If you own one of those GPS units that’s designed to help you navigate the roads, you may have seen or heard the phrase, “Recalculating …” after you took a wrong turn, stopped somewhere off-route, or turned to avoid construction and traffic. But imagine how you would feel if, towards the end of a very long trip, your little electronic buddy suddenly piped up with a new route — one that cut hundreds of miles off your trip?
Yesterday, our Wycliffe personnel administrator (PA) — the man who’s overseeing us while we’re between assignments — encouraged me to recalculate our ministry budget with a new method that Wycliffe put together within the last year. I had expressed to him our hope and concern that we get to Germany in August so that the boys could start school there on time. (Germany splits students into different tracks around Jonathan’s age and, even as things are now, he needs to be held back to give his teachers time to evaluate him properly.) Jim, our PA, wanted to see how our present support level compared to the results of this new method.
When I filled out the form, I had to double- and triple-check my work, because to my great shock, the amount went down! I called Katherine over to look, too. Even more astounding was our realization that the new estimate was at the level of our currently pledged support! It was all we could do to control our response until we could get the figures checked and confirmed by Jim and by Frank Lautenschlager, our director in Germany. This morning, we received the final approval from Frank, and a phone call with Jim Lear verified that we are clear to finalize our departure. WE ARE GOING!
There’s a lot to do over the next few weeks as we prepare to leave Missouri and head to Pennsylvania for our flights to Germany on August 8th. We have to pack up, sell a few things we kept for this stay, and fill out a fair amount of paperwork. (There’s never a shortage of paperwork, is there?) And then there are the good-byes ….
Most importantly, we want to express thanks to our great God, who has worked through many of you to provide what we need to go. Some have been stalwart supporters for a long time, laying a foundation to which several have added in the last few months to cap off our need. We only need four tickets for the trip, but in reality there are dozens of you going with us in prayer and financial support. May the Lord our God reward and bless you for the sacrifice you are making for our sake and for the sake of the Good News!
P.S. You can still become a financial partner with us, especially if you wish to give to our setup costs, which are presently at 59%. Just go to this page to read more information. Thanks!