The first international mission trip I ever participated in was to Moscow, Russia, in March of 2001. My parents had run into an old friend of ours named Greg Smith who was taking some people to work with the Good News Baptist Church in Moscow and they told me I should talk to Greg about going. I had a valid passport from my study aboard in college so I was able to go and ironically Russia was the the first stop on our study program where we spent a week studying Russia and the west at the University of St. Petersburg. 

By the time I decided to go it was three weeks before the trip and I needed $1,800. I knew if God wanted me to go, He would provide a way. And He did. I had enough funds to cover my trip thanks to some friends and family. And thus started my international travel for ministry that has happened every year since (except for 2005, thanks to Hurricane Katrina). For some of these trips I raised full support, on some I paid for part, and even on others I paid for it all myself. The big lesson I learned through this time: I will never again pay the entire amount for a mission trip again. 

To many people this sounds very contrary to the American “pull yourself up by your boots straps and don’t ask for a handout” mentality on which this country was built. Benjamin Franklin famously said, “The Lord helps those who help themselves.” Unfortunately, many people are led to believe this appears in the Bible. It does not. It’s all about the Benjamin. In reality a major theme throughout the whole Bible is much different: The Lord helps those who are helpless. But that is a different topic for a different day. 

As the deadline for filing 2015 taxes closed, I looked over the amount of donations that we received this past year and I’m happy to say this has been the best year for the English Connection not just in terms of what we have received but also in what we were able to accomplish. To everyone of you who supported us financially this past year, you were a big part of what we were able to do in many places around the world. From scholarships to children in Guatemala to sponsoring children from the war zone in Ukraine, you played a part in serving the world. This reminds me of one of the main reasons why I personally raise support: It makes others a part of the ministry. 

When we are able to make others a part of what God has called us to do it has many benefits. In particular, it means we can share God’s blessings more broadly. We are all one body in Christ and we each have separate ways in which He has called us to reach the world. It is a collective task, not an individual one, and we share together in the successes. When we serve together and others take ownership of the work being done it helps keep people involved. I know I sometimes fail to update as frequently as I should and I’m trying to get better at it. I am very thankful for the people who take the first step at times in wanting to know updates. This leads me to another reason: It keeps me humble. 

This year I have been very focused on always using the word “us” and “our” instead of “me” and “my” when talking about the English Connection. This is a team effort. When I am riding an overnight bus from Prague to Uzhhorod, Ukraine, I know I’m not on that bus alone; my supporters are there with me praying for me and providing me with the financial means to be on that bus; it makes the long uncomfortable journey more pleasant. And because of that support, I have the resources to respond to a need when I see one. It’s how we started the scholarship program in Guatemala three years ago and how we were able to spend 38 children from the war zone in Ukraine to a safe summer camp away from the violence of war. 

Seeing how God uses me and how he uses my support team to provide for His work strengthens my faith, and I hope it can strengthen yours as well.

God doesn’t call those who are qualified. He qualifies those He calls. And He equips them, too. In August 2005, I was in seminary, working at a necktie manufacturing company in New Orleans, Louisiana. This was shortly before Hurricane Katrina, and at the time I would have never believed that ten years later I would be living in Prague, Czech Republic, helping refugee children in Ukraine, and being a game changer for a number of families in rural Guatemala. But that was God’s plan. And despite my initial resistance to fully committing, He never gave up on me. He never gives up on anyone. 

Thank you for your support through prayer and giving financially. God doesn’t need us to do His work but He chooses to use us. And I’m thankful that He does. I’m thankful that He chose me to be here in Prague at the moment. I’m thankful that He led us to know each other and to be united together in doing His work. 

Please take some time to ask God how He wants to use you in the future. Pray about joining us on a trip overseas. Pray about becoming a financial supporter in the future. And pray for us—that God would provide us the way He provided for Job. As we see in Job 1:10, God granted Job a hedge of protection and blessed the work of His hands. Please pray that for us. And as Paul said to the church at Philippi, “I thank my God in all my remembrances of you.”