Paraguay? Volleyball?!

April 25, 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

Until last week, I didn’t know where Paraguay was. But then I received a message from my high school volleyball coach, Tom Baxter, asking me if I was available to join the volleyball team outreach that he was taking to Paraguay! This trip will combine 2 of my passions: missions and volleyball.

The trip is 2 weeks long, May 15 to May 30 and will be in the Paraguayan capital, Asuncion. We will be teaming up with a local ministry, New Horizon Methodist School, who are organizing the exhibition games we will be playing and translators to translate as we share our testimonies and present the Gospel. Besides some Christian schools, we’ll be able to use volleyball as a tool to share Christ in several public schools. The team will also work with a local church in the countryside. It’s going to be a busy time – we’ll play several games a day and be involved in many kinds of ministry!

I have never been on a trip like this and I am looking forward to see how God works as well as how a sports evangelism trip is operated. I am also very excited to put my love for volleyball and my love for the Lord and missions together and use them simultaneously.

The trip will cost $1,500 round trip. Because I have come into this a bit late, I’m urgently praying that God will provide the funds quickly. Would you be a part of my support team? Gifts are tax deductible. Checks should be made out to RMI and sent to:

RMI

5475 Lee St. Suite 301

Lehigh Acres, FL 33971

(They’ve graciously agreed to receipt funds for me and forward them to the missionary I’ll be working with in Paraguay. Be sure to enclose a note that the gift is for Dawn Shoemaker.)

Would you be a part of my prayer team? Without your prayers, God’s work cannot move forward! I need your prayers!

The trip is only 3 weeks away, I still have papers to finish and finals to take to finish up my sophomore year here at Trinity College. So pray for me as I finish up my classes, pack up my room, work on getting my passport, Paraguayan visa and pack (it’s almost winter there!) for the trip.

Pray that we have a safe trip.

Pray for the salvation of those who we get to talk to.

Pray God opens hardened hearts.

Pray for spiritual growth of the team going down.

Pray that God provides for the trip financially.

Pray for our leaders on the trip.

Pray especially for me for spiritual growth, to grasp the missionary aspect of the trip, to be able to evangelize beyond the language barrier, to be a living witness to those around me.

Excited to serve God!

Dawn

 

Questions for me? My email is definitelydawn@hotmail.com. I’ll be posting updates on my blog again, definitelydawn.blogspot.com.

Questions for my dad? His email is dan.shoemaker@rminet.org.