WARNING/DISCLAIMER: The Mission Year website linked below has been giving people warnings about malicious software. I’ve been on the site dozens of times over the past month with no issues, but if you get that warning you may be wise to check back tomorrow.
Dear Interwebs,
I need a favor.
It’s not really for me. Here’s the deal.
Grace is a student at Redefined. She was. Now she’s graduated and is moving on with her life.
For a while, she wasn’t sure what that really meant. She couldn’t seem to find a college/university that was a good fit. Her heart’s cry is apostolic/communal living, but some of her efforts to move forward in that area met some stiff resistance from her family.
She came to me a couple of times for prayer on the thing, and then she found Mission Year – the day before they stopped accepting applications for the fall. I got a call that night asking if I could get online and fill out a recommendation form … like right now.
And she got accepted!
You can learn all about Mission Year at their website, but the program basically breaks down to:
- Relationships
- Community Living
- Community Service
- Discipleship
- Church Partnership
- Social Justice
- Simplicity
She’ll be in Oakland, California, which is scary enough in itself. She’ll spend four days/week in focused community service, live communally with other young adults, attend and volunteer in a local church, assist in social justice issues in her neighborhood, and live on less than $20/week. And did I mention she’ll be living in Oakland, California?
The program might sound intense, but it’s perfect for Grace. She started coming to Redefined at the beginning of our series on Acts, and you’ve never heard anyone talk about Christian community like Grace did. She never got over it.
So here’s where the favor comes in:
Because she got accepted at the last possible moment, she’s about five months behind everyone else in fundraising. She needs $6000 in a couple months.
I know that everyone is pinching pennies right now. I know most of us are finding it painful to keep tithing. I know we all have favorite charities or organizations that we give to whenever we can.
But
Can you help even a little?
Can you skip coffee one morning and give $5?
Can you fast lunch one day and give $20?
Can you skip date night this week/month and give $50?
There will be some amazing ministry in Oakland, California over the next twelve months. Communities will get a breath of fresh air, local churches will be supported, and one very worthy young woman’s life will – I believe – finally be set firmly on the path God has for her.
Her blog, which she’s also required to keep, will be here.
You can follow her on Twitter here.
You can stay updated via Facebook here.
Hey Lex,
Every link that I clicked on associated with Mission Year gave me a prompt that the pages contain malicious software. Dunno what’s up with that, but I just thought I’d give you a heads up. It just says there’s “malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent.” So I suppose it could be harmless, but I don’t know.
<3 Jennie
Hmm. It’s giving me that same warning now. I was on it about a million times yesterday with no problems. I wonder if they’re having some temporary tech problems. Thanks for the heads up!
Love the spirit of this post, Lex. Way to advocate for your friend’s ministry. Great stuff that I know God is pleased with. Coming from someone who has to raise support for a living, I can tell you: friends like you are invaluable.