During training camp we had a “class” on finances. I found it fascinating to see where every dollar of your support went and why it was necessary to raise the money. I wanted to share this information with you to let you see how your donations were being used – how you really are a part of changing the world.
$14,300 is the total amount needed to raise to finish this race. Here is the brake down of how that money is used:
training camp – $250.00
support field staff travel – $575.00
administrative fees – $2,500
development/marketing – $1,700
field expenses – $9,255
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total – $14,280….. $14,300.
The field expenses are broken down into airfare (which is approximately $3,500) and then $460.00 a month for all other field expenses.
Each month, each person, has $460.00 for the month (for our team of 7 people that is $3,220.00). That money can not be held over to the next month. Each team has a person that will handle the team finances. They (and the team leader) are given a debit card to allow access to the funds. As a team we are to decide how we can be the best stewards of this money… how we can use it most effectively to further the Kingdom of God. That $460.00 is broken down into a budget to possibly look like:
$3.70 per day for food (111.00 a month)
$5.25 per day for lodging (157.50 month)
$3.00 per day for in country travel (90.00 month)
$90.00 a month for long distance travel (when we are taking the 60 hour bus ride to our next country…)
$10.00 a month for miscellaneous expenses (anything from translators to toilet paper…)
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total – $458.50 ….$460.00
As a team, each month, when we enter into a country we will have to decide how we want to budget and use our money. We can decide to sacrifice and live on rice and beans for every meal for the entire month and pitch our tents to rough it in order to save as much of our money as possible. In this case, we can as a group decide to use our money to put extra money into our ministry – such as buying benches for a church, etc… All of our ministry money (putting on a VBS, buying food to cook to feed the kids a special lunch, buying some building materials for a church we are helping to build) comes out of this budget as well. Some months, because of the countries currency exchange rate, this budget will allow us a lot of flexibility and be more than enough. Other times, this budget will be a challenge for us to accomplish what we were sent to do.
The person in charge of the finances will have to send in all receipts each month back to Adventures in Missions. We are to keep handwritten receipts of each dollar spent, weather it is an orange at a corner vendor or it is buying bibles for a local village. We will have to account for every dollar spent. Our goal is to stay on budget each month. One month, if we have money left over, it will go to help another team who maybe went over their budget for that month, and likewise for us as well.
A portion of the money, if we are way below budget for the month, can go toward fun things for the team, such as buying ice cream for everyone or deciding since we have eaten beans and rice all month to actually go out to dinner. Any team activity, any money spent on the team for something that is not ministry or necessity related, over 100.00 will have to be approved by the squad leaders.
But, we know we signed up for sacrifice. We wanted to give up our riches for poverty. We are being sent to live in community with the people we will serve. We will eat what they eat and live as they live. Our stewardship of the money provided needs to reflect this kind of lifestyle.
As the finance person for our team, I would like to try to post a financial statement each month to let you see how your money tangibly changed a part of God’s world. I want you see how your money is being spent and to help keep us accountable to be good stewards of the gifts that you have given to further the Kingdom of God.
We are the people physically going out into the world… but, without your support through prayer, and encouragement, and money – we would not actually be able to go. You are the senders. You have a huge role in the Great Commission and without you none of this would be possible. So, thank you so much!
