Well, here it is......our first "support raising" blog post. For a long time I (Josh) dreaded this. This was going to be tough for me. I didn't want to go around asking people for money. I have never wanted to do that. I (Josh) have pride issues. (I'm working on it daily.) So I guess it's the pride coming up maybe, but I don't like asking for handouts. Last year, when our family was raising money to go to Uganda, we always tried to provide something of value (t shirt, Crossfit competition, free family tailgate party, etc) in return for the money people were so generously giving. I mean, I apologize to you or your kid if this applies to you, but I purposely go through the side door when people are standing in front of Walmart because it seems more like panhandling than "fundraising," but I digress. (And don't any of you judge me, because you all do it too.......unless you do the fake cell phone call....that's a good one too.) Anyway, my point being, I don't like flat out asking for money. So I knew raising support for our moving expenses and monthly expenses for our work in Gulu, Uganda was going to be awkward at best. I didn't want people to see me coming and run the other way because they thought I was just going to ask them to support us.
It wasn't something that I was excited about. That is, until I sat down with a dear friend of mine (and fellow missionary) who explained to me that I wasn't "begging" for money or asking for a handout at all. Far from it. In actuality, I was extending a privilege to other brothers and sisters in Christ. You see, when a missionary is raising support, what they are really doing is offering the opportunity for another believer to partner with God in what He is already doing in a particular area. When the missionary goes, he or she is privileged to get to partner with God wherever He sends them. When a supporter gives, that supporter also becomes a direct partner with what God is doing in that area by financially sending a missionary. That's the beauty of mission work. GOD IS ALREADY AT WORK. He is doing what He is going to do. BUT He, in His grace and love, allows us to be a part of that work. He doesn't need us to do it. It's not like His plans won't get accomplished if my family doesn't move to Gulu, but He is letting us be a small part of what He is already at work doing!!!! Grasp THAT for a second. By supporting us, He is also allowing others who can't go to get in on His work there as well. We all get the joy and blessing, God gets the glory! It's an ingenious plan!
The apostle Paul understood this concept when he commended the Philippian church for their support of him (Philippians 4:14-19). No other churches were partnering with him except the Philippians. THEY got be part of what God was doing through Paul!!!
So, ALL that being said, I unashamedly ask you, dear reader, would YOU pray about partnering with us financially in Gulu? I say pray about it, because we want you to be 100% sure that God wants you to partner with us financially before you do. We don't want you to give because we've been friends for a long time and you feel like "you should." We want God to be all over this. So, first pray. If He says "no", not financially, we are totally cool with that.
So, what if the answer is "yes"? What next? How can you partner with us financially for the advancement of the Gospel among the Acholi of northern Uganda? There are really two ways. You can donate "one time" for one time expenses (travel expenses, automobile, housing set up, etc.). Our one time expenses are the costs to get us in country and set up in our home (including all plane tickets, visas, a vehicle, appliances, furniture, etc). Or you can donate monthly (think child sponsorship, only missionary sponsorship.) The monthly giving goes to cover our monthly or recurring costs (rent, food, utilities, language training, home school budgets, etc.) We have a detailed line item budget that we will gladly send to any potential supporters upon request.
If this is something you are interested in, it's as simple as clicking here. You can select recurring or one time donation. Click Abaana's Hope Missionaries and our name should appear in a dropdown box. Just follow the directions from there. Monthly donations can be automatically deducted from your account.
Another question people have asked is when should they start giving. Our answer is simply as soon as God gives them the go ahead. The sooner we start gaining support, the closer we get to our support raising goals. If supporters give a recurring donation, the money will go directly to our one time fund until we need it to live on monthly. So the sooner the better! :)
So that's that. We are now officially support raising. And now officially ask you to pray about joining us. Would God have you partner with us in taking the Gospel to the Acholi people who have been without hope for so long? We thank you in advance from the bottom of our hearts.
In Christ,
The Moodys
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