I sit inside a warm room and hear the rain falling – a gentle, steady rain that has gone on for two days and promises to continue through today. I am thankful to be in a warm, dry place since the rain is not only wet, but is bringing cold weather with it. The season is changing.

I also can sense there is a change in the season in my life. These past six months have been a season of movement and travel. I packed up all my things and moved from Senegal after five years there with Corey and Katie to an unknown future in the USA. Upon arrival at SIM USA I discovered God had gone before me and prepared a job for me orchestrating the collection and distribution of the prayers of his people through By Prayer, SIM’s bimonthly prayer calendar.

August through October I traveled around the USA and to Abu Dhabi to visit with many of you, informing you of God’s plan for me for this season and hearing how God has been moving and acting in your lives as well.

Much of what I heard encouraged me, but I was also saddened to hear of the hardships many of you endure: sickness, loss of work, downsizing to smaller homes due to lack of income, years of static salaries in the face of constant inflation, increased expenses due to children attending college – and on it goes. Life can be hard, and we can become discouraged. It is when we find ourselves discouraged that we must adjust our viewpoint and look to God to clear our vision.

At just the right time, in my devotional time, God changed my outlook as I read about the Macedonian church in 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:

And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

I see now how I have discouraged some of you, and I see how some of you encouraged me. As I met with you, there were some I discouraged from supporting me financially by saying I understood you had such a small income you couldn’t afford to support me. How faithless I was! Please, forgive me from robbing you of the privilege of giving; and robbing myself of the blessing of receiving your sacrifice of partnership in service. There were others I visited whose poverty of worldly goods was unnoticeable because of the overflow of godly joy in life and the blessings they enjoyed. Their spontaneous generosity was displayed in their eagerness to partner with me financially, giving a sacrificially generous promise of support. I see how poor I displayed myself to be! I find I have been living in an attitude of poverty, allowing Satan to rob me of the certainty of God’s provision for my life.

As always, it was at this low point that God surprised me with an outpouring of blessing! Through the obedient generosity of some caring donors and SIM missionaries, new or increased gifts for support given through February 29, 2016 will be matched. This means all new or increased gifts that are deposited to my SUPPORT account between now and the end of February will be matched with an equal gift. If you have promised to support me, but haven’t done so yet, this will be a great time to start your gift! It is also a great time to share any end-of-year funds you have been praying over how to use. By giving in this time frame, every dollar you give will be doubled by this generous matching fund! Please prayerfully read the letter from our SIM USA director regarding these matching funds.

This is an opportune time to join financially in this ministry, knowing your gift will be doubled! Please know that ALL gifts, regardless of the size will be precious in my eyes and the eyes of God as they are given with a grateful and generous heart. Becoming a financial partner helps put action to your prayers and forges a stronger link of connection in our ministry team. The tangible evidence testifies every month as I receive your financial as well as prayer support to help sustain me in God’s work.

To view more pictures click here.

The letter from
Bruce Johnson,
President
SIM USA

As you already know, although I have completed my ministry assignment in Senegal, I am continuing to serve with SIM and am relocating to Charlotte to work in the home office. I am excited about the opportunity to continue to serve through SIM.

Upon my arrival in the SIM USA office I was asked to take on the role of Editor for By Prayer, a newsletter that goes out bimonthly with requests from missionaries all over the world. This has been an urgent need because the current Editor is retiring in October. The current Editor described the job this way:

The Editor coordinates the production schedule between:

• -two on-site contributing editors (for a Cover Story, and five Regional Ministry Stories)
• -51 contributing editors around the world (and they change fairly frequently, especially at this time of year).
• -several proofreaders here (in Charlotte, NC) and in Florida-local
• -Media people who prepare print-ready documents, and others who mail out bulk and overseas hard copies

SIM understands the importance of prayer and I am looking forward to being able to help facilitate prayer support in this way for the 800 missionaries SIM USA has serving on the field and in the USA.

In order to get a place to live and start working with this ministry, I must have 100% of my support promised. The additional amount I need to meet this goal is $1,800 per month plus $5,000 in initial setup costs. Since the outgoing Editor is retiring in October, I need to have all my support promised before I can start working in September so we can have a smooth transition. Currently I am officially on Home Assignment in order to increase my support base.

You can help in these ways:

1. Pray for more prayer partners and financial team members so the needed support will come.
2. Prayerfully consider joining my financial team, increasing your support or making a one-time contribution to my startup costs.
3. Inquire as to whether your church would support me in their missions’ budget.
4. Set up an appointment for me to meet with friends you think may be interested in joining this ministry adventure as I travel from North Carolina to Connecticut and back in August.
5. Forward my prayer letter to friends and family with whom you would like to share this ministry.
6. Consider joining me in fasting on Wednesdays for this need.
7. Pray some more!

I want to visit with as many of you as I can when I drive from North Carolina to Connecticut and back in August. In the coming weeks I will be contacting many of you. Please help me by being prepared with some dates/times in August when you would be available for us to get together.   If your church or friends are interested in hearing about my ministry I would be happy to share with them. If you have any other ideas of ways I could connect with people, share about what God is doing in the SIM USA Office and around the world, and encourage the church’s missions vision, please let me know. I would love to help and get involved in any way you can think of while I am with you.

Questions you may have:

• Since you are going to live in the USA why are you still asking for support? The dedicated people who work in the SIM USA office are, for the most part, supported missionaries who have served on the foreign field. Having supported staff reduces the expense for the mission and emphasizes the fact that these people are STILL missionaries! The role of a missionary in the USA office is a vital one of support for those on the foreign field. Even though I have moved from Senegal to the USA, I am in the same role I have been in for the last five years – that of support to other missionaries! In Senegal I was supporting two missionaries; in the SIM USA office I will be supporting 800 missionaries. In order to accomplish this larger, wide reaching ministry, I need your prayer and financial support!
• Since you are going to live in the USA why are you asking for MORE support? The cost of living in Senegal is much lower than in the USA. For instance, rent for the large four-bedroom, four-bath house with extended grounds (our team-mate’s home I was using) was $385 per month; rent for a one or two bedroom apartment in the USA is two to three times that amount. It costs more to live in the USA – but the ministry is just as vital a need!
• Since you are 67, why don’t you just draw Social Security and pension monies? Because I spent much of my adult life as a stay-at-home mother, and the last 15 years in ministry, my retirement income is not large. I want to wait until I turn 70 to begin Social Security or pension payments to maximize my long term retirement income.
• What will happen to By Prayer if you don’t get the required support? I really do not know. I do know if the support doesn’t come in, I will not be able to take on this ministry. The current Editor and her husband have already delayed their retirement and cannot prolong their time here. There are no other people in the SIM USA office with the time to take on this vital job, and without an editor for By Prayer, “it simply can’t be done, and no one would know how to pray for the 51 countries we highlight!” (quote from outgoing editor)
• What will YOU do if the support doesn’t come in?  I am firmly convinced this is God’s plan for me and anticipate God’s people will participate in this Adventure so I haven’t seriously considered other options.

Praises from my time here at SIM USA:

• I have gotten over disorientation and feel more ‘together’ here.
• I am enjoying having a lovely little car to drive whenever and wherever I want to go. I have learned enough to not have to clutch my GPS constantly and have gone to the closest shopping area and back without having to use

  

  it!

• I have moved to a lovely camper home on the SIM USA grounds. It was purchased to house the quarantined Ebola missionaries and remains to house folks like me. I will be able to stay in it for the month of July.
• I have met with the current By Prayer Editor and we have gone over some of the basic processes of producing this vital guide for prayers for our missionaries. I think I might understand a few bits of it, too!
• My broken phone has finally been replaced!

 Prayers for Looking Ahead:

• Pray that my support team will grow and the needed $5,000 start up costs and $1,800 per month will come in quickly.
• Pray for my travel plans to be divinely orchestrated and I would meet with many new support team members.
• Pray that I will grasp all the scheduling and arranging details for this vital By Prayer ministry.