40 Day Countdown: 40 People, 40 days, $100 each

It has been my goal since the beginning of this trip to raise $4000, by asking 40 people to sponser me $100 each. This will cover the total costs for the trip. The breakdown of expenses include $2000 for the plane tickets there and back, food, accomodations, travelling expenses within the country, Malaria medication, and vaccinations; which I've already gotten in both my arms! If you would like to take part by supporting me financially on this mission please read the following: Canadian donors can send money to

SIM Canada
10 Huntingdale Blvd.
Scarborough, Ont.
M1W 2S5.

Cheques should be made payable to "SIM Canada" with an indication that the gift is for your support. My name :Renee Heemskerk: Zambia team" should be written on the memo-line of the cheque. This will guarantee that money goes specifically to my trip expenses and not just to the organization in general.

I've come to see this fund-raising as a 40 day challenge. It seems God has been using the number 40 in my life recently and just to continue the # 40 theme, I was given the Purpose Driven Life to read, which is divided into 40 days of reading material. Since the beginning of this school year, I have been seeking out what I am going to do with my life and what I have been created for. When the opportunity to go to Zambia for AIDS relief came up I thought it would would be an experience that would cahnge my life and help me clarify more specifically what direction I am meant to go, especially in regards to the International Development Program I am taking at York University. As I cracked open the very first pages of the book I found some inpirational words of author Rick Warren on what God can do in 40 days. He writes,

" The Bible is clear that God considers 40 days a spiritually significant time period. Whenever God wanted to prepare someone for his purposes, he took 40 days:

• Noah's life was transformed by 40 days of rain
• Moses was transformed by 40 days on Mount Sinai
• The spies were transformed by 40 days in the Promised land
• David was transformed by Goliath's 40 day challenge.
• Elijah was transformed when God gave him 40 dys of strength from a single meal
• The entire city of Nineweh was transformed when God gave the people 40 days to change
• Jesus was empowered by 40 days in the eilderness.
• The disciples were transformed by 40 days with Jesus after his resurrection.

The next 40 days will change your life."

So I go with the expectation: That God is preparing me for his purposes in Zambia. I am excited.