- Baptized Stella
- Visited seven churches to speak about Blessman Ministries
- Attended the LCMC Annual Gathering
- Been to Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri and Iowa.
- Raised well over our fundraising goal of $54,000 in less than three months.
- Visited the Blessman Ministries office and met the office staff.
I am still trying to wrap my head around the amazing provision of God. He has given us more than we ever could have hoped for and he still continues to provide for us. We haven't had traditional jobs for the past few months because we needed to keep an open schedule so we could travel and visit churches and work on fundraising. We were able to piece together an income and were gifted with many surprises that we weren't expecting that enabled us to pay our bills and even keep saving.
Matt worked at First Lutheran Church and in return the church gave him a generous monthly stipend. I received over 20 orders for custom illustrations. One of Matt's high school buddies hired him to help out with his landscaping business. I took a couple babysitting jobs. We even delivered Yellow Pages phone books for some extra cash! (Which, by the way, is not worth all the work!)
Emanuel Lutheran Church in Lodi, CA, kicked off our fundraising efforts with a large donation from their Mission in Motion campaign.
Around Thanksgiving we had much to be thankful for, as Lutheran Church of the Cross in Altoona, IA, called to let us know they would be providing the rest of the money we needed to raise, almost half the total amount. What a huge surprise and blessing that was.
Our other supporting churches, American Lutheran Church in Rantoul, IL; St. Mark Lutheran Church in Lindenhurst, IL; Stavanger Lutheran Church in Stavanger, IL; Newark Lutheran Church in Newark, IL; St. John's Lutheran Church in Flanagan, IL; Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in Valley Springs, CA; Christ Lutheran Church in West Covina, CA and First Lutheran Church in Pontiac, IL have given us very generous gifts and their support is invaluable to us.
We have ten total supporting churches and over a hundred known donors. (I say "known" because many people gave cash anonymously.) Tiny churches gave thousands of dollars. Large churches continue to have fundraisers for us and give substantially out of their budgets. A youth group had a bake sale to support us. Sunday Schools have given us their Sunday offerings and gifts out of their funds. Individuals who I know don't have a bunch of disposable income gave us extremely generous gifts. Families who are financially secure gave large amounts selflessly.
Our families have been so supportive. My parents allowed us to live with them rent-free while we raised money. Without their constant support, life would have been extremely difficult. My in-laws did the same when we came to visit them. My parents helped out with Stella and watched her while I went to babysit or had to work on a drawing or write thank you cards. They let us run up their water bill as baby laundry and diapers had to be washed constantly. They cooked for us and let us make an office out of their dining room table. They let us take over a bedroom and fill up their house with burp rags, baby toys and paperwork. They gave and they gave and they gave. The word "grateful" just isn't strong enough.
We feel enveloped in prayer. We are surrounded and supported by a huge network of generous and loving people. We have been consistently humbled and floored by the willingness of people to give of themselves to support us.
We are all in mission together. You are missionaries in the US, in your towns, in your homes. We are simply in a different place working toward the same goal. God uses us in amazing ways wherever we are.
Now that we are a mere two days from departure, it's all becoming real. And we are so excited to take this next step on the path God has set for us. We cannot wait to get to SA, meet the people, get to work and feel the 85 degree air and the hot sun on our faces. We do not know why God called us to go across the world to serve him in South Africa, and perhaps we never will. We know it will be difficult to be so far from our families whom we love desperately. Our hearts ache knowing we are taking our baby away from her grandparents, uncles and aunts. But we know it is God's will for our lives, and we live to follow him.
So as we take this leap of faith across the pond, we are at peace. We are ready and we are happy. We are so thankful to each and every one of your for your prayers, well-wishes, thoughtfulness and support. We could not do this without you and we thank God for you every day.
The next time we post, we'll be blogging from South Africa!
Click the link to Google Maps below to see exactly where we'll be living! (Zoom out on the map to see more. We are near a town called Mokopane, also sometimes written as Ga-Mokopane.)
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