Recently in Graphics...

In graphics I've been working on a few new designs, and I thought I'd share some. Several of these are designs that the missionary had already, basically, decided what it should look like, and my job was to try to make it work. :) Those jobs are probably the most difficult, because I have to try to think like the other person and also apply what I know about a good design... some of these are better than others, but I think the design I really like is the header for a medium display. Here, let me show you!

(A ShowStyle display that folds up like a brief case)

(A Business card-sized prayer card-- Front on top, Back below)

(Panels for a ShowStyle Display)

(A Prayer card--- postcard sized)

(Panels and Header for a Showstyle Display)

(Header for a Medium Tabletop Display)

Welcome Elizabeth!

Elizabeth is Missionary TECH Team's new intern. She is a recent college graduate, and a student we met last year when we went to Cedarville, OH to represent TECH. We are so excited to finally have her here!!!

She will be living with us until May, 2011.

Elizabeth is originally from North Carolina where she grew up with four siblings. Her father is an engineer, which may have influenced her choice to major in mechanical engineering.

MTT is thrilled to have her on the Team serving Christ!

Don't Forget the Pages!

There are some pages in the horizontal navigator bar where you can peek at newsletters, view prayer requests and look at photos from our fun events.
"Fun Days in Longview" is new, and if you're interested in getting to meet the people we're close to here, you're welcome to view it. Sometimes we'll try to post bits about the people we have relationships with. Please check it out!

Last Week for Austin

We have been able to have an intern living with us this month! His name is Austin Finney, from Memphis, TN, and he has worked with Matt in Facilities Planning this month.




Not only has Austin become part of the Team at TECH, but he has also become part of the family at Northwood Church. He has become a friend and brother to both Matt and me, and we'll miss him!

Something New in Graphics

Over the past few weeks I've had the pleasure of being able to design the brochure for the graphics department. Honestly, I thought this was a challenging, but exciting assignment! I didn't have anything to work off of, really, so I got to imagine the whole thing up. With a bit of help from the department, we came up with this:







The design looks like this before print:





So... I suppose that's part of what I've been up to! Oh! Do you see our new prayer card hidden inside of this brochure?

:)

Why We Left the Mainstream Workforce: Our Side of the Story

(From Matt)

I spent two months interning at Missionary TECH Team before marrying Molly in 2007. I hoped that one day we would return to TECH; in fact, I brought Molly there on a scorching Texas camping trip in late July 2008 because I wanted her to meet the Team and see the office that we might one day serve in, but neither of us knew that God would have us return the following summer until that coming winter when God began changing our hearts radically.

At the beginning of 2009, God made it clear to us that, although we were living very Christian-ized lives, we were lukewarm. We were like the church of Laodicea in Revelation that became very comfortable and self-serving. The Lord shook us up by bringing us to an on-line sermon by Francis Chan of Cornerstone Church called “Lukewarm and Lovin’ It.” God wanted to wake us up and tell us that we needed to be 100% His representative. He was not just an addition to our talents, gifts and personalities... we were supposed to be functioning as an addition to His purposes.

Molly and I began shifting our views of money: no longer was it because of our own accord that we saw our earnings, but because God provided greatly for us. We also began realizing that it is only because of God’s mercy that we have any talents at all. We are nothing on our own.
We did not know that Molly would serve at Missionary TECH Team until a month and a half before we moved. We thought God would provide for us through her teaching in Longview, TX.

We both found confirmation from the Lord and others that He wanted Molly at TECH, so we began trying to raise support, which is usually a year-long process or more for most missionaries. We lived off of our savings for 6 months as we built up financial support. When we reached 50% of our goal in January 2010, we stopped trying to raise support, and we’ve seen God provide for bills that our support would not cover through people sending us special gifts or through the private music lessons Molly has been able to pick up. He is always proving himself generous and faithful.

We are thrilled that God has changed our hearts in regards to wanting to be completely His servants. We do not know how long He wants us to remain faith-supported missionaries. We DO know, however, that we will continue to follow the command to “go into all the world and preach the gospel,” and if the Lord asks us to return to the mainstream workforce, we will do so, knowing it is to serve and bring honor to Him.

What Does it Mean to be Faith-Supported

Recently several people have asked us about our income. I thought I'd explain a little bit for you about how we are paid at Missionary TECH Team and why. I wrote this in our up-coming brochure! If you have anything to add or take out, let me know, because we haven't printed the brochure, yet, but HURRY! :)

We are faith-supported missionaries, which is a confusing concept to many. There are basically two reasons why it is called faith-support.

1) The missionary receiving the support must have faith. The missionary does not receive a set salary by a company as a mainstream worker would, but instead he relies on the Lord, through faith, to provide for his needs. Throughout history, God has often verified His calling to missionaries by prompting others to share what He’s given them with the missionary.

2) The person supporting the missionary financially must have faith. The supporter gives to the missionary for several reasons, but the underlying theme found in supporters is that they have realized their money is fully God’s, and they feel prompted by Him to give to that missionary, above and beyond their typical tithing. This act of giving takes a lot of faith for the giver because he responds due to a prompting in spirit, and because he trusts that the Lord will continue to take care of his needs after the gift has been given.

A Couple Examples of Faith-Support in Scripture
The apostle Paul, though he worked as a tent-maker for part of his ministry, reported in 2 Corinthians 11:8-10 that there were several churches supporting his ministry, one being Macedonia. Mary Magdalene, Susanna and Joanna were three women who were among those that financially supported our Savior’s ministry during His final 3 years on earth. (Luke 8:1-3)

*There is a bit more to being faith-supported, but I wanted to make the concept understandable. Please let me know if I diminished any of the aspect of the subject.

(Thought I'd include the photo from
our literature while I was at it!!!)