Support Raising Updates! by Carson
Hello everybody! I know it's been a while since we've posted; don't worry, we're still alive. For those of you who didn't see the note in the last blog post, or haven't figured it out by now, we stopped posting as frequently because we started raising support for our mission, and I'm happy to say that it has been going very well! So far we are a little more than 75% funded! And, we also have many people not included in that number who have already said they would give, but are praying about an amount, or working towards getting that set up.
Basically, as a family we've been meeting one on one with singles/couples/families to sit down with them and share a little bit on how we got started with all this mission stuff, and about where it's led us so far. (We've been doing one on one meetings mainly so that it's more personal and relationship building, rather than making announcements to churches or other large groups. You can't really have conversations if you're talking to a hundred people.) This way, we're building up a team, or even community, of people who are able to pray for us and help us along the way. And, we get food almost every meeting which is a huge plus in my book.
A lot of you already know this if we've met with you, so just unread that entire last paragraph.
I personally have been very moved by how generous everyone has been! It is absolutely crazy to meet with a very large variety of people and for all of them to be so supportive in one way or another. One example of this is a priest we met with who we've known for many, many years. He became a mission partner with us at a high level (though he is living on a meager income), and then continued to tell us how we were shaming him by becoming missionaries. This was funny, because we would not be where we are right now if it wasn't for him always guiding us and always being the father to us like he has been. It's not just him either; so many people have been sacrificially giving!
Another example was one of our first mission partners, who's just a simple college student. Young. Poor. Defenseless. And yet she's a monthly mission partner with us! Same with many of the people with a fixed income living on social security; they have been so generous with their prayers and support as well. Really, I could come up with an example for basically every meeting we've had, but I don't want to type all that.
This all has been very cool to see from a different perspective. These last few years, other missionaries have been out in the field, and we've have been privileged and blessed to be supporting them back here in the states. But now, the tables are turned. We're being sent out, and other people are getting to be our mission partners, and we've already been so blessed by them.
I know what many of you are thinking. "Hey! Where's my meeting? Why haven't they reached out to me? I'm just dying to throw my money and prayers at these people, but I don't know how!" Patience, dear reader. Fear not. God willing, we will be emailing you or calling you soon to see if you'd like to set up a meeting (of course you would!) or even a Zoom meeting if you're far away.
Or, if you just can't wait to meet with us to see how awesome God is, feel free to email us about it and hopefully we can get something set up! The sooner the better, as our goal is to be completely funded by the end of May. (I'm serious! We make a LOT of calls, so if anyone is awesome enough to reach out to us it is a HUMONGOUS blessing!) I'm still not exactly right about making phone calls ever since I was broken as a young child. If you email about scheduling a meeting and use the word "banana" in said email, I will tell you the story. (If you already had a meeting, just the email will suffice.)
Anyway, thanks for reading this update and God bless! If you have any questions just send an email to actsoftheacostas@gmail.com.
