However, this week we have also found ourselves asking questions that can't be answered. Or maybe wondering things that can't be answered. We're anxious about our funding because we're entering into a 5 year agreement with Kona Church of the Nazarene. Thus far, we don't have any funding pledges that go beyond year one. We find ourselves both daydreaming and worrying about housing. It's exciting to wonder what our next home will look like and we dream about our future garden. And then we worry (perhaps me more so than Eric) that we won't find anything within our budget, or we'll stretch our budget so far for housing that we'll be hurting in other areas. Then I get sad that I'm leaving a wonderful, healthy, reassuring MOMS club here in East Nashville. And I know it will take time to build new relationships.
Perhaps this struggle is exaggerated by the length of our transition. We accepted this call in April, having started the conversation in January, and we're not moving until September. Those 5 months are more than enough time for questions and longings and doubt and anxiety to creep in.
On our best nights, we find ourselves praying for God to provide, as God provides for the lilies of the field. We read throughout scripture that God's abundance overflows to meet the needs of the people; from manna in the desert to fives loaves and two fishes for thousands of hungry travelers. We want to be a family of faith and learn to rest assured that God will continue to provide for us today as God has done in ages past and present. And this gives us both hope and ease as we navigate this uncertain time.
This transitional time has also allowed us to talk with others about what we're doing and where we're going before we actually move. And we've been doing a lot of talking. One thing I've noticed, in a very general observation, is people have a lot of questions. There is a common theme of questions surrounding finances and funding, so I'd like to take a minute to clarify some of that here.
WHY are we fundraising?
All missionaries do some type of fundraising. Most do a whole lot more than we're doing. We are very fortunate to have a local church (Kona Church of the Nazarene) who is responding to God's vision for the Big Island and partnering with missionaries to offset our fundraising amount.
HOW much are we fundraising?
We've been asked to raise approximately 1/3 of our annual living expenses. This gets a little tricky to calculate because the cost of living in Hawaii is higher, and to be totally honest, we don't know what this will look like for our family. We estimate between $12k-$14k annually needs to be raised.
HOW will we generate the rest of our income?
KCN has committed to providing our housing allowance. This will allow us to choose a home for our family (within reason) in the neighborhood where we will be ministering. ALSO, we will be bi-vocational (another post on mission through Bi-Vocationality soon). Eric has thrown himself head first into learning about the Kona Coffee Industry, and Pastor Ryan is working on building relationships with local coffee farmers/shops to the prepare the way. I (Joy) hope to do some part-time reading instruction or tutoring, but that might be limited in our first year.
WHERE will we spend our fundraised money?
We have a variety of needs, just like we would on the mainland. The more obvious costs... food, utilities, phone bills, vehicle costs, insurance, the occasional date night. We will also need to cover our own healthcare (Christian Healthcare Ministries), and we have quite a bit of student loan debt. If you are passionate about freeing people from the bondage of debt, we will gratefully put any money beyond our "goal" to student debt ($56,000 total).
We love questions! The realm of fundraising for a part of our income is still relativily new to us. And, we want to be as transparent as possible. If you have additional questions you'd like answered, please ask! It's likely someone else is thinking the same thing, and we're happy to provide the answers.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
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