I certainly don’t know if you use a budget for yourself or not and what you think of the process, but when you’re a Wycliffe missionary, the whole matter of budgeting can get pretty complicated.
Wycliffe members are responsible for raising all of the funds that they’ll need for life and work in their ministries. Typically, the only funds that are raised by the mission itself are for large or special projects. Good examples of these are the Last Languages Campaign and individual projects that Wycliffe takes on. (Yes, do go and check them out – you don’t really think God’s going to let a little thing like the economy get in His way, do you?)
My main point is that Wycliffe doesn’t pay us a salary. But they certainly don’t leave us hanging in the breeze – they’re a very caring mission. To make sure that we’re financially sound (nothing’s secure, mind you), they estimate how much we need to live on – including taxes, Social Security, retirement, health care, etc. – and set that as our support goal. Now it’s very easy to write “they” and make the whole thing sound simple. But “they” truly are multiple people in several places, each person having a little piece of the budget puzzle. One must gather the pieces to assemble the puzzle. That’s where we are right now with the Germany move.
We’re decided on sending the boys to a local school, so we know that we don’t have to account for tuition. Katherine’s pretty sure that a local health insurance plan will be a better option for us than the one offered through Wycliffe, but we need to be certain of the details and costs. Our tax status will change overseas, and estimating taxes is always fun. (Everyone groan together, please.)
So please pray that we’ll get these numbers put together reliably. We don’t want to be wrong in either direction.
Our little email migration project, which started with our own IT department about a year ago, is now at the 83% mark. No, that’s not a special number or anything – it’s just where we are today. Now, we are getting to the point of having only 100 accounts left to deal with, and I’m pretty excited about that – the countdown will begin soon!
The trouble that has us all pretty down, though, is the fact that the young woman that I hired back in June to help with this project is facing a lot of issues with securing continued permission to live and work in the United States. It’s not appropriate to give details, but I want to take advantage of the attention you’re giving this note to ask you to pray for her. The situation could have an awful, sorrowful end if left to humans alone.
Please pray that God would cause our sister in Christ to find favor with the authorities who will make decisions about her future. Pray for the God of peace to bring calm to her heart and fill her with faith in His ability to provide for her always, no matter what the circumstances. Pray for His Spirit to be her constant companion and comfort when the world lets her down.
Yet I myself am not worried. I know that she is in good hands, since we serve the one who said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
In Wycliffe, anytime one is in the process of getting a new assignment – whether it’s the first one or not – there are periods of slooow progress toward one’s goal. Now is one of those times for us.
Katherine and I groan inwardly and outwardly when we look around us at our house. There’s something to be said for those religious orders that renounce materialism and worldly possessions (just see Matthew 6:19-21). Stuff reproduces and multiplies faster than rabbits, and some of it attaches to human sentiment like tar. And we have to deal with all of it, in one way or another, before we can move.
Please, oh please, pray for God to put a fire in us to go through our home and separate our belongings:
- Sell
- Give away
- Store
- Take to Germany
Some of this sorting needs to happen so that I can get to work on putting down a new laminate floor in the dining area, family room, living room, and hallway. There’s lots of painting to do, as always, so all the pictures and shelves have to come down, too. (So pray that we’re able to keep the fumes from stirring up the boys’ asthma; pulling up the vinyl floor didn’t do any of us much good.)
Now that was a nice segue to the next prayer request. Katherine has looked at a local health insurance option in Germany and thinks that it may be a better fit for us there than the plan we’re on through Wycliffe. We’re still collecting information at this point, but we need to be wise and discerning in our final choice – health care is a big deal for just about everybody.
And yet, the Man said, “… do not worry ….” (Matthew 6:31-34) – so I guess we won’t!
