Dear Friends and Family,
As Rachel and I enter into the last month of our leave of absence in the States, we have been reflecting on Lent, a period of 40 days before Easter in which we contemplate the suffering of Jesus as he journeyed to and endured the cross. Phileena Heuertz, international codirector of Word Made Flesh, writes, “Through keeping Lent, Jesus’ life and suffering become tangible companions in the difficult seasons of life and death we endure. We receive the graces of patience and long-suffering. And we uncover a new hope in the promised resurrection. The paschal mystery is a grace-filled invitation to be accompanied by God through awakening, longing, darkness and death. The mystery reminds us that death does not have the last word” (Phileena Heuertz, Pilgrimage of a Soul, p. 121).
Rachel and I are finding that, in small and surprising ways, we are beginning to identify with the suffering of Jesus as we process our move to Moldova. In leaving our families and dearest friends, our homes and our culture, we experience a type of death to what is known, familiar and comfortable. There is grief to be processed as we say goodbye to the life we’ve known and choose to embrace a life that is new, different and unknown.
But this death is also full of hope. Easter Sunday, which falls on April 24, just 10 days after we depart for Moldova, speaks to us of new life. We remember that as we embrace our own grief and suffering, the suffering of the children and the suffering of Jesus, God is working to birth new life in our souls. We stand ready and hopeful, believing that death does not have the last word.
For those of you who are new to our update letters, I’d like to share a little bit about the work in Moldova that we’ll be returning to. In January 2010 I moved to Moldova along with a team of four other people to establish a community of justice, mercy and hope among vulnerable and impoverished children in the capital city, Chişinău (pronounced Kee-shee-now). We currently run an after-school program at the largest boarding school in the country, an institution that houses over 300 children who have been orphaned, abandoned or whose families are incapable of providing proper care for them. Our program, which takes place in several unused rooms in one of the school dorms, includes art, music, games, social skills, nature discovery and moral and spiritual education. We also publish Ecoul Copilăriei (Childhood’s Echo), a school newspaper that seeks to make the voices of the children heard in the local community.
Our local organization in Moldova is called LaVIA, a name which means “to the vineyard,” signifying our movement together with the children and all of our friends who are poor to a place of hope, communion and celebration. We also remember the imagery of a vineyard Jesus used in John 15 to describe an intimate, life-giving relationship between him and his followers. LaVIA is currently in a place of deep discernment as we seek to know where God is leading us in the future. We have dreams of expanding our work to include different types of therapy, sexual health education, social work and some sort of a multi-purpose center that would provide a safe place for us, the children and their families to all pursue wholeness and healing together.
In previous years with Word Made Flesh, I have always made it my policy to communicate my financial needs as transparently as possible as all US staff members are required to raise 100% of their salary and other needs. Rachel and I drafted a budget this week that reflects our financial needs for the next 12 months (May 1, 2011 to May 1, 2012), so it is appropriate to share that with you at this time. Although Rachel will technically be an intern for the first 6 months of our time in Moldova before she has the opportunity to come on staff in October, our needs are still the same and are reflected in one budget. Financial donations can be made by completing the enclosed response card and designating “John and Rachel Koon” under staff support. Alternately, donations can be made online by accessing https://wordmadeflesh.org/support/give.
| May 2011 to May 2012 Personal Budget
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| Take-home Salary (day-to-day living expenses) | $10,200 | |
| U.S. Income Taxes | $1,800 | |
| Work Visa and Taxes for Moldova (estimated) | $2,000 | |
| Travel Expenses (includes airfare, field visits and staff conferences) | $3,000 | |
| Health Insurance | $5,300 | |
| Administrative Expenses (includes postage, printing, donor relations) | $800 | |
| Staff Development (includes language lessons, books, resources and spiritual direction) | $800 | |
| Medical (the equivalent of our insurance policy’s deductible for two persons) | $2,000 | |
| Administrative and Processing Fees (allowing the U.S. office to continue supporting staff members all over the world) | $3,870 | |
| Total Annual Need | $29,770 | |
Rachel and I are happy to report that giving to our support account has been so strong over the last 12 months that if it continues as such, we only need to see an increase of $250 per month to meet our new annual need as a married couple. Any donations made above our personal need will be transferred to the Moldova field account, providing funds to run our after-school program and to pay office rent, utilities and Moldovan staff salaries.
If you are interested in learning more about Word Made Flesh’s principles of fundraising and our commitment to financial integrity, please access https://wordmadeflesh.org/support/give/ and click on “Our Principles of Fundraising.” There you will also see a link with information about a small book written by Henri Nouwen called A Spirituality of Fundraising that has deeply shaped our approach to fundraising as well as a link to an article from our quarterly advocacy journal The Cry called “Submission and Support” by Chris Heuertz.
Rachel and I will also be emailing short, periodic updates with current news and ways you can partner with us in prayer. If you would like to be included on this list, please send me an email at john.koon@wordmadeflesh.org.
With love,
R & J