Financial Reality Check.

We are in the midst of the craziness.  The first six weeks of class are upon us, and God is doing what only he can do, inclining the hearts of students to hear the gospel.  It is a great time to be in campus ministry!

But, to be honest, there are a lot of things looming in the back of our minds, and at times making a dash for the front of our minds.  As you know if you’ve been around our blog for very long, issues like Benjamin’s possible need for surgery and our desperate need for more monthly financial support have been a distraction from giving our full energy to ministering to students on campus.  We have experienced a full range of emotions, and have repeatedly needed to remind ourselves of our position in Christ and the truth of the gospel.

The fact is, at the rate we are losing financial support, we will have to pull off campus full time within the next month to raise support (during the most critical time to be on campus).  And if we don’t see dramatic increases in our support, we will have to leave staff very soon.  I have had the verse from 1 Timothy 5:8 (if anyone doesn’t provide for his family, he is worse than an unbeliever) ringing in my ears for the past few months, and as much as I love ministering to students, my primary ministry is to my family.  I have been tirelessly making phone calls all summer long, trusting the Lord to raise the support we need.  We have seen some progress, but not at the rate we really need it.

Please pray with us that the Lord would bring in the support we need, and enable us to minister to students with all of our energy.  I have never in my staff career felt more energized to be in ministry, and I really feel like now more than ever I am working out of my strengths, and seeing God use my meager efforts.  Pray with me that God would continue to use our ministry to change lives, and that he would provide all we need to keep doing that.

Valley Ballyhoo…

We are headed to Western Carolina University today to participate in the “Valley Ballyhoo” (yes, I had to look that up to make sure I was spelling it right…), which is an annual back-to-school celebration where they give the student organizations tables to recruit at.  We are handing out free stuff of some sort.  It should be a blast!  I’ll post pictures throughout the day of interesting things.

Crab mac-n-cheese!?! What kind of communist joint is this?

Jacq, reading an online review of the restaurant we are going to tonight.

In waiting for a second opinion

Remember earlier today when we confessed putting up a front about how well we are doing and often not being truly authentic with how things are going? Well, there was serious temptation to not even post again when we heard back from the geneticist earlier. The doctor who reviewed Benjamin’s CT scan diagnosed it as Cranial Synostosis, but according to the geneticist it would be best to wait until Monday and get a second opinion from a doc who is more of a pediatric expert. So, more waiting. After a few tears, a few cuss words from me (Ben) about the fact that we can’t afford this stuff (that’s right, I am too often more concerned about the price tag attached to things than how they will affect my son) and some more time to think, we are doing all right. Pray for a reverse diagnosis on Monday.

Hospitals and Authenticity

We struggle with what is appropriate to share with folks in life. There are multiple things going on, from our desire to appear as the perfect little missionary family to our aversion to gossip and feeding the folks that thrive on it. But at the same time, we want to be authentic with the things going on in our world. If there is one thing we never want to be accused of, it’s that we put on a happy face and paint over the real issues going on in our lives. So here’s the deal. We are sitting in a waiting room preparing for a CT scan on little Benjamin. The reason we are here is to rule out Cranial Synostosis, or the premature closure of the bones in his head. If he has CS, which is an outside chance, he’ll have to have surgery. You can pray that he doesn’t have to do that, and that this is the last trip down the radiology hall here at Mission for a while. Also pray for us, and the sinful pride that has us scared that people will look at us funny (and that it matters if they do) knowing that we have a kid who is “different” UPDATE: Benjamin is the best kid ever, and didn’t even have to be sedated for the scan. He slept right through it!