Want to see a short glimpse of how the Lord multiplied your partnership in ministry with us this year?

Here’s a video that says Thank You from all of Campus Crusade for Christ.
(Click the Play arrow below or click here to play video in a separate window.  If you’re viewing this post in your email, be sure to choose ‘Download Pictures’ or ‘Enable Links/Images’ in your email program.)

As you can see, there’s LOTS to celebrate.

But right now we celebrate and give thanks for YOU!  Words can not describe how grateful Shannon and I are for your friendship, commitment to us through your prayers and financial partnership, and simply your love.

Our ministry is impossible without you.  If you haven’t yet given a special year end gift, would you prayerfully consider it?    All gifts given by midnight on December 31 are fully tax deductible for 2011.

2011 was a great year of ministry.  Yet, in order to properly launch into 2012, we do certainly need significant financial investments and your faith filled, persistent prayers!

You may give safely and securely online – any amount welcome – via one time or monthly credit card or electronic bank account transfer.   If you prefer not to give online, there are also several other ways you can give.

THANK YOU for being on our team!

Several of you have asked about Toby. Where would we be without your prayers, incredible compassion and sharing with us during this season of life?  THANK YOU a thousand times for your kindness!

As you know, Toby was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in early June.  This was a surprise to us.  No one in our family has Type 1.  This disease is triggered genetically – there was nothing we should have or could have done to prevent it.  Basically it means Toby’s pancreas has stopped producing insulin – which allows your blood to change glucose into energy for your body.

It’s been an adjustment.  But the Lord’s grace has been beyond sufficient. This is a disease that’s very manageable by insulin injections – usually 2 or occasionally 3 daily.

378 = estimated number of shots Toby’s received since June 9th.

Yes, Shannon and I’ve learned to give shots.  And quickly. It is much better if you just do it fast and get it over with.  In the last couple of weeks he has grown a little more nervous when it’s injection time – especially when he’s in the middle of playing and has to be interrupted.

Holiday feasting and snacking also bring some slight challenges. Lots of cakes, cookies, chex mix, etc are around these days!  All of these Toby can eat, yet any food with carbohydrates must be folded into his total carb count for the day.  It’s really the carbs that we measure, not sugars.  As long as he doesn’t eat too many carbs all at once, we can work in a cookie or two at the right time. This means planning ahead.  And moderation.  Therefore it can be difficult for a 6yr old not being able to just grab sweets and inhale them on demand – especially when he sees other kids doing this very thing.

Pray that Toby will not grow frustrated, now or in his later years. Particularly his teen years.  Some parents have told us that their teen diabetic kids went through periods of resentment – ignoring their treatment schedule and ignoring dietary common sense.

Another prayer item: provision for increased monthly finances. Due to several factors, we need more monthly support.  Recurring gifts from folks like you who wish to partner in our ministry are our only source of income.  Here are the specifics of what we’re trusting the Lord for in finances.

We’re so grateful.  Truly we are.  We wouldn’t have tasted the level of goodness the Lord has given us without going through this season.  All this has given our ministry – a work of communicating the extreme goodness of God – a new level of importance.

Thanks for asking about Toby.  He’s doing great.  Jesus is so gracious.

See more:
Video:  What is Type 1 Diabetes to a 6 year old?

Current Financial Needs

Help give food and water in His name for earthquake victims – Global Aid Network has 1 million meals on the ground in Haiti: http://htxt.it/eMfQ

Global Aid Network – www.GainUsa.org – is Campus Crusade’s humanitarian arm.

This morning I heard a report from one of our national staff members in Haiti:  He was not in Haiti when the quake happened, yet was in Miami for a training conference.  His wife and children were at home when it hit.  Only yesterday did he finally learn that his family was safe!

Others of our staff have not been located or heard from in Haiti.  In total there are approximately 20 full time missionaries with Campus Crusade in Haiti.  Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

We need to give you an update on our ministry financial support status.  But before we do that, here’s some Biblical perspective a friend shared with us a few months back when the news media was all over the crisis in the economy.  This is so good:

God is sovereign. His goodness and mercy never goes into recession!

As I read the newspaper and all of the economic ‘highlights’ every day, I thought of headlines I don’t think we’ll ever see…

• Fed Adopts Biblical Prinicples; Pays Off National Debt
• President Leads Nation in Fasting and Prayer / Calls on People To Change Their Wrong Habits
• IRS Agent Confesses to Bilking Taxpayers / Promises to Pay Back Every Dollar Fourfold.

That may seem humorous at this moment, but all three of those are direct from the Bible.

In Deuteronomy 28, God promised that if the nation followed him, they would be debt free and lend to other nations.

In Jonah 3, the king of Nineveh heard Jonah’s proclamation of doom and immediately fell to his knees in prayer and repentance, calling on all the people to do the same.

And in Luke 19:8, Zaccheus-a tax collector-met Christ personally and promised to restore 4x over anyone he defrauded.

It can be hard to filter out truth from the news, especially because the news media seems to thrive on the bad news more than the good news.

In light of that, here’s another headline:

• God announces global stimulus package: Follow Me and have all you need.

The great news is that God is still in charge. His portfolio has not changed.

That’s good stuff to remember. Especially as we look at our financial needs for the remainder of 2009. The key however – as promised in God’s Word – is to make Jesus the focus. He is the Provider and He loves to give! He wants us to ask, seek and knock for our monetary needs.

Will you join us?

As we mentioned in a financial update at the beginning of the year, we need an additional $1,100/month to stay healthy in ministry in 2009. What we’re really asking the Lord is to provide at least 14 new financial partners who can give monthly or annually to meet this need.

In addition, we have a special one time need of approximately $1,800 which we just blogged about. Your gifts make a huge difference!

You may give a gift online. If you need further instructions or prefer give by check, see here: https://give.ccci.org/pages/Contribution_By_Mail.html

“David, let me ask you a question,” asked my instructor at a recent training class, “when missionaries encounter a new or difficult challenge in ministry, how do you expect them to know what to do?” I thought about some recent real-life scenarios from those whom I serve: “For example, like when one of our campus field leaders is arrested and wrongly accused of plotting against the government?” I asked. Another recent case came to mind: “Oh, how about when a missionary sees a unique window of opportunity for sharing the gospel – but time is limited and he is away from home with only a cell phone – and he wants to communicate prayer requests with as many people as possible as quickly as possible?”

“Yes, how will these missionaries know what to do?” I thought about it for a while.  While I was still thinking my instructor asked, “What have they been trained to do?”

Then it began to dawn on me that good training leads to good results in pressing situations. Not always, but chances for someone to know what to do are better if they . . . (A) Have been given clear instructions in what is expected and (B) Have been given opportunities to learn best practices on the field.

Our role with Campus Crusade pushes us to stay current on best ministry practices.  We continue to seek and receive training for the sake of training others who will become more effective in building God’s Kingdom.  Whether it’s training in how to answer college students who have tough questions about God, how to start a neighborhood Bible Study or training missionaries in financial stewardship and donations software, we train for God’s glory.

Recently I received an update from on of our fellow missionary who was in Portugal conducting a training session for some staff there serving in operational roles .  It reminded me again of the huge – often understated – value of providing excellent training.

Shannon and I have a great opportunity later this month for some excellent training. We’ll be attending the U.S. Staff Conference for all American based full time staff with Campus Crusade. About 5,000 of our missionaries will be in attendance. Dates are July 21 – 29.

This is a full eight days of seminars, times of worship, equipping sessions and hearing stories from around the world of how the Lord is working through our missionaries and partners.

All staff are responsible to cover their own expenses for attending this event. As this conference only meets once every two years these costs are in addition to our regular ongoing ministry expenses.

The Lord has already provided for most of our travel expenses to and from Colorado. Now we trust Him by faith to provide the estimated $915 Shannon and I each will need for room and board, training materials and the cost of the conference itself.

Please join us in praying that the Lord would supply these additional one time funds. Most of all, pray that this would be a time when we will hear from God and are renewed and refreshed for serving Him.

You may give a gift online. If you need further instructions or prefer give by check, see here: https://give.ccci.org/pages/Contribution_By_Mail.html

As we begin 2009, we’re looking to the Lord to cover some significant financial needs.  Overall donations from our ministry partners are down by about 9%.  Basically, we will need an additional $13,000 just to cover our minimum goals and expenses for the year ahead.

Perhaps you know that we are completely funded by individuals who have a heart for what we are doing in ministry.  Campus Crusade has no central funding to pay our salaries.  The Lord has provided for us – entirely through people like you – for over 16 years.

Raising our financial support has been one of the most challenging yet also rewarding things we have ever done.

Recently we gained some deep encouragement gleaned from a financial lesson in history in the life of George Mueller.  Also, there is an amazing story in Scripture (1 Kings 17) about the Lord taking care of Elijah by two different methods.  One method seemed totally irrational – he asked an extremely poor widow to supply him a meal.  She responded that she was just about to eat the last small bit of bread she had and then die.  Yet, God miraculously provided not only a meal for Elijah but many more meals for the widow’s family.

It’s funny how, sometimes, we have trouble believing what God can and can not provide.  I even think, “well, God could give us ____ but He would never provide it by ______.”  As I review the Elijah story, I’m prompted to realize that God is not limited by resource nor the method in which He provides.  He brings His money in His ways.

With that in mind . . .

If the Lord puts it on your heart to give a special one time gift of any amount, we’d greatly appreciate it!  Here’s how you can give:

Give safely and quickly online on our personal donations page:  www.give.ccci.org/give/0438803

* Year end gifts are tax deductible in tax year 2008 if your gift is postmarked by December 31, 2008.  Gifts in 2008 AND 2009 are needed and appreciated!!

Would you prayerfully consider this?  Thanks.

The video only takes 3 minutes to watch in entirety. It was created by CommonCraft. You can view the original on the CommonCraft site or read a transcript of the video.

This is the BEST NON-TECHNICAL EXPLANATION of how to stay updated on your favorite web sites. If you have ever wished, “Boy, I wish there were a simple way that my favorite web site would notify me whenever they post new stuff,” then this video is for you!

It explains how to use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to stay updated. Almost all new web sites are offering free RSS Feeds (or syndications).

RSS Subscription Feed for HandsHeadlines.com is: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HandsHeadlines

Why not use what you learn in the video above to stay updated on HandsHeadlines.com? It’s one of your favorite sites, I’m sure!

Again, the video is super simple. It’s called “RSS in Plain English.” This is not for geeks. Normal people will like it.

If you are thinking, “I just want to stay updated by email, that’s all.” Then there is a different free service you may want to check out offered by a web site called FeedBlitz.com See our post about it here.

We have some special needs related to our travels to the training events this summer. See the details about these on our previous post. Would you pray that the Lord would provide?

If He directs you to help financially, you can give a gift in a variety of ways. See our donations page.

All of these travel and conference expenses are totally reimbursable IF we have extra donations come in to cover them. These are not regular budgeted expenses so therefore are not included as part of our monthly financial support.

Here’s the scoop on exactly what we need:

About $2,875 for gas, lodging, food, and training event costs.
Since this trip will cover about 4,000 miles round trip, that works out to about 72cents per mile. Any gift of any amount would be appreciated. If you want to give very specifically, then . . .
$72 will cover about 100 miles.
$360 will cover about 500 miles.
$720 will cover about 1,000 miles.
$1,440 will cover about 2,000 miles.
$2,875 covers the whole trip.

Thank you for praying about this. Our first hope is that the Lord would receive all the credit and glory regardless of how He responds. As always, we walk by faith with another great opportunity to trust Him with the details of our life!

To sum up: The Lord God heard all our prayers and He answered! . . .And He answered even beyond what we prayed for!

Sold Our House
We asked you to pray that our house in Mableton would sell by Columbus Day (October 9th). The people buying our house came to see it the day before Columbus Day and gave us a formal offer two days after Columbus Day! Please pray that the closing goes well – it was scheduled for November 8th but has been postponed a day or two due to some technicalities (incomplete paperwork) on the buyers’ side.

Support Provided
We still need approximately $200 per month more to be at our minimum goal, but compared to where we were support-wise a year ago, it is simply amazing! What’s even more amazing is how God provided again and again through unexpected and unplanned avenues. Praise the Lord!

Home in Orlando
It’s still coming together, but it looks like we will be able to purchase a new home in Orlando which is within walking distance of Campus Crusade for Christ Headquarters!! Originally, the price of this home was way more than we could afford. After they accepted our low-ball offer, we can only give credit to the power of prayer through God’s amazing kindness. See more.

Turkey on Columbus Day?

  Albeit only October, we had a small Thanksgiving service at the Hand house this evening.  After praying for our faith goals for the last 40 days or so, we have so much to be thankful for!  

  Many prayers – specific prayers – have been answered.  Yet the best result we’ve seen is that our hearts have grown peacefully more confident in our Father and His great love for us!  He is a God of grace.  Truly, although He was rich, he became poor for our sake, so that through his poverty we might become rich.  If our lives are gripped with this simple truth, everything else falls into place.

Answered Prayers
These are the results of your labors of prayer!  Give thanks to God with us for what He has done so far. . .and we believe there’s more to come!

• Almost $800 in monthly support has been provided in about the last 40 days.
• Over $400 in commitments have come in just the last 5 days!
• We’ve been introduced to and personally spoken with 27 new potential financial partners in the last month.  With busy schedules, that is a miracle in and of itself!
• About 90 new people have joined our prayer team this year – approximately 30 new in the last 40 days.  It’s no coincidence many more prayers are being answered!

There are amazing stories behind several of these new commitments.  Too much to share here right now.


Inside the Ballpark

• About $250 in monthly support is still needed at this point.  With at least 2 people still praying about their decision and several more potential partners we have yet to contact, there’s great hope this remaining amount will be provided.
• After conferring with our leaders in Orlando, we are close enough to our goal to begin tentative plans to move!!  Perhaps as early as next month.

House Update

• Several of you know that a realtor showed our house to a couple Sunday – while we were at church which allowed us to recruit even more people to pray for it to turn out well!  This particular couple had seen our house once before and returned for a second showing.
• We did get word that the realtor called our agent with a few “standard fare” questions about our house on Sunday, and did not indicate one way or another what they were thinking.
• Our agent will check back with them soon.
• Please keep praying!  This is our biggest need right now – for our house to sell.

 
Needed Break

• Early Wednesday morning we are leaving for a needed break!  This is a trip we had planned a few months ago yet it is coming at a great time.  The Hand Clan will be visiting Colonial Williamsburg, Washington D.C., plus several friends and family in Virginia.  It should be an educational and fun time for our family.
• We’re planning to return around October 20th.  After then we’ll begin ramping up towards our move.
• Pray that we’ll be refreshed and have some good ‘down time.’
• Pray that the Lord will continue to do miracles while we are gone.  Specifically, that the house will sell.

Thanks a TON for your persevering prayer.  The Lord is answering!!