Our Extravagant God

Spoiled. That's what we are. Spoiled, but hopefully not rotten.

When we first compared fares, a transatlantic crossing by sea was running about $1200 per person. One way airline tickets in coach class were priced at $1038 per person. Our travel budget is $1000 per person.

We prayed. We sought the help of a travel agent. We waited.

Lo and behold, one week later, the very ship on which we were pricing fares before--the only one making a transatlantic crossing on the date we needed to go--had a new deal: Kids Sail Free. "Kids" being everyone under 17. All of the sudden, the entire package, including airfare to New York and Chunnel tickets from England to France, came to (you guessed it) $4000, or an average price of $1000 per person.

It doesn't seem right, but the cheapest way to get to the mission field happens to be the most luxurious.

It doesn't seem right in our economy. But in God's economy, it is actually par for the course. He is, indeed, a lavish God. Consider the lilies of the field....

And then, basking in the overwhelming goodness of the Lord, another thought came to me. Two years ago, my son Graham (who truly asks for very little) after watching a cruise commercial, said, "Mom do you think it would be possible for our family to take a cruise before we leave for France?"

Not wanting to squelch his dreams, but keenly aware of our financial limitations, I replied, "Well, I suppose God could do that for us, but I am not sure how."

God knew how. He had planned it before Graham even thought of it. He gives us the desires of our heart when we keep Him at the heart of our desires.

Details on our remaining needs:

• WE STILL NEED to raise $1000/month in monthly pledges of support. This may be in the form of 10 people or churches giving $100 month, it may be 4 people or churches giving $250/month. Please pray for us to reach our support goal by our departure date! God knows who the finishers are. We trust Him to reveal their part of His plan to them and to us.
• WE STILL NEED about $17,000 in special gifts to cover all of our one-time out-going expenses such as moving costs, tuition for language school, and other settling fees. This sounds like a HUGE number, but those who are already giving monthly are (and have been) helping to build this fund. And just for a point of reference, in the month of April alone we received $19,536 in donations, so it is not unreasonable to think that God could bring in another $17,000 in the next two and a half months.
• WE STILL NEED renters for our beloved home. Yes, we have decided NOT to sell. We would love to get it rented by word of mouth, so if you or anyone you know is interested, please get in touch with us.

Details on our Departure:

We leave from Portland, OR on a red-eye flight to New York on July 18. We embark on the Queen Mary 2 from Brooklyn Harbor on July 19. We arrive in Southampton, England on the morning of July 26 and take the Chunnel to Paris that same day.

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