We Need Your Prayers!

We need your prayers to raise $20,000 (one-time donations or monthly pledges) by June 30th in order to book our flights and get to El Salvador the beginning of August. The date of July 10th that was originally given to us was incorrect.  Please pray for the needed funds to be raised which will allow us the ability to move forward with certainty of a departure date.

This is and always has been a God-sized goal!  One we know only God can and will accomplish in His time.  As we are in the final stretch, please pray for God to bring forth the people and funds needed to meet that goal.  

Thank you so much to those who have prayerfully and/or financially supported us along the way thus far.  We are extremely grateful for your outpouring of love and support to the mission God has called us to.

Please know if you plan to support us but cannot meet the June 30th deadline, we do not want to discourage you from giving after that.  The money over and above will still go into our account for additional upfront costs (ex. purchasing a vehicle).

God we thank you for all that you are and all that you're going to do!

In partnership through prayer for the sake of the Gospel!

To Him Be the Glory,

James & Lisa Schuenke

If God has laid it on your heart to support us financially on a monthly basis (or even a one-time contribution), please go to the C&MA website https://cmalliance.org/give/. Do not fill out the first box which goes to the Great Commission Fund.  Instead, type in ENV-James Schuenke in the Special Projects/International Workers box and follow the steps below it. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Only God

Our world is not seeing God because we are not attempting anything that only God can do....Henry Blackaby

As of late last week, we are at 87% to our goal for an August departure!  A God-sized goal only met by a God our size!  We rejoice and give thanks to God for His continued provision!  We knew the aggressive time frame for us to raise 100% of our goal by July 10th would be accomplished by nothing we could do ourselves and only by a limitless God whose ways are far above and beyond our own ... and to think we are almost there!  Only a month ago, we were at 34%!  God is truly amazing!  May His name alone be glorified!

While there are many things for which we can praise God,  one of the most significant is his faithfulness to do what he has planned and promised.  While we can be big dreamers and schemers, only God can accomplish the marvelous plans that he alone can make.

Thank you for partnering with us both prayerfully and financially on this journey.  We are humbled and  grateful for your outpouring of love and support  to our family!  Please continue to pray we meet our goal and all funds are raised by July 10th!  

Isaiah 14:24
The Lord Almighty has sworn this oath:
"It will all happen as I have planned.  It will come about according to my purposes."

To God Alone Be the Glory,
Lisa for the Schuenke Family

Faith Does Not Require an Explanation

A lot has happened this past month.  We have experienced many blessings, many trials, many questions, many answers, many obstacles, many praises.  While everything else is changing around us, through it all, one thing remains constant...God Himself.  And it is to Him in which we cling!

We have so much to be thanking God for... one of our biggest praises is that our house is sold!  Our youth pastor Coleton and his wife Rainey have made it official and will be the new owners of our home as of July 22nd.  God reminds us what a difference a day makes and how his provision often comes in ways we least expect!  What a blessing not to have to put it on the market.  The kids are rejoicing as they thank God for answering their prayer in providing a buyer we know who will take good care of the home we treasure with so many memories.

Other exciting news is that we are the missionaries of the month in Discovery Land at Appleton Alliance Church through mid July.  We are available to talk with kids and parents between services to share more about our trip to El Salvador, give a hand out with prayer requests and contact info and show a video from our last mission trip.  Come have a root beer float at the Passport Cafe with us!

As most of you heard, our attention as of late has been working through the errors with the online website where people give financially to our mission.   We do not have an accurate report as to where we currently are to our goal but hope to have a better idea this next week.  We did find out that in order for us to make the August goal date, we must have all of our funds (given up front or pledged) in our account by July 10th!  Please continue to pray we walk by faith and not by sight.

When it comes down to it, everything in life is a faith issue.  And everything that is a faith issue is a trust issue.  What or who we put our trust in is directly correlated to what or who we put our faith in.  Faith and trust fit together like a glove.  Yet there is a difference between the two.

Someone once explained the difference between faith and trust this way:
"Suppose you are at Niagara Falls and you see a well known high-wire walker with a wheelbarrow.  He has a wire strung across Niagara Falls and when you walk up to him he asks you if you believe he can push the wheelbarrow across the falls.  You tell him you most certainly have faith in him to do just that.  After all, you've seen him do it many times before and you know he's an expert.  Now, faith is believing he can do it...but trust would be to climb into the wheelbarrow."  Can you climb into God's wheelbarrow and let Him push you across Niagara Falls (the problems of your life)?  Do you have faith, and trust in God to do it?

We may experience obstacles or hardship on our journey to get there...many times without answers or understanding.  But if there is one thing God continues to teach us along the way, it is that faith doesn't require an explanation.  Faith believes God is trustworthy...trust finds rest in it...it puts that truth into action by viewing every event, every sorrow, every prayer with the unshakable conviction that He is.

Out of the tragedy and distress of the present there arises a hope for something better that makes possible the endurance of the moment.  The assurance of that hope is anchored in the God who does not change (James 1:17), who makes a promise to His people and who will remain capable and determined to bring that promise to pass.  Whatever the present, the future is secure because God is constant.  Because of that...faith doesn't require an explanation!  Trusting God each step of our journey!

PRAISES:
Strength and Perseverance
Good Health
Care Team Help & Friendships
District Approval (share with other Alliance churches)
15 Mission Gatherings (to share our story); 4 more scheduled; 2 yet to schedule
Prayer and Financial Supporters
House Sold
Online Issues Being Resolved
Family Fun Getaway for 3 Days

PRAYER REQUESTS:
Need a Home for Our 4 Cats
Raising the Full Financial Support for 2 Years
Our ("God's) Story Touching Lives Beyond this Mission
Balance of Priorities: family, relationships, tasks
Packing & Downsizing
Clarity for Schooling Next Year
Protection from the Enemy
People to Volunteer to Host a Mission Gathering

                                             Partnering with You to Be the Change, 
                                             Lisa for the Schuenke Family

Important Update for Online Giving

We first just wanted to say thank you for being part of our team whether by prayer or financial support.  As of our last update, we are currently at 34% of our goal!  We are only 9 weeks out from our August goal departure.  We are not able to make that goal a reality until our funds for the next two years are fully donated/pledged on a monthly basis.

If you have made a donation online, please read the following paragraph:  if you did not receive a confirmation email within minutes of your online donation, your donation did not go through and you must re-enter the information following the guidelines below. If you are questioning whether your donation went through or not, please contact us so we can follow up on the report to confirm.  We are finding that some donations have not been entered correctly. 

For those of you considering being part of our team financially, we want to inform you of a slight change in the website address from the initial information you received. The updated site is https://cmalliance.org/give/.  You may also access the site from the link located at the top of our blog.

Instructions to Donate Online:

DO NOT enter a dollar amount in the Give to the Great Commission Fund box!

• Go to "Give to International Workers/ Special Projects box and enter "ENV-James Schuenke"

• Click on the "Give Now" box and add donation $ amount

• If you are making a monthly donation, check the "make this a recurring gift" box

• Fill out the following requested information and confirm

• On the verification screen, you must hit "Authorize" at the bottom to complete

We apologize for having to send this and any inconvenience it may cause.  Thank you for your understanding.  Please let us know if you have any questions.

James & Lisa Schuenke