YWAM: New Zealand (Pilgrimage)

“Put very simply, a pilgrimage is a journey with a purpose – to find God, to know Him, and experience His Presence. In ancient Biblical times, this meant a physical trek to the temple in Jerusalem. Today, it’s often an internal spiritual exploration.” - Marine Reach Website (Pilgrimage DTS page)

My name is Evan Nielsen.

I have been a christian all my life.

I chose to fully accept and take on christianity as my own faith (not my parents’) just before graduating high school. Since then I have accumulated knowledge about what it means to be a christian through mentors, church services, but primarily through my service and time with a bible camp organization I grew up going to (and working at for 5+ years).

But knowledge alone cannot make me the christian I want to be: to live life as Jesus taught us: To love the unlovable, to reach the unreachable, and to always share God’s love for his children both to those who know of it and to those who do not.

No, knowledge alone cannot put into place the practices that I must uphold in order to be charitable, kind to all, humble, and self-sacrificing. So what am I missing?

As the quote above from Marine Reach might suggest, I am missing God. Throughout my time as a christian I have accumulated “academic knowledge” of what it means and how it looks to follow is Christ’s foot-steps, but without the love of Jesus, without the relationship between son and Father, I am nothing and my faith means nothing.

I have kept God at arms length.

I have never surrendered myself to him fully.

But I wish to change that. I hope to seek HIM, to chase offer my Heavenly Father and discover a relationship with HIM and my Holy Brother that I have never known. That is my intention in going to New Zealand for Youth With A Mission (YWAM). To Know Christ first and foremost, intimately and completely.

YWAM: “Pilgrimage” is designed to help guide the journey for younger people seeking God. (You can find all the details here: Pilgrimage DTS on there website)

So after all this, why a “gofundme”?

Why fund me?

For this trip, it’ll costs a little over 10,000 New Zealand Dollars

Lectures $5995NZD

Outreach $4495 NZD

which translates to roughly over $6,000 USD. This is however NOT including:

* travel fares to get to and travel back from New Zealand

* (backpacking) equipment for my time in NZ for the program

* necessary medical appointments for foreign disease vaccines and immunizations

I am working a full-time job and putting away whatever money I can for this trip. But I am concerned it might not be enough, or if it is it’ll be JUST enough and I will be without any savings. I am willing to sacrifice every cent I have into this trip, it means that much to me to become closer to my God and to do it in a way that will better equip me for future. I am willing to make that sacrifice, but if I can avoid that, to be able to come back to the states with a little money left over to get me started, that would be very beneficial.

"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus" - Philippians 4:19.

in the end my LORD will provide, I hope you will to.

blessing to you,

Evan Nielsen

-Matthew 6:25-34