Common Threads
How can it be December of 2022 already, dear friends?
We're one month closer to Jesus' return than the last time we sent an update!
We're looking forward with you to meeting Him face-to-face, as Titus 2:13 describes.
So much has happened here in New England this year & you can find the year end summary on the front page of our family's website at ScottFamilyJourney.org
We've been talking BIG for months with the park project so many gave cheerfully & sacrificially to make happen. It's safe & tucked in under a blanket of snow right now, but come springtime, it will be like a seed that's been planted & bear much Kingdom fruit. More to come on those plans on a warmer day (it's a little after 7:00 AM & a windy 19 degrees outside right now).
But we want to highlight small with you, too. While the Lord can certainly reach & save many at a time, as He did at Pentecost (recorded in Acts 2), He always reaches them one soul at a time, opening their eyes to spiritual reality, turning them from darkness to light, away from the power of Satan, & forgiving their sins (see Acts 26:18).
Just this week, in the last 168 hours, in addition to our planned church ministries, our family has been involved in:
Answering a call from a distraught mother in our town who missed all the deadlines for help with food & toys for Christmas. Our family was able to personally help & bless her & her family with both their material needs after all the other funds, toys & food were gone, along with the Gospel only because the Lord has provided for us to be here to answer her calls & many others like it through those who read this email & give as a part of the Scott family's support.
Answering a call from a board member at a local Christian parachurch organization in a neighboring town that helps so many in this area in so many ways, asking Dave to serve as a mediator & peacemaker to help them reach unity in the midst of recently revealed spiritual attack & turmoil. That process will affect many lives for many years, is Gospel-saturated & we can only say yes to such requests because those reading this email give as generously as they do.
Answering a call from a local convenience store clerk we see several times a week asking if we can help her 64 year old sister who is living in her car, because she can't help her any more. We did, including an amazingly simple & needed Gospel presentation to that family, in the midst of a very difficult time & many tears.
Do you see the common threads?
In a recent email, I (Dave) said we don't talk about money very much for several reasons, & to speak the truth in love & transparently, one of those reasons is because we never want those who are giving now & have given in the past to feel as if they are somehow not enough. The Lord's grace is always sufficient. We really believe that deep truth & all that we teach & we hope that shines through--that Jesus shines through--in our lives & ministry, public & private, to you & to those we serve directly here, this month & every month.
We are currently at just over 68% of being "fully funded" of all known needs met completely. That looks different for every family & missionary. For us, it makes answering the material parts of answering the calls like those above much more difficult.
Weekly gas money starts coming out of our travel budget, which is on our minds with our upcoming trip to Kalamazoo, & providing for families who miss deadlines comes out of our personal grocery budget, which is a painful joy. But isn't that the life of a Christ-follower? To understand this life between Eden & Heaven is sorrow mingled with joy because Christ is our Living Hope?!
Like your family, we go without some things sometimes, & without other things often, so we can give of ourselves cheerfully & sacrificially like we've been sent to do by the Lord & those who give. So, we are normal in the Kingdom, not special.
If the Lord moves you to give, you will. We make the need known & have no doubt He will provide in His perfect time & way, as He always does. Jesus said to be content with shelter, food, & clothing, & wait on Him to provide the rest (see Matthew 5-7's Sermon on the Mount). We do, but we cannot give what we do not have, & the Lord has also said we often do not have because we do not ask, so we come to you, His people that He's provided a way for us to reach out to, & ask.
All that to say this, 68% of our monthly needs being met translates into just under $1,000 short every month. All of that 68% has been given by individuals & families for almost 4 full years now. We are still seeking the support of churches & the ability to be welcomed & invited by them to share the need here in New England, but that hasn't happened yet, so 68% is AMAZING & we're forever thankful. Truly. One way you can help is to please, please pray the Lord will provide that church support & let us know if you'd like us to come to share at your group or church. We'll do our best to make that happen ASAP.
Another way you could help is to decide to give at the link below, that has the option for you to choose to give one time or on a regular basis. When we're at 68%, what happens is that we depend on year-end gifts &/or new supporters. We've been encouraged to supply specific information about present needs, so we've listed 3 needs that are coming up in the first quarter of 2023 below.
Again, transparently, it's humbling to share these with you, but sometimes the Lord provides through a job & other times He provides through His people. Those who give & those who may give are our earthly employers & deployers in a very real sense, so it makes all the sense in the world to be transparent & accountable in specific ways to you.
https://give.villagemissions.org/donate/missionaries/missionary-detail/a-scott-dave-and-shannon
1) Our health insurance will require a $3,000 deductible for our family beginning in January.
2) Our upcoming trip to Kalamazoo requires, of course, advance planning, & we've purchased 3 round-trip airline tickets from Portland, ME to Grand Rapids, MI for $1,215.60 on a credit card that we're trusting the Lord to provide the funds to pay for.
3) We are up-to-date paying our personal taxes, but for the first time in our adult lives, we're looking at being $1,500 short on our quarterly taxes due on January 15th, with no place in our current budget to draw from.
https://give.villagemissions.org/donate/missionaries/missionary-detail/a-scott-dave-and-shannon
Thanks for reading this far. We know it's a lot, but we get to bear each others' burdens in a Galatians 6 way. If we can ever help & bless you, help you carry a load, please call on us. It's what we believe the Lord has left us here to do, in New England, over the phone, by email, or however He provides the connection.
Finally, as we look forward to celebrating Jesus' first arrival this week, we worship Him with you, remembering He's promised to return & that He came 2,000 years ago & will come again because He loves us.
It's a JOY to get to walk with you, Him, & those we serve here in New England toward New Jerusalem. Living for Jesus,
Pastor Dave for Shannon & John Scott
Colossians 2:5-7
MiddletonGospelChapel.org
ScottFamilyJourney.org
VillageMissions.org