Powerpoint, Panic & Prayer

So the blog is back. Why? Because I am back on the road in the UK visiting my supporters and speaking at churches about my work with TWR. A year of full-time work with TWR has gone by and I am passionate enough about this ministry to stay on for another year. So it’s a good time to see people back here and share about what’s been going on - both in TWR and in my life over the past year. I’m also hoping to gain a few new supporters who will join the team that fund my salary at TWR. This is what makes it possible for me to do my job.

So there will be plenty of catching up over coffee – I get to thank the people who’ve been a huge blessing on my life over the year and as one way of saying thanks, I’ll share some of my favourite (true) stories about how TWR’s programmes and projects are impacting lives in different parts of the world. That’s the fun part.

The more challenging part is preparing my presentations for church services and small groups. Once I’m in front of a group I’m (dare I say it) quite confident sharing about TWR and how I came to be a missionary in Vienna. The preparation is the painful part because it usually involves a crisis of confidence. This often comes a day after I thought everything was set and about 24-48 hours before my talk.  It starts with logical questions about how to communicate information clearly without overloading people, how to get and keep people engaged etc. But I soon become aware that there are other things going on; questions like “Why am I doing this? Why aren’t I doing a ‘normal’ job.” And this of course leads back to the money aspect. It’s easy to ask people if they will pray for you or the for the organisation. Talking about money is the bit that freaks us out.

Of course, praying about the preparation and talks is what sets things back on course. And I’ve been surprised many times what comes out of these presentations. Praying with others is a great encouragement and it reminds me why I also ask people to pray: not because it’s a nice, missionary-like thing to say but actually because it makes a difference. So, thanks for praying!

And, I’ll keep you posted after the first few presentations.