"Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world." ~James 1:27

Monday, January 24, 2011

Leaving for Uganda (Update)

Greetings!

I pray this letter finds you resting, trusting, and growing in the Lord. With much enthusiasm, I write to inform you that I have finally received a date to leave for Uganda, Africa. I will be flying out of Springfield 2/10/11 at 10:06am. I will be flying from Springfield to Atlanta, Georgia, then into Amsterdam, and finally into Entebbe, Africa. I will be traveling with the International Director of Watoto Ministries, who has been assiting my preparation stateside. I will be returning to the States 12/9/11 so I will be able to celebrate Christmas and New Years with my family here. Praise God!

I have a few changes to inform you of as well. Regarding funding, I currently have a little over $8 in upfront cost. I have been pledged $325 a month from various individuals. My home church continues to challenge members to give at least 1/4th of my monthly expenses, which equals $500 per month. Although I do not currently have the total monthly amount, I am completely trusting in the Lord's providence and believe wholeheartedly that He will provide! The financial goal of raising a total of $2000 still remains and is currently still a major need. If you sense the Lord leading you to assist in this area, below is an example of a pledge card and I would encourage you to respond as the Lord leads and mail the pledge card along with your financial gift to:

Selmore Baptist Church
4768 Selmore Road
Ozark, MO 65721

Charity Gray/Watoto
Pledge Card
Check the appropriate line(s):
_____ I pledge to regularly pray for Charity
_____ I pledge to financially support Charity
for a period of one year
Amount: $10 $25 $50 $100 Other $_____
Per: Week Month
_____ I pledge to financially support Charity
as God makes funds availabe to me
Name: __________________________
Your name will remain confidential!
Also, from this point forward, ALL financial gifts need to be mailed directly to Selmore Baptist church and not sent to my personal address. All checks submitted to Selmore Baptist Church must have written in the memo line: Uganda, East Africa Watoto Mission. Once financial gifts are received, Selmore will directly transfer those funds into my personal account so that I may access my funds via debit card while residing in Uganda. If you have already made a monthly commitment to give a set amount per month or haven't yet made a monthly commitment and feel so led, please mail the above pledge card with your pledge amount to Selmore Baptist Church by the 15th of every month. This is to make sure all contributions are submitted by a certain date so that Selmore can then make one deposit per month and get all the funds to me in an organized, timely fashion. Also, I will know when to expect these funds so that I may prepare, budget, and plan accordingly so I am able to be a good steward of the money the Lord is blessing me with.
Last but not least, I am in need of purchasing a new 13 inch Mac laptop for job related duties while in Uganda and also for personal use to maintain communication back home. The estimated cost is between $1000-$1500. I do have the amount saved in my personal account, however, due to the fact that I do not yet have the full amount of monthly pledges, Watoto is hesitant about withdrawing money from that account at this point. This is because the upfront cost I have saved will have to roll over into the amount I need monthly until I can reach the ultimate goal of raising $2000 per month. If this is an area you feel led in assisting with, please write at the bottom of the above pledge card when you mail it in that you desire your financial gift to go toward the cost of the laptop.
Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for your continued prayers, encouragement, and financial gifts! May the Lord bless you richly!

No comments:

Post a Comment