Last year, our son Elijah and I (Justin) had the opportunity to go to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission trip with Cross Point. Elijah was by far the youngest person on the trip, so I was a little nervous as to how it would go. He was amazing…and so was God. God showed up over and over again and used Elijah in ways that blew my mind. He taught, he gave his testimony, he shared Christ with students and kids. It was awesome. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures from our trip last year.
Elijah and I are returning to Africa in October with Cross Point and we are so excited. The process for raising money for a missions trip is pretty routine. You write a letter to friends and family and mail it to them and they send money back to support the trip.
So many of our friends and family are a part of RefineUs and last year, RefineUs readers helped Elijah raise over 50% of the money he needed to go to Africa. So, this year, Elijah asked us if he could write you a letter. Here is the letter Elijah wrote:
Hey, everybody!
It’s me Elijah. To start this off I would like to thank all of you for your support for my trip to Africa last year! The trip really challenged my heart in ginormous ways. I remember going there thinking it was going to be easy, I mean I’ve seen tons of photos of the slums in Africa, but those were just photos. Photos make us feel pain but the pain we have is just a pain we can brush off.
I remember on my way home I just broke down. Emotions just started racing through my heart; sadness…anger…guilt. But I think the biggest one was discontentment. The discontentment I was feeling was probably the same type of discontentment Jesus was feeling when he walked through the streets in Israel when he saw the hurting, the poor, the broken, and the forgotten.
He said this isn’t right! He saw that the people that needed help were actually the people that religious people looked down on. I think that’s where my joy and where my motivation comes from as a Christian. We flipped this social pyramid upside down and said, “The broken need help, so let’s go to them and help!”
I honestly wish y’all could come and experience what I’m going to experience. However, I think you guys helping me raise money so I can go not only makes a difference in Africa through me and the team I go with, but it also shows me that you guys have faith in me that I will impact the world, which is a huge honor!
I hope you guys can help me raise money for my second trip! You guys are the only reason I can go to Nairobi, Kenya!
With many thank yous and blessings
Elijah Davis
Elijah’s trip this year is $2700 and we have already raised $200.
The funds for his airfare are due next Sunday, which is $1700. So we are hoping to raise $1700 in the next six days.
If you support his trip, all funds go directly to Cross Point Community Church and all donations are tax-deductible.
Thank you for being a part of RefineUs. Your prayers and support are so dear to our heart.
