UPDATED: 5 Weeks (and financial support, sorry!)

I leave in 5 weeks today.

That is not an adequate amount of time - I'm telling you all now.

I have about 3 boxes of stuff to bring down with me, and I will also need to bring some of my own clothes.

If anyone has one of those magical Mary Poppins, secretly massive bags that Hermione had in the last Harry Potter I would be super grateful.

So, here is the reason for this post.

A number of people have asked me about how they can give financially while I’m away.

This is such a massive load off my mind.

I am supposed to have 80% of my monthly support committed before I leave.
Like I said, not. enough. time.

Now, rather than you having to listen to my disjointed, stressed thoughts when you ask about financial issues in person, I thought I would try to put the deets down here.

My required monthly income is $1000 - but Carachipampa are paying about $200 of that, which still leaves me with $800 a month to raise. That is, according to Google today, £508.78. So, I have to find ‘monthly sponsors’. (I am convinced that 99% of this is God teaching me humility.)

Originally, any money had to go through NICS in the States, but being British, I’ve made life 100 times harder - so it all just goes straight to me. This does mean that there is no admin fee, but it also means that since it’s not going through a charity (NICS isn’t registered in the UK anyway) it can’t be gift aided.

My budget currently looks like this:

Rent	£200.00
Food	£150.00
Phone	£10.00
Transport	£15.00
Clothing	£10.00
Other	£25.00
Tithe	£63.00

This is an estimate, based on what Dan and I spent when we were there (though we weren’t cooking for ourselves) what NICS/Carachipampa suggest, and what friends who are currently serving in Cochabamba and Carachipampa are saying. Whatever else I receive will be used on one-off expenses, like setting up an apartment, visas and paperwork, other random expenses and saved for flights to visit NI in the summer. (NICS require you go home once a year, so you can’t get rid of me completely…)

So, my contract is for two years, July 2015 - June 2017 (came in the post the other day, it’s so pretty, look!) so I am looking for people who can commit to support me monthly for the next two years. I understand this is a BIG commitment, and if you have any questions at all please chat to me. Or if you can only commit for part of that, that is fine - again, chat to me!

So, I have a support form, for anyone who wants to support me on a regular basis. This is a change - because Strandtown Baptist's secretary has made my life approximately one million times simpler. (Thank you Ian!) So now, any monthly donations (and one off donations) can be given through Strandtown, meaning they can be gift aided - and it can be set up as a direct debit and just in general makes all of life easier.

Now, here is said form:

Now rather than a standing order or any other nightmare way of setting it up, you can simply direct debit to Strandtown Baptist, and that money will be sent to me once a month. I need a note of who is giving, so the best thing to do would be get the above form and the direct debit form back to me - and I'll pass them all on. Then we can put through all the forms together and it'll definitely get to me.

Click here to download the direct debit form,

(If you're at Strandtown, and already direct debit, it's simpler again if you want to support me. Just chat to me, or to Ian Bailie.)

I have printed forms, both support and the direct debit ones, and I'll aim to have a couple on me the next month til I go. Otherwise just let me know you want one and I'll get one to you. If, by chance, you read this after I leave then Mum will have some, or the ability to print some.

If you want to donate with a one-off donation, just let me know. It'd be great if you'd still fill in a little card so I know who's donated and so I can keep in touch and everything - but it's totally up to you.

Thank you, for everything.

Thank you for praying - honestly it is so important to me to know I am covered in prayer, especially on the hard days.

Thank you for the financial support, both for this trip and the previous ones.

You are the only reason I can do this, and I am so grateful.

(Also thank you and congratulations for making it to the end of this blog post. #perserverance)