God Provides, Always

Raising support has been an amazing opportunity for us to see God provide in ways we couldn't even imagine. To give you an update, we have raised $4,315 so far!! Can you believe it, 43% of our goal already?! [I will be keeping our total fundraised on a tab on the right side of this blog]. It has been so cool to see God lay on people's hearts to give to us, people that weren't even on our support letter list. We have had anonymous donors, which was just a huge reminder that God is the one who is going to provide the money for us to go to Cambodia. For those of you who may be curious, I've added the budget HPC has given us below (Just a note: we have to multiply everything by 2 because we have 2 people going.). $10,000 seems like a TON of money, but it is all being put to use (There is about 160 left over with the total, but we are putting that to passports). And we don't doubt what the God of the universe can do to provide this. 

Trusting in God to provide for has reminded me a lot of one of my favorite stories in the Old Testament (Daniel 3) about three friends: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (or for you Veggie Tales fans out there: Rach, Shack and Benny) who trusted in God's provision in a much more weighty situation than we are in right now. So the story goes that this king, King Nebuchadnezzer created an 88 foot idol of gold for his people to worship and if they didn't, he would throw them into a blazing furnace. But these three friends were Jews, and they knew God's law strictly said they could not worship idols. So the king gets really pissed off at them and reminds them that if they don't worship the gold idol, they will be thrown into the furnace. This is their response to the king (btw, this is awesome): "King Nebuchadnezzer, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If the God we serve is able to deliver us, then he will deliver us from the blazing furnace and from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." You can guess what the king does after hearing their response? Yes, he throws them into the fiery furnace because he was furious. Not only that, but he orders that the furnace be "heated seven times hotter than usual". He did not want these three men to survive. 

This is how Josh and I have felt many times throughout our fundraising process. Many have asked, "Well, what are you going to do if you don't get enough money?" Which I might add, is a very valid question. But my answer is that I am going to trust in God to provide, because I know He can! If God wanted to he could make it all appear tomorrow. BUT even if he doesn't, we are still going to trust him because like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, he has provided everything for us and has perfect and good purposes in everything he wills. He has given us eternal life with Him through Jesus' death and resurrection of the cross. God has made us a new creation, He has given us a new joy and a new hope that we never had before. So if we don't get the $10,000 we perceive we need, that is okay. If we don't get to go to Cambodia for the 3 months we were planning on going for, that is okay because God has our best intentions at hand.

The end of the story says that after the king threw the three friends into the furnace, him and his servants saw four people standing in the furnace. So he orders them to come out, and Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego come out of the fire. But "the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair on their head singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them." This is an awesome story of how God provided for them, but even if he didn't save them from the fire, he still would have been a good God. 

If these three men could put their faith in God's provision to the point of death, surely we can put our faith in God to provide us money. And even if he doesn't, he is still a good God. A God who always provides. 

If you desire to help send us to Cambodia, send to joshday630@gmail.com via the PayPal link below.

Airfare (approx.)	$1800/trip
Visa	$30/trip	includes passport pic taken prior to departure and visa upon arrival
Housing	$150/month
Food	$15/day	extra should be considered for special occasions and treating nationals
Transportation	$300/month private tuk-tuk $150/month shared tuk-tuk $30/trip helmet	anyone riding a motorcycle is required to purchase a helmet. Tuk-tuk prices depend on the number of interns at the time of the trip
Tourist attractions in PP (Toul Sleng, Killing Fields, Royal Palace)	$50 for all	Visiting Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields is required  to have a better understanding of the culture and its struggles
Phone	$45/local cell phone $10/month for local minutes	you are required to have a phone that is compatible with local carriers
Ministry Expense	$300/trip	this is a required fee that is paid directly to HPC
Total	$3,165-$3,015/1 month trip
Extras:
Traveler medical insurance	$30-$60/month	strongly recommended
Weekend getaways	$100 Siem Reap $60 Beach $10 admission to PP pool	travel can be set up once in country. Figures based on economy travel
Tourist attractions in PP (Toul Sleng, Killing Fields, Royal Palace)	$50 for all	Visiting Toul Sleng and the Killing Fields is highly recommended to better understand the culture
Ministry giving	$100-$200/trip	During the course of a trip opportunities will arise to help out the ministry or individuals