I have lived in Georgia my entire life. My travel has been rather limited: the states that border my dear home state, and once to visit a friend in Ohio. I have flown in an airplane once on that trip to Cincinnati and back, and once to Florida and back. Period. 
I am not one of those people who always wanted to travel the world.
I never, ever, EVER felt the need to get a passport.
Until a few years ago, I never tithed. I plopped a few bills in the offering plate as it passed by, but it was purely guilt motivated. That's a post in itself that we'll save for another day, but I do highly recommend reading Money, Possession, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. Now, we do faithfully tithe, and God has blessed that. A percentage of our church budget goes to mission trips and missionaries around the world. Last year during "missions week," we were challenged to pray about the possibility of going on a mission trip and/or giving to missions. I had one or two very fleeting thoughts about MAYBE doing a mission trip one day, and was surprised at myself for even momentarily considering it because that's just not my thing. So, we committed for that year to give a little above our regular tithe to go to missions.
I am not one of those people who always wanted to travel the world.I never, ever, EVER felt the need to get a passport.
Until a few years ago, I never tithed. I plopped a few bills in the offering plate as it passed by, but it was purely guilt motivated. That's a post in itself that we'll save for another day, but I do highly recommend reading Money, Possession, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn. Now, we do faithfully tithe, and God has blessed that. A percentage of our church budget goes to mission trips and missionaries around the world. Last year during "missions week," we were challenged to pray about the possibility of going on a mission trip and/or giving to missions. I had one or two very fleeting thoughts about MAYBE doing a mission trip one day, and was surprised at myself for even momentarily considering it because that's just not my thing. So, we committed for that year to give a little above our regular tithe to go to missions.
This verse is often referred to in Money, Possessions, and Eternity. The author says if you want to have a heart for something, start putting your money towards it. Want a heart for orphans? Give to support them. Want a heart for the homeless? Give to an organization that helps them. Want a heart for missions? Give towards missions."Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." ~Matthew 6:21
That's not why we gave to missions. But apparently, it had the very effect Randy Alcorn predicted. When missions week came around this year, I had more than a fleeting thought about it, but getting to most of those places requires an airplane, and I don't do airplanes. Not long after that, however, our friends Jenifer and Barrett asked if we'd be interested in going with them on a mission trip they are leading to Botswana. My response? HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!!!!
A few weeks later, Jenifer mentioned it again. This time, Ken and I prayed about it.
Friends. . . we're going to Botswana.
As in, the continent of Africa.
As in, another hemisphere.
As in, requiring a passport.
As in, Jamie on an airplane for many hours. Over the ocean.
As in, w-a-a-a-a-a-a-y out of my comfort zone.
In the coming weeks, I'll be blogging quite a bit about this. We do not have the extra money to spare, but we feel called to do this, so we're going to kick off a fund-raising campaign, knowing that the Lord will provide the funds for this trip. Actually, the amount we need to raise is surprisingly small. Our church pays half of all mission trips for all members, and we're getting an amazing deal on airfare. The total for both Ken and me to go on this trip is $3100. I'll write more soon about what we'll be doing there, and if you feel led to contribute to our trip, I'll let you know how you can do that. I'll also be asking for specific prayer needs before and during our trip, and when it comes time for me to step on that plane, I'm going to need a whole lot of prayer!
