As you undoubtedly know by now. We are raising funds in order to begin our new ministry opportunity with The Navigators in New Zealand. Some of the requirements that we have before we can leave for the mission field are to have our monthly needs and our outgoing costs in place. Also, we have one last set of training exercises that we need to accomplish before departure to prepare us for our transition. Before we can do this training our fund-raising percentage must be at least 90%. Right now we are still hovering right around 80%. In addition, we are also raising funds for our outgoing and setup costs to a sum of $25,000. All of this seems so overwhelming for us at the moment, but fortunately for us it is not overwhelming to the faithful and sovereign God of the universe.So, I have come up with a fund-raising strategy that I would like to share with you... I am calling it - Spare Change Fund-raising. I realize that many families (us included) go from paycheck to paycheck somehow making it through the month with nothing left to show for by the end of each month. However, somehow we always seem to have a bit of spare change that we have collected over the weeks that sits idly in our vehicles or on our dresser or slips through the couch cushions. So I am proposing that you collect and save your spare change over the next 30 days, pray about what options you have, and do something with it. Consider these 3 options: 1.) Use it for yourself. 2.) Give to someone you know directly that really needs it. 3.) Give into our Navigator account to help send us to New Zealand. Our family is going to partake in this process and we are excited to see how God leads us to give.
As I was pondering over this idea, God put into my heart and mind the lesson of The Widow's Offering from Mark 12:41-44.
Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." It reminded me that no matter where I am at in life, even if I don't have much, God still wants me to put in everything I have.
If at the end of the 30 days you would like to give into our account their are a few options to do so. One option is to mail a check made payable to The Navigators and send it to P.O. Box 6000 Colorado Springs, CO 80934-6000. Please make sure to indicate our name and Nav ID # 23719123 in the memo field of your check to ensure that it goes into our account. The second option is to deposit your change and give online through our secure donation page with The Navigators. Please click on this link... https://donor.navigators.org/dp/donate/controller.cfm?action=showDonation&staffID=23719123
I pray that if you do decide to take me up on this offer, no matter what the amount or option you choose, that you will be blessed for it in the end.
As always, you are such a blessing and we are eternally grateful for your continued prayers and support.
Riding the Light Rail to the game!
