Prague's snowy rooftops make the city even more of a fairy tale. This is the view out of John's window this morning.
It has been snowing pretty steadily for a day now. I don't think you can tell from the picture, but it is still really snowing outside. This is the view from our living room window.Happy New Year from snowy, beautiful Prague! The kids and I are snug in our apartment this morning, trying to stay warm, and Marc is in the Arctic Circle trying to do the same. John and I went to a homeschool activity yesterday morning, and we were both pretty startled by how cold we were. Lots of wind and snow. And we thought Central Europe would be warmer! Oh, well...it certainly is beautiful.
I've been thinking a lot lately about Southern Baptists. (I don't care if you are Southern Baptist, by the way. We just happen to work for a Southern Baptist entity.) Many of you are aware of the economic downturn at imb (our new branding has all lowercase letters and no article...it makes me nervous as an English teacher). The Cooperative Program (the method by which Southern Baptist churches cooperate for things like missions, seminary education, state conventions, etc.) saw a downturn, as churches gave less because they had less, and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) came in about 40 million dollars below what we needed. It has been a hard time, and people on the field have certainly felt the economic crunch in many ways. (Kind of like the States, huh?) I've been thinking about Lottie Moon and her offering, about what makes Southern Baptists give to missions, and about being grateful and thankful to Southern Baptists for our life here on the field.
When I gave to LMCO as a child, I gave because my church gave. I grew up knowing about Lottie Moon through missions organizations like GAs and Mission Friends and Acteens, and my church gave to LMCO every Christmas. As I grew older and became an adult, sometimes I gave to LMCO because I hoped that God would leave me alone about missions. (Yes, that makes me smile.) But often I gave because it was what was expected. It wasn't until I became close friends with a former MK, until I knew her parents and came to deeply love them, that Lottie Moon really came alive for me. She wasn't just some long-ago missionary to China. She was Uncle Ed and Aunt Mary, working in Kenya and Belgium, loving their family, missing the States, adoring Oklahoma football. She was a real person. And because I identified with them, she became more important to me.
I thought about this New Year's Eve, when we had 52 people at our house for a party. (We have a cool roof-top terrace, a perfect place to watch fireworks.) All but two of those people are supported by LMCO. You know what we did? We watched football (of course--the Sooners were playing!), we played games, we ate too much food, we set off fireworks with our kids, we hugged our children and kissed our spouses at midnight...we did the same things you did. Your missionaries (and we ARE your missionaries, if you tithe every week in a Southern Baptist church) aren't the super-saved. We're normal people. Ordinary. We love our kids, we worry about their allergies, our spouses travel too much, our houses aren't always clean...just like you. The difference is that God has called us for such a time as this to a land that is not our own, and we said, "Yes."
Some of the early news about LMCO is promising. Our home church gave more than ever before. Another church in our area of Florida collected $30,000 on Christmas Eve. I have heard others say that they are also hearing good things about the offering. I don't know how it will turn out any better than anyone else, but I do know that Southern Baptists are Southern Baptist because they believe in missions, in the Great Commission, in going to the ends of the earth. And so, as I sit here in my comfortable chair, watching it snow and drinking my second cup of coffee, I want to say, "Thank you." Thank you for contributing what you could. Thank you for believing in my call from God. Thank you for sacrificing and giving so that my family could live in this beautiful but very lost city. When we pray over our meals, we often say, "Thank you for the food and for the Southern Baptists who paid for it." I don't know anyone who works for our company who isn't thankful for the ordinary person who sits in a pew somewhere and gives faithfully every week so we can do what we do. While we sacrificed to come here, you sacrifice so we can stay. You are never far from our minds, and we are grateful for your sacrifice. I just wanted you to know.
Well, my kids are still asleep at almost 9a.m. What will I do with the quiet? I might read a book. Or I might just sit here, sipping my coffee and watching the snow. Either sounds pretty good to me! Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are continuing to fulfill God's call on your life, and that you don't have to get out in the snow, either. Blessings to you and yours!
His,
Kellye
