Dear Friends (Homies) [Brothers and Sisters],
Thank you so much for being interested in the missions I am
about to embark on. I am very scared, not so much for bad things that might
happen, but because of the overwhelming capacity that God possesses to use
someone for good. And I mean that for everybody, which I honestly believe
begins with obeying God’s voice, most notably through scripture- but also
through the voice of God we receive in prayer.
I say scared, because God’s plan is, to me, a vast void of
goodness that requires a vast amount of ‘obeying’. At first the obeying is what
scared me. But then I started obeying and God’s goodness opened up like some
sort of present, that I received every time I gave up what I deared most. But
then ‘obeying’ became a way of life and it wasn’t scary anymore; what’s much
scarier (but in the way that Alsan is scary to Jill as she approaches the
stream, if you catch my drift) is seeing that God does more with what we give
him than I could ever imagine. That obedience will lead to many things I can’t
fathom, but since tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I wanted to recap how God ALREADY has
blessed my preparation for my time in Albania. This list is definitely BY NO
MEANS all-encompassing (God has given me more things and blessed me with more
people, in preparation for Albania, than I could ever dare remember.)
My first thanks is to the scripture God gave me before I had
ever thought about going to Albania; I was going through a hard time and decided
to fast (a crisis-type situation). On the third day of my intermittent fasting
(and I was grumpy) my dad suggested out of the blue (he didn’t know I was
fasting) I read Isaiah 58. And this is what it said: [from 58.3-9 but I suggest
the whole thing if you have time]
“Why do we fast, but
you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” Look, you fast
only to quarrel and to fight and to strike with a wicked fist. Such fasting as
you do today will not make your voice heard on high. Is such a fast that I
choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and
to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to
the Lord? Is not this the fast that I
choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let
the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread
with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the
naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin? THEN your
light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up
quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be
your rear guard. THEN you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry
for help, and he will say, Here I am.
Secondly, God has given me the most incredible people in my
life to call friends, mentors, and family. I could never imagine that so many
good people would show up and change my life. Usually, I like to put my head
down and run. God told me in prayer that it wouldn’t be like that, and I am
eternally grateful that each one of you listed in this email, and so many that
I don’t even know their names, played such a role in my life. I hope that I can
do the same kind of thing for other people, too. It never ceases to amaze me
how every day, someone shows up in the way I need them the most; and that’s not
how I want to need them- it’s how I need them, and that’s something that is
only sent by God by brothers and sisters.
On a fiscal note- I have raised about 9,000 dollars!!!
Obviously, that is something to be thankful for because I literally had no part
in that. That is just God’s people, from all different walks of life and all
different relations to me, helping to support me. I don’t really have many
words other than that, but God is the one providing the money. And I never
would have imagined or could have tried to design where it came from, God just
spoke to people and to me, but thank you to anyone who donated, it means the
world to me. My meals (Albanian language class, plane ticket, supplies, rent,
visa fee, side strip, insurance, and WGM services- that’s literally everything)
are from you. So I feel very fortunate, and I will never forget that I provided
none of it- expect that I maintain my obedience to God’s word- especially since
the Church in it’s truest sense is providing my needs. THANK YOU. (I will say
more about this to each one of you). So you know, out of transparency, I have
to raise approximately 3,500 more (because I’m not quite to 9,000 yet), but I
expect that to come in the same way as the majority which is already raised, by
God’s providence. I will definitely send out a newsletter when the full amount
is raised, so you know.
Well, I had a billion other thank you’s in mind, but this is
getting long. I will wait to publicly thank them (most are to God) till the
time is right. There are a thousand each day I don’t recognize.
Love,
Your Brother John
