Happy 4th of July for next week!
It is with much joy that I share our good news with you. We have received our church’s blessing to be mid-term missionaries! Last month when I wrote to you I told you we had passed through one committee, and were awaiting the larger committee’s approval. Well, the larger missions committee met, and we got the green light! Thank you for all your prayers and well-wishing! It is very important to us to have the church’s spiritual and emotional support as our sending church. We have waited for this for awhile, since we believe it is the first step in building a ministry plan.
So, this is the plan. We will leave for South Africa next summer. We are making a 3 year commitment. We will spend the first year with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) doing Bible classes (as recommended) and participating as we are able in the outreach YWAM does. (See their impressive website here:http://www.ywamworcester.com/) The second and third year we will be involved in full-time ministry. After 3 years, we will return to our church for a re-eval. Well, that is the plan at present.
Although we have the church’s blessing, we do not have much financial support from them, unfortunately. At this point, they have committed 10%, which is a far cry from 100% (like we had in Paraguay.) But, we are not discouraged. We are embarking on a giant-scale fundraising effort to fund ourselves in South Africa for the next 3 years, at least. A large order, indeed, but we are excited to watch as God provides through supportive folk like yourselves. We will be sending out a letter through snail mail with more information on how to start giving to our account at church, but I wanted to get the word out to you here as soon as possible. (If you need to update your address with me, now is the time!)
Many of you may wonder why our missions-oriented church is not supporting us 100% again. They have a policy which allows only people going to certain areas the ability to qualify for full funding. Since South Africa is not one of those areas, we are, in essence, on our own financially. That is ok though, since there is a certain freedom to not being under a policy. And we know that policies can change, which is why we had to leave Paraguay in the first place. So, we are following God’s leading, and believe that we can raise the necessary funds. We know through our experience and watching others go before us that a trickle in the bucket eventually fills the bucket. Bit by bit, we will see the provision. So, as you await our fundraising letter, please be in prayer about supporting us.
Thank you for your friendships! May God continue to bless you all!
Alberto, Joanna, Ana, Isaac, Margaret and Phoebe Parada