A Confession: Some Incredible News

I'm sitting in the coffeeshop I used to work at enjoying the sugar cookie of my life. Honestly, if you live in Saint Louis, venture down here sometime and get a Caramel Apple Cider with a sugar cookie on a beautiful sunny day and experience the magic for yourself. That being said, I want to begin this entry by thanking you for your prayers over the past few weeks. God has been so abundantly faithful to me in the month of October and I see your prayers as the catalyst to so many wonderful happenings over the last little while. Thanks for your love of me and of the ministry of InterVarsity at SLU. It is an honor for me to call you a friend and to have you sacrificing those two great Western idols - time and money - all for the sake of supporting a young, inexperienced missionary with a heart for sharing Jesus with college kids in Saint Louis. I thank my God every time I remember you.

I'm saving the story of Fall Conference for my prayer email update, which you will receive this week as well. But I have to confess to you a piece of incredible news that I have known for a month or so but wanted to wait to surprise you with it. When last I wrote you, I was at 50% and begging for your prayers to make it to 55% by last Thursday to increase my stipend and feel secure after quitting my job at the coffeeshop to focus on fundraising full-time. What I did not tell you at the time was that I was also in a race to raise $5000 as quickly as possible. Why this specific amount of money, you may ask? In mid-September, the Missouri state-level leadership of InterVarsity decided to use a part of some surplus money raised by my staff partner to give me a matching grant of up to $5000 (10% of my total budget) to help me get back to campus as soon as possible. What does that mean practically? In mid-September, I was at 45%. This incentive was all I needed to put my nose to the grindstone and try to meet the challenge of raising $5000 in one month. Last week, I hit my target, which put me at 55%. InterVarsity came through and matched me with a $5000 grant. That means that in one month, God answered your prayers by taking the money I raised and doubling it putting me at 65% as of this writing. Isn't that amazing? Because of your prayers, I am now within 5% ($2500) of being back on campus. God is so faithful!

I cannot even tell you how often I have wanted to email you and tell you the great news along the way. But, I decided I would wait and surprise you with this unexpected blessing after the goal was reached. I hope this confirms in your heart (and mine) how important and powerful prayer really is. I feel a bit like the disciples in the midst of collecting the baskets of fish sandwiches left over after Jesus fed the five thousand with only a little boy's lunch in hand. God truly does take whatever small things we offer to Him and multiply them to overflowing abundance. May we only learn to trust Him.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." - John 14:12-14