Desperate for help!

[aychmb]

Hi everyone. My name is Heather, I am 20 years old and am currently living in Washington. I was raised by a Mormon family that is basically agnostic, and wasn't introduced to God until fairly recently. Most of my town (well, my state actually, Washington has the highest rate of atheists out of anywhere in the US) is pretty stripped of influence of Jesus. I went to a Baptist church for the first time when I was 16. It was amazing how right it all felt to me. I fell in love with God, and He completely changed my life. I have been called to go on a mission trip, spending 8 weeks in Tacoma, WA doing training and reaching out to the local at-risk youth; then going to Cambodia for a month to do further outreach. I am at a total loss as for what to do for money. The ministry that is holding this is located in Tacoma, which is very far from home. I know that the normal form of fundraising would be through letters, but I don't really HAVE christian friends or family to ask for support. My friends and family hate the idea of me even going on this mission trip, so even carwashes and bake sales are out of the question...I can't really do that alone. I NEED to go on this trip. I feel like God wants me there. Please, if anyone has any ideas, I would definitely appreciate it. Even if you could just pray for me, I would greatly appreciate it. The deadline is quickly approaching and I am getting very anxious.
Thank you and God bless,
Heather

[basketballforhim]

If God is calling you, go. Your risking your life to save others in need of saving. GO TO CAMBODIA AND TACOMA!

God Bless / best hopes and prayers

[SelfToChrist]

Hi Heather.
If God is calling you to do missions, then He will provide the way finacially. Let me give you some real life examples. My friend Lauri runs a Christian book store. Before opening, she was really skeptical about it because she didn't know how she was going to afford it...or run the place because she didn't know too much about how to run a business. She felt that the Lord wanted her to do this. So she finally decided she was going to just trust God and go ahead and open up. She said that still to this day, when she starts to worry because she doesn't have enough money to pay the monthly bills due to slow business...God has always supplied her needs. People would walk in once a month and write her a check to help her...and she didn't ask and doesn't go around begging so it's not like everyone knew she was struggling.

Another example is with a missionary Paul Washer. He is the founder of Heartcry missionary society. When he first felt the Lord leading Him to start this organization he decided he was going to completely trust in the Lord to provide the money to do all this. He also wasn't going to raise support because he figured that if the Lord wants this to happen, He would find a way to support this missionary activity. By the grace of God that missionary society that started in Peru has now expanded to places all over the world and continues to grow today and they still don't try and raise support.

I know it can be hard...but trust in the Lord. Put your faith in Him. If He truly wants you to do missionary work NOW and THERE then HE will make it possible. If not then maybe somehow you were wrong...not in the sense that you should be a missionary but the when and where aspect of it. I hope this will help you...God Bless.

[David Taylor]

Heather,
Coming from an agnostic Mormon upbringing, and just recently being introduced to God through a Baptist church, are you clear and grounded on the difference between the "jesus" of Joseph Smith, the quorum of 12, and the LDS church, as opposed to the "Jesus" of Biblical Christianity? You do know the two Jesus's are quite different and are not the same person?

Just trying to get an idea here on this, because knowing and understanding this one foundational point can make a big difference for you, your mission work, and your relationship with God.

[Frecs]

Have you approached the pastor of your church?

[Beckrl]

My thought would be to connect to a church, if you don't have one. I would think a local church would love to help in the mission field. That may not help at this moment, but would help in the future.