What support raising is like

"Hi [so and so} this is Jessica. Hey there! How's it going? I was just calling because I'm following up with you since I sent you my initial support team letter a few weeks ago. Did you happen to receive it?

"Yes, we did get that. It's a really cool thing what you're doing"

"Awesome. Well, I'm trying to meet with everyone who got one of my letters so that I can explain more about my ministry in Ethiopia, and also to see if you might be interested in being one of my financial team partners, or partner in another way for this ministry. When might you be available to meet?"

And so on. And so on. And so on. I'm not exactly sure how many official support appointments I've done either in person or over the phone, but it seems like it's been a lot!

This support raising journey so far as been an interesting one. In starting out doing this back in mid-March of this year, I left my Interview and Orientation week well trained and feeling nervous about going about it. But it's one of those things you have to just do in spite of how you might be feeling. My first support appointment was with my friends Dave and Ami, who true to form had me over for an excellent dinner and over wine afterwards they listened intently as I did my support talk (with a lot of do-overs) and asked some really good intriguing questions. Now I have what I'm going to say more or less perfected, but I still get little butterflies when I meet with people.

What I didn't really expect is how much pressure I tend to put on myself to say the exact right thing to potential supporters, thinking that if I don't, somehow they won't support me. What the reality ends up being is that people seem to really care about me, and once they hear the basics of what I'm going to be doing, they seem generally excited to support me. I have no idea why this is a surprise to me. I guess I doubt a lot my ability to explain what I'm going to be doing or to connect with people, but that's probably a lie I'm believing because I seem to be able to usually connect with anyone, and next thing you know I'm recruiting a friend who's a nurse practitioner and has never been on a missions trip to come over to Ethiopia to be on one of our short-term teams and asking her if she wants to support me.

I do think I've learned three things thus far in this journey. First off, people like to have a relationship with you. I think they really like that I want to meet with them personally, and that I put the time into genuinely catching up with them and asking them what's going on in their lives. I think they like my project video, and they like that I try to think of ways as to why they would want to support it. I think they like asking whatever questions they want, even if I don't know the answers. Plus, I think generally most people can't leave their jobs and families and do something like this, so it gives them a neat way to make a difference in another country and have their kids learn about missions, and now they know a missionary personally.

B)- I've learned that people need to be challenged to give money away to something. I think at least in American culture, for me to be clear that I will at some point ask them to support me financially, and that I do ask in the most clear and direct way I can, really helps. I don't think I'm pushy with it, but I usually just say something like "would you be willing to be a part of my team in a financial way" and they usually say they have to think about it. I've also had people say "no" but they still want to be involved. Awesome, I think! It seems like people have a lot of ways they could spend their money, and an up front "ask" lets them know that you think their money is well spent invested in your project, and you care enough to ask them directly.

C) the actual result of these appointments is 100% up to God. Just like if you're talking to someone about your faith in Christ and why you are a Christian, you can ask them if they're interested in learning how to believe this for themselves, and they can either say yes or no. But unless you actually ask, you don't really know what they are thinking. What happens later is God's business. I do ask people if I can follow up with them if they say they will think about it, and most everyone is grateful that I will because aren't we all busy and forget sometimes? So I do A LOT of following-up. But isn't that how God is with us? He is constantly calling us back to him, reminding us of His presence and truth, and shepherding us in the way we should go.

Overall, this part of my journey has been really encouraging. I've left support appointments more often then not feeling so grateful that I am "forced" to actually go and build ministry partners. With each appointment so many people pray for me, make me a really nice meal, and talk with me about my excitement for Ethiopia. Not everything about this is always awesome, and I'm sure I will write a blog about the not-so-awesome parts about it someday, but wow, it really is such a neat, neat, thing.

Oh, and if you're reading this, and want to support me, let me know, I'll meet with ya and tell you allll about it! :)