Each week I have greater excitement and longing to meet the children, teens, and adults of the church in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, as well as the people who have not yet had the opportunity to hear the Good News. And every time I chat with the missionaries I hear more about the people and they ask how soon I can get down to Nicaragua. Talk about a strong tug on the heart and mind! Attached is a picture of some of the kids I’ll be working with. Knowing that you and I are both praying for these people is awesome!
At the end of this you can read about my latest & upcoming “living-out-of-a- suitcase” adventures.
This weekend was the kickoff of official deputation (i.e. reaching out to build a team of people who want to be part of the work in Nicaragua through their financial support). My goal is to raise all the funds by December 31 so I can get to Nicaragua by January/February of 2015!!! Thank you for your ongoing prayers regarding this.
WHAT IS NEEDED? GLAD YOU ASKED ;-)
$3,000 per month for the 2 years that I’ll be in Nicaragua. (This will cover insurance, taxes, rent, food and other living expenses, tutoring in Spanish, and funds for outreach to kids.) Total: $36,000
Yes that number sounded daunting to me at first. But then as I played around with the number I realized that is only 60 people giving $50 per month, or 120 people giving $25 per month.
In even more basic terms:
· 5 online movies = $50/month
· A Dollar a Day = $30/month
· 5 purchases at Starbucks = $25/month
Thanks to my church and a few individuals who signed up even before I officially kicked off support-raising, I am already at 14%!!!
Want to help spread the word about the work in Nicaragua? Email and social media are great tools. Here is a way you can help: do you have friends who have a heart for children and other countries? You can forward this email to your friends. You can post a link to my website on your Facebook/Twitter/etc. page: http://muldertonicaragua.weebly.com/.
The face of support-raising has changed in recent years. Many churches budgets are maxed out and they cannot take on new missionaries or are having to be very selective. Most new missionaries now receive their support mainly from individuals with maybe a few churches as well. Quite the opposite of the old days. While this adds to the challenge, it also opens the door to some unique opportunities. It gives individuals the opportunity to be personally connected and involved with what the missionary is doing. And it gives me the opportunity to build strong friendships with supporters and actually have faces to put to the names of those giving. I still will also be trying to connect with churches, in the hopes that they will allow me to come share about Nicaragua so that perhaps people in those churches will get involved.
BREAKING NEWS: My church is doing its annual Vacation Bible School for children the second week of August. And every year the children collect and bring in pennies to donate to a special project. This year the Penny Offering is going to help with the children’s work in Nicaragua!! I am BLOWN AWAY and in awe.
Yes, I am daily learning a lot about trusting God – He is Bigger! However long or challenging support-raising is, He is trustworthy and I can bring every anxiety and concern to Him. (I’ll probably also learn lots about patience on this journey as well).
As a friend reminded me, God already knows exactly which people will eventually be part of my team. And He knows exactly how soon I will end up moving to Nicaragua. He is powerful enough that He could bring all the money in tomorrow. But there are things I need to learn and people for me to meet before that happens. This support-raising journey is more about God changing and growing me through the process.
WHAT’S NEXT: I leave July 22 for a 2-week scouting trip to San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. This will be an amazing trip to see the town I’ll be living in, meet Andy & Diane Large face-to-face, and meet the people of the church there. I’ll get to experience first-hand life there, and get to discuss in detail more of what I’ll be doing once I move there. Hope to scout out possible housing as well. Looking forward to sharing pictures and stories with you from that trip. I’ll be back August 5th.
The last two weeks have included some needed down time as well as special visits with family and friends. My brother graduated from high-school, my grandmother was here, and then my dad & I did a whirl-wind 3 day trip to MI and back. So my suitcases have remained in action ;-). And now I’ve been busy organizing myself.