This month, Rachel and I want to take this opportunity to share with you where we are on this support-raising adventure. Eighteen weeks ago, we were weary and depressed. Our support was not coming in. We had spent several months lingering at the 50% mark, and we were ready to throw in the towel.

At Christmas Conference, we sat down with our support coach and he encouraged us to press on. He also gave us a deadline to complete our support.

[Indiana Catalytic team 2006]

This served two purposes.

First, and most importantly, the deadline gave us the opportunity to trust God to complete our support in a given time, to confirm that being on staff was His will.

Secondly, it gave us a light at the end of a dark tunnel, knowing that there was an end to the misery and we wouldn’t have to raise support forever, for if we didn’t meet our deadline, we would most likely leave staff.

At the time, we struggled with the idea of having a deadline, because we wanted so badly to be on staff (we still do!). Once we discussed it further, we were relieved and encouraged. We decided that we would try everything and anything to complete our support. We would hold on to the very end and finish well, regardless of what happened.

Many of you know, the past fifteen weeks have been amazing. We received 25% of our support goal and were revitalized.God has been faithful (He always is!), and we were once again sure that it was His will for us to be on staff.

[This is how I felt coming back to Chicago from Phoenix. Chicago is cold, I am glad we are moving further south to Indianapolis]

Recently, not long after we reached 75%, we hit another dead end. We ran out of people to talk to and June 12th seemed closer than ever. Now, with 2 weeks left to raise $1500 of monthly support, we are confident that the Lord can and will provide for us. We are continuing to try everything to complete our support, and knowing that God can do anything.

If our support is at 100% by June 12th, we will have the opportunity to take a few seminary courses in Orlando. If we come close to 100%, we may have our deadline extended, but if nothing happens during the next two weeks, we may be facing a difficult decision whether or not to continue.

We would like to encourage and challenge you to pray about how you might help us reach our goal by June 12th. We need two things: monthly or annual financial commitments and more people that we can share our ministry with. If you think that you might be able to help in either of these ways, please give us a call or an email.

We appreciate the support and prayers that you have already given and we know that you want to see us get to our assignment. We are so grateful for your partnership in the Gospel and we look forward to talking to you soon.

This year, we spent Easter in beautiful eighty-degree weather, without a cloud in the sky, unlike many of our Chicago friends who experienced a cold rainy day. We were invited by supporters to take a trip to Phoenix to try to meet some new churches and individuals to complete our support.

As many of you know, we have been working on our support for almost two years. This past fall and winter were very difficult, but God has really shone through for us. During the past 12 weeks, we have seen over 20% of our support come in. We are almost three-quarters to our goal!

Our trip to Arizona was awesome on multiple levels. For one, it was great to get out of the house and the gloomy weather for some fresh air and sunshine. We were also able to go out on a date to a nice Italian restaurant and for a ride in a gondola with Italian opera serenades.

The support-raising aspect of our trip was very fruitful. We met with several churches that were really on board with our ministry, reaching college students and using technology for ministry purposes. There is a lot of potential to see some of our needs met through these churches. It was very encouraging to be met with open arms and uplifting words.

Lastly, we were able to spend time with our supporters that live in Arizona. These families had not seen Ryan for over 10 years! It was really great to get to meet them and renew old friendships. The family that we stayed with has three young children and it was so refreshing for us to spend time with them. We had a small taste of parenthood and we are realizing that children are just around the corner.

All in all, we had a great time. We left feeling encouraged and hopeful about our support and came home feeling refreshed and ready to finish out these next six weeks. Please be praying that the Lord will bring in the last $1800 of our monthly support. We are still hoping for the June 12th deadline, but God is never late or early. We appreciate your prayers and financial support during this time.

The Davinci Code is shaking evangelical and cultural circles and has been since the book came out. As the Hollywood movie comes to the theater, it has sparked a new interest and controversy over the book. CCC has tried to take advantage of other oportunities where culture and religion clash. The Davinci Code is no different. CCC has developed a small magazine as a Companion Guide to the Davinci Code.

The magazine answers many of the biblical themes that the book and movie discuss and also has a Q&A with Josh McDowell about the Davinci Code. Josh has written a book “A Quest for Answers – the Davinci Code” which is also referenced in the Companion Guide.

If you would like to see a sample of the Companion Guide magazine, you can download it from our website.