Fundraising

Oh, how I hate it. So... awkward. However, I am in the midst of fundraising for our Katrina mission trip this summer. Here is a copy of the letter we are sending out. If you want to donate, leave me a comment w/your email address and I'll a) email you a copy or b) get your mailing address so I can send it to you.

Dear Friends and Family,

As you may know, this spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to Louisiana to help in relief efforts due to Hurricane Katrina. We were blessed to know that many of our friends and family were praying for us as we went, and we are thankful for the financial gifts that made the trip possible. We saw lives changed as we worked with two new churches. In Baton Rouge, we helped complete the building of Baton Rouge Ministry Center, and built relationships with evacuees. In New Orleans, our team worked with New Hope Church to help gut houses.
This May 19-June18, a new team will go to Louisiana to continue the work started with these two churches. We will spend one week in New Orleans gutting houses and another helping the church there and encouraging the people we encounter. The next two weeks will be spent with the Baton Rouge church, following up with the people that the first team met and building even more relationships.
Please pray for our team as we prepare and leave for Louisiana. Planning for this trip could only begin once the Spring Break trip was completed, so we would appreciate your prayer that everything will fall into place and that all necessary funds will be raised. Also, pray for the people already in Louisiana and around the country, whose lives have been forever altered by the storm.
Each team member must raise approximately $1,000 before we leave, in order to pay for our flight and for the four weeks we are there. Please consider partnering with us by financially supporting the work God has called us to in Louisiana.
Thank you for considering your role in supporting us, whether it be through prayer or finances. We look forward to sharing with you the stories of the people we encounter, the experiences that shape our journey, and the ways that God works.

The dates have changed to May 19- June 16, and we don't have to raise quite as much money as we previously thought. Our team leader, Josh, emailed CAMA services because he noticed that $2 million had been donated to them as Katrina relief funds. They had only spent $1 million, and since they need the manpower more than the money right now, they were willing to help us monetarily. CAMA services gave each team member $500 toward the trip; that pays for our plane ticket, so now we only have to raise another $500 for food, gas, etc. God provides so well!
Not mentioned in the letter is the fact that we will be doing a VBS (or 2 or 5). We just found out that some guy here in my college town was not able to send school supplies to another country like he wanted to, so we may be able to bring those along to give to the kids as prizes and such. In both the spring break trip and the upcoming summer trip, it has been just AMAZING to see how just the right people come along at the right time. Everything has fallen together so well! It has been so evident that God's hand has been in both these trips!
Lives were changed in February, and we hope that more can be changed through our presence there in New Orleans area.
Thanks everyone, and pass this on to whoever you think might be interested. =)