(This is the letter I am sending and giving to every person I've ever met in my whole life)

As you may or may not already know, I am planning a mission trip to Africa this summer. The trip is from June 16th until August 8th. I will be near Harrismith, South Africa working with the Basotho tribe. I am applying to be on the outreach staff, which means I will be one of those really cool college-age people I looked up to so much when I went on my ten day mission trips to Mexico. I’ll help organize and coordinate things like ministry sites and probably even serve up some delicious “camp food” to teams of people arriving from North America.

In addition to playing with little kids, chatting with some old folks, visiting hospitals, planting gardens, and building fences, one of the things I am the most excited about is going on a safari – which is what first interested me in Africa when I was a smaller, but no less adorable version of my current self. Since poring over my Young Scientist encyclopedia volume six (Animals) I have, for lack of better words, fell head over heels in love with Africa. Everything I’ve read, fiction or not, has only increased my passion for the people and history and geography and music and art… the list goes on and on. The original decision to take a break from college and go to Africa came after two cataclysmic things happened in my life, the first was a book, and the second was a movie.

I read The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne (read it!), and in it, found everything I’ve ever thought about Christianity, everything I’ve ever wanted to believe about the potential of Christians, and the hope of the possibility for revolution to take place within and around an individual. It all happened in the middle of the week of a leadership camp that I was a counselor at, and I was staying up late with the girls in my cabin, and instead of the usual inane chatter about what kind of boyfriend I wanted to have and what kind of boyfriends I have already had, we were talking about changing the world, and about how to build community and how to encourage and strengthen each other into not giving up on improving people’s lives. Then, some of the kids at camp were in charge of showing a documentary called “The Invisible Children” (watch it!). It’s about child soldiers in Uganda. Children are actually abducted from their village homes in the middle of the night and are brainwashed and taught how to fire weapons. I cried. A lot. And when it was over, I walked with a friend back to our cabins and told her I couldn’t wait to go to Africa anymore.

Unfortunately, they don’t just let you go to Africa. They insist you pay for a passport, airfare, food, shelter, and other things of that nature. The total cost of the trip is $3,850, and $1,900 is due on May 1st. I have been working on fundraisers, including selling a Christmas CD of my friend playing the violin and me playing the flute. I am still a fairly long way away though, and at this point, the May 1st deadline is impossible.

But, the word impossible doesn’t scare me, and I sure hope it doesn’t scare you. I have become a big, big fan of Mother Teresa in the last year, and she is my favorite example of impossibility. It really is impossible that a little girl from Albania would move across the globe and change not just the face of India, but the actual concept of charity. It’s impossible that someone could be given a million dollars and not spend even a dime of it on something for themselves. It’s impossible that someone could live with and embrace lepers and dangerously sick people and not contract their diseases. But somehow, it all happened.

So, let’s do the impossible! I have written a check dated for May 1st, 2008 for $1,900, but that’s because I have faith in God that He will send me everything I need. But, I know something important about faith. I was running to a bus stop one day, praying silently that I would please, please make the bus. I got there, and the bus was running late by a miraculous three minutes. The faith wouldn’t have mattered if I hadn’t been running, and vice versa. So, I’ve got the faith, and now, for the running: Will you help me? Please? Whether you’d like to contribute five dollars or five hundred dollars, every dime will be appreciated and used to change the world (it doesn’t matter if you’re skeptical, because I believe it enough for all of us!). I’ll probably cry tears of joy and do a little dance every time a check comes in the mail. (And don’t worry, if you haven’t got a penny to spare in the world, I will gladly accept your prayers and positive thoughts and encouraging emails.) And if you’d like, you can give me your email address and I will send you updates while I am on the trip – including pictures!

So, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, a million, billion times, Thank You.

I can’t do it without you!!!
-Christina
p.s. my address is 8308 74th Dr. NE Marysville, WA 98270