- Pin it
- SubscribeUnsubscribe
- Embed
Jessica Woody hasn't added a story.
As many of you know, the summer of 2014 changed my life forever. This summer changed my life forever because it was the first time I decided to trust God and walk in faith down the path I knew he was calling me (if you would like to read the whole story see below). It was the summer I finally said yes to God's call! It was the summer that guided my decission to change gears in life and go back to school...but this time it was to study the word of God, so that I could be properly equiped to fulfill my responsibility of bringing God's Kingdom here on earth!
I have been given the opportunity to return to the same part of El Salvador with the same organization. While here I will be serving in rural El Salvador. Some of the opportunities we will have, while in El Salvador include: Hosting a Youth Bible Conference, a theater camp, and kids camps. We will also have the opportunity to work with Salvadoran educators, work in an elementary school and participating in everyday life with our friends. With just 12 short days left before we leave, I am still short on my total trip cost and would greatly appreciate any support you are willing to give. Please consider making a donation to help me raise my trip money. This money will go towards: travel, food, supplies for conferences, and educational supplies. I have currently raised a total of $1,500 and this 1,700 is the last bit I have left to raise. Please prayerfully consider helping me.
The Call that Changed My Life
Right before that summer, my life had been turned upside down. I lost my job, ended a long term relationship with the man I thought I was going to marry and nothing seemed to be going as planned. I was lost, broken and searching for direction.
Thankfully in the midst of my brokenness I felt God call me to be his servant and this time I knew I couldn’t say no. At first I did not quiet know what being his servant looked like but I knew serving him was what would bring healing to the pain I was feeling. Not long after hearing this call to serve and deciding it was my only option, I was picked by my local church as one of the 15 people to travel to Uganda in order to help facilitate the annual vacation bible school for children at Musana. Little did I know that this would actually end up being just the beginning of my journey to become God’s servant. Not long after committing to the mission trip with my church, I felt God tell me that he wanted more.
At first I fought him because I struggled with believing that I could do more. I mean what more could he want...I was already going across the world in a foreign land with a group of people I didn’t really know! Well about a month later it became very clear to me that God also wanted me to participate in a SLAM (Students Living a Mission) internship with an organization called Global Outreach Development International. The thought of this sounded completely insane for so many reasons. All I could think was: How can I go when it would require me to go to Nashville, TN just three days after getting back from Africa with my church? How on earth am I going to raise enough support? How could God ask me to commit to so much in one summer? Shouldn’t I spend my summer looking for a new job? The questions were endless and the call felt so demanding. So much of me wanted to tell God that he was crazy and that he couldn't possibly ask so much of me so quickly and expect me to say yes. But the reality of it all was that I knew I could not tell God no! I knew that God had been calling me to serve him for so long but I lacked the faith to answer. I knew deep in my heart that my answer this time had to be yes! I knew that this time I had to trust that God had a plan for my life.
Trusting that God had a plan for my life I committed to both trips. This meant that on May 28, 2014 I would fly to Uganda with my home church, fly back to Denver on June 8 and then fly to Nashville on June 11 to start a seven week internship. During my internship I was immersed into the word of God so much that my mind and my heart were being transformed. I began to recognize the importance of being educated in the word of God and becoming a servant. I began to realize that we (God’s people) had a responsibility to bring the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. With each bible passage we studied and each moment of service I was involved in helped me realize that God was calling me to become his student so that I could serve the poor and vulnerable. I wish I could say that this realization made me make an automatic decision to continue to trust God and follow his call. I was torn because I knew God wanted me to learn his word and serve him but I was scared to make the commitment of leaving my life of teaching and leaving my favorite place to live (Denver) so that I could move to Nashville and attend Bible school at Global Outreach Development International (G.O.D)
Thankfully, I decided to walk in faith and trust that God’s plan was way better than anything I could make for myself. So in the Fall of 2014, I became a student at G.O.D. Now here it is Fall of 2015 and I am at the end of my fourth semester of school and on my way to becoming the person God desires me to be.
Highlights
See all activity8Activity
Delete media item?
Delete this item from the media gallery? It will also be deleted from any related story update.
Set as ?
The campaign video will appear in social media and email.
The campaign cover picture will appear in social media and email.
The will appear at the top of your campaign page and in social media and email.
Reset ?
It will be removed from the top of your campaign and won't be used as default in social media and email. The will remain in the media gallery.
Embed
Share a link
Delete update
Delete this story update?
Any pictures or videos will remain in the campaign's media gallery.
Report campaign
Report submitted
Thank you. We take reports like yours very seriously. Our goal is to keep the community safe.
Please know that we may contact you for more information, but that we won't notify you personally of our decision. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Thank you. We've already received your previous report. If the campaign remains available within a few days, it's likely that we determined it not to be in violation of our policies.
Tell us about the problem. Please fill in both fields below.
Record a video
Upload a video
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Take a minute or two to record one now. Record a short video message of support. Or upload one from your device. You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Nothing grabs attention for your cause like a personal video. Upload a short video message of support. Upload a short video message of support. Or record one right now.
- Most effective video length: about a minute.
- Maximum length: 5 min.
- You can preview or redo your video before you post it.
Heads up! The existing video will be replaced.
Email your friends
Join our team
Tell people why our cause matters to you. Your personal message will encourage others to help. Easy, effective, optional.
Say it in video
Short personal videos by supporters like you are incredibly powerful. Record one right now and you'll help us raise more money. Easy, optional, effective.
Add a personal goal
Set a personal fundraising goal. You'll encourage more contributions if you do. And rest easy. There's no obligation to achieve your goal or bad consequences if you don't. Easy, optional, effective.
We have a video!
Video thumbnail
We'd love to show you our campaign video. Want to take a look?
, you're already on the team.