Posted in General Posts by Allison Tackett on 5/2/2012
Hello everyone!
I wanted to provide an update on where I stand financially with my support raising. Thanks to everyone who has given so far, I'm currently at $4,144.50! I can't thank all of my donors enough for getting me to this point - it is much appreciated.
That means I have $11,355.50 to go in order to achieve my goal of $15,500. Once I hit that financial milestone, I'll begin to work on raising the additional funds to cover my gear, travel insurance, vaccines, etc.
Of course, if anyone would prefer to donate toward any of my additional items which are not included in the $15,500, you may write a check directly to me at any point. However, please keep in mind that these donations will not be tax deductible like those written to AIM are.
My next financial deadline is in mid-June, when I must have $6,500 in my account, so I only have $2,355.50 to go until that point.
Please continue to pray for my preparation for this journey - I'm expecting God to use me in BIG ways!
Love you all!
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Posted in General Posts by Allison Tackett on 3/12/2012
Do you ever compare yourself to the Israelites, and think about how crazy they were? And how you are so much smarter, and would never question God the way they did? I mean, God was making bread rain down from heaven for a food supply in the desert, and leading them around in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Yet they still doubted Him so much that they started worshiping an inanimate object - a golden calf made of earrings and such - right in the midst of the glaringly obvious presence of God Himself. They simply did not trust Him, although His provision was quite evident, at least to those of us who read about it now.
in Numbers 14, the Bible tells us that the Israelites actually preferred to return to slavery in Egypt than to move forward into the new land God had promised them. A land flowing with milk and honey. What were they thinking?! They were afraid of the unknown, and I sure can relate to that. The majority of the Israelite spies that scouted out the Promised Land came back with reports of terrifying giants with strength that could not be overcome, not even with God on their side. There are so many things that I've viewed in the same light, in my own life. "I can't do this. It's too hard. I'm not strong enough. It's impossible."
I wonder how many things God has wanted for my life that have not come to pass because I didn't trust. To this point, I have been just like the Israelites. But I don't want to die out in the wilderness with the Promised Land just over the horizon. I want to be like Caleb the spy, who brought back a good report of the Promised Land and believed that God would be faithful in fulfilling His promise and helping them to succeed, even in the face of adversity. In Numbers 14:24, God described Caleb like this: "But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it." I want to reach the blessing God has promised me if I just trust wholeheartedly and obey. My trials and tribulations (wandering around in the desert, if you will) right now are teaching me to have faith so that I can step into His promises.
I'm going to follow God fully. Even if things are uncertain. Even if it's scary. Even when I don't think I can do it.
Because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 12:9: "But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'"
I'm leaving Egypt and my former slavery behind, and claiming the freedom that is already mine in Christ. I'm not strong enough. But God sure is.
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Posted in General Posts by Allison Tackett on 1/27/2012
On the World Race, I expect to...
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get to know Jesus on a whole new level and rely on Him like never before
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bawl my eyes out because I miss my family, boyfriend, and dog
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have major stomach issues
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become a vegetarian by the time the race is over
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cry when leaving each country because I'll miss the new family I met there (crying seems to be a common theme here...)
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be more annoyed with people than I've ever been in my life, but also have them become my best friends
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miss my bro and all our stupid antics like mad
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have my heart broken by the poverty and suffering that much of the world experiences on a daily basis
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read the Bible cover to cover
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get a major sunburn (or a few)
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really miss Tar Heel basketball season
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experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows
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see the Holy Spirit at work in a tangible way
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get used to long, uncomfortable (let's be honest - hellacious), bus rides
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throw up in every country (please God no)
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see people accepting Jesus and experiencing the ultimate joy
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eat some crazy ish
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be scared out of my mind at times
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be called out for my crap and work on my faults
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stop caring about "stuff"
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look like a complete scrub with frizzed out hair and no makeup
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take a bajillion trillion pictures
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understand what's truly important and what isn't
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stop trying to control things and just trust Jesus
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get a tattoo
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finally grasp that God is REALLY with me...all the time...no matter what
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be extremely glad in the end to have stepped out in faith to what God has called me to do
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Posted in General Posts by Allison Tackett on 1/8/2012
You all can help me with my World Race preparations in 2 ways:
1. Pray for me and my squad
2. Support my cause financially
I need to raise $15,500 in order to go on this mission trip. In addition, I need to raise a few hundred extra dollars for medical insurance and gear: backpack, sleeping bag, tent, etc.
I know it sounds like a lot - it's a pretty scary big number! But I know that God will provide if this is what He has called me to do.
There are 2 formats in which you can give:
1. One-time donation
2. Monthly donation
If 100 people pledge to donate $15 per month for 10 months, I will have nearly met my goal.
Here are the 2 ways to donate:
1. Click the "Support Me!" link to the left hand side of my page.
Just FYI - if you support me online, there will be a 5% credit card processing fee which can be avoided by sending a check.
2. Send a check made payable to "Adventures in Missions" to the address below:
Adventures In Missions
PO Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
On the memo line, please write TACKETTALLISON. Or, feel free to send me an e-mail using the "Holla At Me!" link (ha), and I can send you a support card to mail with your check, which will ensure everything is credited to my account.
Here are the financial milestones I must meet along the way in order to go on/stay on the World Race:
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$3,500 - Due 5/5/2012 (2 weeks before Training Camp)
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$6,500 - Due 6/17/2012 (2 weeks prior to your trip)
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$11,000 - Due 10/1/2012 (End of 3 months on the field)
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$15,500 - Total Due 1/1/2013 (End of 6 months on the field)
Please note that pledged donations do not count towards these amounts - the money must actually be in my account on these dates.
Thank you everyone for anything you're able to give, be it prayerfully or financially. I really appreciate your support!
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Posted in General Posts by Allison Tackett on 1/7/2012
Thanks to all of you visiting my blog to see how God is using me for His Kingdom! I really can't believe what I'm about do, and for those of you who know me, you can't either.
First, let me tell you a little bit about this crazy journey I'm about to go on, The World Race. I will travel to 11 countries in 11 months sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world. My team will leave in July 2012, and will visit Ireland, Ukraine, Russia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, and one country to be determined. We will be partnering with churches and ministries in local communities to preach God’s Word, plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to women and children who are trapped in prostitution as a result of human trafficking, and bring restoration and hope to the nations through Jesus’s name.
Now, how in the world did I end up on this trip? As many of you know, I have always had a heart for the impoverished. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 - “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” This really started to take shape in my life once I began to sponsor two children through a Christian organization called Compassion - one in Tanzania and one in India. From our correspondence back and forth, I have gotten a glimpse into their lives and the daily struggles they face. My Tanzanian child, Eliwangu, has a family income of $60 per year, for example. This type of knowledge has led me to re-evaluate my life and the blessings God has so graciously given to me. I want to show His love to others, and have recently felt Him strongly leading me to follow that call overseas.
These are all of the questions that have been running through my mind:
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This is super dangerous! What if I get murdered by terrorists, kidnapped, put in jail, crushed by an earthquake, or who knows what else?!
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I'm kind of a wimp. I'm an awful sick person even when I'm at home in the US, in air conditioning, cuddled up in my bed, with chicken noodle soup, ginger ale, and my mom. How will I deal in a third world country?
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I've never been on a mission trip or outside of the US for that matter. Can I really do this? Shouldn't I be starting small and working my way up to a trip like this?
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I'm not a super Christian that knows the entire Bible backward and forward. I'm not the most outgoing person in the whole world - how on earth am I going to PREACH? I am unworthy.
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I'm going to miss my family like mad. I'm going to miss events like my brother's graduation, my roommate's wedding, etc. How will my relationship with my boyfriend be affected - am I ruining everything?
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Can I really raise $15,500 during a time where people are struggling in our economy?
And these are the promises God keeps bringing to mind:
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Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
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Isaiah 41:10 - Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
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Matthew 19:29 - And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
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John 16:33 - I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
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1 Peter 5:6-7: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
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Isaiah 54:17 - "No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and this is their vindication from me,” declares the LORD.
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John 15:16-19 - You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another. If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
And I leave you with this:
2 Timothy 1:7 - For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
So have I lost my mind? Yes. Am I happy to lose my mind and myself for Jesus and His purposes? Yes. Bring it on World Race!
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