Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!

You know those times when you see God answer prayer in such a specific way that you are just blown away and brought to your knees in joyful adoration? I love to hear testimony in others lives of God working in this way. It just boosts my faith and helps my view of God get bigger and bigger.

Psalm 107:1-2a says, "Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so..."

God is so good to us and is pouring out His lovingkindess on us and I want to tell everyone about it! As July 12th (our target departure date) draws nearer and nearer, I have found that I have been fighting against fear and doubt. Our fund raising in going well, but the amount of money left to be raised for us to go is still quite large. I know that God is going to get us to Albania in His time, but, honestly, I was beginning to wonder if it could be possible to leave in July. I brought my fear and doubt to the Lord and said, like the man in Mark 9:24, "I do believe, help my unbelief."

I had been praying that God would use His body to glorify Himself by bringing in the funds we need to go where He has called. Well, last week I got a call from a seasoned saint at our church. She was calling to tell me that she was beginning her monthly support of our family. She went on to share that she has never been one to support international missions due to all the work to be done in the states and that she isn't one of those types that believes in hearing God's voice and such, but that she woke up the other day and was convinced that God wanted her to support us! I just broke down crying. They were tears of absolute awe that God would answer my prayer almost verbatim. They were also tears of sorrow that I had even doubted God at all. It was a great joy to be able to share with this dear woman how God had used her to answer such a specific prayer of mine and that her obedience had encouraged my heart and challenged me to stay the course. After I got off the phone, I just praised God for His patience and love in giving me a glimpse of His hand even when I was doubting Him. He is good, "let the redeemed of the Lord say so..."

Many of you have been asking what the latest numbers are in the fundraising effort. We are excited to share with you, that we have 69% of our one time fund and 52% of our monthly needs committed. We are very encouraged by this and can't wait to see God display His providence in bringing in the rest. In order for us to leave for Albania in July we have to have 90% of our funds raised before we purchase our tickets. The team from Lakeside that we would be travelling with in July are looking to purchase their tickets at the end of April. That amount of money seems outrageous to raise is such a short time, but we are confident that if God want us to leave in July, He will bring in the money. We say with the psalmist in Psalm 119:68a, "You are good and do good..."!