I’m on my knees as I type, making a really epic puppy-dog face.

I wrote several inspiring, passionate, convincing posts about our trip and why we do this. (See below if you missed those.) So you know the why.

I need you for the How.

We have students who are working their butts off and having a really hard time getting funds in. We have students who belong to mostly secular families, and are getting no response to support letters. We have people and small businesses who have given generously in the past, but can’t do the same this time.

We have a group of starry-eyed young people who want to spend a week in the jungle with no electricity and no showers so they can be a part of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth. They’re searching out toxic bug repellents and getting exotic vaccines and mowing strangers’ lawns and knocking on every door they can walk to in order to make it happen.

We also have domestic air fare that was most costly than we bargained for, and extra fees and costs that we didn’t see coming.

Here is what I’m asking of you:

1. Prayer. Seriously. Don’t smile and think, “That’s right. Prayer first. Glad you didn’t go straight to the money thing, I hate it when people do that. Prayer comes first. Mm-hmm.” and then not pray.This isn’t about saying the right thing. We really need prayer.We really need prayer because I know there are people who would give us the balance if they had it, but they don’t. You can pray, though, and we need you to.

   Pray that God would release unexpected bonuses to missionaries’ parents. Pray that He would move on the hearts of people as they answer their doors, and as they find those stamped return envelopes tomorrow when they sit down to write bills. Pray for favor over those envelopes. Pray that the business owners who are getting our sponsorship information won’t disregard it, but that they’ll be moved to give – or even that they’ll just remember how badly they wanted more tax deductions six months ago.

   And pray for faith for our leaders as well as our students. Pray that we’ll remember to check our hearts before we speak, that we’ll live in faith, believing God is able.

2. Give. Ya. It’s still about money. Make sure you’re not praying for yourself one moment and being disobedient the next.If you can give – anything – please don’t wait any longer. If you were waiting to see if we’d really need it, we do. If you were waiting to see how much we’d need at the end, it’s probably more than you were considering giving anyway. (And if it’s not, the extra will still go to missions and you’ll still get to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” someday.)

   If you can give – even if it’s only $5 – you can do it through our church’s secure online giving portal. Just PLEASE make sure to indicate that it’s for Student Missions.

Those posts:

• Two Steps to Sending the Gospel to Ecuador
• I Have an Ulterior Motive for Missions Trips
• Christians Should Keep Their Faith to Themselves