Because We Were There

I was talking with a friend who leads a local college ministry the other night after all the students had left the Bible study. We were having a good conversation about ministry and what the world might look like if Christians lived out what we say we believe. The whole conversation was actually very good, but one thing keeps sticking out from the conversation.

A student attended the Bible study for the first time. My friend was telling me that he had the opportunity to have a two hour long conversation with that student earlier in the day. I don't know what the conversation was about as it was a private conversation, but I could tell that it was a great, deep conversation. My friend had an intern with him at the time. After the conversation was over, my friend asked the intern, "Do you know why that conversation happened? Because I was here." What a simple, subtle reminder of such a critical truth.

Polly, Genevieve and I cannot wait to share testimonies of people we will get the chance to meet and interact with in Costa Rica. We cannot wait to share about at-risk teens and children whose lives we will be able to invest in. We cannot wait to share about changed lives. And do you know why we'll be able to share those things? Because we will be there.

Are you willing to help us be able to have "Because we were there" stories and testimonies? We can only have them if we get there. We believe that we have purpose in Costa Rica. We believe there are at-risk young people who need hope. We recognize that we are no more special than anyone else and that anyone else could satisfy that purpose because we do not supply the hope, Jesus does! But we believe that God has called us to this work. Are you willing to invest in that cause with us and partner with us through prayer and finances?

At this point, some might say, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there...I was right there with you until you brought up the 'f' word: finances." Here's the thing. We cannot go for free. Life costs money. We cannot make money while in Costa Rica, so we must go on faith through raising our budget. Isn't it cool that you can play an integral role in sending us there...in helping us get those "Because we were there" stories and testimonies? I think so too.

For the month of March, we have decided to promote something we're calling the March to 50. Because our goal is to reach Costa Rica in August, we want to be at 50% of our monthly budget by the end of the month. The amount that we needed to reach that goal at the beginning of the month was a large chunk of money: $905.50. You may be sitting there and saying, "I wish I could afford to commit $905.50/mo but I couldn't even come close." Well, I have good news. You don't need to commit that much. You can commit whatever amount you feel that you can do (or perhaps commit in faith believing that you will be able to even if the numbers don't add up). Some people have committed $200/mo to us. Some have committed $5/mo. Do you know which ones are helping us reach our goal? All of them. Please consider what amount you can partner with us financially at on a monthly basis. We will appreciate whatever amount you set.

You can set up an ongoing monthly commitment through our giving site. You can also do it by mail if you prefer by downloading our commitment form. Please note that our account number is 2713097. If you have any further questions about what our budget is for, please view our "Partner" page found at the top of this page or by clicking here. And, of course, you can always email us at mikeandpollybrown@gmail.com.

Imagine the twist on things from your perspective. While we will be sharing "Because we were there" stories and testimonies, you will be retelling those stories and testimonies saying, "Because I helped send them."

In Christ,

Mike