France Saturday, 2-23-12

    Have you ever had a day in which nothing went as planned (like planning to write a "France Friday" post)?  Yesterday was like that for us and I'm sure you can relate.  But yesterday was also a picture of what this whole journey has been like for us.  When we first accepted our call to church planting in France over 7 years ago, we never could have imagined the paths God had in store for us.  I can look back at my "plans" on how we'd get back to France and laugh now, but it's been a long road. Yet, we have a lot to be thankful for. Michelle just finished a book called 1,000 Gifts that was recommended to her and though I haven't had the chance to read it yet, the message has still hit home with me.  We have much to be grateful for, even when things don't go as planned.  And true joy comes from living a life of gratitude.  "Father, thank You for Your perfect plans that are so much higher than my own.  May we rejoice always, pray without ceasing; and in everything give thanks!" 

• Please pray for us as we simultaneously seek to follow up with previous contacts while trying to increase our network and build new relationships.  

•  Pray that God will provide the funds we need to attend our pre-field training course in July and make it to France in the fall and just in time for Karis to start school.  

And finally, just for fun, time to get happy....

 

Monthly Support...What Does it Look Like?

COMMITMENT- an agreement or pledge to do something in the future; the state or an instance of being obligated or emotionally impelled.  

Commitment is a scary word for many of us.  I definitely find myself being afraid of it, especially in the case of money.  Throughout this support raising process, we have received many one-time gifts, big and small, and we REALLY appreciate those!  We need them for our outgoing expense fund to continue to grow.  We have had a harder time finding those who are willing to pledge monthly support.  So here are some Frequently Ashed Questions about monthly support:

         *How long is the commitment?
                      - We are planning to be on the mission field as long as God has us there and we will need support for all of that time.  The terms are typically 4 years, so many people commit to give for four years and then revisit the pledge after that.  However, you can commit for just one year at a time if you would like.  The only possible hiccup with that comes if many people stop giving after a year and we must raise more support in order to remain in France. 

          *How much do I need to give?
                        - Whatever God calls you to give!  Many people have the idea that if you can't afford to give $50/month, your gift is not needed.  Oh how wrong!  We have people giving $5/month and we appreciate the sacrifice they have made to give it!  If everyone we knew gave us $5 or $10, we would already be at our 100% goal!  Ok, that's a lot of "!", but seriously, there is no gift too small.  (of course we do accept the bigger gifts as well and are thankful for those who have been able to pledge them ;) )

          *Where does the money go right now?
                         - Everything that is given to us, whether it is one-time gifts or monthly giving goes to World Team.  They have an account set up just for us and they take care of all the details of it.  Once we are on the field, they will be writing our checks.

          *How do I give?
                         - Online/Credit Card
                         -  Electronic Funds Transfer
                         -  Electronic Bank Check
                         -  Check
 These are the different options.  Look HERE for more details about each of these options.    

          *When do I start?
                          - You can start now and anything you give between now and when we leave for the field will go into our outgoing expenses account.  OR... You can begin three months prior to our leaving for the field.   

Again, don't think for one minute that we do not appreciate all of the one time gifts that have already been given or will be given in the future.  We know that not everyone will be called to join with us on a monthly basis.  But just in case you are one of those who was still a little unsure of how it all works, we wanted to give you the specifics.  Thanks as always for your love and encouragement and most of all your prayers.  We know God is using all of you in this journey.

                                                                                                                                                              

France Friday, 2-8-13

Over the past couple of weeks we've had the chance to Skype with two couples, one in the middle of the same fund-raising process to get to France that we are in right now and another that has been serving in France for a couple of years.  While talking with these future teammates, I was struck by the notion of "team" and the role that concept has played and will play in our journey.  Working as "teams" is one of World Team's core values that I'm learning to appreciate more and more.  It's both biblical and rewarding, and yet is complex and comes with its share of challenges.  But God's design is to use churches, communities, teams to accomplish more than any of us as individuals could ever do alone, and all for His glory.  All I know is we can't wait to become part of the team and see what God can do. Thanks for your prayers! 
                                       

• To see some ways you can pray for these couples and other needs on the France Team, click here.  

•  Pray that God will continue to draw people to join our support team.  

• Pray for Michelle and we celebrate her birthday tomorrow!   

France Friday: Febraury One

BONJOUR!  We hope that you have had a great week.  Here are a couple of new things this week...

*PRAISE- After many months of praying, Brandon's work schedule has changed from evenings to days.  Besides being a better fit for our family in general, this frees him up for meetings and such in the evenings.  He was also able to switch his day off from Wednesday to Friday which allows a whole day for he and I to work on support raising details while the kids are at MDO.  We definitely look forward to the adjustment.

-Continue to pray as we schedule meetings with new contacts.  We have a meeting with our accountability group tonight to do some planning and praying.

-We have had several more people get on board either with one-time gifts, monthly pledges or planning events and new ways of getting the word out.  We have felt very encouraged and supported and we are thankful for each of you and your prayers.

**Here is our new prayer card.  We got them in this week.  So, if you need or want one, let us know!