Beans and Rice Monday

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from one of the families that support me in my ministry here in Nicaragua.  They were e-mailing to check in with me, to ask how they could be praying for me, and to share a little bit about how their family is approaching the support of missions.  I wanted to share an excerpt of that e-mail with all of you.

Our family has adopted the concept of “Beans and Rice Monday.”  This just means that every Monday for dinner, we eat only Rice and Beans of some sort with a fruit on the side.  We do this to remember other countries in the world that don’t have as much as we do. We pick a country from a book (Pray for the World) and talk about them and pray for them.  Most of the time I cook black beans and rice, but last week we had red beans and rice.  I googled “what country eats the most red beans and rice” and Nicaragua is what came up!   Whether that is right or not, we talked about the country and prayed for you and the people there specifically that night. 

When I read this, it brought tears to my eyes.  I thought “this is a family that gets it.”  This is a family that understands what it truly means to be a supporter of missionaries.  This is a family that understands that God has called us all to play a role in furthering the Kingdom and that being a part of the support team is just as crucial to achieving that purpose as serving directly on the field.

I appreciate the financial contributions that so many of you that read this blog make to support my ministry.  Financial partnership is necessary for me to continue my work here . . . but I want more than that.  I need more than that.  I need your prayers and your commitment to furthering the Kingdom through my work here.

My greatest encouragement comes from stories like this that I receive from the amazing families that the Lord has provided to partner with me in this journey.  Each e-mail, card, and care package reminds me that I am not doing this alone.  People always talk about what missionaries sacrifice to be on the field but they seldom realize the amazing family of supporters that we gain or the impact that those relationships have on our lives.  These relationships are a key element to the success of the mission.

Thank you to all of my support team and I pray daily that all of you know the impact that you have on me personally and on this ministry.  It brings me great joy to partner with you to be a part of what the Lord is doing here in Nicaragua.

(Encouragements from some of the younger members of my support family)