Getting Personal (Trust Issues)

I just wrote an email to my small group in Vienna about some really cool things that have happened in the past week. They are the kind of Support Raising stories I know happen, because I've heard them from others. Now I get to say I've experienced them myself. Feeling pretty blessed right now.

I'm back in the buzz of London and there are a number of highlights to my week so far. Today's example is meeting a great friend for lunch at a hip new cafe and calling it 'work'. Yesterday's pick was meeting a friend who is also heading into work with a missions organisation. It's cool to be able to pass on the encouragement I'm getting right now and to be inspired by her desire to use her skills in Africa, and her willingness to give up the nice flat and comfortable job in London to do so. As we're chatting she hands me a book about the obstacles to involvement in mission work and how to overcome them (Scaling the Wall by Kathy Hicks). 

I flick straight to the chapter on relationships. Some of the obstacles cited by would-be missionaries reflect the illogical yet profoundly held belief that signing up to mission work as a single person means you're doomed to an existence of eternal singledom. I realise what I've done; I think 'Rachel, you're so freakin' predictable'; and I consider banging my head against the wall. I decide against that course of action as damaging my friend's wall is probably not the best way to support her. It's not until later that I realise, I should actually be encouraged by the fact that other would-be missionaries hold the same kinds of erroneous beliefs about this work as I do. Even better than that, someone has decided to tackle these myths and spur us on.

I guess, what I'm trying to say here is that yes, Support Raising has a lot to do with learning to trust God more. Yet it's not always in the most obvious areas (MONEY). Don't get me wrong, the money scares me too. I just have such awesome initial supporters that I currently choose to worry about other things instead. So I'm taking that as encouragement, kicking myself up the butt  nudging myself and continuing the journey with a bit of a lighter step.