“This is the seventeenth bed we have slept in this summer,” I triumphantly whispered to my wife as I slid under the covers beside her. “And by the end of furlough, it will be twenty-one!” Somehow, I don’t think she shared my enthusiasm. After 7,000 miles in a small car, 10 churches (all of which we love, of course), a gazillion potlucks (which we most certainly loved!) and too many stops at my six-year-old son’s favorite restaurant, Taco Bell, I don’t think I really feel too enthusiastic either. But, hey, that’s furlough.

What has made all the tiring travel worth it is all of you. Hearing of your commitment to God and missions has renewed our courage. For instance, we were encouraged by the elderly couple living on a fixed income who have taken it upon themselves to fund their giving to the Great River People Project by collecting pop cans.
“It was a pretty good year last year,” they told us with a sparkle in their eyes. “We collected 1,004 pop cans for your project.”

We were blessed to meet a young boy with a similar passion for missions who decided to visit several members of his church to raise funds for our project. The Lord blessed his efforts, enabling him to raise $45. We wish you could have seen his beaming face as he handed over his sacred trust to Hope.

In another city, I was almost brought to tears when a man I barely knew shook my hand and, looking me straight in the eye, told me he had been praying every day for us and our project.

I wish we could share more stories of your faithfulness, but time and space don’t permit. But let’s commit to always make time to recount the greatest story—the story of Jesus and His sacrifice for us. In view of that, whatever sacrifice we make for Him is nothing. Even sleeping in 21 beds!

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