The Final Countdown - How You Can Help

UPDATE: Less than 14 hours after publishing this post both of our physical needs were met by friends! God has blessed us with many amazing people whose generosity has been overwhelming. Thank you all so much for the love and encouragement.

We're less than three weeks away from moving to the Dominican Republic to being our year of service. Even though this is a journey that started more than three years ago, it feels like it has all happened really fast! We're more excited than ever to GO but we've also got the reality of everything that has to be done HERE. We've got lots of arrangements to make before we go and God has faithfully helped us with the right steps.

As we plan for the move, we're realizing we've got a lot of things we could use your help with. The most important of all is your prayer. Here are some ways you can pray for us:

• The ability to hear and follow God's voice into the unknown.
• Obedient hearts and minds. We have come this far by simply saying "Yes" to God and we don't want to stop now!
• Peace and rest in this busy, hectic season of our lives.
• Courage to say goodbye to family and friends here and hello to the new people God puts in our lives there.

In addition to prayer, there are a couple things we could use help finding:

• A home for our cat, Jack, for the year that we are gone. Jack is a large orange cat (see picture to the right) who is neutered. He's a very loving, cuddly cat who likes to spend time both outside and inside. He's great with our kids and our dog. We're not sure how he would do with other cats in the same house because he's very territorial with the other cats in the neighborhood while he's outside. If you would like to cat-sit or adopt Jack please let us know! Call Katie at (574) 400-9936 or email her at krweiss78@gmail.com.
• We are looking for a laptop computer that we can use to watch homeschool curriculum DVDs as well as continue using our Rosetta Stone software. It doesn't have to be brand new, super fast or have the highest quality screen. It would be nice if it is Wi-Fi ready, but not required. Also, a built-in web cam is preferable but not required. If you have one, or know someone who has one that would like to donate it to us, or sell it to us at a good price, let us know! Call Dan at (574) 256-8783 or email him at danweiss76@gmail.com.

Like we said, we are very excited to get started with our year of service in the Dominican Republic. And even though there are some loose ends to tie up, we are not overwhelmed or discouraged. God has provided everything we need - and more - throughout this whole process so we have no reason to doubt He will do it now.

If you feel like God is asking you to pray for us or provide for any of the needs listed above, please be obedient. We'd love for you to be part of our support team and take you on this journey with us!

Thank you all. We love you!

Our Mango is FULL!

As of today, July 17, we have officially passed the point of being 100% funded for our year in the Dominican Republic!

The way we figure our support balance can be a little confusing, so stick with me here:

• Our account balance currently stands at $36,079.60.
• We currently have monthly pledges of $17,880.
• That gives us a grand total of $53,959.60.
• However, some of the money currently in our account came from those who have started their monthly giving, so we must subtract $2,565.00 from the grand total.
• That leaves us with an adjusted total of $51,394.60.
• However, we're not quite done yet!
• There was one expense of $241.25 for passports. (the expense for flights has not cleared yet)
• If you add that expense back into the adjusted total, you end up with $51,635.85.

There is one more adjustment that must be made to understand how we have passed 100%. About a month ago, Dan worked with the Nappanee Missionary Church financial staff to pick out a health insurance policy. We found one that came in under our proposed budget of $350 per month and so we have adjusted our budget accordingly. We have also rearranged some items because it makes more sense to consider some things a one-time cost (i.e. health insurance) than a monthly cost. Our new grand total of needed funds is $51,100.00, which is less than the adjusted total above. Therefore, we're happy to announce that our support is currently at 101%!

I know that was a lot of math and I might have lost a few of you along the way. I got lost myself once or twice while typing it! But even if you don't follow, or care about, the numbers, we can all agree that this is a good reason to celebrate and thank the Lord for His provision!

We have been absolutely blown away by the generosity we've seen from many people. Whether it was financial gifts, words of encouragement, time spent mentoring us, time spent teaching us Spanish, help with our Rummage Sale or the many prayers we know have been said on our behalf, we thank God - and you - for all of it!

We are about five weeks away from our departure date and we have a lot of details to take care of in that time. But throughout this whole process God has been teaching us that we can rest in Him. We can trust His plans and His provision in all things. After all, WHEN GOD CALLS GOD PROVIDES!

The NEXT Big Step

So, when are you leaving?

That's the most common question we get these days. We never get tired of hearing it, but it has become somewhat tiring trying to find creative ways to answer it! We've only been officially preparing to become missionaries for 132 days, but it feels like we've been hearing this question for a long time.

Most times we'll say it just depends on when our support money comes in. Or more recently, we've been getting a bit more specific, saying possibly August.

Well, we are very happy to share with you that we now have an exact answer!

AUGUST 22

Friday, Aug. 22, is the day we fly to the Dominican Republic to begin our year of service there!

As you can imagine, the pace of our preparations has quickened a bit since purchasing flights. We have a lot to do and a lot of arrangements to make, but we are not overwhelmed by it because we know God has directed our path this far and He won't leave us now!

The flights on August 22 are a big step for us, but they are only the NEXT step. Just getting to the Dominican Republic is not what God called us to do. He didn't ask us to simply live in another country for a year.

Our call has been very clear since the beginning of this process. We are CALLED TO SERVE! We are excited to have a timeline for when our service starts, but it only reminds us of the continued need to be obedient to what our Heavenly Father calls us to do.

We continue to have support needs.

• We are not yet fully funded so if you feel God calling you to help send us to the Dominican Republic, click HERE and put "Weiss Family" in the space next to missionary support.
• More than ever, we need people who are committed to pray for us regularly. Pray that we'll be obedient, healthy, prepared and flexible.
• As we make arrangements to move, needs will certainly arise. Some already have. If you're interested in helping us prepare to leave, please email Dan or Katie.

As always, we are blown away by the support we've received from so many of you. Thank you! We love you all and cannot wait to share this journey with you.

Support Update - June

Our Heavenly Father is amazing! He is so good to us and He is always faithful!

We just received our latest update and we have some incredible news to share with all of you.

Our new grand total of support currently in our account and that which is pledged to be given throughout the year is $47,166.85!

Several reasons this amount is significant:

1. This total puts us at 90% of our goal and only $5,135 away from 100%.
2. All of our start-up costs (click here for our budget) are currently in our account.
3. We have more than $6,000 currently in our account that can be applied to our monthly expenses.

Being so close to the goal has made us see a need to shift our thinking and prayers toward preparation. Here are some ways you can pray with us:

• We feel it is appropriate to start asking God to tell us when He wants us to leave. This may or may not be a specific day, but at least a window of time when His timing will be right for us to make the move to the Dominican Republic.
• As we think about leaving home for a year, the thought of all the logistics and details can quickly become overwhelming. Please pray that God will give us wisdom and foresight so the details don't become too much for us to handle.
• We need God to prepare our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits. Everything we know is about to change drastically and without His Spirit leading us we will be lost!

Once again, we want to thank all of you who have been so generous with your time, prayers, encouragement and finances. You are being used by God and you are just as much His Hands & Feet as we are. We love you all and will be praying for each of you regularly!

Rummage Sale Update

Saturday, May 24, was a beautiful day to have a rummage sale and we were blessed by many helpers and donors who gave time and possessions to make our sale a huge success!

From about 6:45 a.m. until after 6 p.m. there were ALWAYS customers on the parking lot looking at what we had to sell. At the end of the day, we all dragged ourselves back to our house, shared some pizza and thanked God for His goodness to us. The exact amount deposited into our support fund is still not calculated, but it was somewhere around $2,800!

So, for anyone who gave items to sell, made financial donations, spent time helping us organize or helped run the rummage sale, we say a huge THANK YOU!

SUPPORT UPDATE - May

If you're wondering why there is a partial mango above, it's
because mangoes are plentiful and incredibly delicious
in the Dominican Republic. They are one of our favorite
fruits from that country. It also makes for a fun visual way
to keep track of our financial support raising process.

Once again, we find ourselves completely blown away by the encouragement and generosity we've been given! Today as we look over our ever-growing list of people who have committed to pray for us and want to receive updates about our journey to the Dominican Republic, we are amazed that the list contains 50 people/families!

If you've heard us speak about our calling or read this post about support, you know how valuable your prayer and encouragement are to us.

In addition to our list of prayer supporters, today we received our financial support for the month of April and we cannot even put into words how excited and grateful we are! Based on the report and the amount of money pledged to us over our 12 months in the Dominican Republic, we are currently standing at 41.4% which equals $21,635 of our $52,300 budget.

God is so good and He always provides for our needs and equips us for our calling. Thank you all so much for being part of our team and being obedient to the way God is leading you!

Happiness or Joy?

Over the past few weeks I've been given a much more somber view on our calling to the mission field. It's easy to look at it romantically and think of it as a great adventure. However, the reality is that the adventure may not always be comfortable.

I told some friends recently that I've been thinking about death and suffering lately. That's a sure way to kill a conversation! I haven't been dwelling on negative things, just gaining a proper perspective.

One of the biggest concerns I have right now is that many people think God really just wants to make all of His children happy. If you can find anywhere in the Bible where it says that, please show me!

I know God wants to make our joy complete (John 15:11) and that God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28) but those are completely different ideas than being happy. Happiness is a momentary, short-sighted emotion. Joy is a deep, lasting state of being that includes peace, contentment, purpose, love and worship.

If God's goal for us is happiness, then He would never demand anything difficult or uncomfortable of us. He would make us as comfortable as possible. But if God wanted us to be so comfortable, why in the world did He need to send us a Comforter?

If He just wants us to always be happy, why would He ask us to lay down our lives and carry a cross?

The more I learn about Jesus and being one of His disciples, the more convinced I am that happiness isn't part of the equation ... but joy is! When Jesus sent out His disciples He warned them that they WOULD be persecuted, flogged and hated. Jesus changed Paul from a zealous religious leader into the greatest missionary the world has ever known. Along the way, Paul was mistreated, shipwrecked, hungry, stoned and imprisoned many times.

So, why do we think living for Jesus is supposed to be easy, comfortable and happy? Where in the Bible can anyone find anything to support those thoughts?

Joy takes a long view of things. Happiness is immediate.

Have you ever made your kids do something they didn't like because you knew it was best for them? Have you ever had to take something away from your kids because you knew it wasn't good for them?

Some lessons can only be learned through pain and discomfort.

When Jesus asked us to go we had to make a choice between happiness and joy. We could have said no and settled for a temporary, surfacey happiness that would not last. Instead, we said yes to the deep, lasting joy that comes from letting go of the things of this world, the plans we've made, the comforts of home. Sure, there will be pain along the way. It is going to be very uncomfortable at times and we may shed some tears. We may even face some dangerous situations that put our lives at risk. Safety is never guaranteed in the Bible either! But in order to get to complete joy we must obey all He has commanded us and remain in the love of our Heavenly Father. (John 15:9-10)

Being a Christian is easy and comfortable because it's all about what you believe and not what you do. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is hard because you have to do what Jesus did!

Please understand that following Jesus is the absolute most important thing in our lives. That's the legacy we want to leave to our kids. And that's the reason WE HAVE TO GO!