Another step in the journey
Posted by Jesse , Friday, June 18, 2010 11:17 AM
So we begin another phase of our journey to work with the Yakama people. Today is the last day of school for the 2009-2010 school year, and the first day that we begin full-time support raising.
What does that look like?
Well, I don't really know, having not really done it before. But my goal is to put in at least 40 hours a week doing phone calling, scheduling and having meetings with pastors, mission boards, and people who may be interested in getting involved in the ministry, as well as sending emails and keeping in touch with people already on board with us.
The real difference in all that to what we've already been doing is the amount of time I now have to do it. That, and the freedom to travel if necessary, something that was harder to schedule before. We're hoping to be able to visit churches in the Portland and Spokane area this summer, and perhaps venture further away as well.
I think most people, including myself at times, look at the support raising process as drudgery - a "necessary evil." But God has reminded me time and again through this journey that it's nothing of the kind. We have continued to be amazed at the beauty and diversity in the body of Christ as we meet with all sorts of people who love and live to serve God, and visit different churches and experience the worship there in ways we're not accustomed to. God has been using this time to show me the truth of Ephesians 4:4-6, that "there is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call-- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all." We have been blessed with getting to know people we would not normally get to know, and have been exposed to the beauty of God's grace in the lives of His people as we share our stories and sufferings and joys.
This time of support raising, then, is far more than just asking people for money - a sort of glorified "holy panhandling" - but rather a time where we are building more than monetary support. We're building a family, who encourages and strengthens us both now and as we move forward to do the really tough stuff on the ground.
So as we now transition to doing this full-time, pray that we will continue to live in the constant awareness that God prepares the way for us, that this time is part of His work for us just as much as the work in White Swan is, and that we will live faithfully in "the good works which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Exciting, but scary? I would thik that humanly speaking, it would be terrifying, but with the Lord all things are possible. I know you are trusting, or you wouldn't be going ahead with the confidence you have. I am amazed and gratified to have such a grandson.