MARION, IL (WSIL) -- One Marion teen's dream to serve the world is coming true, thanks to her fundraising efforts in this edition of Unsung Hero.
15-year-old Zuriel Gray has always wanted to go on a mission trip. Through, Move the Mission, which is the fundraising Arm of the United Pentecostal Church, she will get a chance to travel overseas next year. After coming back from a convention, Zuriel began coming up with ways to make it happen. Her goal was to raise $5,000 for her first overseas mission trip. In April, she started fundraising efforts, including hosting a free yard sale. She also hired herself out to paint a house and room at her church. She also received a lot of donations. One of the reasons she wants to go on missions is because she says you can see the impact it has on people.
"I just thought it was a {really} great thing to do for somebody, the idea of what I'm doing is helping people overseas and stuff. It's a {really} cool thing to me, so that's {really} why I wanted to do it. To be a part of something like that," said Zuriel.Â
The money is due by August, so her next step is to send it in, along with her application. She said there's no announcement yet where the mission trip will be, but she hopes to go to eastern Europe one day. She's now trying to help friends who also want to collect enough money to go on a mission trip. Her biggest challenges were coming up with a big idea to raise enough money and procrastination. But her main thoughts are on how grateful she is for all those who helped and supported her.
"I really couldn't have done it without everybody else. No matter what I did, if nobody supported me, I couldn't have done it. I just want to say thank you to everybody who did support me."Â
