Friday, January 17, 2014

In Math, Every Number Counts!

I am not a Math person.  I never have been.  I have always enjoyed writing which is why I do most of the blogging.  I am that person who pulls out my phone to calculate the tip in a restaurant because I don't trust myself to do the math in my head.  When Brandon starts talking about statistics (usually sports related), I almost immediately tune him out.  Don't tell him. ;)  I don't like to think about numbers which is why Brandon also does our budget.  Don't worry, I do my part by spending the money!  But one thing I do know is that in Math, every number counts.  I know that if I leave out any numbers, no matter how small, my calculations will be wrong.  We have to raise a lot of money in our pursuing of God's call on our family to plant churches in France.  A LOT OF MONEY!  As you can imagine, when I saw the numbers, I went into panic mode.  But when the numbers were broken down for me, it didn't seem so bad.  Here are the facts:

**We have raised almost $70,000 in outgoing (one time) costs to get to France.  That puts us at 98% of the outgoing expense costs!!!

*We are at about 50% of what we need for our pledged monthly donors (for our first four year term).

*We have people giving as little as $5/month up to $800/month.  These come from individuals, families, small groups (SS classes) and churches.  

*Every donation is needed, no matter how big or how small.  

We were able to skype with the France directors (the couple in charge of the France field) this morning.  We were so encouraged to hear that they are preparing for our arrival in France as soon as God allows for us to be there.  We long for the day when we are able to do what we have continued to feel affirmed God is calling us to.  We know that His timing is perfect and we have not regretted any of our time here, but we are pushing, praying, pleading for God to get us there sooner rather than later and we are wondering if He is calling you to be part of the numbers, whether a big part or a small part.

This is a response card that a good friend of mine, Lesley Gilmer, designed for us to show a breakdown of what it would take to get us to France.  We would love to share more with you about how you can be a part.  Thanks for continuing to pray for us in this journey!



Friday, January 10, 2014

Why France?

So very often when we are telling about God's call on our family to share Jesus with the French people, we hear, "Why France?"  "Aren't they Catholic?"  "Haven't they heard?"  Over the last month or so, I have been working on this short video to share with you..."Why France?"  We would love to see God use YOU to be a part of the revival: