According to the Joshua Project’s website, an estimated 2.27 billion individuals reside in approximately 5,905 different unreached people groups within the 10/40 window. Those numbers do not include people groups outside of the 10/40 window!
As we continued to pray about the burden God had placed on our hearts, we felt less drawn to the 10/40 window, yet still drawn to unreached people. As we prayed through assignments with Africa Inland Mission, we kept coming back to the people who were marginally or completely unreached. The Lord kept drawing our hearts back to His Word, particularly Romans 10:13-15 which says,
“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
How can anyone call on the name of the Lord if they’ve never heard? And how can people go tell others unless they are sent? This, friends, is where you can join us in what God is already doing in Africa! We have chosen an assignment in Southern Kenya, working with 2 marginally reached people groups – the Digo and Duruma people.
Our goal is to take the good news of Jesus Christ to lost people, hear them proclaim the name of Christ, disciple them and then train up leaders for their own, local church.
However, we cannot take the gospel to Southern Kenya wihout SENDERS. Senders who are willing to
become a part of a team of believers taking the Light into unreached places.
Will you be a SENDER? Will you partner with us financially to take hope to the Duruma and Digo people?
Our monthly support need is $7,338.00 and our outgoing funds needed is $38,071.00. We realize these are daunting numbers! Yet, we are so excited to see how God will stir the hearts of His people to make these numbers a reality! Our target departure date is JULY 2012. But, before we can step onto the airplane our monthly support must be fully pledged and our outgoing expenses must be fully funded. Any contributions made before July 2012 will roll into our outgoing fund.
If you are interested in meeting with us, or if your church or small group would like to hear more about our ministry vision, please contact us by emailing us at: beaverbunch (at) gmail (dot) com. Please put "Ministry Support" in the subject line.
Thank you for considering joining with us in what God is already doing in Africa.
With hearts for the lost,
Luke & Jessica Beaver
I am just so excited for your family! I thought about you all at church the other day-a retired missionary from Chile (spent 35 years there!) came to speak, and WOW did she she speak to our hearts! Most memorable thing she said (which will certainly stay with me the rest of my life) was, "There are two kinds of people in the world; those who are missionaries, and those who need a missionary." So powerful! Thank you for allowing us to follow along in your journey!
ReplyDeleteI have never commented on your blog but want to say I am blessed by it! I have always wanted to live in Africa and maybe we will someday. We are in the process of adopting from Uganda so at least we'll get to experience a visit! I do have a question and I hope you don't take it negativly at all because that is not my intention. The monthly support you need to raise is quite a bit more than our family of 7 lives on monthly. We are not wealthy at all but don't consider ourselves poor either. I take it that your organization sets that amount and requires it but can you explain some of the expenses that add up to such a large amount. I am NOT critizing it at all but asking mostly because I dream of our family doing the same thing but always thought it might be cheaper to live in a third world country than here in the USA. God bless!
ReplyDeleteHi Angela! So exciting about your adoption! I'd love to hear where you are in the process and how I can pray, specifically, for your family.
ReplyDeleteYou aren't kidding that our support needs are a lot! I about threw up when I saw the numbers. And trust me, it is BY FAR more than we live on here in the states, too.
Here's the basic breakdown. (And, by the way, I am SO GLAD you asked! Seriously. I love, cherish and pray for genuine questions about this process!)
13.5% goes to administrative fees. Around 11% goes to the US office and another 2.5% goes to the International office. I know that seems like a lot but they do SO MUCH for us. They file our taxes, take care of travel arrangements, visas, work permits, locating us housing and SO MUCH MORE. I cannot imagine us doing this w/out an organization.
33.7% goes to "missionary benefits" which is our on the field housing, medical insurance and retirement. Also, a small portion goes to a retirement facility in Florida for AIM's retired missionaries. This percentage also pays for social security.
52.8% is for "ministry costs" which includes direct ministry costs, missionary salary, and Home Assignment. Direct ministry costs may include travel, literature, equipment, supplies, freight and customs. The missionary’s salary is based on living costs in their country of ministry. Salary is used for expenses such as food, clothing, children’s education, social security taxes, vacation, and other personal expenses. The Home Assignment funds pay for travel to and from the field and for expenses while in the US.
Obviously we could get more detailed than that, but you get the idea. Basically, our support not only covers our own living expenses, but it funds any and all ministry expenses as well.
I hope that answers your question and gives you some encouragement! It is quite a chunk of change, but I know that AIM doesn't take those numbers lightly and, in fact, I was blown away with how many of the people in the US office still had some of their salaries coming in from their own supporters!
So cool to be with an organization who does for themselves what they ask of their missionaries!
Blessings to you!
Ugh! Angela! The above comment from "Amanda" is from me! Apparently our babysitter signed into her google account and I didn't realize! It was really me! Ha!
ReplyDeleteAwww.. thanks so much for your response! I was so worried...it felt rude but its something I've really been curious about from reading other missionaries blogs. Also, I think raising support is what might scare me the most about doing overseas missions. The breakdown was detailed enough for me and makes complete sense...I hadn't thought about the administration ect. receiving a percent. Thanks again for taking time to answer! We are only in the beginning stages of our adoption...waiting on some paperwork to come back so we can complete our homestudy. Our previous international adoption took 2+ years so we are praying it goes faster this time. We are not matched with a child yet and are praying, praying for God to work out those details in His prefect timing and for us to trust and wait. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteAngela - when/if you guys get to the point of heading onto a foreign mission field (or if you have to raise support for a domestic mission field) may I recommend these two books?
ReplyDeleteFriend Raising by Betty Barnette
and
Funding Your Ministry by Scott Morton
Both of those books have changed the way we view support raising. And even though the process has proven TEDIOUS it is also a time that I am learning to enjoy as we connect with potential supporters.
But don't be mistaken, it's HARD and HUMBLING.