as plain as asking Him for a task and then watching your desire for that task
grow within you. Problem is, most
of us forget to ask Him to fill us with a fervent spirit to serve
Him. Then years later, we wake up
and realize we had our life. We
made our small choices…our safe choices.
But somehow we missed the richness of following Him down an uncharted
path”.
– James Hudson
Taylor (ground-breaking missionary to China)
Lindsay and I are back in Southern California and excited
about what God is doing in and through us here. We plan to live here for the minimum of one year (as I am
working on my third year as a Green Card holder…and THEN I can become a dual-citizen)
but we don’t want to move from this place unless God’s presence goes with us
(Ex. 33:15- Like Moses and my grandfather requested before they moved on to
distant lands).
I am looking for a job, something that integrates my
administrative abilities with my need to interact with people and serve them
with excellence. I am equally
excited about helping Lindsay with the administrative/ web-design aspects of
our business “Freed by Design”. We
are moving in two weeks into an apartment in Long Beach where we can get more
involved with our biological and church family.
Since coming back, we have committed to co-lead the new
college-age group at LBCF with our new Youth Pastor, Chris Lapp and his wife,
Samantha who is assisting with the administration of the church office. It has been great getting to serve
alongside them and hearing their journey of faith from the Seattle area to
Southern California. God is good!
Also, we have had so many World Race and G42 friends come by
our place in the Pacific Palisades and we are immensely grateful to our
supporter who provided us with this place free
of rent, as we get our “life together” back here. Thank you to so many of you who have given to us personally,
as you have rightfully forseen that there are many life expenses involved with
coming back to America as opposed to living overseas (Insurance, gas, food and
soon rent).
We are moving forward with our vision for a holistic
approach to freeing women enslaved by prostitution and human-trafficking. We, at Freed by Design, believe that
only through prevention, education and skills-training and ultimately the grace
and power of God, can these women experience true freedom, love and
opportunities to choose another way.
We are designing beautiful, practical, 
fairly-trade products to be sold
in this Western market, with a percentage of the proceeds going to overseas
initiatives such as sponsoring Ukrainian
orphans to attend university
or
teaching
women in Thailand/Cambodia jewelry-making, sewing and/or baking skills.
We
are looking into the benefits of non-profit versus for-profit (with a
non-profit aspect) but at this time, we are praying about direction and divine
connections from people who can practically counsel us…. for the benefit of the
girls and all our supporters who choose to get involved!
As this kingdom-bringing business and sponsorship program
gets off the ground (and Lindsay has chosen not to go back to work
full-time so that she can focus her
energy on seeing God’s kingdom come on earth… in the sphere of these women’s
lives) we have the unique privilege to receive tax-deductible donations through
G42 for her home-office, ministry trips and networking costs.
Since being home Lindsay has been busy obtaining a DBA,
business license, wiring money to Ukraine to meet the needs of four orphan
girls for their first year in college, corresponding with their mentor and her
dear friend Tanya, meeting with sponsors in LA, networking and finding
opportunities to connect with similar kingdom-minded businesses and on top of
that all, she is tutoring several hours a week. She knows that the most strategic and sustainable way to truly impact the lives of
people here and overseas is through business and is excited to inspire girls to
live out their dreams through education and making a plan, not simply relying
on support alone. If she is ever
to truly make an impact in the lives of the women in the red light district (or
before they even get there), she needs to have a business which can offer them employment
and an alternative to their lifestyle. We want to see excellence,
freedom and the individual talents of people around the world used to their
fullest.
Lindsay is gearing up for on-line and boutique sales, which will
naturally help her network and share the vision of Freed by Design. She is very
excited to go back to Ukraine this winter and Asia this spring to work on both
projects simultaneously; orphan education and fair trade design. Did you know that at present she has a fashion intern, a fellow designer in Michigan, an overseas Ukrainian mentor
for the orphan girls and one fashion intern interested in joining in next
summer to volunteer with Freed by Design. We would love to take any of you on a trip with us who are interested in
seeing first hand what God is doing in their lives through your donations to
us. We need your prayer covering as we go forth in faith, courage and trust in
the dream that God has placed deep within our hearts.
We are trusting that God will meet all of our needs as
missionaries IN the West. Business as Mission provides an in-road
to the mainstream world of fashion, it creates jobs for women abroad and
provides needed resources here (for Lindsay) and for the hard-working, creative
women overseas.
Friends, we have some daughters of God in Ukraine, Thailand
and all over the world who need us to go to bat for them. 27
million enslaved by prostitution/human-trafficking is staggering…but like
Heidi Baker, if we focus on “the one in front of us”, significant steps can be
made in their individual lives.
We would like to raise about $2,000/month to cover the ministry
costs of traveling overseas and the business related expenses Stateside, used
to help the girls. We will both be
working on Freed by Design AND finding other work at the same time. We know
many of you are praying about where you
can sow into the lives of others…and if this cause gets some holy discontent
stirred up within you…then act on it through us.
IF…..
30 people gave $10/ month
20 people gave $25/month
10 people gave $50/month
5 people gave $100/month
…we would be sufficiently equipped.
We hope this clarifying e-mail will help you understand more
of our present situation and give you more insight into what to pray for, as
you all are integral participants in our lives and the unfolding journey God
has called us on. We know that in this World it is ALL about WHO YOU ARE that
brings change, not as much as what you do, yet we are confident in both. Like Jesus’ disciples, we walk forward
in faith to follow Jesus and the dreams He has put deep in our hearts.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless
is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress… (James 1:27)
Will you join us?
