Money ...

I have been debating on writing this post for a few weeks, and God has really stirred my heart to be transparent with all of you about where we are right not in regards to finances.  As some of you know, we have been trying to raise support all summer to help us get through the next 2 years.  We have been amazed and humbled by the generosity of some of our family and friends.  I have been brought to tears many times by the love and support that we have received - it has been truly amazing.  Thank you so much to all of you who have given so sacrificially - we are doing our very best to be good stewards of every penny!

With all of that being said (and here is where my heart starts racing as I type) ... we still need help.  Bryan has been the one that has been writing our support letters and meeting with people to ask for help, but this is the first time you are hearing from me - and my take is a little different because for one, we are actually here now ... and for two, I am seeing the burden that Bryan is carrying.  And it is just really hard.  So ... I have been told that in support raising it is best to just lay it all out there ... so here we go (deep breath Corrie). 

If we were to raise 100% of what we need for the next two years - we are only about 37% there.  With that being said - we have raised enough to pay for tuition and books which is AWESOME!!!  What we still have to pay for is rent, health insurance, car insurance, groceries, electric bills, etc.  All the regular day to day stuff.  And please trust me when I say, that we are trying to cut wherever we can.  But living costs money as we all know.

Bryan is working at On The Boarder waiting tables.  He feels real purpose in being there and is excited to see what all God has in store.  But he is having to work a lot to make the money that we need (and to be honest we are still coming up short).  Supposedly this is the slowest time of year for restaurants.  The last number of weeks he has worked 5 nights in a row with a double shift on Saturdays.  And he has class on Monday nights, so we have had him home one night a week.  Thankfully, we do get to see him at random times throughout the day and at lunch which is a blessing.  But he is having to spend numerous hours a day at the library to study and get all of his school work done.  So needless to say ... between school and work, he is one busy guy.

We honestly hadn't planned on being able to raise 100% of what we need for the next 2 years - not that God couldn't do that!!  We did expect that we would need to work some ... just not quite this much.  The pace has been a bit nuts to say the least.  And that is why I am writing this - to ask for your help to ease Bryan's load.  If he could work more like 3 or 4 shifts a week, it would make a HUGE difference in not only his life, but our life as a family.  Here are a couple of ways that you can help:

1.  Financial Support.  We have a scholarship fund that our home church has established for us where donations to our account are tax deductible.  Monthly or one-time gifts are huge.  Simply make checks payable to Fellowship Bible Church with our name in the memo section and mail them to:

Fellowship Bible Church
attn: Rosie Stephens
PO Box 7123
Little Rock, AR  72223

2.  Resolve to pray!  It is so exciting for me to think about how God might surprise us in this way!  I want to ask that you would pray specifically that God would bless Bryan financially at work.  One night he had a table that gave him a $50 tip from a $45 ticket - it was amazing.  When Bryan told me about it, I really felt God saying, "Corrie, I have got this.  You just have to trust me."  Oh how He loves us!!!

Well, thank you for reading this.  I literally just let out a deep breath ... this is just hard stuff for me.  Bryan said it best for both of us in one of his support letters.  He wrote, "I hate asking anyone, for anything, ever.  It exposes my pride and humbles me at a real level.  But God has convicted me that I often don't have because I don't ask him or his people."  I couldn't have said better.  Again - thanks for reading and for loving and supporting us.  It honestly means more than you could ever imagine!

Humbled,
Corrie


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."  Eph 3: :20-21