Dear friends and family,

I am excited to tell you what I’m up to this year, and what God has been doing in my life.

When I was growing up, I was led by my parents to constantly be involved in the work of the Kingdom. At first, I was dragged from church service to church service, helped with several church-start projects, and have worked in many AWANA, VBS and Good News Clubs. At the time, it was just something to do with my family, but more recently, I’ve been able to see the intense training that my parents were putting me through. Because of the lifestyle that they immersed me into, I have a love for sharing God’s Word and his gospel with others.

In the last few years, I’ve been working as a pipe fitter and welder, and have been focusing my life on gaining valuable “tent-making” skills for the future. With my current job, I’ve been given something that I’ve never had before: vacation time. As I kept working and the vacation days kept adding up, I started wondering what to do with them. I knew that God was telling me that I should use those days for Him, rather than just for myself, so I started looking into the possibility of a mission trip.

“Go into all the world and make Disciples of all nations” Matthew 28:19

 I found out about a trip to Maharashtra, India that is very similar to one that my sister Katy took with E3 Partners four years ago, and I immediately starting praying about going.

E3 is an organization that I have been really impressed with, and I’ve known quite a few people who have made life-altering trips with them. They are very careful to not have obviously missions-related wording in their name, because they often go into countries and areas that are hostile to missions groups. India, for example, is becoming more adamant about sending people home who are sharing any religion or faith with the national people. This means they are turning away Muslims as well as Christians. Because of E3’s humanitarian aid methods, they are able to get into the country, and God is using them in great ways.

My vacation days are earned; the trip will work out with the time slot that God has provided and I am so excited to do more for his Kingdom than taking a traditional vacation for myself.

The trip will be on June 24 and we will be gone for 10 days. Our team will partner with national churches and Believers to target areas that are unreached with the Gospel.  Each day I will team up with several national Believers, including a translator, and go out to share Christ with those we meet. The nationals we work with have a plan to follow up with those who put their faith in Christ throughout the week.  They are committed to establishing new churches in the areas we visit!

Of course, here comes the part of the letter that you’ve probably been dreading: I have to ask for your financial help. To go on this trip will cost $3,780, and I need half of this by April 1.

Here’s the thing: if God isn’t tugging at your heart by now, please don’t send me anything. I am hoping that you can see that this isn’t just some kid trying to be cool and go on a mission trip to have fun. I’m serious in my hope and prayer that God will use our team to bring the lost to Christ. I’m serious enough that if the funds aren’t raised in time, I’ll choose to pay for this myself. Please consider helping. I would love to share the joy of this trip with you! I’m not ashamed to ask for this help, since I know that giving is truly a part of the work, and that God may be asking you to partner with the trip in this way.