Support Raising

For those of you who missed it, here is the support letter I sent out about three months ago:

Hello Friends,

 As some of you know, and many of you will not be surprised to hear, I like to summarize the passion God has given me for supporting His Church as two-fold: I am passionate about pouring into the people who are already part of the Church so they are equipped and encouraged to reach those outside the church, and I am passionate about connecting the Church in America with the Universal Church in tangible, practical ways. I am more than thrilled to share with you that God has led me over the last year to an opportunity to do both of these things. I will be spending two months this summer (Summer 2016) with an organization called Serge in Ireland!

 Honestly, before I take time to share more about this “internship,” I want to be very upfront in my ask: while I need financial support for this trip, and I do ask you to prayerfully consider how you can give ­­toward this opportunity, more than anything else, I covet your prayer and your encouragement for this trip. Yes, I have a lot of money to raise and there is a lot for which I am relying on God. But God has never left me hanging when He has called me – whether He has called me to a new job or on a trip overseas, He has always provided.

 Please commit to praying for me and for this trip: …that I continue to trust God as I wait to see His provision. …that God continues to prepare my heart for this trip and that I will be gracious and humble. …for unity as a team and that God will open doors for us in Ireland to touch needs.

 While these are the biggest things about which I ask for your prayers, please also be in prayer for the details on this side of the trip: …the ability to work ahead well at my job and for smooth transitions to and from the temporary person. …for support raising for trip costs and other financial needs I will have over this time. Please pray for all these things for the other members of my team, as well!

 On this trip, we will spend time supporting pastors and missionaries who already work in Ireland. We American interns will begin our time in Ireland with a week of training and discipleship in Dublin, after which we’ll join with Irish locals and head out in groups to join ministry leaders where they are already working. At each location, we are there to partner with whatever these pastors and missionaries are already doing – working to assist and encourage them as they proclaim Gospel and grace despite a growing atmosphere of atheism there. We will stay in each location for a week or two before moving to the next place.

As I mentioned above, please consider how God is leading you to partner with me for this opportunity. Serge requires that I raise over $5,000 to cover airfare to and from Ireland, food & lodging, local transportation, and other ministry expenses. Fifty percent of my funding is due by March 31, and the remainder is due by May 6. If you are led to support me on this trip, checks can be made payable to Serge and mailed to the address on my pledge card (which you should include with your check). You may also submit donations online by going to serge.org/staff/id-22100/.

 One last thing: I would much rather discuss this in person (or at least voice-to-voice) with each and every one of you so I can share about the passions God has placed on my heart and about my excitement for this trip! While I hope to contact many of you in a few weeks to do so and to see how God is leading you to support this trip, please feel free to call or text me at XXX.XXX.XXXX. You can also email me at brittany.stichter@gmail.com.

 Thank you for joining me in this opportunity as the Lord leads you!

             May the Lord make His face to shine upon you!

NOTE: I am more than fully funded!! God is so good!
NOTE 2: If you would like to receive the 2ish update emails I hope to send while I'm gone, please email me.

I expect to write more soon... I want to write about what all has happened in the last three months.

I will also post the update email I sent out yesterday, but it may take me a day or two to get to it...

See you soon!
B