Hello friends and family! Thank you all for your continued support! First to start off I want to praise God for His faithfulness and unfailing love! I am blessed to serve such and amazing and awesome God! He sends encouragement when I need it most!
So to keep you all updated on fundraising, here is where I'm at: For one time donations I've got about $10,500! Which means that I still need roughly $3,000 still. This is very exciting for me, because I'm almost done with fundraising for one time donations! I'm so much closer to my goal! Now for monthly I'm still sitting at $800, so I still need monthly pledges of $1,000. At this point I am asking that if you are thinking of supporting me financially, please consider a monthly pledge! Every little bit helps, even if it's only $10, it adds up over the 13 months and brings me closer to my goal! Thank you to all who are praying for me, and supporting me, it does not go unnoticed, and is appreciated more than you know!
So this week has been a week of loving encouragement from the Lord. And I really want to share this with you, because He has also brought me back to the heart and soul of the work He is doing in me, and the work that He has called me to.
Early this week I was challenged, by my sister, to really examine what I was doing. And I really took it to the Lord, because honestly I've been so focused on my goals, I haven't stopped to think about what I am giving up and sacrificing by answering the call to be a missionary. I saw before me a life, that I could choose if I wanted to, a life that was simple, and comfortable, and beautiful. A life that was cozy, and lovely. And I wept, because it was a life that I would never know. But then I saw the life I was choosing, and in my heart I felt such a powerful warmth, knowing that I was not wasting my life, or ignoring its purpose. I was answering the call that had been placed on my life, to be a mother to orphans, to show women the strength and beauty that they could only see when looking at themselves through God's eyes. And I wept in pure joy and excitement for what my future held.
Now, I am not trying to say that if you are not doing what I'm doing your life has no meaning. Please, do not think that is what I am saying at all. We are all called to a different purpose. Mothers that raise their children, whether that's while holding down another job as a single mom, or being a stay at home mom that homeschools her children, are just as important to the kingdom of God as I am. We all play a part, and have a purpose in the kingdom of heaven. Moms and dads alike are raising up a generation of believers! Bravo and hats off to you all because you are fulfilling your purpose right there! But my purpose is different. I do feel called to be a wife and mother, but not just a mother to my children, but to children without families. and I am so incredibly excited to do so!
That being said, I began to ask God for help. To get to that place, to go on internship, and begin down the road of being a missionary. And man did He help me! He sent me so much encouragement this week I am blown away! I was able to meet with Tim and Heather Williams, who are very excited to hear what God is doing in and through me, and in this ministry to Marseille! And I was just so incredibly blessed and encouraged by them, and their enthusiasm! They are such a wonderful couple, and I couldn't begin to thank them enough for their encouragement and support, so I pray many blessings over them and their beautiful family!
Then today, I was so blessed in meeting with Pastor Violet. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and encouragement. And I truly began to catch the vision once again of my mission: love. This is not a mission to hurt people, tear them down, or cause anger and strife. I am on a mission to love people, to show them how Christ has loved me. To witness in love, and speak in love to them. It is not a message of hate, or an argument of my God is better than yours, but rather a message of hope, and of love. Now, in saying this, do not confuse love with tolerance of anything and everything, and do not confuse hate with speaking up when something is wrong. I would not be a very good mother if I did not grab my child up as he wandered off into the street, would I? Now he might get upset about it, but once he sees why it was dangerous he knows I did it out of love, to protect him from being hit by a car. It all comes from a heart full of love.
So, thank you, to everyone who has encouraged me this week! Thank you all for being so faithful to God, and His purposes and promises for your lives! Keep pushing on, set aside those things that could have been, and look at the possibilities of what God has for you, I promise you they are so much better than you can begin to imagine!
Love and Blessings,
Chrissy
