Santa Cruz Summer Mission
Donation protected
For any new partners, I am switching over to only my Cru sponsored site. The address from this is https://give.cru.org/0725380. Thanks for partnering and working with me!
My name is Adelyn, and this summer I’m chasing Jesus to Santa Cruz, California.
When I was a little girl, we had a bookshelf full of missionary biographies - Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Lottie Moon, Hudson Taylor, the works. Lottie Moon was my favorite. Paperback bent and rippled from a nearly fatal swim in the creek … I loved that book. Lottie Moon grew up in a ministry-driven family and spent her childhood declaring she would never go into missions. She would stand in front of the mirror and list off all the things she was going to do. What she wasn’t going to was leave her home, her comfort zone, her safe place.
I think Lottie Moon was my favorite biography because I was her. I grew up in a family involved in ministry and lived a lifestyle that matched - fundraising, juggling bills, always praying, and hardest of all … change after change. I wanted nothing to do with any of it. I just wanted to be 'normal.' I didn't want to depend on other people for my living. I had no interest in intentionally pursuing a lifestyle of not knowing.
Fast forward with me to this past Christmas break. I was home in my safe place where God spoke to me through this familiar story of Lottie Moon. I had the house to myself, a rare and treasured moment. Dad had stoked the fire before he left. The logs were wet which, if you have ever heard a wet log burn, means they spit and even squeal at times. Curled up in my mom's 'Jesus chair' with Lottie Moon, I found myself laughing to a point of tears. It hit me that just as God called Lottie to leave her safe place, he was also calling me there.
There is a point in the book where Lottie gets it. She gets that a life of mission isn't just one of many lifestyles - it is the lifestyle for anyone pursuing Christ. As a little girl, I had rejected a life of mission because I didn’t want to depend on anyone else. This is where I missed it. We are only asked to depend on one person. And that person is Jesus. Yes, he uses other people but when it all comes down to it, he is the provider.
As I sat in the chair, tears rolling down my cheeks, I was overwhelmed with the humor of what God was telling me, but also humbled at the clarity of his preparation for such a time as this - preparation that started before I could even walk. I didn't understand it as a little girl, and I’m sure there is still much he will continue to reveal. But oh, he is so faithful and he is calling me to be faithful. He asked me to join him in a life of mission. And I said “yes.”
June 1st, I will be flying out to Santa Cruz, CA. For 10 weeks, I will be living with staff and students, working during the day and participating in a leadership development and outreach project in the evenings and over the weekends. I will be mentored and challenged to go deeper in with Christ but also to grow as a leader. The goal of the Santa Cruz project is to equip rising leaders to effectively impact our culture for Christ. I am both honored and humbled to be part of this project.
That's where you come in. I cannot do this alone. As a self-supporting college student, I do not have the means to pay for this on my own. As believers, God calls us to be dependent on him but also on others. He calls us to be willing to humble ourselves and he will do a good thing. As of April 7, 6 people have given at total of $505 toward my goal of $5000. This is more than 10% of my need! While I am encouraged by this giving, I still have $4495 to raise in a little under two months.
While I need financial partners, I also need people who will partner with me by praying for me and encouraging me. I would like to ask you to consider partnering with me in one or more of these ways.
I will keep you updated through my blog (www.lacklusterless.wordpress.com). I will be asking you to pray for me, and for those with whom I am having contact. I will let you know what I’m learning, as well as my struggles. I will continue to keep in touch with you during the months following my return to keep you posted on the fruit I trust God will bring through your partnership with me.
My name is Adelyn, and this summer I’m chasing Jesus to Santa Cruz, California.
When I was a little girl, we had a bookshelf full of missionary biographies - Amy Carmichael, Jim Elliot, Lottie Moon, Hudson Taylor, the works. Lottie Moon was my favorite. Paperback bent and rippled from a nearly fatal swim in the creek … I loved that book. Lottie Moon grew up in a ministry-driven family and spent her childhood declaring she would never go into missions. She would stand in front of the mirror and list off all the things she was going to do. What she wasn’t going to was leave her home, her comfort zone, her safe place.
I think Lottie Moon was my favorite biography because I was her. I grew up in a family involved in ministry and lived a lifestyle that matched - fundraising, juggling bills, always praying, and hardest of all … change after change. I wanted nothing to do with any of it. I just wanted to be 'normal.' I didn't want to depend on other people for my living. I had no interest in intentionally pursuing a lifestyle of not knowing.
Fast forward with me to this past Christmas break. I was home in my safe place where God spoke to me through this familiar story of Lottie Moon. I had the house to myself, a rare and treasured moment. Dad had stoked the fire before he left. The logs were wet which, if you have ever heard a wet log burn, means they spit and even squeal at times. Curled up in my mom's 'Jesus chair' with Lottie Moon, I found myself laughing to a point of tears. It hit me that just as God called Lottie to leave her safe place, he was also calling me there.
There is a point in the book where Lottie gets it. She gets that a life of mission isn't just one of many lifestyles - it is the lifestyle for anyone pursuing Christ. As a little girl, I had rejected a life of mission because I didn’t want to depend on anyone else. This is where I missed it. We are only asked to depend on one person. And that person is Jesus. Yes, he uses other people but when it all comes down to it, he is the provider.
As I sat in the chair, tears rolling down my cheeks, I was overwhelmed with the humor of what God was telling me, but also humbled at the clarity of his preparation for such a time as this - preparation that started before I could even walk. I didn't understand it as a little girl, and I’m sure there is still much he will continue to reveal. But oh, he is so faithful and he is calling me to be faithful. He asked me to join him in a life of mission. And I said “yes.”
June 1st, I will be flying out to Santa Cruz, CA. For 10 weeks, I will be living with staff and students, working during the day and participating in a leadership development and outreach project in the evenings and over the weekends. I will be mentored and challenged to go deeper in with Christ but also to grow as a leader. The goal of the Santa Cruz project is to equip rising leaders to effectively impact our culture for Christ. I am both honored and humbled to be part of this project.
That's where you come in. I cannot do this alone. As a self-supporting college student, I do not have the means to pay for this on my own. As believers, God calls us to be dependent on him but also on others. He calls us to be willing to humble ourselves and he will do a good thing. As of April 7, 6 people have given at total of $505 toward my goal of $5000. This is more than 10% of my need! While I am encouraged by this giving, I still have $4495 to raise in a little under two months.
While I need financial partners, I also need people who will partner with me by praying for me and encouraging me. I would like to ask you to consider partnering with me in one or more of these ways.
I will keep you updated through my blog (www.lacklusterless.wordpress.com). I will be asking you to pray for me, and for those with whom I am having contact. I will let you know what I’m learning, as well as my struggles. I will continue to keep in touch with you during the months following my return to keep you posted on the fruit I trust God will bring through your partnership with me.
Organizer
Adelyn Finley
Organizer
Boone, NC
