Hello to all! Most of those who I am sending this to probably know me, but if you don't then please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kaden Wootten and I am now attending school at Grand Canyon University, in Phoenix, AZ. So far, here at GCU, there have been many great communities to get involved in. I have really enjoyed getting involved with the Spiritual Life group here on campus as well as the Outdoor Recreation group. Luckily these two groups have joined forces to create a mission trip that allows the best of both groups in one, and I have decided to join them.
This trip will go through an organization called Hike for Humanity. The organization goes alongside pastors in the Bribri tribe community. They are a tribe of people that are in the more remote areas between Panama and Costa Rica. We will be flying from Phoenix to LAX before continuing on to San Jose, Costa Rica. From San Jose, we will travel through the country staying at a hotel overnight before heading to Limon where we will prepare for the journey at hand. On the third day there, we will be heading off on our trek. That day, there will be more than 10 hours of driving, canoeing, and backpacking. Luckily over the five days that we will be backpacking we won't be staying in tents (as we are going to be in the jungle). Rather, we will be staying at the Hike for Humanity base camp during the beginning and end of the trip. While we are at the villages of the Bribri people, we will be staying in lodging provided by the villages. However, we will be carrying all of our belongings on our backs for those nine days.
Hike for Humanity will be helping us to get in contact with the pastors that are based in the different villages that we will be going to. They help to form better connections to the community and form trust with its members. As we hike around, our utmost goal will be to share the gospel with everyone we can. We will be helping to organize community events in order to share our faith and show them the hope we have found in Christ. In addition, we will be helping with any physical needs that they may have, such as manual labor, and just generally be involved with the community in order to help open our own understandings of the world. Because the mission work depends on the villages that we go to, and what they might need in their given situation, we could be doing anything from VBS for children, youth outreach events for young adults, hosting a worship night, door to door evangelism, or even just helping out with odds and end jobs around the community.
All in all, I cannot wait for this trip! Not only will it be an amazing adventure and experience, but it will also be an ample opportunity to be able to see God’s love reaching out through us to others. There will be difficulties such as language barriers and, well, just general variables. However, I know that just so long as I pray about it, and make sure to trust God entirely with it, then it will turn out good, however that may look to God. The point of all this explaining is to ask for your help for the trip. If you know me, you know that I am not always keen on asking things of others. Especially when I feel like it may inconvenience them. That said, this feels like the correct kind of situation to ask without hesitation.
My trip was only supposed to be around $2500. However, we ended up having to book flights separately from one another instead of making one big booking. Meaning that it wound up costing more than what was comfortable on my college budget. In total, I think that the trip will run around $3200-$3500, based on other variables that may pop up. Any donation you would be able to give would be great. No matter how big or small it is, it will be used to its fullest ability by going towards snacks, gear rentals, and payments for flights and other needs.
Should this fundraiser find you in a spot that financially helping me is not possible, at this time, would you please consider one of the following two ways of helping me:
- Would you please pray for everything leading up to and including my trip? The preparation, in itself, will be a lot; but the trip will be exhausting physically, mentally, and potentially emotionally. Please pray for the finances to come in for the trip, that no one on the team runs into any obstacles, that we all maintain good health (before, during, and after the trip), and that God goes before us preparing the hearts of those we will come in contact with.
- Would you consider sharing this link with others that you think might be willing to help? I believe God wants me on this trip, and I know He will provide.
Thank you for your help and please know that I will do my best to update you, after the trip, to let you know how mighty our God is and what He did to show Himself to us while we were there. Have a blessed day!
Kaden Wootten
