26th
Japan - Josh Chan (6/25/11)
Fund Raising Hello everyone, sorry for taking so long to post my first blog, it took a while before I finally got internet. I will begin this blog by sharing an interesting experience during my fund raising process. A week before it was time for Epic Summer Project Japan to begin I was short by about $1300. I always trusted that God would completely provide for my project but I wasn’t sure if he would do it without using my father (who is an atheist). I was also really hoping that I would not need him for I wanted to show my father that I could be independent from him. Having no choice at the time, I had to ask support from him. When I asked him to help fund my missionary trip, I was backed into a corner. My father asked me “Is it me that is supporting you or God supporting you? If I don’t give money for your trip, will God provide?” For a while I was unable to figure out what a good response would be when all of a sudden, something clicked in me. I began to tell my father that I am going to clear a hidden assumption that my father believes in: The belief that the provision from God and my father (or people) are mutually exclusive. I told him that even though I believe that it all ultimately comes from God, it does not mean that my father did nothing and should receive no appreciation. My father was satisfied with that response and was willing to cover the rest of what I needed. While that was certainly wonderful, what was really great about what had happened was that one of the biggest problems that my dad had with Christianity was finally gone! I now see why God forced me to do something that I really did not feel comfortable doing.
