This summer, I am hoping to go to Sri Lanka on Mission with Catalyst Vineyard Church, Aberdeen.

We are heading out from the 21st August to the 6th of September.

Mission has been something that has been on my heart for the last few years. I have never managed to go logistically, but I believe this year is the year for me to go.

We would be heading out to Sri Lanka. This is the second largest island in the Indian Ocean. It is a country made up of four prominent religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity.

Please read on if you are interested in finding out more about the trip, what I will be doing and how you can be involved by partnering with me.

As a group we will be going out to help in various ministries.

We will go to the Beth Shalom centre, which works with boys. We will lead activities with them which include exploring the Bible, teaching them English and other subjects, and taking them on a day trip. I have been asked to prepare some activities for these sessions.

We will spend our Sundays with Leslie and Shantie Matthews, of Full Gospel Church Network. They have been planting churches in the region since 1984 and have seen thousands finding faith despite the continual war and upheaval in the area. We will be serving in their sites running children’s services, worshipping and praying with them.

We will also be involved in running a youth conference, similar to Soul Survivor in the UK. This will be focussed on helping the youth and youth leaders . We will serve anywhere we are needed, and may have the opportunity to share testimonies and lead seminars.

We will also have opportunity to go into the slums and run children’s programmes, demonstrating Jesus’ love to them in their communities.

Why Mission?

Mission is something that I believe God has been calling me into for a number of years. I first heard about Mission, while at Soul Survivor, around 5 years ago. They partner with Liv Village in South Africa. I felt I wanted to go and serve on this trip but never managed to go due to logistics. When Catalyst Church mentioned they were running mission trips this summer to 3 different continents, I wanted to find out what this was going to look like. During one of the Mission services, it was clear God was calling me into this. Hearing testimonies of all God had done in and through people while away on mission really stirred something in my heart. After prayer and talking to one of the pastors it was something that looked like it was a possibility—and now after filling in applications I am here raising money to go this summer.

Support:

It will cost me £1300 to go to Sri Lanka, and I have already saved £300 towards this. I am proposing to raise the rest of the money I need. I am going to climb Ben Nevis, a 1345m peak in Scotland. The highest mountain Scotland has, to raise the majority of the money. I am also proposing a bake sale to raise some funds. As a team, we are also going to corporately fundraise to be able to take out resources and supplies to the Beth Shalom centre, as well as be able to take the boys away for the day.

What can you do?

There are so many ways that you can support me. Firstly, if you pray, I would love for you to pray for me as I prepare to go. It would be fab if you could pray for the team, and for everything the trip will involve. Also the logistics would be greatly appreciated. If you are someone with advice and wisdom, I would love to hear it. My 20 years on this earth are not enough to prepare me for what I will need to take let alone what I will experience out there. Finally, if you feel like you would like to give money, please donate on this link. I would love you to consider one, two or all three of these. You are a huge blessing for reading this far!