Dear friends and family,
If you have followed my journey over the past year, you know that I’ve been on the World Race: Gap Year, a 9-month missions program through Adventures in Missions. I got back from the Dominican Republic in June of this year.
Throughout my preparation leading up to the World Race, the Lord invited me to lay down the plans I had for myself and to follow Him. He gave me a huge passion for missions and for seeing people truly experience the love of Jesus in their own lives, and in their own cultural context. I have become specifically passionate about those who have never had a chance to hear the Gospel at all, and those in the Muslim faith. The Lord has invited me into a life of following Him wherever He leads, and since the end of my World Race, He has led me back to college for this semester. I was studying music composition before, planning to move to California right after college to write music for movies, but the Lord had something else in mind. I’ve now started my first semester in Middle East Studies, learning about Arabic culture, language, history, and politics, along with Islam. It’s been so incredible to see what He’s doing through this new track, and I can’t wait to see how He wants to use what I’m learning in the future. One of the tragedies of Christian missions has been a lack of cultural awareness and respect, which has led to sharing the message of American Christianity, rather than the universal message of Jesus. I hope to gain a better understanding of this culture through my studies so I’ll be able to love and serve people long-term in a Muslim context.
I’m excited to tell you about an opportunity I have next semester to return to the mission field, this time to the Middle East! Beginning January of 2022, I’ll be going back to Gainesville, GA to spend one month training in cross-cultural ministry, specifically in the Middle East, with Adventures in Missions. After that, we will spend three months in three different countries in the Middle East, simply listening to the Lord and loving and serving people however He leads us. God has been so clear in the ways He has led me to this and I am so excited to see what He wants to teach me and how He wants to move this next semester.
Please be praying over this trip! Pray for the group I’ll be a part of, the people we will encounter, and for us to humbly submit to each culture we spend time in. Pray that we will have the eyes to see any way our cultural bias might get in the way of the simple Gospel of Jesus. I am also fundraising again, and prayer for the Lord’s provision would be great! The goal for this trip is $8,900 to cover travel, food, translators, and ministry expenses. There are various other expenses on top of that that I will need to cover, and if you feel led to donate to either my trip goal or towards my other expenses, you can still support me through my World Race blog (benbigcraft.theworldrace.org), or through Venmo (@ben-bigcraft). If you would like to donate through another platform let me know!
Always feel free to reach out with any questions or if you’d like to hear more about what the Lord has been doing in and around me, my contact info is below. Thank you for your love and support, it means so much to me!
Ben
503-319-8423
