My trip is officially FULLY FUNDED!
I am blown away by the sheer amount of love and support that has shown up in my life. I do not know how I missed it before, but I have learned that I am not alone in a single step of this journey. So many people have come alongside me prayerfully, financially, mentally and physically. I dearly appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you.
Here’s how it happened:
Through the love and support of my family, friends, and church family, around $16,200 had been raised between May and October of this year. During that time, God did all the hard stuff to make it happen, while I only did 3 things:
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Pray- I thanked the Lord in advance for His provision
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Ask- I asked others for support PRAYERFULLY and then financially
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Trust- I worshipped Him in the waiting and continued saying yes
Isn’t God so good to require so little of us?
Now here’s my favorite part of the whole fundraising journey:
A couple months ago, my boss/instructor/mentor/friend offered to host a Taekwondo-style fundraiser at Moohan Martial Arts on November 6th. My goal was to finish off the fundraising and raise $2,500. Honestly though, I expected to raise a couple hundred dollars max, MAYBE even a thousand.
We started announcing the event 2 weeks in advance. By the time the fundraising event started, $1,300 HAD ALREADY BEEN RAISED by the love and support of my Moohan Family. I was beyond surprised and excited. However, that meant that we only had 1 hour to raise $1,200 more. Plus, everyone who was attending the event had already made donations, so I thought “Surely we might be able to get another hundred dollars or so tonight. I’ll just find another way to raise the rest.”
The event had begun. Everyone was having a blast breaking boards and celebrating the amount of donations that had been raised. After a little while into the event, a dedicated, talented, kindhearted and selfless 12-year-old boy (one of our taekwondo students), came up to me and handed me a check. He thanked me for being his instructor and role model, and then told me that this is the money he saved up all summer from chores and allowances. My instructor and I looked at the check and had to do a double take.
This 12-year-old boy handed me a check for $1,200.
God didn’t stop there. Throughout the rest of the night, we proceeded to raise another thousand dollars. I came to Moohan with the need for $2,500. I left with nearly $4,000.
In John 6, Jesus and His disciples came across a crowd of over 5,000 people. Jesus wanted the disciples to feed them, but they didn’t even have enough food to feed themselves. A young boy came up and handed them 5 small loaves of bread and 2 small fish. “but how far will this go among so many?” When given to Jesus, this boy’s lunch, which was all he had, was multiplied to feed the multitudes and even leave leftovers.
After years of saying no to God, I finally gave Him one yes: to surrender 11 months of my life to Him on this missions trip. He multiplied that yes into hundreds as people have said yes to support me on this journey. Whether or not you realize it, you said yes to God when you chose to support this mission. God has multiplied your yes. He has multiplied your donation. He has multiplied your generosity.
What are you holding onto that He wants to multiply in your life? Give Him your 2 fish, and see what He can do.
Now, I’m set to launch with my squad on January 8th, 2022. My squad, whom I first met at the end of October, is split up into 3 teams: Emissary (my team), Selah, and Flocka Sheep. Our first stop will be Guatemala. Here’s our current route:
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Guatemala
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Honduras
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Nicaragua
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Costa Rica
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Colombia
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Ecuador
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Peru
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Rwanda
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Kenya
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Eswatini
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South Africa
I probably forgot to mention that we’ll be going to Africa instead of Southeast Asia! This is mostly because the access to several countries is limited in Asia. All I know is God is working wherever we go.
Now that I’m fully funded, I’ve met my squad, and went through training camp, these next two months leading up to Launch will be full of prayer, preparation and intentionality. I’m physically prepared as far as I can tell, so most of my preparation will be spiritual. I will be spending time honing the gifts the Lord has given me and seeking wisdom in how to use them for His glory next year.
At this point in my journey, as it was before, the number 1 way you can support me is through prayer. I cannot stress enough the impact you all have had on my life simply by praying. I simply ask that you continue to do so and I thank you in advance.
Keep following along on my journey to see the fruits of your prayers and support! The next blog I post will probably be from Guatemala, so stay tuned!
Wow Zachary! Hallelujah! Fully funded! The Lord is so GOOD and He will always use your “yes” to further His kingdom. I know that He has great plans for you. We look forward to going on this amazing journey with you! Love you!
Praise God! He is so so good!! My son is the other Zachary on your team. I cannot wait to see and hear what God has in store for all of you. We too are overwhelmed by ty the outpouring of love and support from our community.
You are so blessed to have so many people care enough to help you on your journey. I can’t wait to see what God has in store for you! I am beyond proud and amazed at what a wonderful man you are!