Away We Go! But not before a quick story...

It's time to leave this hemisphere! From this Western one to the Eastern one, where lots of things are different!

Blogs often seem to be about lessons learned from failures, or making the best of something after you've messed it up. I want to tell a quick story where I can humbly say I did the right thing, without messing up. If it's not interesting or dramatic, I'm sorry.

Just a few weeks ago I needed about 3500 dollars for a 3-month outreach. I had enough to pay my November rent and then be down to about 200 (which I was hoping to keep in savings). I had a choice; I could either worry and bite my nails until God provided it all, and then have joy and peace and celebrate. Or, I could have joy and peace and celebrate until God provided all the finances, and then have joy and peace and celebrate after he provided the finances... This time, I chose wisely.

So, I sent out my support e-mail and blog and said something like, "I am sure God will provide the funds. If you want to be involved in this and claim ownership in what God's doing through us, you can pray or donate money.
:-)"

So this is the part of the story where I somehow lost faith in the ensuing weeks, but God still provided. However, amazingly, I didn't! No plot twist here; I stuck to the plan and didn't worry. I honestly had peace and, when praying for finances, didn't pray with desperation or beg with doubt.

I am so grateful and inexpressibly humbled by the generosity of my family and friends! People gave out of their hearts, out of their little; you saw a need in the Kingdom and acted. I don't really know how it happened. There was almost no activity with the amount that I still needed until, all at once, 700 dollars here, 300 there, a steady flow of 50, 65, 90, 100 dollars started pouring in! And now, I virtually need nothing! I have maybe 200 that I still need in a month or two, but my regular support should cover that just fine. So I'm good to go!

God, family, and friends: thank you! God provided for this trip - it's meant to be. My expectations of God in the last few weeks were met; my expectations of miracles, of power, and transformation in the next 12 weeks be met in a whole new, surprising and life-giving way, but with the same "assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."