As you know I had a life changing experience over this last year. I decided I wanted to challenge God to reveal to me whether he truly existed or not. I had a pretty good idea he did exist, I mean the Bible says He does, and I've been told that he exists all my life, and I have two eyes to see the miracle of creation. But I wanted to know for sure. I mean what is the sense of following a God if you don't really know if he exists? If you are going to believe in God then you should fully believe, if not then what is the point? I want to live a life that is genuine and real, not a life of fiction. That is the reason I challenged God to reveal himself to me. And as you know he did. God gave me an amazing experience from which I feel I learned what the fear of God really means. In my mind I had always pictured the fear of God as an image of some kid cowering in the corner afraid that they were going to get hit. That always seemed a little off to me. But that's not how I view the fear of God at all now. The fear of God is following Him without fearing what the world will think of you. I have already counted the cost and I know that many of my friends and family will now view my life as a little weird and somewhat foolish, choosing to accept the path of a missionary. Actually, now that I think of it many of my friends probably viewed me that way anyway and admittedly they are probably correct. My point is I have chosen to follow and trust in God over all else, and that is the fear of God.

After I decided to trust God to guide our family he told us to pack up whatever we could and drive to all these crazy places. The first place He directed us to was a Missions School in Weston Colorado. Yes, Weston...we hadn't heard of it either. It turns out that God has a sense of humor because His plans cost money and after we paid for gas, food, rent and tuition all the money Brenda and I had saved was gone within the first month. It was clear God wanted us to trust him with our finances too. Amazingly our finances have been covered this past year through divine means as well as help from close friends and family members.

So what is it like surrendering all of your security for a life of following a God whose ways are completely backwards from our own? Actually, it's really cool once you get over the shock. Are their trials? Yes, of course. But we can't complain...this is the life our family was built for.

When God directed us here to the University of Nations to volunteer to work with their web development team I knew there would be some problems. First of all it cost a lot of money to get here, and then once you are here it cost a lot of money to live here. Brenda and I were able to come up with all the money for the plane tickets. And our first month of rent and food has been covered thanks to some odd jobs and some generous gifts. However, one problem with being a volunteer is that you don't get paid. People who live here are supported by friends and family. There is also somewhat of hurdle in regards to raising support. Not many people are going to be convinced that God would direct you to Hawaii, an Island of paradise. I must admit it does sound completely absurd. Regardless of all that, the fact is that this is where God directed us, and so here we are. We also now have a total of zero dollars. This shouldn't come as a surprise, we have been in this situation before.

So what do we do? This is a trial, but God has called us here into full time ministry and if this was God's idea then it is reasonable to tell God to hand over the money right? So that is what I did. And what is God's reply? "You take care of the possible and I will take care of the impossible".

So now I am faced with the problem of "what is possible". Brenda and I have committed to be in full time ministry for at least the next five years. We will be working with missionaries from all over the world, serving as volunteers to the largest missionary organization in the world, and leading Mission Geographic.
As I was studying recently on the biblical view of missionary support I came across this verse…“Joanna, Susanna and many others were helping to support them (Jesus and the twelve disciples) out of their own means” Luke 8:3. I knew Paul was supported as a missionary, but it never really crossed my mind that Jesus and the disciples were supported as well. Clearly having a team of supporters would help us tremendously throughout this journey. Right now we have 5 committed monthly supporters and we are so thankful for them. I see this as a very hopeful beginning. We also have been incredibly blessed by gifts from friends and family this year.

Now I am faced with the question: how should I go about raising financial support?

First of all I know how I don't want go about raising support...

1.) I don't want to imply that if we don't get enough money then we are going to have to give up and quit. That is not the case and that won't be the case.

We know that God is faithful and we are dedicated to obeying Him and living the life he has for us.
This is God's idea and so therefore He will speak to the right people and He will provide.

2.) I don't want to come up with or fall into some sort scheme to raise finances.
Corrie ten Boom once said:
"I would rather have a dollar which the Lord directs you to give, than a thousand which He hasn't".
This is exactly how Brenda and I feel. We want to team up with people that have felt the same passion that we have. We want to have a team of supporters who are compelled to give by grace and not out of pity.

So back to the question…how do I want to go about raising a support team? The only thing that I feel a peace about is just being honest. I want people to know why we are doing this and I don't want people to think that this journey is just about us. This is about living a life where we can all make a difference and this is an age where we can all team together. I want people to know what our real passion is. We don't want just a group of supporters. We want a team of people who have compassion and a sorrow for people in third world countries that need our help. We want a team that wants to make a difference.

This is our passion. This is where we want to see a change…

We have designed an organization entitled Mission Geographic. This is a ministry geared towards increasing aid and support for Christian missionaries of all denominations. Mission Geographic will utilize use of the internet to show film and video documentaries that bring supporters closer to the sights and sounds of the mission field. Home churches and supporters will be able utilize Mission Geographic to better relate to the important spiritual and financial needs of missionaries. We have the chance to bring medicine and nutrition to the sick and dying. We have a chance to bring relief to the abused. We have a chance to bring education to women where it has been denied for generations. We have the opportunity to bring hope to the falsely imprisoned. We have a chance to bring the love of Christ to those who need love.

Counting the Cost, our specific needs...

Priority 1:
Cost of living in Kona:
$2,000 for the next 2 months for rent, food, gas, insurance and travel savings. This actually isn't too bad when you consider where we are currently living. Currently we are receiving $150-$200 a month in monthly support, so we have a ways to go before we are secure. The good news is that we were at $50 in monthly support while living in Colorado, so we have come a long way.

Priority 2:
Media Equipment needs for Mission Geographic (one time cost):
We are looking at raising a total cost of about $5,000 for equipment. Obviously thinking about this amount of money is headache inducing. To see enough money raised for this equipment would definitely be a miracle and this does not even include computer programs. This is not the cheapest equipment out there but at the same time it is not even close to the most expensive either. When evaluating the media tools I would need oversees I looked at quality, efficiency and price. This equipment is incredibly light and small for traveling, and I would easily be able to edit and download news, photographs and video documentaries while oversees.
Equipment:

1.) Battalion 101 S-Turbo [AMD]-2 -Laptop computer (aprox $1,300 new)

2.) Canon EOS 20D, 8.2 Megapixel -Digital Camera (aprox $1,400 used)

3.) Canon GL-1 DV Camcorder (aprox. $2,000 on ebay)

Of course all of this seems overwhelming and as I think about it seems impossible, but I have a peace about all of this at the same time. "He who began a good work will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" Phil. 1:6

What happens when you team with us?
-When you give you are giving towards our vision and our passion.
-When you give you are giving towards your vision. We want to know what areas your vision is and what culture, people, nation and humanitarian issues you are interested in so that we can specifically connect with missionaries that share your interests.
-With our team you will be joining a community. We want to create an online community where we can all communicate with each other about prayer needs, share ideas, and support each other as well.