Welcome Back

     Today I went to the bank to cash a check for my trip to Honduras in July, and as I walked up to the teller I was met by a greeting that took me by surprise. I guess she recognized me from my other recent trips to cash checks, so maybe the "welcome back" shouldn't have been such a surprise, but it caused me to think. Now, please know that I am in no way trying to brag. This is not really "my money", it is just something I need for this trip and it is something I do not take for granted.
     Because there are so many people in my life who are willing to support me, in financial and other ways, I am going to be able to go back to Honduras and experience again one of the best times of my life. That is, in a way, another way of being "welcomed back". It amazes me how many people are so willing to support me and seem to have so much confidence in me. People are willing to be generous and trusting enough to invest in me and this trip, and believe that their funds are being put to good use, and that's really amazing.

Came home from cashing one check to find another in the mail.

     Fundraising is sometimes my least favorite part of the trip, because of the stress it involves. It is an important step in forming a friendship with the rest of the team, but it also brings to light the fact that a certain amount of money is necessary for this trip to happen, which stresses people out. When I sent out fundraising letters I felt a little strange about it, but the result has been a positive one.
     I guess my point in all of this rambling about money and fundraising is that I have learned a lesson from it. Money is necessary for mission trips, but it is also just an object. Pieces of paper and little coins that when added up, allow us to go experience this trip and do what we feel we have been called to do. Again, I am no way trying to brag, I am very thankful for the generosity of so many people. If you want to take advice from a teenager who has no business handing out financial tips, this is what I would say. Money is a necessary part of this mission trip, but, to me, it does not define the trip. It is simply part of the process to get where we are called to go. I have learned that money is a big thing, but God is bigger, and I hope I never let money stand in the way of something I feel I am meant to do.