First off thank you all so much for your prayers. It’s been pretty amazing to see God answer them each day the last three. But we need to ask you to pray for something a little bigger.
Due to a miscommunication in the SEND office, we were given the wrong amount to shoot for. In order to qualify to go to MOP we need to reach 50% by July 10. In other words we have a new deadline, and a higher target. If we don’t get an additional 16.5% (previously we were trying to raise an additional 8%) of our support by July10, we’ll almost certainly have to push back our departure to Summer 2012. More on that in a minute, but first, the good news.
Praises
1. Each day of the last three, God has provided one new supporter comitting $40/month. As you recall in the last Prayer update I mentioned that we needed to get one new $40/month supporter each day until the end of June, and asked that you pray for God to provide. That was Tuesday, three days ago, and sure enough, each day someone has decided to start supporting us at $40/month, or increase their support. I have been blown away to see God answer so clearly thus far. Now however, I need to ask you to pray that God provides two supporters each day for the next three weeks.
2. Due to God’s provision if we qualify for SEND’s Member Oriencation (by getting up to 50% by July 10), we will be able to afford to take the three weeks off of work needed to attend. I meant to ask you to pray about this, but forgot. It’s something we’ve been praying about for awile. When we started planning on going to MOP this Summer we realized that we wouldn’t be able to afford to take three weeks off of work. Technically to avoid having to push back our departure date we needed God to work two miracles: providing the supporters, and providing the finances to enable us to take time off of our jobs. As of this morning it looks like He has taken care of the second one, and that if we do get enough support to qualify to attend MOP we will be able to take the time off of work as well. So this was a huge answer to prayer.
3. Tomo is mostly over her cough. But still suffering from morning sickness :-(.
Prayer Request
1. That God provides an additional 16.5% of our support by July 10. Previously we set a goal of one new supporter a day for the next two weeks. Now it looks more like we will need 2 new supporters a day over the next three weeks. 1 Corinthians 4:8 comes to mind: “We are… perplexed, but not driven to despair.” I got two phone calls today while I was in a meeting. One was the call to let me know that we were accidentally told the wrong amount and that we needed to raise more than double what we thought. The other was a person calling to let us know that they wanted to increase their support by an additional $40/month. We aren’t sure what God is doing. But He is clearly doing something. If July 10th comes and goes and we have to push back our departure date till next year, then we trust that’s part of God’s perfect plan. But if it comes and we are at 50% we’ll know He worked a miracle. There could be no other logical explanation. This would not be the first time God has made a situation seem hopeless in order to demonstrate His ability to overcome obstacles that we cannot.
Judges 7:2-7
The LORD said to Gideon, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now therefore proclaim in the ears of the people, saying, ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling, let him return home and hurry away from Mount Gilead.'” Then 22,000 of the people returned, and 10,000 remained.
And the LORD said to Gideon, “The people are still too many. Take them down to the water, and I will test them for you there, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ shall go with you, and anyone of whom I say to you, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ shall not go.” So he brought the people down to the water.
And the LORD said to Gideon, “Every one who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set by himself. Likewise, every one who kneels down to drink.” And the number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was 300 men, but all the rest of the people knelt down to drink water.
And the LORD said to Gideon, “With the 300 men who lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hand, and let all the others go every man to his home.”
2Corinthians 1:9
Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.
Thank you all, and God Bless!
Dave and Tomo