I am currently reading this book called "Daring to Live on the Edge" and it talks about how God deals with money. I am learning a lot of really life-changing things about money, both through reading about it and through living it.
I just want to take a moment to praise God for what he has already provided! I have been blessed by three different people already:
1) The first $200 came from my brother Ben before I left for YWAM
2) The second $150 came from a friend I met down here who doesn't actually go to YWAM. She is part of a team of people in charge of a local coffee shop
3) I was recently blessed with another $250 from a friend back home. She doesn't have much, but she still gave, which is such a blessing!!!
As you probably know, I need to raise around another $ 1,400 by April 1st (only three weeks). Where exactly did I get this number from? It's not just something I pulled out of my head. I felt a need to really sit down, think it out, and get a good budget for what exactly I will need. Some of you may be puzzled because the number should have been lower after your donations...and it is!!! Yet, the amount I need for meeting my other basic needs is a bit higher than I originally estimated.
The following is a breakdown of what I will need for each category:
1) First and foremost, I need another $600 to pay for the second part of my school. YWAM had me pay for the first half shortly after I arrived. This is called the lecture phase and I paid that portion quite a while ago.
2) Then I need to pay for basic toiletries for the next three months, which adds up to about $150-$200 for everything for the next four months
3) I could also use some more pens and notebooks for the classes I am taking (as well as learning Spanish), which is another $10-20
4) I have recently been blessed with some second-hand clothing from one of the staff members here, so God provided a lot of my clothing needs for the summer that way. That being said, I could really use some money for shorts/skirts to wear. It gets pretty miserable wearing long pants in the summer heat down in Mexico. Unfortunately, they don't have thrift stores down here, so if I was going to buy another 3-4 pairs of shorts/skirts, it would be around $60-80.
5) I also need to do laundry at a local laundromat because the base can't afford to have students do their laundry here. It costs about $50 a month/4 months=$200. (It adds up fast!)
6) Last on my priority list is transportation/entertainment. Although I can get by without this, it would be nice to have some money set aside for going to dinner with the YWAMers or random adventures. I will leave the amount open because it really depends on how much God provides in all....
So that is a basic outline. I wanted my supporters to know exactly what their money is going towards. I don't take what is given to me lightly-God calls me to be a good steward of the money he blesses me with. I know some will make some pretty big sacrifices in order to support my ministry. The last thing I want to do is abuse that blessing by using the gift carelessly. If you feel led to cover a particular need (such as toiletries), just let me know and I will set the money aside for that particular area. I want to honor those who choose to give and allow you to have some say-so of how it is used if you so desire.
I also want to say that no amount is too small-if you give five dollars, that would allow me to brush my teeth for an entire month or more! That's huge!
I also want to emphasize that this is not about getting money, but about partnering with you in what God is doing here in Mexico and what he will do in Mexico City and Chiapas during my outreach. God has a lot of really cool promises in the Bible for those who give. Here are just a few:
*If you give, you will increase (Proverbs 11:24)
*You will be blessed (Proverbs 22:9)
*You will be great (Isaiah 58:10)
*You will be prosperous (Proverbs 11:25)
*All your needs will be supplied (Phil. 4:19)
*Your Father will repay you (Matt 6:4)
* You will have treasures in heaven (Matt 19:21)
So if you feel led to give, you can do it nonchalantly through the donate button on this blog. If you don't feel comfortable doing this,you can also just let me know you would like to help out and I can provide other ways. (FYI-paypal takes out a certain percentage, so the donate button won't give me the entire amount). That's it for now! I will keep you all updated about how God proves Himself faithful in providing. Can't wait!!!
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