Reward of Answering the call to Mission

Our fundraising efforts are going very well for our team to Culebra.  We are
a small church with a very small budget ( I am a part time local pastor) and
until we hit rock bottom in 1998(August) with 1.53 total in our checking
account did things begin to turn around.  I prayed and prayed about what to
do and God said "send out a mission team".  When I announced to the
fellowship that we would be sending a VIM team to Vieques in the summer of
1999 and that we would raise all of the necessary money through commitments
of our people to either be go'ers or senders they thought I was crazy.  In
just over 2 months we raised 2,000 more than was needed and sent our team
(along with some people from another church) to Vieques.  Since then our
financial situation has continued to improve and so has our heart for
missions grown.  We have made a covenant relationship with a young coupe in
Papua New Guinea who received (through New Tribes Mission) 2% of our general
offerings, we sponsor a child through Compassion International, our Sunday
School children buy animals through the Heifer Project and we help many, many
local families in times of need.  God is good, all the time.

Pastor Barry Taylor,    Union Bridge UMC, MD (Balt/Wash Conference)