How does this work?

Fund-raising is NEVER fun and it's getting harder as wall street tanks. We're trying to be creative about finding a way to get back to Botswana in time for the school term that begins in January. We wrote to AGWM (Assemblies of God World Missions, our sending organization) about taking steps to reduce our budget, so that we could return to Africa with less support than they've told us we need. We even suggested that we might take money out of our personal income and pledge it towards our own Mission account. Chuck got an e-mail back from AGWM and they said we can't do that, the IRS doesn't allow it.

So I thought a little while about it and then I suggested to Chuck, "Well, we could take money out of our personal income, though, and pledge it to some OTHER missionary family." You may be wondering, "But how does that help the WILSONS raise the support they need?" It doesn't. But I know that all our missionary friends and colleagues are struggling, too, and none of us is finding it easy to raise our support.

The next day I got a call first thing in the morning from a cousin of mine; she wants to know how she and her husband can support us on a regular basis. You see, they've retired now, sold their house, bought an RV, and they're traveling around the country. Since they're not going to church at the same place every week, they're not putting their tithe toward the support of a local church. I was amazed when I got off the phone.

I told Chuck the good news and he looked up from his e-mails and said, "I have a message from AGWM that we got four new pledges yesterday." We were ecstatic! We haven't received a new pledge in nearly four weeks, and in one day we had reports of four new pledges and a promise of one that'll be coming in soon.

Chuck commented, "I think it's significant that the day after we made pledges to two of our missionary colleagues is the day we got five new pledges." I asked him, "Do you think they're really connected?" Does God really work like that? If somebody wrote a novel and put in a sequence like that, you would probably ditch the novel and say, "It's just not realistic." But this IS realistic, you know, because it's REAL. God really did this for us: He knows we needed the encouragement, no matter what the timing of it, and it takes my breath away that God's abundant blessings came right on the heals of our own gift to others.

But, even if it DOESN'T work that way, it did this time. God is good.

Pay-Pal Church?

I just got an idea yesterday. This idea is a potential solution to a problem facing today's churches: younger worshippers don't carry cash, nor do they carry checkbooks. A lot of churches are trying creative ways to give these young people the opportunity to give, but it continues to be a problem. Here's my solution:

Why not make the sanctuary a free wi-fi zone and set up a pay-pal account for the church? Then, instead of insisting that everyone turn OFF their cell phones in church, you could encourage them to leave on their phones, blackberries, i-phones, or even their laptop computers. At offering time, tech-savvy worshippers could log on and put their offering into the church's pay-pal account, and some of us more techno-challenged could drop a check or currency into the plat as it goes by.

A side benefit might also be sending out announcements and even the sermon power-point via internet right during the service. Hey, it might not solve ALL our problems, but it could be worth a try!

Replacement computer

Earlier this week, Chuck suggested that we go look at computers, to see if we could replace that one that was stolen at the Sea-Tac airport a couple of weeks ago. I said, "No, let's just be a bit patient and see if God will replace it for us" Later, as I prayed about it, I thought it would be good to wait at least till Sunday (tomorrow) to see what the Lord would do.

Yesterday we got a call from the pastor where we were scheduled to speak last night--at a Missions Banquet. He thought there might be something we needed that he could get for us; at first he thought perhaps we could use a video projector, but when he heard that a computer was a bigger need for us (and not quite as much money either), he said, "Go for it."

I'm glad we were patient. God is not in a hurry.

Don't Panic

That's what I keep telling Chuck: we can't panic. We've discussed whether or not we should move our retirement savings right now, but I say, that's reacting in panic. I confess I FEEL panic, but I know I can't act in panic. Just ride this out and after things are calm, then we'll consider our options and make changes if necessary. Let's not panic.

The Indigenous Church again

<---We are working in Kacgae to establish an indigenous church among the San.

I'm sure you've heard the old proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime. That's kind of the principle behind the indigenous church. I read an article in Time magazine some weeks back that illustrates the principle of "teaching a man to fish." Or rather, it illustrates what happens when you FAIL to teach a man to fish. [This is in Time, August 18, 2008, the same issue where the interview with Rick Warren appeared.]
On page 34: "In Ethiopia, 4. million people are at risk, and 75,00 children have severe acute malnutrition. Nearly a quarter-century ago, an outright famine led to Live Aid, an international fund-raising effort promoted by rock stars, which produced an outpouring of global generosity: millions of tons of food flooded into the country. Yet, ironically, that very generosity may have contributed to today's crisis. "Over time, sustained food aid creates dependence on handouts and shifts focus away from improving agricultural practices to increase local food supplies. Ethiopia exemplifies the consequences of giving a starving man a fish instead of teaching him to catch his own. . .Why bother with development when shortfalls are met by aid? Ethiopian farmers can't compete with free food, so they stop trying. Over time there's a loss of key skills, and a country that doesn't have to feed itself soon becomes a country that can't."
On page 35: "Why do we get aid so wrong? Because it feels so right. 'The American people,' says U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia Donald Yamamoto, 'are simply not going to sit tight while they see children dying.'" [emphasis mine]

What is true of food aid to the starving is also true of "aid" that American churches send overseas for the spread of the gospel. Thousands of American Christians are sending "fish" to the lost and dying in Africa because it's so much harder to teach them to fish.

Home from Alaska

We just got back from Alaska on Tuesday evening. We visited 4 churches in 5 days and cooked our African stew twice. We drove just about a thousand miles. We enjoyed seeing God's creation and God's people; we've already made one more trip here in Oregon since arriving home, so we're still moving.

God has truly been good to us and we remain committed to Him, first of all, and to His work as well. One thing that we talk about a lot as we drive down the road is our vision for the Bible College in Botswana. We read a lot of books. . .I read out loud while Chuck listens. The more I read, the more I am convinced that there is no work so enduring as the establishment of indigenous churches. I've seen what happens when missionaries carry the burden of the church on their own shoulders; any missionary who is indispensable is probably carrying the national church on his/her shoulders.

John Bueno, our missions director for the Assemblies of God, quoted something a couple of months ago in one of our publications, and I can't remember where he said he got it from (I think it was a traditional African proverb): he said, "If you want to travel fast, go alone; if you want to travel far, go together." Too many missionaries only see the value of traveling fast.

Robbed

My computer was just stolen at the Seattle Airport. Our flight from Portland was delayed for nearly an hour and our connecting flight to Sitka didn't wait for us in Seattle; the plane was still at the gate when we arrived breathless, but the door was already shut. We had to re-book, and then we had to figure out how to get hold of the people in Sitka to let them know we'll be there at 11 PM instead of at 6 PM. I sat down next to Chuck while he called information to get the Church's number and then called to inform them of the change of plans. I was vaguely aware that the guy on the other side of me got up, clicked his briefcase shut and left. After Chuck was off the phone I reached to get my book out of my computer bag, which I had put on the seat between me and the stranger. My coat was still there on the seat, but the computer bag was gone! What a sick feeling. Brand new. . .we bought it in August.

The police came, but obviously, they don't hold out much hope. I could not give them a very specific description of the guy because I barely noticed him--I was concentrating on Chuck's phone call. This kind of stuff really shakes me up. . .I guess I'm no different than the next guy. Where's my joy?