Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Gauntlet Has Been Thrown!

My dear family and friends, it is with much trembling (and a little bit of fear) that I am reporting to you today.

I have decided to listen to that little voice inside of my head and will be staying home this month* to work hard on some much needed promotional materials for our school. As one pastor put it, "vision casting" is at the top of my to-do-list, as it falls upon me to make it absolutely clear what we are doing.

*with exception, I will be volunteering 4 days of my services to a mission in Guatemala at no charge.

Understand that, as a freelance creative professional, I do not pull in a "regular" paycheck. My pay comes on a job-by-job basis and that means I pretty much have to keep hopping onto airplanes, moving around, and chasing down what work there is. Just like you, it is absolutely imperative that I work on other people's projects if I am to pay the bills (i.e. rent, electricity, water, food, etc.). What's different than a "regular paycheck" is that there are no guarantees and it is often "up to me" to make sure there is enough to go around.

I say all of that to make it perfectly clear what we are up against here.

Last night, I sent out a "mass" email, asking for the financial support to meet this month's expenses, thereby allowing me to stay home and work. So far, there has been a response, but naturally, we are still very far from the mark.

Originally, I stated that we need to raise $4,100 in order to stay afloat this month. Believe it or not, that is a typical month's expenses with 6 mouths to feed, rent, and all that comes with getting by in this economy. According to the IRS, we are actually operating under the expectancy for our area.

In less than 24-hours of the email, the number we need has dropped to $3,744.00. We are SO GRATEFUL for those who have chosen to assist us thus far!

Naturally, there is a good way to go still.

I wanted to share an email with you that one of our new friends (and a financial supporter in this cause) sent back to all of the people on our mailing list. I think that his challenge is good (and easy for most folks to swallow) and I believe his personal willingness to vouch for our burgeoning work in Haiti should help those of you who may be teetering, wondering, "has Luke finally lost it?"

Here is his letter:

Dear Luke,

Thank you very much for coming to help us in Haiti , you inspired many of us and encouraged several ministries down here in Haiti during your short time here . When you are here your love for the Haitian people is inspiring even to the missionaries you have come to work hand in hand with.
Your gifts and talents are bringing unity among missionary workers,haitian pastors, and church people alike. Our prayers from Haiti include the Lord returning you to Haiti soon, special things happen when your here !

We too here in Haiti are in financial need, but want to be a part of God working through you and are preparing a gift of $100.00 towards the $4100.00 you need. Of all people I know what it is like to want to function in ministry , but have to work to make ends meet. I pray that the lord will touch 40 other people to send $100.00 to help you to focus on the work the lord has given you to do.

Yvonne and I will send our check to the address you mentioned in your email today. We believe in you and what you are doing . Like the loaves and the fishes, may Jesus multiply our gift .

Yours and His to reach Haiti;
Joel Trimble
Haiti for Christ Ministries
Thomassin Haiti


There you have it! Joel and Yvonne Trimble, missionaries serving in Haiti for more than 30 years, have thrown down the gauntlet! In response, one family shot back $256, proving that you can do more than $100 if you feel led. But $100 is a great number to consider, and I thank my missionary friends for raising this challenge.

If missionaries can help us, can you? Some may want to pray about it. Some of you know RIGHT NOW that you can cut back a few movie rentals, premium coffees, or rummage sales. I need 37 people. That's not a lot. That's YOU.

Please help if you can.

From there, check back here during the month of August as I will be keeping you all posted on the progress. Already, some REALLY COOL stuff has happened with one video that I have been preparing. A full story is COMING SOON!

If you wish to send us some support, you may do so one of two ways:

For those who would like a tax-deductible receipt please make your check out to ReNET and designate it for “Haiti”. ReNET is acting as our 501(c)3 umbrella while our own application is in process. You may then mail that check to

ReNET
2867 N. 200 E.
Anderson IN 46012.


If you don’t need a receipt then you can just make the check out to Luke Renner and send it to us directly. If you wanna do that, let me know and I will email you our home address.

Either way, I would appreciate an email alerting me to the incoming support so that I can keep track of where we’re at.

Thanks SO MUCH!
Luke and Adrian Renner

1 comment:

T and T Livesay said...

Emailing you on this in a bit.

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