Monday, November 21, 2005

Support level at time of departure

Figuring out where our support level is right now is pretty tricky. For one, our US based support from individuals is still trickling in because it has to be routed through a mission in Pennsylvania first. We also have no firm idea of who will be supporting us on a sporadic or yearly basis because some gifts were given to us in one-time format but the giver may plan to give at least annually. Finally, we still have no idea of what to expect from the churches as they are still in their budgeting stages. With all that said though, our support from individuals now stands at about $800 per month in Canadian dollars. This is good, considering that the churches should contribute at least another $800 per month when they come aboard (based on what we can figure out). That means that we are probably going to be sitting at around 80% of our total support level by February ($1600 out of $2000 per month). We have absolutely no idea how far our money will stretch in Brazil. So we're taking the approach that we'll work with what we have as it comes.

As far as money to get started with--as you probably remember, we were expecting a few thousand dollars left over from the sale of our house after our debts were paid to use toward buying furniture and such in our first days in Brazil. That didn't work out. However, since we've taken so long to get to Sao Paulo, we have not been using our pay from the school. Cary only makes about $1000 US per month in salary, but he's been on the payroll since his contract started in July. This means that when we arrive in Brazil, Cary will be paid about $5000 US in back pay (how's that for easy money?) We've also been paying all of the costs for the move out of our own pocket, even though the school pays 100% of our moving expenses, including the visa expenses. We've calculated our receipts and we have over $3000 US coming to us in reimbursements.

We also got really good news from the school last week. They found a stove, fridge and clothes dryer in the storage area of the school that another teacher had left behind some time ago. They are in good condition and we have been given the green light to go ahead and use these appliances rather than have to buy new ones. This alone will save us close to $2000 as appliances are very expensive in Brazil. Add to this that our house rent is covered by the school as well as our car expenses, and we should be okay for the first little while, even though we won't be getting much in the way of support from our mission board due to the fact that the churches aren't on board yet.

We also have this great promise: "The Lord shall supply for all your needs according to His riches in glory."