The deadline to be fully funded is in a few days on July 1st. I've been one of the very, very fortunate and blessed individuals who was fully funded before we left the U.S. As the days crawl on, the looming deadline is on all our minds; I mean, it's even on mine.
I have been very fortunate in the fact that I have never had to worry about money. I had a great childhood and though we were never wealthy by any means, we never went without. To this day, I don't know what it means to have nowhere to turn, no one to turn to, and no money in the bank. I have never experienced what it means to not have my basic needs met, and for that I am thankful.
It's been nice to have been fully funded; it's an item that doesn't need attending to nor something I need to think about.
Though that being said, I've often wondered why God waits till the last minute. We all know we've been called to this endeavor so why has He not supplied His children with all they need. I mean, if the money doesn't come in for these folk, they go home. Their race will end halfway through. Why subject your children to this kind of anxiety?
Our contact this month has me as his secretary. He mentioned that though they fund their local missionaries, he always leaves margin for God. He explained that if average monthly expenses are $500, they pay them $300 so that the missionaries learn to depend solely on God. With unemployment in this county at 50%, this is a great testament to how God-centered this ministry is. More importantly, it's a testament to how God comes through each, and every time.
I think that it's great that I was fully funded before launch and I am honestly, still baffled by people's generosity and God's provision! But I think going on the race knowing that you still have money to raise creates a dependency on God that I have not experienced. In the same vein, I think going through life not knowing where your next meal will come from does the same thing.
So for those of you that might not be fully funded, Or for those of you digging for change in your couch cushions to make ends meet, remember that God is blessing you by making you depend on Him.
Yea, it kinda sucks. But forgetting that He's the one who gave you everything in the first place, that sucks more.
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