Our dear friends Angie and Brian Barber are heading to the mission field. They both end their jobs here in the US after Christmas and are heading to missionary training towards the end of January. They have to reach some major goals to be able to depart for the Dominican Republic. Their goal is to leave in the spring of 2014 right after missionary training. Their hearts are there already and they feel called to minister there, but the money isn't there yet. It's been encouraging to me to see them walking in faith and planning to go even though the money isn't there. At this point the finances are the only road block.
They still lack about $8,500 for their one time giving and for monthly support once they get there they lack about $1,600. That is what people would continue to give monthly for their living expenses. To be quite honest I had no idea that it cost so much to go do missions. Much like adoption I thought that willingness was the biggest obstacle. That once someone was willing to go to a foreign country or once someone was willing to adopt that everything else would easily fall into place. No doubt about it God can provide but just like for our adoptions it took a lot of people pitching in to make it happen.
They are heading to the DR with an organization called Kids Alive. When we first moved to Valparaiso, IN I was looking for a place to volunteer and found Kids Alive on the ECFA website. (That's the website you can go to to make sure your contributions are going to a reputable organization. You can see how organizations like World Vision, Compassion International and Kids Alive use their funds.) Kids Alive had a good track record then and they still do. Kids Alive is dedicated to rescuing kids around the world. From what I understand they set up what we would consider foster homes for children. They set them up to get good food and be able to go to school. Brian and Angie will be a part of this process and work with these children at school as well as doing many other things on the ground to make the whole organization run smoothly.
Angie is currently the Children's Ministry Director at GracePoint in Valparaiso (the church we came from and helped plant.) She has that spark that is so visible when working with children. She can make the room light up and you can see the glow of excitement on children's faces when she's playing games or teaching or just making them feel special. I can not wait to hear stories of the lives that are going to be changed by their presence in the DR. Brian is great with a camera and taking pictures. I'm excited to see how his love for photography is going to be able to be used to help communicate with the children's sponsors around the world. He also has a silly side which I think the children are going to really love.
Would you consider helping them out and adding to their fund either to the monthly giving or to the one time donations? This would help them in a major way. If 80 of my friends/family gave $20 a month for the next year they would be fully funded in the support they need to minister there. You can be assured that this donation will make difference in these children's lives and in Brian and Angie's lives as well.
Thanks for jumping on board to help!
Here's the link to sign up:
https://secure.kidsalive.org/p-2481-brian-and-angie-barber.aspx
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