Project Gideon 2014: We ARE Going!

Yesterday in the office, I sat at my desk to compose my letter to the Project Gideon coordinator which detailed why we would be unable to attend the PG conference in February.

"I'm so sorry to have to write this..." I began, thinking about how I was going to admit in writing our lack of finances to attend this year's conference.

The words spilled out onto the screen.

"With all that is going on right now in our lives, we simply cannot budget this trip."

This summer, we took the missions trip of a lifetime to Florence, Italy, for 25 days. While it was AMAZING, and we had an amazing time and would go back in a heartbeat if God allowed, it really drained our resources. We are still recovering from that trip, financially. It takes time to have "extra" funds available again.

As I wrote the letter, I didn't want them to think that we were blowing off the conference, that it meant so little to us. I felt this urgency to express to them how much this conference had meant to Stephen and to myself.

"This conference has changed our lives," I said at one point. "Bishop Jakes has been a source of great inspiration to us." At another time, I referred to him as our "spiritual mentor" and "father figure."

And he is. He has been all of those things to us. Over two years ago, God directed me to that conference supernaturally. (Please read my first entry of this blog for more information.) We were DESTINED to attend that conference. Both years we have been, we have been encouraged, challenged, uplifted in Bishop's conference session.

Money could never BUY what we have experienced at that conference. It's a profoundly impacting, life-altering experience and opportunity.

"We are being Licensed as Assemblies of God ministers this Saturday, and I'm not sure we would have ever finished that labor and money intensive goal without having had the opportunity to be mentored at this conference for the past two years."

We don't have the money. We really don't.

We are getting licensed this weekend, and I would really like to have a new suit to wear. I'd really like to stay at a hotel with my family the night before. But it'll be okay. I know it will. I am trusting God for the gas and food money that will be required for the trip. I know He will provide.

But as I sat there, thinking that this coming weekend would be far easier if I didn't pay our tuition to the PG conference, that we could go in style and stay the night and wake up fresh the next morning and not have to worry about getting up and into the car and out of town in time to get there, tears started spilling out of my eyes and down my face.

"How can this be right," I asked myself. "How can this be the right thing to do if I'm sitting here crying, like I've lost something important to me?"

No. We had to go.

So I sent the PG coordinator the information she needed to keep our reservations.

Because some things in life are too important. They are VITAL for our survival. And we must trust GOD to provide.

He is the one who opened that miraculous door two years ago. There is no way we could have gotten in otherwise.

God put us in the company of great people for a reason.

I know that I know that I know that we are supposed to be there.

Project Gideon 2014: WE ARE GOING!!!!