Thank You

Big, big news---as of today we are FULLY FUNDED! Between the amounts pledged by supporters and funds received, we have reached our fundraising goal. We cannot say THANK YOU enough to the many, many generous friends and family who have donated on our behalf. We know that there are thousands of organizations to which you could give your money, and we are incredibly humbled that you chose to give to us.

To be perfectly honest, fundraising was the only part of this adventure that I was dreading. I really hate asking people for money, even when it's for a great cause. Even if we were super careful with finances and purchased as little as possible to prepare for the trip, there was just no way that we could self-fund a year abroad with three kids. So, we sent our letters and visited churches and asked lots of people for money. Then our already-large budget had to be significantly increased due to some underestimated costs that we didn't know about until after sending our letters. But you know what? People gave with cheerful hearts and did not bemoan our asking one bit (or at least, didn't do it to our faces ;) ). God has provided us with all the funds we needed, even covering the increased budget! We are overwhelmed with gratitude.

If you had been planning to donate to our family but haven't yet, we suggest donating to International Justice Mission here. Your gift to their organization will go to their global work of fighting oppression of the poor in the form of human trafficking, property grabbing, sexual assault, unlawful arrests, etc. We strongly believe in IJM's work and know that your donation will be used wisely.

Again, THANK YOU to each and every person who donated to our family. God calls some of us to go, and He calls others to give. Thank you for saying "yes" to His leading. We are looking forward to an incredible year, thanks to your generosity!