The REAL update...

After contacting our immediate family and our Pastor; we are leaving for Costa Rica on March 31st. We do have 100% of our support. That alone is a modern day miracle! As you can imagine, there is much to say and to do. We will be working on a newsletter to send out and as I collect my thoughts a little better over the next couple of days, I will post more on here. The most important thing right now that needs to be said is, "To God be the Glory".

The Phone Call!

We got a phone call on Thursday, 12/20 and the voice on the other line said, "get your house sold we'd like you there on February 1st". The exact numbers have not been crunched, but we believe that we are at about 95% of our monthly support now since people have been communicating to us that they have sent in pledge cards. Global believes, and we do too, that the rest will come. Please continue to pray for our family as we prepare to go. I will do my best to keep this better updated on exact dates and travel as the time gets closer.

He is faithful!

Rain

Taking a break from sorting, to sit here at my desk and "hear" the rain as it taps the window pane. It seems like it has been so very long since we have had a good rain like the one we are experiencing now. I have not posted recently because I didn't want to bore you to death! Not a lot has changed since the last post. Oh! By the way, to the five or six people who regularly read this blog and to the two that actually ever post comments, "your checks are in the mail". Well, back to going through some things, throwing things, but I had to pause for just a few short minutes and enjoy the sound of the rain, and to thank God for allowing us to have some!
Edited to say: I am not throwing things...I am throwing things out, though. Just thought I might clarify that :)

$400, that's all folks

$400 of pledged monthly support is all we have left to raise. That breaks down to 13 people committing to $30 a month or 8 people committing to $50 a month. We continue to step out in faith trusting that God is going to provide for our needs by getting our house ready to be placed on the market. Two days ago we were at 88%. Today, we are at 90%. An amazing God!

Costa Rica...in the home stretch!

We have 75% of commited monthly support and another 12% in pending status (waiting for the verbally comitted support to reach Global Outreach offices so that it can added in). That's a total of 87%. I want to make it perfectly clear that God has moved in a miraculous way on our behalf! None of the support that has been commited to our family comes through something that Ken or I have done. Yes, we are the ones who physically stood up and did presentations, made phone calls, sent letters, met with individuals, prayed (but I know we had lots of others praying along with us); God is the One who moved people's hearts toward committing to Missions and the ministry at El Jardin! The last year and a half has at times been hard because we are hard-headed (moreso me than Ken). There are so many people that God, in His love and grace, sent to encourage us and kept us from giving up! He even sent some to help us "get a grip" and "refocus", like Bob & Robin. Then there were times when we did just rest and wait and He showered us with tremendous blessing. I wouldn't exchange the things that I have learned for an easier path! I realize that I have so much more to be taught and that this time has been a time of preparation for things that I will continue to learn through serving on the field. What does the 87% mean? It's time to apply for the kids passports. We need to begin preparing the house to go up for sale. We are coming to a time of "lasts", last Thanksgiving/Christmas with family for four years and the anticipation of "firsts", like all the new things you experience living in a different country and culture. We cannot yet board a plane because there are still funds that need to come in before we can go and while we trust God for those needs, we would be making a terrible mistake to not take this opportunity and allow you to see what God has already done! Please join us in thanking Him for the recent provisions that He has made for our family and continue to keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to be obedient to His plans for us! To God be the Glory!

Support Raising, waiting and praying to get to Costa Rica!

We've been busy. That's not even accurate, really. Feels like we've been crazy! We got our last support letter typed and sent to the Mission. You should be receiving that now asking for your help in getting us to Costa Rica by January '08, our deadline. It's almost time for another newsletter to go out. We have received word that we have received additional support, but we do not know exactly what percentage we are at as Global just finished a big conference and everyone's desk is piled high with requests at the office. We should have a better picture next week and be able to report that here to you. In the meantime, thank you to all of you who have been praying for us during this time. We cannot even express to you how much it means to us knowing that you are specifically bringing our family before the Throne. Thank you to our Support Team for your love, prayers and especially the encouragement. It's hard to imagine where we would be without you in our lives. You all mean so much to us! May the Lord continue to move in a way that will bring Him the glory!

A weekend at home/monthly support report

This will be the first weekend in four weeks that we have all been home together! We attended the family wedding in Atlanta, then we went to Camp Dixie the next weekend, Ken was in Florida for "Big Splash" last weekend. We have been busy!

I love these verses in Habakkuk 2 where Habakkuk wanted answers. "How long, O Lord?" he asks. God took His time. Then He tells Habakkuk, "The vision is yet for an appointed time,". "Wait for it; because it will surely come".

God continues to move us forward and we have now received 46% of our committed monthly support. We have received a deadline to be in Costa Rica by January '08. At least we will have an answer.

Busy, busy!

Taking a breather for a few minutes and thought I would write an update. I just finished our newsletter, so you should be receiving those by snail mail or email in the next couple of days. We have another presentation this Saturday afternoon that we are preparing for. I need to write a letter to go out through the mission as well so they can get those sent off. We find ourselves in a constant balancing act; trying to prepare for the mission field, but not being ready financially to go, and allowing our four kids to live their lives here in the States, but not knowing when we might leave and working our full-time jobs. It can be difficult at times. Sometimes it is heart wrenching, especially for Heather whose band has been invited to the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. She is on the color guard. Preparations for that are already beginning and you can imagine the excitement over being invited to participate in something that big. Only 5 high school bands will be performing and 300 tried to get a spot. We just take it all one day at a time. Last week was orientation for Danielle and she has now been attending her one and only high school class for a week (she will graduate in December). Today, she added in her college courses to her schedule and should finish up with Cosmetology School in July. She was a little "stressed" last night beginning the paperwork for her English IV project. It's been hard for me to embrace the fact that she is a Senior! Where does the time go? Heather just finished two full weeks of band/color guard camp. She didn't get her ability to walk backwards and to the side simultaneously from me I tell 'ya! Today was her freshman orientation and she continues with two band practices a week. Tomorrow, Kyle has a physical and then try-outs for middle school football. 4 kids, 4 different schools this year. I haven't quite figured out the carpool/bus schedule. My little mind just isn't there yet! God remains our strength and our peace even in our daily activities!

Our calling to missions

Galatians 1:2, "I was not called to be a missionary by any group or agency. My call is from Jesus Christ himself, and from God the Father who raised him from the dead".

While we have been licensed to serve under Global Outreach Mission, God continues to remind us that our calling is directly from Him! These past few weeks He has kept us very busy with contacts and presentations. In fact, we have had three presentations to do this week alone! Last Monday, we received word from a friend that a local church was considering supporting us and we needed to send some budget information to them right away. When we offered to set up a time to come to the church and do a presentation we were told it wouldn't be necessary. "Wouldn't be necessary"? I kept thinking to myself, "Someone, please pinch me, it's not supposed to be this easy"! Yesterday, we received confirmation from that church that they had made a commitment to Global Outreach Mission on our behalf for monthly support! For six months now we have been sitting at the 33% mark of our pledged monthly support. Today, we moved up to 37%! God continues to move us forward in His timing and in His way!

Presentation Report

We have a small-group presentation to do tomorrow evening beginning at 7 p.m. So, if you wouldn't mind lifting us up today and tomorrow as we prepare and then during the presentation. Last night, Ken was supposed to be meeting with a Pastor at a local church that will be supporting us, but the Pastor had to cancel our meeting because he had two other meetings come up, one before his Wednesday night prayer service, and one immediately after. Phew...my brother's a Pastor and it can be rough sometimes with scheduling, so we fully understand. This meeting will definitely be rescheduled though. This Sunday morning the leader of our sending team in our church will be doing an update presentation on our ministry and I know she would definitely love to be supported in prayer! We had a meeting last night after our church service with the Pastor of the church across the road. We have met with him before and will be scheduling a presentation in his church in the next coming weeks. They also invited us to their church on Sunday morning for their service which starts an hour before ours because another missionary from Costa Rica is coming in to talk with their congregation since they will be sending a small group to Costa Rica in March to work at an orphanage with her. This is a bit of a planning meeting for them and to show them pictures and explain what they will be doing when they go. Their Pastor is a neat guy and was really excited about the ambulance parked across the road at our church during our VBS. Well, as you can see, busy days in front of us! Thank you in advance for your prayer support!

God's timing

Yesterday was "the beach or bust" and...it was a bust! We watched the weather report on Friday night and "blow over" light rain was predicted for over Wilmington on Saturday. We got up early. I had been bragging to Ken and the kids about a fun country restaurant I had found on one of my excursions with a friend to do some scrapbooking at a scrapbook store in Wilmington. We found the restaurant and had breakfast there. About halfway through my bacon-n-cheese omelet I heard thunder and it grew dark outside. We left there and got gas in the car and Ken just happened to ask a man at the gas station about the weather forecast for the day. Sure enough, "it will pass over in fifteen minutes", the man said. We decided to do a little school shopping at a nearby plaza where Rugged Warehouse and Ross' were. Hmmm...trying on clothing in a totally dark store is interesting! Needless to say the storm never blew over. We did get to the beach during a 15-minute lull in the storm, though it picked back up again. We had a fun day even though it wasn't quite what we had planned.

It kind of reminded me of a testimony Ken gave at a church service on Thursday evening. We had gotten a phone call from a local church that they were interested in supporting us in some way. We never expected that! In the fundraising process, you always have a standing list in your mind of people you should be following up with, talking too, etc. He continues to move in His timing and in His way! We were reminded this week of this verse from Proverbs 16:1, "We can make our plans, but the final outcome is in God's hands".

Two important meetings this week: Friday evening we have a small-group presentation and on Sunday morning. Thank you for your thoughts, and your continued prayers!

Waiting and the bumpy road

It's been a little rough the beginning of this week. Sunday's presentation by Alan & Dana Sims, at least looking at their ministry pictures was hard for Ken & I. We sat and watched with tears streaming down our faces in a congregation of people we had never met before! Uncomfortable, to say the least. We've been to Honduras five times and looking at their pictures brought back memories from a country that will always be close to our hearts. Part of the crying was pure joy at being able to hear and see all that God is doing in their ministry. It was amazing and exciting! A very small part was sadness at still sitting here in the States. We feel homesick to go back to Costa Rica. We've been encouraged and reminded that all of this is in the "plan". We wouldn't choose to change any of this bumpy road! We've grown, we've cried, we've prayed, we've fought, we've surrendered! God loves Ken & Sherri Dundon with an unconditional, unfailing love! And so we continue to wait probably more patiently than we ever have before, not because of anything we have done, but because of all that He has! To Him be the glory!!!

"Git-R-Done" Ministry Presentation - God style

A phone call, a calendar check and our next presentation is August 18 at 2:00 p.m. That easy. Somebody pinch me! Praise God!!! (Okay, time for the "Skippy Yippy" dance)! :)

"Support" in more ways than one!

Today, someone who works with Ken let him know that they sent in our prayer card to Global Outreach and would be supporting us monthly. I received an email today from a friend who was sharing her thoughts on some of my previous posts. Her words were really encouraging and as usual, she has a gift for throwing in a little humor along the way! Monday night Ken did a side job after work. He came home with a check from the homeowner's made out to Global Outreach. While this was a one-time donation and not for monthly support, I have to say, that it was me when we worked out the final budget numbers who thought there was no way we would ever be able to raise the funds for our outgoing expenses. To date, we have raised more than half of the total amount needed. It is amazing to me how God continues to send us tidbits of encouragement and how He knows exactly what we need and when we need it! Tonight we were also able to finalize the date for our next small-group presentation. We'll be doing one in two weeks on Friday, August 3rd, in the home of one of our supporters for their family and friends. God is good!

#1

We had a relaxed, abbreviated one-on-one presentation last night. Ah, practice makes perfect, they say, though we are hardly aiming for exact perfection here. In the process, that one person became a supporter! "Skippy Yippy", I shout! That's Danielle's saying when she is squealing with excitement over something grand! You know, Jesus would have went to the cross for one person. We did a presentation for one person last night and we'd go to Costa Rica for the opportunity to share with just one person too!

Ministry Ramblings

Lately, there has been much talk about supporting "Ken & Sherri Dundon, the missionaries". Today, I find myself struggling with my own identity. I'm not any different than most people, really. People, just like me, have "callings" to do things either in the business world or through other ministries altogether. I feel like sometimes people have elevated me to something that I can't possibly live up too. I am human and I am still "in process" with regard to my Christian walk. I make mistakes. I say things I shouldn't, hurt people I don't intend to, don't spend enough time with God when I am sometimes busy. It irks me to death that the one person I am trying to be obedient to and serve is often the person who gets my attention at the end of the day when I have the least to offer, though this is happening less and less. I think that's why it is so important to me that people take us out of the equation with fundraising. Our ministry is not about us! It's about what God is doing in us and through us. Giving to missions isn't even really giving to us! The bigger picture is that you are being asked to be obedient to becoming partners with us in God's work in Costa Rica. The ministry there is His, not ours! In essence, we are fundraising for God! Tonight, we have another presentation. I don't know how many people are coming. I do know this! Today, as I make the last preparations my heart is calling out to God, screaming really, "Father, strip me down! Allow me, by your grace and your mercy to bring you honor and glory in all that I say. Just as your Son came with no reputation, allow those who attend to see that we are nothing without YOU". He does not need any of us, but He allows us to join Him for His purposes.

3 John 1:5&8 "Dear friend, you are doing a good work for God in taking care of the traveling teachers and missionaries who are passing through. So we ourselves should take care of them in order that we may become partners with them in the Lord's work".