When the going is slow, the thankful keep going!

Thanksgiving couldn't have come at a better time this year. It has come after a couple months of slow going ... "trudging" even ... as we wait, pray, and trust that God will help us reach our last 25% of our monthly funds.

As it feels in the moment like God's mercy is running out on us ... a thankful heart will help us to see just how great His mercy is!

We are thankful for the way He has already provided us with 75% of our monthly funding ... even that seemed impossible 11 months ago! And that all of the 75% has come from amazing individuals giving what they can!

We are thankful for friends and family who keep us encouraged and pray for us!

We are thankful for our Portuguese tutor Maura, who tutors us once a week in Portuguese, and who is willing to teach us "full-time" when we are done support-raising!

We are thankful for the random connections we have made whether people or churches, and how they have loved us and cared for us!

We are thankful for MAF and the way God already does amazing work around the world through their ministry!

We are thankful for the staff and unpaid workers of MAF who have led us on this life-changing journey.

We are thankful that even if our dessert and silent auction don't go as planned ... we will still enjoy dessert! ;)

And mostly ... we are thankful for such a big, LOVING God, whose word promises us: "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good deeds, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) His faithful promises keep us going, along with a thankful heart for all He has done and all that He is. He loves us, He leads us, He rescues us, and He breathes life into us. We cannot see the road ahead of us. (Will we raise all the money we need before the end of the year? Will studying portuguese be difficult and trying? When will we move to Angola? Who does God need us to meet and share our story with?) But He will lead us onward.

Dessert AND Silent Auction

Wow! We have been so overwhelmed by the response of friends and family to make desserts for our upcoming dessert auction! Thank you to everyone who has offered their extraordinary talents towards the event coming ... soon! OCTOBER 24TH, 7 PM, West London Alliance Church (750 Wonderland Rd. N.)!

Silent auction!

Well, good news--we are adding in another element to make this a fun night out for friends, family, coworkers, neighbours--whoever you might be or bring! A SILENT AUCTION! Yes, after some thought and discussion, we decided a silent auction would be the perfect element to add on to the night--especially if you'd like to get in some early Christmas shopping or don't have an avid sweet tooth.

So here's the dealio--we need help in two areas. If you can arrange something for the silent auction--maybe it's some sports memorabilia, a donation from your business or spouse's business, a gift basket, one of those Christmas gifts you never ended up using but someone else would love (as long as it's in new condition), a work of art, a collection of handmade objects--we would love to have it! Please let us know!

But I would say our biggest area of need is people to join us for the event! Where we stand now, at 75% of our monthly MAF ministry funds, is crucial--but we've kind of hit a plateau, and after some discussion, we've determined the plateau is due to the fact that we need to expand our circle of contacts! So we're looking to you--friends, partners, and family--to help us expand our circle. Bring some of your girlfriends, your grandparents, your coworkers, or your neighbours out to the auction, and enjoy a classy, fun night out! We would love to see tons of people come out for a good cause.

Matthew 25:40--The reason we serve.

Finally, I think it's been a while since I've given this last part due justice. In the midst of fundraising, one of the key things that keeps us motivated is realizing WHY we are fundraising. It's not just so we can travel the world and do something we love doing. We seek and need support for the important work we will be doing through MAF in Angola. Every dollar donated monthly or one-time allows Marcel to help keep the three planes in Angola flying. Those planes are "life links" to so many people whose ministry, well-being, or hope depend on them. Sometimes, those planes are helping missionaries directly planting churches in unreached people groups. Sometimes, those planes deliver Bibles for the first time in a tribal language.Sometimes, they provide emergency food and nutrition in the midst of a terrible famine. Sometimes, they are saving a teenage girl whose pregnancy has taken a sudden turn for the worse. Sometimes, they are delivering a team of surgeons who have dedicated a week, two weeks, or many weeks out of their successful careers to serve long days in rural clinics, treating people who know only limited health care. ALWAYS, they are paving the way to the future--a future without minefields in rural Angola, a future for children who don't yet know Jesus, a future for the small-scale farmer, whose goods get delivered to market in the big city, a future for the "least of these" in Angola and around the world.