Youth With A Mission--Brisbane
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The Story: After graduating nursing school, I anticipated I would take a big time job in a big time city in a big time hospital for a big time paycheck. I thought my eyes would be fixed on my success and how I could climb the ladder of “success” chasing the American Dream.
After coming to faith, I am happy to say God had a different plan for me.
This May I graduated from Florida State University with a promising degree that would open countless doors for me. Nursing was always my plan A, and there was no plan B. As I approached job applications at the end of 2017 I kept running into countless barriers that made me question whether or not I was actually pursing God's heart for me. I prayed God would lead me to the city, the state, the opportunity that I should take. I realized the “open hearted” prayer I was praying was actually not encompassing God’s plan for me at all. I was praying He would send me somewhere--anywhere for the job that He wanted me to take. I searched for hours and days and weeks to find the opportunity that I had excitement and peace about. At one point, I zoomed out and stared at a map of the United States for 20 minutes and just asked “God align my heart with your will for me.” I felt that every rock I turned over held nothing-- and then I realized I had been praying for the job or the career move. And He had no intention of me pursuing that in this season of my life. That’s when YWAM found me. I scrolled through Facebook and saw a girl with a backpack overlooking a valley; the caption posed the question “who wouldn’t want to take a journey with God for 6 months?” This was the spark that started the fire that led me here to you today.
Even before my walk as a Christian, I always felt closest to myself in the rawness of nature. At the top of a mountain, overlooking a sunset, toes in the sand at the edge of the shoreline. My walk with the Lord furthermore amplified that desire to be in God’s creation-- I not only feel closer to myself in His creation, but closer to Him. Being in our natural world de-centers me from my own life and puts me on a plane with the rest of the world; it brings me humility and perspective and allows me to disconnect from the constant buzz of the world and align my spirit with the calming nature of God’s heart for the world. Hillsong’s song “Seasons” illustrates this feeling so beautifully “How nature acquaints us with the nature of patience.” When this specific DTS found me, I was captivated by the name. Out of genuine curiosity I clicked the Beach to Bush link which led me to a blog post that encompassed everything my heart wanted into one opportunity. An opportunity to discover God, to explore through his creation, and to disconnect from the “American Dream” mindset of the United States. I remember feeling that there was no way this could be real, and then saying to myself “How foolish am I to think God would hold out his best from me? Instead he took all the things my heart had passion for and wrapped it up into one concrete opportunity.” I can’t wait to get lost in discovering the fullness of God.
The Funds. The money I am raising will directly fund my 6-month mission; this mission will begin with a 4-month Lecture phase starting at the Youth With A Mission base in in Brisbane, Australia—from there we will go on the road throughout Australia serving the unreached communities and sharing the gospel. We will then depart on a 2-month outreach phase to countries in Southeast Asia (the countries we will be traveling to will be revealed to us soon!) I am hoping to fundraise this goal before the start date of my program on August 15, 2018.
· The Lecture Phase: $3,500
· The Outreach Phase: $3,800
· Flights: $2,000
· Total: $9,300
While I know that fundraising $9,300 is a large financial milestone for this mission, I have faith in God’s provision. I rest in knowing that He will bring people into my life and my story who believe in the call He has on my life, and in the urgent mission of sharing the good news of the Gospel.
I feel so blessed to have the encouragement of my supportive family, inspiring church family, and for your financial support. Thank you for loving me and believing in God’s call on my life, I can’t wait to share the epic adventures of my mission with you!
In His Love,
xo Gabbie
After coming to faith, I am happy to say God had a different plan for me.
This May I graduated from Florida State University with a promising degree that would open countless doors for me. Nursing was always my plan A, and there was no plan B. As I approached job applications at the end of 2017 I kept running into countless barriers that made me question whether or not I was actually pursing God's heart for me. I prayed God would lead me to the city, the state, the opportunity that I should take. I realized the “open hearted” prayer I was praying was actually not encompassing God’s plan for me at all. I was praying He would send me somewhere--anywhere for the job that He wanted me to take. I searched for hours and days and weeks to find the opportunity that I had excitement and peace about. At one point, I zoomed out and stared at a map of the United States for 20 minutes and just asked “God align my heart with your will for me.” I felt that every rock I turned over held nothing-- and then I realized I had been praying for the job or the career move. And He had no intention of me pursuing that in this season of my life. That’s when YWAM found me. I scrolled through Facebook and saw a girl with a backpack overlooking a valley; the caption posed the question “who wouldn’t want to take a journey with God for 6 months?” This was the spark that started the fire that led me here to you today.
Even before my walk as a Christian, I always felt closest to myself in the rawness of nature. At the top of a mountain, overlooking a sunset, toes in the sand at the edge of the shoreline. My walk with the Lord furthermore amplified that desire to be in God’s creation-- I not only feel closer to myself in His creation, but closer to Him. Being in our natural world de-centers me from my own life and puts me on a plane with the rest of the world; it brings me humility and perspective and allows me to disconnect from the constant buzz of the world and align my spirit with the calming nature of God’s heart for the world. Hillsong’s song “Seasons” illustrates this feeling so beautifully “How nature acquaints us with the nature of patience.” When this specific DTS found me, I was captivated by the name. Out of genuine curiosity I clicked the Beach to Bush link which led me to a blog post that encompassed everything my heart wanted into one opportunity. An opportunity to discover God, to explore through his creation, and to disconnect from the “American Dream” mindset of the United States. I remember feeling that there was no way this could be real, and then saying to myself “How foolish am I to think God would hold out his best from me? Instead he took all the things my heart had passion for and wrapped it up into one concrete opportunity.” I can’t wait to get lost in discovering the fullness of God.
The Funds. The money I am raising will directly fund my 6-month mission; this mission will begin with a 4-month Lecture phase starting at the Youth With A Mission base in in Brisbane, Australia—from there we will go on the road throughout Australia serving the unreached communities and sharing the gospel. We will then depart on a 2-month outreach phase to countries in Southeast Asia (the countries we will be traveling to will be revealed to us soon!) I am hoping to fundraise this goal before the start date of my program on August 15, 2018.
· The Lecture Phase: $3,500
· The Outreach Phase: $3,800
· Flights: $2,000
· Total: $9,300
While I know that fundraising $9,300 is a large financial milestone for this mission, I have faith in God’s provision. I rest in knowing that He will bring people into my life and my story who believe in the call He has on my life, and in the urgent mission of sharing the good news of the Gospel.
I feel so blessed to have the encouragement of my supportive family, inspiring church family, and for your financial support. Thank you for loving me and believing in God’s call on my life, I can’t wait to share the epic adventures of my mission with you!
In His Love,
xo Gabbie
Organizer
Gabbie Stratiotis
Organizer
Tallahassee, FL