december prayer letter

Dear friends and family,

I remember when I first began serving with Word Made Flesh. Fresh out of graduate school, I carried my idealism next to my heart. With hopeful eyes, I viewed the world with expectation. I held my breath, waiting for things to immediately change. I noticed that after my first trips to Southeast Asia, I couldn't add things up anymore. I was walking through the streets of a red-light district in India and questioning what I could do, if anything, to fix this.

That was my mind responding. But my heart knew what to do: be obedient.

In the past three and a half years I've shared with you stories about my friends overseas. I've told you about the women in the red-light district who have accepted the invitation to freedom and hope through their work at Sari Bari. I've introduced you to Noah Tullay who has devoted himself to serving his neighbors in Kroo Bay (Freetown, Sierra Leone). I've shared with you the stories of staff members whose lives, faith and actions point us to God.

Your life and story have intersected with not only my life but with the lives of my friends. In a time when we're watching the news and taking a pulse on our family's economic health, you have given consistently, generously and sacrificially. Your giving is a sign of restoring relationships in community.

Your giving has challenged my thinking and assumptions on giving and has pointed me to God. I do not take your giving for granted. Through generous one-time gifts and monthly support you all have given $23,039.97 ($26,482.74 with taxes and other deductions) on my behalf this year. You allowed me to continue serving here full-time, attend our Omaha community retreat, receive my salary and cover other expenses such as taxes and development/administrative costs.

Because my support account is almost negative, I need to ask you for help. I've decreased my salary for 2009 so my support account can catch up. Although my salary will be $1,950, I still need to raise around $2,500 each month to cover taxes and other costs and to bolster my support account.

How can you help?
If you are a monthly giver, I invite you to prayerfully consider increasing your giving by $5/month next year. That would allow me to raise about $100 more a month, which is $1,200 in a year!

If you are a one-time giver and considering giving to a non-profit this year, this is a great time to give a gift to WMF on my behalf.

If you've never given to WMF, I invite you to join me. I can't do this without your support. You'll find a response card in this letter. It is through the generous support of my supporters that I am able to serve in the capacity that I do and be obedient to the call that God has placed on my heart.

with love, js

P.S. You can double your gift towards WMF if the company you work for matches employees' charitable giving.