Help Rob Get to Costa Rica!

Update 2: I need to raise $390 by June 15th to cover airfare and expenses. Your $10 donation will make a serious difference!

If you do not see a "Donate" link, please visit http://www.superrob.com and donate there.

Ron and Tammy McLaughlin, the missionaries we are travelling to help, are very excited that we're coming down there. I'm still petrified about the trip, but I've already come too far to bail out now.

Update: I'm just past the halfway point now. With fundraisers, donations, and my personal contributions, I'm at about $860 raised towards the trip, and I also bought the Kodak Zi6 video camera and ordered my passport.

Won't you help out with a $10 donation, and get a DVD of the work and adventures in Costa Rica?

The past year has been a great one for me. Normally, I'd be afraid of change (and I am), but accepting that change was going to happen whether I wanted it to or not has helped me get over that fear and move on with my life. My friends have been a tremendous source of support for me, where I normally wouldn't trust people enough to put my well-being in someone else's hands.

So for my New Year's Resolution this year, I decided to try to get over some of my other fears. Most of them are completely irrational (fear of heights, flying, strange places, etc.) and I'm way too old now to still be worrying about stupid things like that. I've never been anywhere outside the country (except for Canada), or anywhere that I don't speak the native language (except for Los Angeles). My fears have kept me from going places I'd really like to go.

The opportunity arose to go on a mission trip to Costa Rica with my church (Canyon Creek Church in Mill Creek, WA) and while it wasn't on my list of places I'd ever have wanted to go, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get over some of those fears. There is a church in Puerto Viejo that needs some work done (we'll be building a Sunday School and a basketball court), and the missionaries that work for the church desperately need a roof over their home.

I prayed about it, and heard God tell me to go, so I started making plans. I've never had a passport, so I filled out an application. I requested the time off from work. I started telling people I was going, so if I chickened-out, I'd be accountable to people.

Rachel and I were going to make the trip together, which was comforting. However, since she just got a new job at World Vision (a passion of hers), she can't get the time off to go. She feels like she was called to that job more than the Costa Rica trip, and while that's wonderful for her, it's scary for me. I prayed about it more, and felt I was being tested. Would I still make this leap of faith without the comfort of having my loving girlfriend there with me?

The answer is, terrifyingly ... yes. I'm going to go. And that's where you get to help.

One of my fears is not knowing how I'm going to pay for the trip. The cost is $1600, plus the passport fees (since I've never had one) and a small web-ready video camera (the Kodak Zi6, which is relatively inexpensive) would bring the cost closer to $2000. While I could probably come up with half of that if I stretched myself, I'm taking a leap of faith and relying on God and my friends and family to make up the difference.

I've got about 200 friends on Facebook, and countless more on the internets. If just those two hundred donated $5, the cost of one latte at Starbucks, that would make up the rest of the money I need to go. I'm going to put my trust and faith in all of you to make this happen.

If you do not see a "Donate" link, please visit http://www.superrob.com and donate there.

As a thank you for your generosity, everyone that donates at least $10 and includes their address will get a DVD copy of the video that I'll be documenting while I'm there. I'm going to try to capture everything I can, and the least I can do is share it with everyone who helped send me there. Also, please note that your donations are tax deductible as long as you include the information I need to have the church send you a receipt, and any overage will be donated to the church to send others on the mission.

I'm going way outside of my comfort zone for this one. I'm not going to have my cell phone, or a laptop, so I can focus on doing God's work while I'm away. (Admittedly, the camera will be a bit of a technology security blanket.) I'm hoping that you will also go a bit outside of your comfort zone and help bless me with the money I need to go.

If you do not see a "Donate" link, please visit http://www.superrob.com and donate there.