Amazing!!

Working with Cru, I have the unique job position of getting to raise my own salary.  While this can be a daunting (and stressful) task, I have come to be really amazed and to stand in awe of the way that God provides.  As you might know, this winter I have been raising support specifically for ministry in the countryside.  I wanted to take a second to share with you what God has done, so you too can stand amazed!

I was praying and trusting God for a goal of $6,000 in one time support to kick-off this budget (which up until now has not existed).  Through you, God has been pleased to provide: $7,975!  That is INCREDIBLE!!  Not only did God meet the prayer goal, but He graciously exceeded it in an amazing fashion!  That is such a blessing and meets a huge need!  Won’t you take a second now to join me in thanking and praising God?

Perhaps you are wondering, what in the world is a countryside budget and what will it be used for?  Well, every ministry has a ministry budget which is also raised (usually by the team leader or other staff) in order to offset ministry costs.  The countryside ministry is still new and emerging (and I am currently the only staff in this role in Hungary), so up until now, this budget did not exist.  Our other budgets were not enough to take on new, additional items, so it became necessary to raise this in order to continue doing ministry in the countryside.

What are some things that this money will go towards?  Well, from having just returned from a trip to Debrecen (stay tuned for more on that later), I can name a few:

• Renting a room for the Friday night outreach
• Motel accommodations for my stay (Hungary has these sweet places called Panzios that are similar to a motel, pretty nice, and usually very cheap)
• Food for me
• Snacks/food for the outreach night
• Gas to and from
• Printing materials (advertisement flyers, comment cards for the outreach, etc.)

Those are just a few concrete expenses.  In addition, we would love to be able to connect with these students more…that means either I have to make more trips out to them or find ways to make it possible for them to make trips to me.  Both of those would be covered by this budget.  Also, I think it would be really cool to eventually host a retreat type event where I could gather students from the cities I have been to, spend dedicated time getting to know them, and prayerfully help them grow in their faith all within a few days.  Finally, this would also allow for scholarships to support students who would like to come to our spring and fall retreats, but financially cannot afford to do so.

As you can see, this all adds up fast…and with 6 major cities on the docket, there was a HUGE need for this budget!  Praise God for abundantly raising it!!

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21