journeytoalbania.com

Money…  this is such a tough thing for us to talk about in ministry sometimes.   And yet, really it is all God’s money.  We are just stewards of it, hoping to use it for building His kingdom and bringing Him fame.

We cannot tell you what an amazing journey it has been to live on the gifts given by others to cover our salary.  It has been a time of  learning to lean on Him for our every need.  We have learned a lot about trusting God for His provision.

Over the last four years 90% of our support team has remained the same.   A few have stopped giving for a variety of reasons and others have joined.   That means that of our original 85 financial partners (3 churches and 82 individuals and families) 76 of them are still giving!  That is AMAZING!!  You might be interested to know that our monthly gifts range from $10 to $500 in addition to everything in between.  God uses all those amounts of money to pay our rent, electric bill, car repairs, visa fees, school tuition, food on our table as well as money to help those in need that we meet.

This year we have 2 fund raising goals:

$800 new monthly commitments for the Loft center and Egli’s salary

$500 new monthly commitments for our personal salary

We will be meeting with groups and individuals LIKE YOU to ask for prayer and financial support.  Don’t feel left out if we don’t ask you personally!  If GOD is asking you to partner with us to bring the gospel to Albania you CAN!  If you would like to partner with us financially, you can visit our SUPPORT page and see the ways to give.  If you would like to receive our monthly updates send an email to Robertwheelis@gmail.com

Yesterday, we wrote about what is a furlough. Our upcoming furlough is called HMA by our sending agency, Frontiers.  We will be leaving the mission field for a period of three months in order to connect with our supporters and partners in ministry, share about ministry with churches and small groups, visit family (including meeting our new niece!), raise additional support for our personal funds and the youth center, and recharge and refresh – physically, spiritually and emotionally.  Our time will also include some health check ups since we don’t have the advanced medical care available to us there that we are blessed to have here in the US.

Some people have said “Wow, I wish I had a three month vacation from my job!”  We can assure you this is not the case!  While we do have a couple  weeks of vacation built into our time, most of our time will be spent working to keep us in Albania!  In order for us to be able to be on the mission field, a large part of our job is fundraising.   We are able to work and minister in Albania as a result of your sacrificial gifts.  We take the responsibility of reporting to you what God is doing with those funds seriously.  Without you, the advance of the gospel would not happen.   Our time will be filled with meetings with current supporters and partners, small groups, speaking engagements, as well as meeting with new friends and connections in order to raise additional support.

Check back tomorrow to read about our support needs and fundraising goals.

If your like us, you may not have heard the word “furlough” many times in your life.   Before we came to the mission field, we did not personally know anyone who was serving in missions overseas long-term.  So we had very little knowledge about many of the ins and outs of being a missionary.

200 years ago, missionaries went to the mission field with their worldly belongings packed in a coffin, knowing that the only time they would return to their homeland would be after their death.  100 years ago, missionaries would return to their home country for a year once every 7-10 years.  The cost and length of time to travel was too great for returning more often than that.

Thankfully, times have changed.  Today, the length and frequency varies among churches, denominations, agencies and missionaries.  Anywhere from every year for a few weeks, every other year for a few months, or even every fourth year for six months to a year.

Even on our team, our team leader has given us the freedom to make a plan that works well for us and helps us remain connected to our support team and family and gives us a chance to recharge emotionally and spiritually.

Our sending agency, Frontiers, calls furlough HMA or Home Ministry Assignment.  Check back tomorrow for more about our HMA this summer!