Hey friend,

I’ve always felt like God was calling me to do a mission trip on my own. I watched my sister go, I went to Guatemala, I went to Italy, but this opportunity is different. And before I start working or figuring out the rest of my life, I knew God wanted me to have this as my foundation first.

The trips before this each grew me in ways I didn’t expect. In Guatemala, I spent time with kids at an orphanage who had almost nothing, and they were some of the happiest people in the Lord. That really changed my perspective. Then in Italy, I volunteered at a YWAM mission base, and that’s where God really started teaching me the gift of discernment and how to hear His voice, to talk to Him and let Him speak to me, and how I can use that to pour into other people and let Him speak through me. This mission is the next step in that.

So this fall I’m heading to Kona, Hawaii with YWAM to do a program called Kingdom Creatives. It’s a school focused on using creativity—film, photography, and art—for God’s glory. The second I saw it I felt called to go. I don’t fully know what it’ll look like yet, but I know it’s going to help me find my creative purpose and learn how to use it for God. After three months of training in Hawaii, teams will head out to the nations on outreach (maybe Asia, not sure yet!) to make God known, applying the skills we’ve learned in training for another three months.

But this isn’t just a trip to Hawaii—it’s a new chapter for me. It’s a real step into something I’ve been feeling God has called me to for a long time, and I’m finally saying yes. I want to go deep, learn, grow, and come back with something I can pour into other people for the Kingdom. That’s what this is really about.

YWAM is a faith-based organization, so students raise their own support from people in their lives to go. My goal is $9,000, which covers both the lecture phase and the outreach phase (6 months) of the program—flights, program fees, and living costs while I’m there. My deadline to have it raised when I leave at the end of this September. 

I’m not trying to make this feel like an obligation. If you feel led to give, I would be so grateful, and if not, that is completely okay. Even your encouragement means a lot. If you decide to join me in this journey even the smallest way financially, every little bit genuinely helps.

What would mean even more than anything is prayer. Specifically for spiritual growth while I’m there, for wisdom and discernment, for boldness to share the Gospel, and that I stay focused and come back knowing who I am and how to lead with what God has put in me. Please email me ttoby0077@gmail.com to be added to my newsletter email list!

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this. It means a lot that you’re someone I could share this with. You’re part of this whether you know it or not.

Love, Toby