I asked Lou Alice to share about her support process. It is a story of God's Great Provision. Our team is about 1/2-way there on fundraising, and we leave in just a little over 2 months. If you'd like to donate, you can do so online here. (Type the name of the team member in the 1st box, or just "midtown gulu general" if you want it to go towards the most needed member.) All contributions are tax-deductible!
Thinking Inside the Box.
I think inside a box all the time. In my box, where I live, there is a living room of faithlessness, a kitchen of scarcity, a bedroom of restlessness, and a closet of worry. I am quite comfortable and rarely leave. But the Lord has come a-knockin. And He is willing to crawl in and be with me.
He says, "For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
And a lot of times I just say, "No thank you, I'll just stay here in my box."
He says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
I tell Him that I cannot imagine it and therefore don't believe He will. I do not believe that He loves me that much.
He tells me, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
It takes His audible voice and His tangible hands to get me to come out of my box.
For twenty years, I have longed and read and hoped to see Africa. But in order to go, a few things would be required of me. The most daunting of these, is not the hours of travel, the battery of shots, the heat, the culture clash, it's the greenbacks. Raising funds is up there on my list with surviving a natural disaster or suffering an amputation. I simply cannot fathom raising the thousands of dollars to go. Money and I do not mix. We are enemies. And the price seemed more than I could bare.
With much encouragement but tremendous fear, I sent out 100 letters to raise support (at least I would know that I wasn't supposed to go if I did not raise the funds. Eeyore!). The first week, I received a note of encouragement from old friends and my first check for $50. Within two weeks, old friends and new acquaintances had sent in $1,095. I was overwhelmed by this outpouring of love and support but still needed $2,105 for the basic expenses of the trip. Ohh fear.
But then this happened: there is a man who is in Bible study with my husband who was challenged by his church to take some starter money and use it to minister to others. Unbeknownst to my husband or me, this dear man took his allotment, added to it and then challenged the other 8 men in the bible study to contribute. On Maundy Thursday, I received a letter from African Leadership that informed me that these brothers in Christ had pledged $2,105 which when added to the other donations totalled up to $3,200-- the exact amount needed for the trip.
Imagine that. On Easter weekend, I watched a parable unfold: Jesus paid the price for my sins. My sisters and brothers in Christ have paid a price for me. They have been willing to do something for me that I could not do for myself. The debt was big. God is bigger.
"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet that bring good news!" Romans 10:15
And His plans are for good. And He will send me. I, who live in a box and resist His lavish love and do not have the faith of a mustard seed. All that and Africa too. Hallelujah, I am His and He is mine.
**A note since. Dear friends have since sent in donations that will make it possible for me to not only go on the trip and do the work at hand but also to be able to purchase supplies for the community once we get to Gulu. God is good.
I think inside a box all the time. In my box, where I live, there is a living room of faithlessness, a kitchen of scarcity, a bedroom of restlessness, and a closet of worry. I am quite comfortable and rarely leave. But the Lord has come a-knockin. And He is willing to crawl in and be with me.
He says, "For I know the plans I have for you . . . plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
And a lot of times I just say, "No thank you, I'll just stay here in my box."
He says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," Ephesians 3:20 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." Matthew 7:7
I tell Him that I cannot imagine it and therefore don't believe He will. I do not believe that He loves me that much.
He tells me, "The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17
It takes His audible voice and His tangible hands to get me to come out of my box.
For twenty years, I have longed and read and hoped to see Africa. But in order to go, a few things would be required of me. The most daunting of these, is not the hours of travel, the battery of shots, the heat, the culture clash, it's the greenbacks. Raising funds is up there on my list with surviving a natural disaster or suffering an amputation. I simply cannot fathom raising the thousands of dollars to go. Money and I do not mix. We are enemies. And the price seemed more than I could bare.
With much encouragement but tremendous fear, I sent out 100 letters to raise support (at least I would know that I wasn't supposed to go if I did not raise the funds. Eeyore!). The first week, I received a note of encouragement from old friends and my first check for $50. Within two weeks, old friends and new acquaintances had sent in $1,095. I was overwhelmed by this outpouring of love and support but still needed $2,105 for the basic expenses of the trip. Ohh fear.
But then this happened: there is a man who is in Bible study with my husband who was challenged by his church to take some starter money and use it to minister to others. Unbeknownst to my husband or me, this dear man took his allotment, added to it and then challenged the other 8 men in the bible study to contribute. On Maundy Thursday, I received a letter from African Leadership that informed me that these brothers in Christ had pledged $2,105 which when added to the other donations totalled up to $3,200-- the exact amount needed for the trip.
Imagine that. On Easter weekend, I watched a parable unfold: Jesus paid the price for my sins. My sisters and brothers in Christ have paid a price for me. They have been willing to do something for me that I could not do for myself. The debt was big. God is bigger.
"And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet that bring good news!" Romans 10:15
And His plans are for good. And He will send me. I, who live in a box and resist His lavish love and do not have the faith of a mustard seed. All that and Africa too. Hallelujah, I am His and He is mine.
**A note since. Dear friends have since sent in donations that will make it possible for me to not only go on the trip and do the work at hand but also to be able to purchase supplies for the community once we get to Gulu. God is good.
