Dear friends and family, brothers and sisters,
It’s a bit sobering to be contacting all of you, especially those with whom I have not spoken to recently. If that is the case, I hope that this e-mail will update you on my life, inform you of an amazing opportunity that the Lord has planned in the future, and to respectfully ask for financial and spiritual support.
Kenya
As some of you may or may not know, I will be going to Kenya in early April through the end of May on a missions trip with an organization called Christ’s Hope International. Through this missionstrip, I will be reaching out and sharing the gospel, working with individuals living with HIV/AIDS and helping to provide home-based care and HIV/AIDS education by ministering to them physically and spiritually. Although leaving my job and life in NYC to go to Kenya may seem like a huge step (which I would agree), it was a decision made through prayer and recognizing the Lord’s hand in every step leading up to this decision.
I spoke with a pastor a few months ago regarding my desire to serve in missions and he stressed the importance of making sure 3 criteria are met: a desire to serve, opportunity to serve, and support.
Desire:
As most of you know, I have been working at a healthcare consulting firm since graduating from College almost 2 years ago. This is an experience that I have appreciated in having the opportunity to learn about the business side of healthcare and also for the chance to live in NYC in financial independence. In New York, I found an amazing church through which I was able to mature in my faith and also met some incredible friends who never cease to impress me with their accomplishments, humor, faith, and generosity. At the same time, I felt that God was telling me that I was becoming complacent with the comforts and idols of city life. I also felt a strong sense that the work I was doing was not truly glorifying to God; the bulk of my day was spent in an office and in my busy schedule, God was relegated to Sundays and the nights I had small group meetings.
Accordingly, last March, I began volunteering at an HIV clinic in NYC through my church at a program called Gift Hands. Through this program I was able to serve and minister to those living with HIV through art. Still, in prayer, I felt that the Lord was challenging me to get outside of the comforts of New York and to seek Him through ministry to others.
Opportunity:
In order to confront this challenge, I decided to attend Urbana last December, hoping that I could see if missions was what the Lord was really telling me to do and if that was the case, to find out where I was supposed to serve. The chief theme of the conference, that “The word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) resonated strongly with me. Just as Jesus had become present in the flesh when ministering and healing others, we as servants were challenged to be present in the flesh to serve. At Urbana I met with and spoke to representatives of Christ’s Hope International, a global ministry specifically dedicated to: “Bringing the life-changing message of Jesus Christ to people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS through discipling and care giving, presenting them perfect in Christ Jesus.”
Support:
Accordingly, I am attempting to follow this calling by serving with CHI; I joyfully pray that God would give me a servant's heart, to enter this service with the intent to fully glorify Him and to myself nor to pursue any alternate idols. I have put in my notice to resign from my job and have subletted my apartment for the remainder of my lease. These logistical matters have been settled but I ask for your support – both financial and spiritual.
I ask for prayer for myself, the ministry, as well as those whom I will serve. I don’t know what can be accomplished in 2 months but I know that through Christ, “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength” (Phillipians 4:13). In many ways, I expect that just as much of a change, if not more, would work through my own heart than those who I serve. I also ask for prayers of strength: I do not feel like the most qualified person, but I find encouragement through the Lord’s repeated patterns of carrying out his will by using broken instruments.
The entire trip will cost roughly $4,000 total which includes lodging, food, transportation, airfare, and required vaccines/medicines to enter Africa. No matter what, I will be paying about $1200-1500 of that cost out of my own pocket (for vaccines and airfare) as well as the remainder of what cannot be raised. If you feel led to donate any amount to this effort, you may do so by following these directions. By the way, I should point out that my birthday is coming up soon, March 23rd
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Donations can be made on the www.christshopeusa.org web site by credit card by following this link. If possible please make the donation by April 1st, 2010:
http://www.christshopeusa.org/
In the FUND drop down, please select “Support a specific person” and in the DONATION DESIGNATION field, please write the trip code and my name (201004KEN – Andrew Lee). Once you enter the amount, please click “Make a donation” and the amount will be added to your “shopping cart” where you can follow the check-out process. For the tax savvy, Christ’s Hope USA, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation and so donations are tax deductable.
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If you have made it to here through this long e-mail, I want to thank you for reading this far! I also want to thank you for the impact you have already made in my life – you are on this e-mail list as a brother or sister who has played a role in shaping my life in some way. I am hoping to set up a blog with pictures, reflections, and artwork so please stay tuned for more information on that!
Love in Christ,
Andrew Lee
PS. If you have any questions about the missions trip or about my life in general, feel free to reply to this e-mail or give me a call!
If you would like to find out more about Christ’s Hope International, please visit
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