Missio Colonia | Kevin and Kathi in Cologne, Germany

Kevin: Part of our assignment for candidate orientation is to compile a mailing list of all of our family, friends and acquaintances. They recommend that married couples start with at least 400 contacts for their mailing list. As of now, Kathi and I are hovering around 160. So, if you want to be on our mailing list, let us know!

I finished reading the Funding Your Ministry book recently. It was so hopeful in developing in Kathi and I some godly attitudes toward our up-coming support raising. The temptation we face is to view people as sources of money. Of course, we don't want to do this, but when you're faced with having to raise thousands of dollars to go into ministry, you easily begin to do just that. As far as we are able, we want to be a blessing to the people from whom we seek support. By God's grace our vision and passion for missions will enflame them to greater love of the Kingdom.

Kevin: I checked our mail yesterday after coming home from work, and in the mailbox I found one of the self-addressed envelopes we included in our support letters. Hurrah, support! Well, what was in the envelop completely took my breath away. A friend of ours sent us a check for the entire $2,000 we need for candidate orientation! At the blink of an eye, we were at full support for next month! Thank you, Lord! We're so amazed at the riches of God's grace poured out on us. And it is out of grace that we have received this for we have done nothing to deserve this kind of provision.

This gift also has served as a renewal of God's call to Kathi and I. Lately, I've been struggling in my heart about becoming a missionary. I peer into my heart and see fear and weakness and unbelief. I feel like a fraud. So, I pray. Lord, are you really calling us to be missionaries? But, God continues to move us forward, and I'm thankful that it is Him taking us there. It will only be by His grace that we are used to bring people to Jesus and to build His church.

Kevin: In less than three weeks Kathi and I head out to Colorado for our candidate orientation. It is exciting and daunting at the same time. We continue to ask God to guide us in this process because it is our heart's desire that we remain in His will for our lives. In the meantime, GEM has us doing some assignments to help us prepare for the training. We're reading a book called Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton about support raising. We also have to do a personality test and complete some Bible studies. We've also been working to get financial support for our trip to Colorado. Admittedly, we haven't been pursuing as much as we should be, but hopefully, we'll be able to put more time into it so that we can arrive at orientation with full support.

Kevin: And so begins our support raising journey. Today we sent out support letters for our candidate orientation next month. At this point we're only focusing on around twenty close friends and family hoping that we can raise a good chuck of the $2,000 through them. We're cutting it pretty close though. As of Wednesday, we have only one month till we go to Colorado.

The good news, however, is that I'm finally done with my school work for this semester. It was a grueling couple of months, but I'm finally done (almost) with my Masters degree. Anyway, this will free up significant time to devote to preparing for orientation. Please pray that the support we need for the training comes in by next month. Also, pray that we'd be spending the next couple of weeks really preparing in our hearts to begin this process.

Kevin: A few days ago I spent some time with a friend of mine who works at Trinity named Kent Hansen. Kent is a spiritual beast. In his younger years he was a missionary with YWAM in Delhi, India. Last year he was involved in a serious motocycle accident that cost him his right leg. Despite his circumstances, he love Jesus so much. Anyway, we talked about his missionary experiences and some of the battles most people encounter when they first arrive in the field. It was really encouraging.

One thing we talked about was the need for missionaries to count the cost. He told the story of when he was sent to India. It was clear to him that going to India meant hardship and possibly even death. He had to wrestle to the point where he was prepared to surrender everything to Jesus. Now, going to Germany doesn't present the same risks and dangers as India, but we do need to seriously count the cost. I'm I willing to be made fun of or even assaulted for my faith?

Kent made the observation that counting the cost is not about deciding whether we're willing to pay it. There should be no question about whether it's worth it. Counting the cost is about obedience versus disobedience. It means that if and when the cost becomes due, we are not hesitant to give everything for Christ. This is definitely an issue I'm going to be wrestling with for a while.