Hey buddy, can you spare a dime?

Posted on August 13, 2006
Filed Under Mae Sot |

A few weeks ago, God spoke to me and confirmed something I’d been praying about for a while: I need to move to Thailand and become a fulltime missionary.

Being a tentmaker and trying to earn a living while trying to raise awareness of the suffering of the Karen just wasn’t working. I was serving two masters, and finding it impossible to balance my time and concentration. And, tellingly I was finding myself questioning my motives: When I wrote a good piece, with good pictures, I was thinking more about how much money I could make from it, rather than if it would glorify God and serve His purposes!

Perhaps that is why it has been such a struggle to get editors to publish my work!

However, more significantly, last month, towards the end of The Vine/180 mission trip to Mae Sot, I realised I didn’t want to leave. And, it wasn’t the usual, ‘the trip is almost over, soon be back in good ole Hong Kong’ feeling. It was the revelation that this is the place and the people that God has placed on my heart. And, if I’m to be faithful to the calling I have, I need to be there stranding alongside them on a daily basis.

Come early October, I hope to be doing just that. I’m still not entirely sure what I’ll be doing, but from the Emails I’ve exchanged with several people in Thailand over the last few weeks, it seems volunteers are needed by plenty of ministries. So, I’m going in faith and in the belief that He will direct me to the place I am meant to be.

In the meantime, I need MONEY. It’s supposed to be the root of all evil, and something no self-respecting Christian should have too much to do with. However, there seem to be plenty of people on the Internet, who are willing to give advice on how to get money and how to go about finding Missionary sponsors.

Of course, supporting missionaries is a time honoured tradition for the church, but when did become this weird sub-industry made up of missions boards, ex-missionaries, NGOs and the like?

All I want is a handful of people that share my vision, who will commit to supporting me in prayer and with a monthly financial donation, so I can focus on serving and hopefully have enough left over to be able to directly support some worthwhile causes.

Of course, if you have faith in your calling, you should have enough faith to trust that God will provide for your needs. And, if you don’t maybe you shouldn’t be a missionary!

So, I’m learning to rely on Him for provision and the good news is the early signs are positive. I already have my first sponsor and I’m believing that the rest will come.