Fără Limite · Matching Gift

The privilege of sharing

Dear friends,

We hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for walking with us through another summer here in the Jiu Valley, and for every prayer that carried us through it.

A few weeks ago we wrote to you about camp, and at the end we mentioned a matching gift. This is that letter. A few partners of the ministry have offered to match every dollar given, up to C$40,000, if we raise the same amount by December 31. But before we ask you for anything, we want to share a passage from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 that has deeply encouraged us as we think about all that you give.

Paul begins with the churches in Macedonia. They were poor and going through a hard season, and yet they pleaded with him for the privilege of sharing. To them, giving was not a bill to pay. It was a grace from God, and a share in his work. Near the end, Paul writes this:

Your gift does two things at once. It supplies the needs of God’s people. Here, for us, that means first of all our team: Ionuț, Ruben, Adi and Damaris. They are Romanians who have given themselves to this ministry with their whole hearts, and they are the ones with these kids day after day, all year long. Your gift lets them keep doing that work and raise their families faithfully while they do it. They are not just staff; they are missionaries.

Second, it overflows in thanks to God. We know, because we are the ones giving the thanks. We thank him for children who hear the gospel from someone who knows their name. For role models in lives that have not had one. For kids learning what they are worth, and being challenged to climb past what life has put in front of them. For young leaders rising up in a valley that has long been forgotten and without hope.

Paul says that those who receive will pray for those who give, and that their hearts will go out to you. Our hearts go out to you. We pray for you! We are in the same work, for the same Lord.

And he ends where all of this begins: thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. That gift is Christ, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” We give because we were first given to.

Many of you are planning your year-end giving now. Paul asked the Corinthians to prepare their gift ahead of time, so it would be “ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given,” and to give “what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” There is real joy in giving: the one who gives is blessed, the one who receives is blessed, and all of it ends in praise to the Lord for what he has provided.

The match goes to the heart of the work, all year long: the climbing program, the education program, the “I Can Too” leather workshop, youth group and camps, and the salaries and utilities that keep them all running. Our costs have risen sharply, and our budget has fallen behind. Meeting this match would first bring us back to where we need to be to sustain what we already do, and then give us some room to grow. We long to grow even further, but first the work needs to stand on firm ground.

And with that in mind, we thank you for your prayers and your giving. Some of you generously give through a one-time gift, doubling your impact with this matching campaign; we thank you for that and we greatly appreciate your support. For others, if you are able and you feel led to partner with us in a more consistent way, your ongoing support would make a long-term impact in these ministries. Would you consider signing up for monthly giving? The needs are ongoing, and your continued support makes it possible for us to serve year after year. If you can give monthly, or commit to giving each year, you help sustain this work for the long term.

Everything is at faralimite.com/match. If you would like a tax receipt in the US or Canada, choose the RCA option there. Every gift counts toward the match, however you give.

One small request: when you give, use the button below to let us know the amount. Your name is optional and will never be shown; it simply helps us update the match total quickly.

We are praying for you, and we pray this over you: “God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

With thankful hearts,

Felipe & Janelle

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