Dear friend,
I want to apologize for not emailing monthly update letters. It has been very busy here. I will explain more of what I have been up to below. I will try my best to do as promised and update more often. Just after my first prayer letter, our Africa/Europe regional coordinator David Chronic sent me a book called "The Spirituality of Fund-Raising". The book was writing by Henri Nouwen.
One part that really helps me to understand fund-raising and become more confident in fund-raising is this:
From the perspective of the gospel, fund-raising is not a response to a crisis. Fund-raising is, first and foremost, a form of ministry. It is a way of announcing our vision and inviting other people into our mission. Vision and mission are so central to the life of God's people that without vision we perish and without mission we lose our way (prov. 29:18, 2 kings 21:1-9). Vision brings together needs and resource to meet those needs (Acts 9:1-19). Vision also shows us new directions and opportunities for our mission. Vision gives us courage to speak when we might want to remain silent (Acts18:9)." Fund-raising is proclaiming what we believe in such a way that we offer other people an opportunity to participate to with us in our vision and mission. Fund-raising is precisely the opposite of begging. When we seek to raise funds we are not saying, ''please, could you help us out because lately it's been hard.'' Rather, we are declaring, ''we have a vision that is amazing and exciting. We are inviting you to invest yourself through the resource that God has given you- your energy, your prayers, and your money-in this work to which God has called us." 'Our invitation is clear and confident because we trust that our vision and mission are like ''tree planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season. And their leaves do not wither'' (Ps.1:3)
Fund-raising is also always a call to conversion. And this call comes to both those who seek funds and those who have funds. Whether we are asking for money or giving money we are drawn together by God, who is about do a new thing through our collaboration (see Isa. 43:19). To be converted means to experience a deep shift in how we see and think and act. To be converted is to be clothed in our right mind. (The Spirituality of Fund-Raising, page 3-4)
It helped me to understanding fund-raising as partnership. I am not begging when I ask for support. Instead I am calling my friends to join me in this work. I am proud to say, I am more confident to ask for support now then before, whereas before I was really embarrassed to ask. A Big thanks to David for sharing this book with me.
Here is an update on things that I have been involved in:
1. In February, my community in Kroo Bay asked me to represent our community in a meeting. Since then I have been called to different meetings. Some I had to say no to because I had many things to do. It was difficult because I had to say no to people I wanted to serve. I am not sure if I can do all what they want me to do. Please pray for my relationship with the elders and people in my community.
2. Part of my job is to look after two girls (Kadiatu and Mariama), who WMF help. I need to visit their school and homes, as well as other needs that may come up. But due to my work load and other things, Cami and I decided to have Florence look after them. Kadiatu is staying in the east end of town and Mariama lives in Kroo Bay. Florence and I were visiting them, but now it will just be Florence visiting them. Please pray for Florence as she looks after them and also pray for Kadiatu as she lives in the east end of Freetown and needs to come to the west every day for school.
3. In February, we experienced rain in Freetown. Kroo Bay was badly affected because the garbage from the gutter flowed down to Kroo Bay. It is really sad. Due to what happened, the Harrell's and I wanted to help. We decided to clean the area by the church where we have our Good News Club. It was really nice to help our friends in the community. Erin wanted to use her physical therapy skills in Kroo Bay, so we decided to talk to the Community Health organizer in charge of the health center. I also talked to the elders and they wanted us to help out at the clinic. When we arrived at the clinic, there was over 50 patients waiting to be treated. My job at the clinic was to translate for Erin. It was really nice at first but as time went on more people kept coming and we couldn't see all of them so we had to stop for the day and ask them to come back another day. Now Erin visits them in their homes. Please pray for us as we serve Jesus among our friends. Moreover pray for the kids and their families as we approach the rainy season as 90% of the kids are badly affected during this time.
4. I really like the way the boys that live me and I are interacting now, even though it can still be challenging at times. I love Remie, one of the boys at my house, so much. 2007 was a challenging year for us. Some of you know that he ran from the house more than five times. Once when he ran away, he stayed away more than a month. Now, he no longer runs away. I want you all to know that it is your faithful prayers and advice that has helped us. For example, I remember David telling me to look Remie in his eyes when I talk to him. I learned a lot about raising kids when Laura Alley, WMF board of chairperson, shared with us about her family and the ways she dealt with issues concerning her kids. Many of you have given books to me to help with parenting. I am not able to name all the people that helped me. I appreciate all of your support. I want to encourage you to continue to give me advice and pray for me in our journey. The two other boys that are staying with me – Siadu and Mohamed are all doing fine. I want you to please pray for one of the boy's mothers. She is an alcoholic. It is really difficult to see her when she is drunk. She does some shameful things which make her son feel bad. She will be attending a conference that WMF is organizing about children in crisis. Please pray for her time in the conference and also pray for me as I plan to have talks with her after the conference.
5. Please pray for the kids at the Good News Club. We still see many wounds- emotional and physical. Please remember them in your prayers during the rainy season when Kroo Bay can flood, and garbage flows down to us.
In my last prayer letter I share my financial need. I need to raise $8000 for the year. We have faith that we can raise this money, but up until now, we have not raised 10% of this. I know some people promised to support, but WMF has not received the money. I want to encourage you to partner with me in what I am doing in Kroo Bay and with Lighthouse. I also want you to encourage you to help me identify people that would be willing to partner with me. Your partnership, prayers, advice and/or financial support are so valuable to me. I really do need each and every one of you.
If you are interested in supporting me financially, there are a number of ways to do it. You can send a check to WMF or you can set up an automatic deduction from your bank. If you do send a check, please send it to P.O. Box 70, Omaha, NE 68101 and write that it is for me on a separate note. If you want to set up an automatic deduction, please contact Brent Ande
rson at Word Made Flesh at 1-800-CRY-4-KIDS.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
Love,
Noah