Time with Tate #2: What Ministry Opportunities Are Available?

Today Tate and Jimmy talk about what ministry opportunities are available to us in Taiwan and whether or not we will going through a missions organization to get to Taiwan. Enjoy! Grace and Peace, Christiana

Time with Tate #1: What Are You Most Looking Forward To?

When Jimmy was in Texas (back in May), he spent some time recording some basic interview questions with our friend Tate. I thought that you might like to see them as they provide some more answers to some of the basic things about our trip. Keep in mind these were recorded when we very first realized God was calling us to Taiwan so they won't go into detail about things that have developed later and some things may have changed since the initial recordings. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Grace and Peace, Christiana

We Did It!!!

Jesus replied, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.” Luke 18:27

It seems impossible but WE ARE FULLY FUNDED! YES!!! We just have to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has become part of our team through financial support and/or prayer. You have made the difference. Thank you for helping us to be ready for Taiwan. We really couldn't have done this without you.

I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to focus the next two weeks on getting rid of the rest of our stuff, cleaning the house, studying language and culture, and packing to leave instead of stressing about whether we will have enough money to live on until are fully established in Taiwan.

Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's leading in finding jobs and a place to live. Things are coming together nicely so far but we still have so many details to hammer out. This is really hard for my "ducks in a row" personality. Jimmy is struggling with the unknown of foreign travel as this is his first time outside the United States. We appreciate your prayers and thoughts more than you know!

Grace and Peace,

Christiana

Covered in Prayer

We have been truly blessed by all the support we have received since we decided to follow God to Taiwan. It has been truly amazing the number of people who have given money, bought stuff, or said prayers for us. It was truly awesome to receive a tangible demonstration of all the support we have had. This week Jimmy went to help another church with their youth ministry and came home with a very special gift. This gift was a special prayer quilt made for us by Ebenezer United Methodist Church of St. Joseph Missouri. It was quilted and knotted it by the members of the church. Each and every knot tied on the quilt represents a prayer said over Jimmy and me and our trip to Taiwan. It was amazing to be able to see and touch all the prayers said over us. So we send a HUGE thank you to Ebenezer. You are all truly amazing and we thank you for your prayers and support!

Grace and peace,

Christiana

Here's another picture of the Prayer Quilt made for us by Ebenezer United Methodist.

Taiwan Update

Here we are at just under a month until we leave the United States. Can you believe it?! I know that I am still not sure that I do. So many things are happening right now that it is really, really hard to keep track of everything. I thought I would help you and me both out by giving an update on all the things we have going.

#1 Passports and Paperwork...DONE
Jimmy and I have both received all our passports and paperwork. *whew* We are ready to board the plane on July 29th and head into our new future.

#2 Job Interview with Giraffe...
A little over a week ago we had a job interview with Giraffe English School. They are a great franchise and we had a good time interviewing with Emily (their corporate recruiter). Our interview went very well. However, before Emily could recommend us for the open positions one of the schools filled their placement on their own. The other school was uncomfortable offering a position to one of us without the other having a position in the company as originally promised so both opportunities fell through. Emily will keep our names and data on file, but at this time we do not have a position with Giraffe.

#3 Selling Stuff...Woohoo!
Sales are going well! We have sold almost all of the big ticket items. Plus the garage sale we had last weekend went amazing! The Dixon girls came and helped out and served up some tasty lemonade (Thank you!) and we sold knick knacks and other household items until we were exhausted and couldn't see straight! All in all we were able to add a profit of $500+ to our Taiwan fund from the garage sale alone. Thank you to everyone who came out and supported.

#4 Other Opportunities...
We have also had a few other opportunities to share about Taiwan.

• On Sunday, Jimmy spoke at Ebenezer United Methodist Church here in St. Joseph. They were a great group of people and were gracious to pray over us and give toward God's calling in our lives.
• We also have a friend who is doing an online 31 Party to help us out. We are receiving 25% of all the proceeds from this online party and we encourage you to purchase products to support both us and our friend who was kind enough to do this for us. Click here to order by visiting the 31 Products website.
• Some of you may have heard that we would be speaking at Villebrook Baptist Church (one of our former churches) in St. Louis on July 14th. We want to let you know that although we were super excited about seeing everyone there again; the opportunity has fallen through and we will no longer be making a trip to St. Louis. Sorry to disappoint those of you who were planning to meet up with us then.

I hope this update has helped you to catch up. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare to serve God full time in Taiwan. Also, if you have given yet and you feel like it is something God is leading  you to do then please give by our fundraising deadline (July 17th).

Grace and Peace,

Jimmy and Christiana