Tomorrow's the Big Day!

Well this is it. We're off this Sunday real early...about 7 am. But we'll be leaving my house about 4 am! That's not going to be so much fun, but overall I think we are prepared to go. I've spent the last couple days packing and re packing my bags. I've worked it down until I'm taking only about 55 pounds of both personal stuff and camera gear. And just about all of it is going in one carry-on and one backpack. They are stuffed to say the least.

I'm excited. This is going to be one big long trip. The longest leg is just over 15 hours that will take us from Washington DC all the way to Ethiopia. But all that time will give me plenty of opportunity to work on my video/audio workflow as I gear up to do lots of filming there.

I just want to say thank you again to all of those whom I know have been praying for and supporting me an this mission. And I'm glad to announce that all of the funds needed for the trip have come in and then some. I hope to keep you updated on all that goes on during our trip with blogs, pictures, hopefully videos too, right here on this site.

One Big Gift

I just want to say thanks to all those that have contributed thus far. This last week I got a little discouraged when I found out that no one had yet donated to my blog. I told Pastor Edi as much just a few hours ago by email, asking him if he knew what I should do. By the time he emailed back, about two hours later I had received $200 from two different donors! That was really encouraging. Thanks so much to you. I think to date I've raised $250 total. But I'm also grateful to those that have given me work to do too. That's been really great. I also want to thank all those that donated to or helped with the benefit sale at the Molalla SDA Church last week. I think we raised over $1000. Thanks Alot!

We're getting geared up now to go. There's only about four weeks until the five of us from Molalla depart. It's getting exciting. We're supposed to have a conference call with Sebastian next week and get some specifics. I'll try and keep you guys up to date.

Thanks again for your prayers and support!

In need of financial support

Hey There,

As many of you may know, last year I spent nine months serving as a student missionary at an orphanage in El Salvador. That experience has had a lasting impact on me and has been a blessing both to myself and the people of El Salvador. To those of you who supported me in that endeavor, I thank you.

Largely because of my positive experience in El Salvador, when I was presented with the opportunity to spend six weeks serving the bush people of the Kalahari Desert in Africa this summer, I jumped at the chance. These people have lived in one of the world’s harshest environments for thousands of years. Only now, with the help of the Pilgrim Relief Society, these people are gaining access to large enough amounts of fresh water to live healthier lives and do agricultural development. But this mission project is still in its early stages, and new buildings and volunteers are needed to help the project to continue to grow.

I hope to be able to join the Pilgrim Relief Society in serving these people and caring for their basic needs: shelter, fresh water, and sustainable agriculture. I will be leaving August 8, 2010 along with several members of my church, and returning September 20^th. But the airfare cost for me to reach these people is $1887. Needless to say, this is a steep price for a college student like myself. In order for me to be able to reach these people I need your support.

A PayPal account has been setup by the Pilgrim Relief Society so that you can make secure donations online that will go towards paying for my airfare costs. You can make a donation right in my blog that has further information about the project and the Pilgrim Relief Society, with videos and other details. I plan to use the blog to keep you connected with all that goes on as I prepare and go on the trip. You can also mail donations to the address below made out to the Molalla Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Or, if you live in the Portland area, I would love the opportunity to work for you in any capacity to help me reach this goal, just send me an email using my email address ndsturgess@gmail.com

Nathan Sturgess

26120 S. Schockley Rd.

Beavercreek, OR 97004

Thank you again for your willingness to support me in this endeavor!

Grace and Peace,

Nathan Sturgess