is what I had been taught. Well, those University years were chaotic, filled with full-time classes and 30 hour work weeks. So chaotic that I let life get in the way and put my relationship with God on the back burner. When I graduated in April, with expectations of an 'ideal' life and plenty of free time, I really started to grow my relationship with God. I began investing time in my church, got involved in a life group, and spent many hours in worship and prayer. During this time I was sending out resumes and looking for work, but found nothing. I filled my free time with good friends, family, and worship... things I never would have so eagerly pursued had I found work and started my career. I started to realize that maybe I was not meant to start the career I had wanted or have that 'ideal' life I desired for so long. Maybe God was calling me to something greater. Over several months I prayed, I searched... and I felt my heart ignite when I came across the mission I am about to embark on.
So here it is... In July 2012 I am leaving on the World Race, a missions journey that covers 11 nations in 11 months. On the World Race (a ministry of Adventures in Missions) my team and I will serve in partnership with local churches and ministries to do everything from preach the Gospel, plant churches, work in orphanages and hospitals, minister to women and children who are trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, teach English, lead crusades, do hands on development work and probably anything else you can think of.
I am so grateful God has chosen me to be his hands and feet in the world for a year, and I have every confidence He will provide for my needs. Ultimately, my prayer is that he will do this through you. There are three ways in which I need support for this mission: prayer, encouragement, and financial. The first two are vital to my success, but this trip cannot happen without financial support. I need to raise $15,500 which will cover meals, lodging, air, land, and sea travel, coaching and training camp. Additionally, funds are needed for medical insurance, vaccinations, and travel to and from training camp and my start and end point in the U.S. This may seem like a large number, but if only 20 people donated $75 per month for 10 months, I would have nearly all my financial support. I have enclosed a list of methods you can use to give financially, if you feel you have been called to do so.
I am so glad I had those months of struggle, because it gave me time to fall head over heels in love with God, and boy did I fall hard and fast! I have been led to my true path in life, free of my own plans and filled with God's plan for me. Thank you in advance for your prayers, encouragement, and support.
