However, I wanted to share this since this fall was a special period in our lives, as (for the first time in our life as family) we were involved in a small fund raising project to find finances for a trip to Passion 2011 conference in US.
In 2010 we went to Atlanta upon Passion Conferences invitation and were immensely blessed by what we've experienced there. The people we've met there, the atmosphere, the speakers that spoke - everythings there extremely blessed our hearts and we felt like we've got a HUGE boost to continue growing in our relationships with the Lord and in work for His Kingdom. In more details about our experince I have writeen in posts: Passion 2010: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4.
"We decided: if we had the needed money - we would GO, if not - we would NOT GO!"
Now, back to the process that we went through this fall. It was truly a journey for us, as we basically wanted to find out, if it is God's will for us to be at this conference... We definitely knew that we wanted to go, but with our car beign stolen only 6 month ago and having to pay monthly rent and land loan to the bank we simply didn't have extra $2,000 to spend for a trip to US. So, we decided to write to many of our friends and ask for support... and, if we had the needed money - we would GO, if not - we would NOT GO!
What happened after that was a total surprise for us as people started helping us and in a little over 4 weeks - we had the money we needed to go to the conference. Here's how it worked:
A snapshot of how our "Passion 2011: Fund Raising THERMOMETER" looked each step of the way
We came up with what we've called "Our fund raising thermometer" and decided to let, those who, were thinking about supporting our trip to see the progress.
In a little over 2 weeks we had first $500, then - another $500, then - over a thousand... and then one of our friends (if you can imagine this - a person, whom we've met at Passion 2010 in Atlanta last year), have said that he wants to cover "the rest" of what we had left to raise. WOW!! That was really a great end to this small project. We've got the FULL AMOUNT RAISED!!
Through this process, we were once again humbled by people's readiness to GIVE and "invest" into our lives, by the generosity and trust in God on each of our friends' side. It is a HUGE ENCOURAGEMENT for us and a learning experience, that though we all, as Christians, might live at different parts of this Earth - through CHRIST we are united into ONE BODY and can count on each other.
Me and Katya wanted to THANK EACH and everyone, who's supported this quest of ours either financially or through prayer... You are a TRUE BLESSING and a great example to us of obedience to the Lord.
"We all, as Christians, might live at different parts of this Earth - through CHRIST we are united into ONE BODY and can count on each other"
P.S. And you know what, we were especially impressed by one family, who said, "We are tight on finances now, but we'll see what we can do?" - that family ended up praying for us and giving $25 towards our trip... BUT we were immensely blessed and amazed by the attitude they've shown. I thought to myself, that indeed it doesn't matter that much how much you give, but that YOU DO GIVE, what you can, if you want to support someone. Guys - you have blessed us tremendously - even through this small gift!:-) We praise the Lord for you and pray for your family and little son regularly...
No comments:
Post a Comment