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Our Family's Financial Situation |
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Its fun to look back at the last 10 years. From our first trip here, as a little family of 3, when we came to serve with 60% of our recommended support requirement, until now, as a big family of 7. Along every step of the way, God has always provided for our needs. As each new kid came along, God provided... hospital bills, food bills, shots, flights, clothes, tuition... for all 5 kids, God continues to provide. We have never been without the things we need, and watching God bring people into our lives to help with these needs has been a testament to His faithfulness.
Over the last 10 years, we have felt incredibly blessed that when needs arose, we didn't have to make any big, grandiose petitions for financial help. We have simply prayed, mentioned the needs, and through sources expected and unexpected alike, God has provided. Along that same line, in our time here, we have not worried too much about money. While there are certainly inumberable
things we would/could/should spend money on for our ministry, for our family, for other ministries in need, we have simply made our best effort to be good stewards of what has come in, and trust that those things God has not yet provided for, He does not want us to do... yet.
Our mission agency, First Love International emailed me last month to inform me that our donor account was about $5000 in the hole. They recommended that we send out a request for help, and so, this is it. Below, we want to give you an idea of what we do from month to month, and
then, like always, we will trust that God has got it covered. (Update: Between writing this email, and sending it, we have been blessed with a special one time gift of $3,000!)
On average, we bring in about $2500 a month in donations. Every month, our mission agency sends us just under $2400 as our net salary.
That means, our gross salary is about $2600, and about $2800 comes out of our donor account each month for our salary. The current deficit is largely from that monthly shortfall ading up over the last year or so.
Additionaly, we do have expenses such as health insurance, medical costs, tuition, ministry travel, and so on... historically those are also taken out of our account as they come up. Thankfully though, we have had some help from a bunsiness over the last few years that has pretty much covered the bulk of our extra expenses. Recently, we learned that there would be an expiration on that arrangement, and so that is another scenario where we will eventually need some help.
Our current 3 year term will finish this coming May/June 2016. We are planning to come back to the states for one school year to visit with current supporters, and hope that we can also find some new families and churches that God might lead to join our support team.
In the mean time, if you would like to make a special one time, tax deductible gift to help us with some immediate and upcoming needs: account deficit, current year tuition, upcoming health insurance, upcoming flights home for furlough, please send it to:
First Love International Ministries, Attn: Manthe, P.O. Box 15836, Love's Park, IL 61132
Thanks for praying for us in this area as well. We are 100% sure that God will cover this, the same way he always has!!! |
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| Manthe Messenger: December 1, 2015 |
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Dear Family and Friends,
Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat, or in English, Merry Christmas to all of you. The Philippines has been in Christmas celebration mode since September, but we are excited to be in the heart of the holiday season. There are a number of things happening this month for our family, and we are excited to share with all of you some fun opportunities to get involved and help us minister to the many people who don't know Jesus.
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Proyekto Pasko sa mga Pamilya ng Pastor.
This will be the second year for us to run "Project Christmas for the families of Pastors." We have as many as 6-8 pastors that we are working with regularly that won't have all the resources to have a traditional Filipino Christmas celebration. Last year, we had 4 families and one church who blessed 5 families here in the Philippines who work in full time ministry. Donors had the opportunity to contribute funds to cover food and gifts for an entire family that otherwise would not have had enough to even cover the food for a small celebration. How much would this cost, you ask? Its not nearly as much as you might think. Even if you want to contribute a small amount, we can take a few small amounts and add them up. How important is it that we help these Pastors who are working on the front lines of minsitry, to celebrate the birth of the Savior, who's story they are sharing with the lost all throughout the year. Please join us in praying for these faithful servants, and email me if you are interested in adopting a family.
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| Pastor Joel and his family receiving food and gifts from Project Christmas donors |
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Buhay Sports to Leyte and Samar
This month, we have a recreational basketball team visiting the Philippines from Melbourne, Australia. After spending a couple of days sharing the Gospel through basketball in and around Manila, they will go to the islands of Leyte (Tacloban City) and Samar where they will work with Pastors and Churches who just 2 years ago were hit by the strongest typhoon ever recorded to make landfall. Some sources reported over 10,000 lives lost in the typhoon, and those that survived, returned to empty pieces of land where their homes once stood, but had been washed out to sea. Despite the devastation and loss, the people on the islands of Leyte and Samar have fought hard to rebuild and move forward. As they do so, we are excited to share with them the life changing news of Jesus Christ, The One who rebuilds our broken hearts through His sacrifice on the cross.
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Please keep us in your prayers from December 10-22 as the team travels from Melbourne to Manila and back, as we travel from Manila to Tacloban City and back, and as we travel from Tacloban to surrounding areas. As we play close to 20 basketball games in that time, pray that we are able to stay healthy, and free of injury. Pray for the pastors who will help us administer the Gospel, and for their churches who will follow up the initial ministry done while we are there. Most importantly, pray that God would open hearts to hear His Word, and that people would see His love for each of them and they would desire to know Him. |
Faith Academy Basketball Teams
Once volleyball season finished in October, we sprinted right into basketball season. Josh is the assistant coach for boys' varsity, and also assistant coach for Mackenzie's middle school girls' basketball team. It has been a bit of a rough start for the boys, who lost 5 seniors last year, and lost 7 seniors the year before. They are sitting at 2-4 at the moment. They have lots of potential, but are still struggling to find the confidence in themselves and each other that will get them over the edge. We love the discipleship dynamic that coaching allows us to have with student athletes. The journey of an athlete and an athletic team parallels so closely to our journey as Christians and the body of Christ. Our motto this year, is: Have Fun Getting Better. Every day represents a new opportunity to find opportunities for improvement and enjoy the blessings of being able to participate and have a role. Thanks for praying for God to use us to impact the lives of these young men and women, as well as the health and safety of everyone involved.
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| Faith Academy and Kennedy Baptist College from Australia after a friendship basketball game in Manila |
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Thank you so much for the role all of you play in His ministry in the Philippines. We are blessed to serve Christ here, but know we could not do it without each of your prayers and donations. Thanks for allowing us to partner with you to see His Kingdom grow.
Won by One,
Josh, for Val, Mackenzie, Bella, Deacon, Caleb and Simeon
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