"Seriously? $25,000... only 10-15% raised... only five weeks or so left and two of them I'll be in Spain... and I have no clue who to contact.... am I really going to make my budget by August 7th or at least enough of it to begin my internship?"

Last week at Reach the U (intern training), I found myself asking this question often. As the week progressed, I became more and more anxious... my greatest fear ruminating in mind: not having the funds I need on August 7th. I am confident that this internship is where I need to be this year, that my heart is truly at AU for now, that this is the beginning of a crazy life ahead, and that I will be an absolute wreck if things do not fall into place... and that my fears are irrational because God will provide.

Two months ago, our apartment's desk receptionist told me that she felt like the Lord is going to use my support raising process to plant the seed of faith that turns my family back to Him. I am beginning to believe that she is right...

Like  many other family functions, our Father's day picnic turned into a conversation about everyone's financial difficulties and more specifically about my lack of stability and wisdom in my career choice. "You will never come up with that money. The economy is too bad. No one will give because no one has money to give away." True, most people don't have money to give away, but God does. Besides a fraction of everyone's income should be given back to God through tithes and offerings. Some of my supporters are giving a fraction of their tithe to missionaries,an example of why supporting ministries is  not dependent on the economy. The conversation shifts to tithing and whether or not tithing is a cult practice or a religious legality. The concept of giving as a form of worship is unthinkable, and no one believes that God provides. "We do not offer money to the Church until our bills are paid and there is food on the table. God will not pay my bills. He doesn't care about that, and that isn't how He works." While the prosperity Gospel is the furthest thing from my mind, I do believe that God provides and that He should be the first priority in time, money, and resources.

And so, I declared my God does work that way and He most certainly does care. In fact, if you need an example of this, just wait until August 7th. I will call you then, and tell you that I have enough of my budget to begin my internship. Because I am putting God first in my life, He will provide the resources I need to serve Him. 

Like Elijah at Mount Carmel, I issued a challenge with the expectation that  God will make Himself known. I built the altar and am offering myself and all that I am as the sacrifice, I am saturating the wood with water by going to Spain, and I am fully expecting God to light a fire in the last few weeks. This support raising process will be successful not only because God wants me on campus, but also because God wants my family to see what He can and will do if they trust Him and make Him a priority in their lives. 

The verse of the summer is 1 Kings 18: 37:

Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.