No Money, No Visa... No Problem!
Isn't great how God can take a situation that looks miserable in human understanding, and use it for so much good? It's been almost 5 months since we moved back to Hong Kong, and as usual, there have been many opportunities to learn and grow in our faith...
In the past few months since moving back to Hong Kong, we have had to trust God for our finances more than ever before. You know, everyone is dependent upon God for provision, but some of us feel that dependency much more than others. (Many don't even realize it! If it weren't for God sustaining the human race, we would all perish!) We as a family especially feel our need for God to provide our everyday needs like groceries and rent money since we have decided to live without a "salary", and we trust God to move the Body of Christ to give when needed.
"Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. " (Philippians 4:11-13) (God is teaching us to have this attitude!)
So as I prayed "Give us this day our daily bread..." I realized that for the first time in my life, I was really asking God to give me my daily bread! When you know that you have enough, you can pray that prayer without actually depending on God for anything. It's a good lesson for me to remember, that everything we receive truly comes straight from God's hand. Do you know what else? He does give us our daily bread when we ask Him. Doesn't Jesus remind us of this? ...
Mat 7:7-11 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. (8) "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. (9) "Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? (10) "Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? (11) "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
So even though for a while, on paper, it looked like there was going to be no food, we saw God provide everything that we needed. And now, we praise God that He has provided more funds on paper and we have a food budget again! But I pray that I will not forget, no matter how much we have, that it is only through the miraculous gift of God that I have anything. He is such a good Father! (Our current income is about $1,000.00 USD a month, and our budget for living expences is $2,200.00 USD a month. We are currently evaluating our what our "ministry budget" will be as we are seeing how much travel and resource development will cost, please pray! )
If you have been getting our prayer requests, you may have noticed that we still don't have visas to stay long term in Hong Kong. This has been the second area of stretching our faith. We are on a 3 month tourist visa, and have already left Hong Kong once and returned to renew it. Our coworkers, Stephen and Karen have been working on getting visas since last summer! We knew that when we arrived, we would need to wait a little while for everything to get set up as far as ministry. Now, months later, our faith is being tested as we are still waiting and just trusting God to work out His opportunities for us. God has faithfully provided areas of ministry to both Craig and I in everyday situations and relationships. God is teaching us to be obedient in whatever work He places in our path. But we know in our hearts that there is something more to come. We know that God told us to come to Hong Kong, and so we came! Now we are waiting to see God set up what He has put in our hearts to do. Only He can do it.
We have found that it is through the waiting times that God especially changes our character to be more like Him. When a situation is tugging at you to be worried, doutful, or fearful, it is then that you make the decision to grow or shrink. Through God's grace, He has helped us to embrace our struggles and trust Him all the more. Of course, He has proved Himself faithful!
On that note, be on the lookout for some exciting news to come! God has shown us some opportunities that are beyond what we could have imagined for reaching the lost in Asia! Just at the right time, God has brought us into contact with some amazing ways that He is working to impact Asia, and we have an opportunity to be involved somehow. We don't want to give all the details just yet because it is still in the prayer stage. But we know that God has great things ahead! Please keep praying for God's Spirit to lead us into all He has for our family, and we'll keep you posted on further developments.
Eph 6:18-19 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, (19) and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,
THANK YOU to all of you who are so faithfully giving and praying for us! We have received so many encouraging emails, and it really makes a difference to us to know that God has you standing together with us. We cannot (and don't want to!) do this alone! You are making a difference, and not only to our family, but for God's Kingdom in Asia! Thank you for your faithfulness.
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