Many of you who follow this blog know us personally, pray for us, and support us in various ways. We are grateful for the relationships we have with friends and family, in our home of Kona and across the country. You also know that our family lives partially off the raised support generously given by you. We feel it appropriate to not only share our ministry with you, the stories of what God is beginning to do (the point of this blog), but also share our ongoing need. We don't do this too often, but at certain times during the year, it is appropriate to share our financial status going forward. Below are three areas from which Joy and I are receiving funds followed by our current need:
The Church: Kona Coast Nazarene provides a housing stipend of $1000. When we moved to Kona last Sept., we did so intending to live in the one bedroom ohana adjacent to the church offices for no more than 3 months. We anticipated finding a place by December to get ready for Micah's arrival. As we continued to look for rentals in Kona, we quickly realized that $1000 wouldn't cover the full cost of living. We found that a two-bedroom rental (whether a downstairs unit in a house or a condo) would cost between $1300-1500 per month. If we wanted to turn on lights, we would need another $300. Then, when October arrived, housing dried up with the influx of 'snowbirds' (those who visit for several months during winter). The church has allowed us to rent the ohana until we can find a more suitable place.
Community Employment: Eric found work as a barista at a new coffee shop/restaurant downtown. He's also began doing some of the sample roasting for the company, but it is a low-wage hourly job that brings in about $700 a month, a couple hundred less than we had anticipated. Joy, after several months of trying to get into the education system, is still trying to transfer her TN teaching license. Things move a little slower here. We are currently discussing the possibility of Joy working two days a week teaching to help boost this area of income.
Fundraising: Joy and I have always kept a very low/tight budget. Once we were on the ground in Hawaii, the truth of how high the cost of living is hit us pretty hard. The $15,000 we raised for our first year was, quite honestly, woefully low and completely necessary. We are incredibly grateful for everyone that supported us during this first year. But without your support, the first three months of transitional housing, and the initial resettlement stipend from the church, we would not have made it. Groceries and rent are twice as high. Our only car has broken down twice, and we can't afford to pay on our student loans- using several low-income government assistance programs to ease student loan burdens. In order to cover these costs, our fundraising goal has increased for our second year.
Additional Ministry Costs: As with any missionary, the work we do has to be a creative way to spread the Good News effectively with minimal costs. The N. Kona Mission Zone budget does not come from the KCN (church) operating budget. As such, we anticipate using an additional $7500 to aid in the following ministries: receiving a Missionary-Farmer and start-up costs, implementing missional communities, and planting two ethnic church plants within the next year.
Total need for 2014-2015 year currently sits at $41,100.
As you can tell, the need is a little more than double what we had projected for our first year. We feel this amount better addresses our current state and ministry need. We ask that you prayerfully consider participating through a one-time or monthly donation. Simply follow the tab on this blog called "Support the Mission" and follow the steps on www.easytithe.com/kcn. Or, simply click on the previous link. (Please choose the "North/Central Kona Mission" on the drop down menu). If you are currently unable to give, please add us to your prayer list; send us words of encouragement; ask if your church might host us for our 2015 furlough; and simply continue to read our story on this blog. Thank you.
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