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Dear
Supporters!
Without all your support both
financially and in prayers, my trip to India would not have been possible! I
thought I would share with you how faithful God has been, especially with
finances, and personally recognize all who have financially contributed to my
trip. With only 2 weeks to go until the India Mission Trip deadline for
fundraising, I was more than 1,000 dollar short of the amount I needed. Though
this was the case, in one email sent to potential supporters, I wrote “I have
faith that God will provide ALL the funds I need (just wait until the end of my
fundraising time). So please, don't feel obligated but give out of a generous
and willing heart.”
God is so faith! This is exactly
what happened. I have received ALL the 2,300 AND as testimony of how good God
is, I exceeded the 2,300!! In fact, in my last financial update received right
before I left, it said, “This is your last update before you leave for the
trip. You have $2950 so far … praise God!”
How was this possible? God. And His
faithful people. Jesus said that if we believe, we will receive what we ask for
(Matthew 21: 22). If God did not spare His One and Only Son to die for us on
the cross, why would He withhold anything good from us? (Romans 8: 32). Every good and perfect gift comes from above
and I praise God because of all your generous support. If you take a look at
the list of supporters, it’s a testimony of how members of various churches,
Christian groups, businesses/organization, and individuals can come together!
And for those who supported in
prayers, I want to give a special thank you also. When I sent out my support
letter, I also attached a prayer card. In the next letter, I want to share with
you how God answered them in amazing and unexpected ways!
Story of
Mary Paine
New Theological College (NTC, http://www.ntcdoon.org ), a seminary college
in Dehra Dun, Uttraakhand, India was our “based” in India. The students who attend
this seminary are amazing men and women of God who have all committed to serve
full time after graduation in ministry. Because India is mainly a Hindu country
(about 81 %), many NTC students come from Hindu families that are highly
antagonistic towards Christianity. Many have stories of being tied to their bed
and being physically abused, having been kicked out of their family, etc.
Because of this, many students need financial support to attend NTC.
When Mary Paine, a member of a
church in Georgia, heard about an opportunity to support a NTC student, she
committed before the Lord to do so. When she returned home and looked at her
expenses, she realized that she did not have much to give. Her only source of
income was from her retirement fund and the little money she earned by
substitution from time to time at a school. Yet, Mary was determined to keep
her commitment before the Lord. But she needed some help from her neighbors.
She went around her neighborhood asking everyone to save and collect plastic
bottle, aluminum cans, and any other recyclables in a special bin for her. She
then went around her neighborhood with her wagon to collect those recyclables
in order use the money she received from selling those cans to support students
at New Theological College. She had no shame in asking and faithfully sent in
support every month. Sometimes when she collected more, she would send more
money to support more students. She called it her “Can Ministry” and she faithfully
did this for many years until her old age prevented her from going door to door
collecting cans.
In the email I previously
mentioned, I wrote, “… don't feel obligated but give out of a generous and
willing heart.” I wanted to share this
amazing testimony of a woman who went to phenomenal and extraordinary lengths
to give and provide for those in need because I wanted to give an example of a
woman who did give out of a generous and willing heart. I hope that everyone
who did give did give out of such a heart and will not feel that you didn’t
“need” to give because I received more than what I “needed” for this trip. I
know for certain that many of you did because I have never met some of the
supporters and know some of you come from poor family background, are working
college students, etc. So thank you for your generous and willing heart.
Zhen
Cheng
In case you guys are wondering, the “extra”
money that was donated to HMCC were distributed among my teammates who did not
meet their deadline. The money that I raised earlier in the year for my Panama
trip were applied to miscellaneous expenses for the trip like immunizations,
stamps, etc…Nothing “extra” was used on anything unrelated to this mission
trip.
Thank You
for
supporting me financially…
1.
Chaplain
Timothy Stevens (NU)
2.
Mark Ang
(member of CFC,
former India Mission trip member http://www.cfchome.org
)
3.
Harvest
Missions Community Church of Chicago/ACCESS (http://chicago.hmcc.net/ )
4.
Justin
Mier (MEIV
worship/prayer http://www.nuiv.org/meiv/
)
5.
Community
Diversity Group of LaGrange, IL ( http://communitydiversity.org
)
6.
Northwest
Presbyterian Church (my
home church, 301 Ridge Ave, Elk Grove
Village, IL 60007 (847-228-0008)
7.
Brian
& Rachel Trost (Young
Life: http://sites.younglife.org/sites/northshore/default.aspx
)
8.
Keith Bailey
(LTHS, former
high school history teacher)
9.
Jit Chan
DDS and Associates:
3739 W 26th St, Chicago, IL (773-762-0626)
10.
Kristi
Kim (NU student,
AAIV: http://nuiv.org/aaiv/index.php
)
11.
Phil
Hayes (Worship
leader at NWC)
12.
Helen
Kim’s mom: Somiah Lim
13.
Peggy
Healy (family of
former tutored student)
14.
Aileen
Kang (NU
graduate, former co-pres of AAIV)
15.
William
Snively (Teen
Mania Ministry: http://www.teenmania.com/corporate/index.cfm
)
16.
Jenny
Hsu (roommate,
AAIV)
17.
Helen
& Stephen Toulantis (Thailand
Mission Trip teammate: http://www.globalexpeditions.com/
)
18.
Kevin
Cheung(NU
graduate, former co-pres of AAIV)
19.
Mark Kim
(Sunday school
teacher at NWC, long time neighbor)
20.
Gene Lee
(NU student,
MEIV)
21.
Kennie
Bae (U of I grad
student, CFC)
22.
Annette
Orrico (LTHS,
former high school biology teacher)
23.
Cie
Chapel Cochran (NU,
Catalyst/ CSI Coordinator: http://groups.northwestern.edu/catalyst/)
24.
Niki
Georgopolus, State Farm Insurance: 101
Ogden Avenue, Brookfield, IL 60513 (708)
485-3035
25.
Joseph
Hsu (NU student,
ACCESS: http://chicago.hmcc.net/life_stage_ministries/undergraduate
)
26.
Sara
Mummau (Thailand
Mission Trip teammate)
27.
Lauren
Robinson(NU
graduate, MEIV)
28.
Margaret
Kreuser ((NU
Academic Advisor)
29.
Jenna Oh
(high school
friend)
30.
Walter
Pompei: (former
Thailand Mission trip supporter)
31.
Amanda
Armour (Calvin
College student)
32.
Jenny
Fung(NU student,
MEIV)
33.
Heekyong
Pyon (CFC)
34.
Sooyoung
Kim(CFC)
35.
Kate
Burdick(Thailand
Mission Trip teammate)
and numerous others who have
supported me through fundraisers!!
in Prayers…
1.
Too
many to list…
**Names listed according to
amount donated**
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