30 Days of Prayer

In just a few weeks, we are kicking off a special month. August 1 - 30 will be 30 Days of Prayer for our ministry and departure for Austria. As we get close to our departure goal, we are ready to come boldly before the throne of God and ask Him to work mightily and to open the doors for us to get to Austria in early October.

All of our prayer team members will receive 1 email a day for 30 days, containing specific prayer requests and updates on progress towards departure. If you would like to also receive these emails, you can complete the form at the bottom to join in the effort!

Right now, we are at almost 90% of our support goal and we must reach 100% (with monthly, quarterly and annual commitments) in order to depart. We are praying that we reach this goal by September 1st, giving us 1 month to purchase tickets, ship items and prepare to leave.

Why do we need to depart in early October? Getting on a plane the first week of October will enable us to jump into language learning full-time early enough to pass a crucial language competency exam in December. We will need at least two months of language learning in order to pass the test, so arriving in October is important. Passing this exam is required by our visa application, which we will hand in January 2nd.

Would you join us in prayer? Please be praying for our departure and that God would work in people's hearts to join our support team. Please pray for shipping and departure details to come together. But most of all, pray that God would be working in our hearts and preparing us spiritually, mentally and emotionally for the transition ahead.

We are eagerly anticipating how God will work during these 30 Days of Prayer!

Celebrating our third milestone!

It's that time again...
           we've hit another milestone!

Just yesterday, we received verbal commitments of support that have brought us to 75%!

As we reflect back on the journey thus far, it is truly incredible how God has provided and carried us to this point, 3/4 of the way to our total monthly support goal. When we first saw the numbers a year ago and realized the task ahead, it was difficult to imagine how God would get us there. But sure enough, He is faithful and He is working. There are days when we doubt and struggle, when we forget that God is in control and worry about where the funds will come from. There are days when we think, "Are we going to run out of contacts? How will this be possible?" But God is patience and gracious to us, and He reminds us who He is through His encouragement and provision. We are so blessed and humbled.

Thank you to so, so many of you who have helped us get there, whether that has been through financial commitments, prayer, or practical provision in our lives. We have a great team surrounding us, and God is using you to be his tangible presence and provision in our ministry. THANK YOU!


Photo credit: cohdra from morguefile.com

Praying for a BOLD GOAL

This month, we began a concerted prayer effort for a big goal. Would you join us in prayer? Watch this video to learn more...

How do we pray boldly?

During this journey of preparing for Austria and building our financial support team, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to pray boldly.  I believe that God answers prayer, and I believe that we should pray boldly and specifically if we want to see Him work. Scripture tells us to go before the thrown of God confidently (Hebrews 4:16) and to pray continually (I Thessalonians 5:16). Scripture even says we can move mountains through prayer.


"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him." - Mark 11:23

This all seems plain and simple, right?

While I know all of these things to be true, I also know this: God doesn't always answer prayers, at least not in a way that we can see or understand.   I've experienced times where I've prayed boldly for someone to be healed and they weren't. I've prayed for missionaries to get to the field quickly and it took them years. We've all experienced this in one way or another.

So what I have been wrestling with is this... How do we pray boldly, while also humbling submitted to what God wants? How do I pray and hope for something, while knowing in my heart that God may not answer my prayer the way I want to or according to my timeline? How do I do this without getting discouraged or disappointed?

Right now, Nate and I have boldly been praying that we reach an important and lofty goal: 60% funding by January 15th. Reaching this goal will enable us to attend pre-departure training at WorldVenture in January, which will set us up well to leave for Austria this summer. Not meeting this goal will slow our timeline down. I want to pray for this confidently and boldly, but I've been struggling with fear that we won't reach the goal. I want to prepare myself for that possibility, while at the same time still hoping and praying that we make it.

I don't have answers to all of this. I know that the Lord is sovereign over all of it - of the funding, the timeline, the training and everything else in between. So what do I do?

I keep praying.

My prayer is that He brings me peace and shapes my heart, so I can pray boldly and rest in His will for our lives.

 How do you reconcile praying boldly and submitting to the Lord's will?


Photo credit: dieraecherin from morguefile.com

Fund-raising as Ministry?

I recently sat down and read an essay by Henri Nouwen entitled "The Spirituality of Fund-raising".  I had picked up the essay last November when we were attending training at WorldVenture headquarters, but it had sat in my book pile ever since. And I am so glad I finally picked it up.

I have been praying that God would help me approach "partner development" (or raising support or fund-raising) with a healthy mentality about its purpose and God's provision. But reading Nouwen's essay identified some new lessons about fund-raising that hadn't considered - gaps in my perspective.

Nouwen challenged me to consider that...

• to ask others to partner financially in our ministry, I first need to confront my own relationship with money
• I should allow fund-raising to teach me how to depend on others...which is against my independent, prideful, sinful nature
• I must love people and minister to them first...and trust God to provide the money second
• My security is in Christ and should never be tied up in the response of others towards our ministry
• Prayer and gratitude allow my attitude towards fund raising to be transformed
• Fund-raising allows me to develop closer relationships with those who partner with us, which leads to ministry opportunities and deeper Christian community

So whether you are raising funds for your first short term mission trip or a 5K race, or raising fund to go to the missions field long term, or being approached for financial support by others, I hope these quotes from Nouwen will be an encouragement to you on your journey.

"Gratitude allows us to approach a fund-raising meeting without grasping neediness and to leave it without resentment or dejection. Coming and going, we can remain secure in God's love with our hearts set joyfully on the kingdom."

"Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate with us in our vision and mission."


"The question is not how we get money. Rather, the question is about our relationship with money."


"We fear being dependent on others because of the idea that dependence is a threat to our security."


"We do not need to worry about the money. Rather, we need to worry about whether, through the invitation we offer them and the relationship we develop with them, they will come closer to God."


"Asking people for money is giving them the opportunity to put their resources at the disposal of the Kingdom. To raise funds is to offer people the chance to invest what they have in the work of God."

Thoughts on fundraising...

For most missionaries, fund raising can be pretty intimidating. Even if you're raising money for something you care a lot about, it can be a vulnerable experience to lay your heart on the table and ask someone to partner with you financially. You face fears of rejection and when someone says no, it can be easy to take it personally or fear going out again to ask someone else. No matter how much you trust God to provide, the experience can be difficult and sometimes scary.

At our last training at WorldVenture, they talked about the danger of looking at raising financial support as "subtractional", seeing someone else's giving as the act of subtracting from what they have to fund our ministry. Instead, partnering with us in ministry should not be subtractional, but transformational, allowing both us and our support team to be transformed as we partner in sharing the gospel in Austria.

We are about a month in to the process of building our support team and so far, it has been a great blessing. I know we will have ups and down, but 4 weeks in, I am enjoying it. My favorite parts of raising support have been...

• Meeting with friends gives us a chance to educate people we know and love about the need in Austria - something that many people are not aware of and that we are passionate about!
  
• We have an excuse to get together with and catch up with everyone we know!
• We are building a team of prayer warriors. Seeing friends reminds me that we will be well supported in prayer
• I have been challenged and blessed by the experience of supporting missionaries over the years. I truly believe that it is something God calls us to. It is exciting to see friends make the decision to support a missionary for the first time after meeting with us!
• Sharing our story has allowed us to clear up many unanswered questions related to our plans and our timeline. It is helpful to have people we know be up-to-date on our goals and when we hope to depart for Austria, as well as our long term commitment.
• The more we share our hearts for Austria, the more my heart grows for the this country in need. The statistics and stories become more real to me every time I share them with someone else.
• We have been blessed by the support already pouring in and I am completely humbled by the response we've received already. God is using this to remind of us of the wonderful community he has surrounded us with, a community that loves the Lord and is eager to enable us to serve Him.

I am thankful for the experience we've already had and look forward to the coming months of sharing our story!