#givingtuesday

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

 Did you know that today is known as Giving Tuesday in many parts of the world?

It's a day when people can give to help charities and organizations.

So today, on this #givingtuesday, I write with an idea of how you can partner with me by giving of your finances. By doing so, you'd be helping me fulfill the call God's placed on my life to further His Kingdom through the education of incredible children.

A couple weeks ago, I sent out my usual missions newsletter and I also added in a prayer request with a rather urgent financial need.

 Since then I've received quite a few questions. And while I've answered them, I thought I'd share a bit here about what I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and how you can help.

What do you do?

I'm a Missionary Associate with the Assemblies of God. I am blessed enough to do a job I'm passionate about. I have the privilege and honor of being a missionary AND a teacher. I teach Special Education at Dakar Academy, an international Christian school in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa.

Why do you do it?

Simple answer... God called me here. And I so love what I do!

How does your support raising work?

I have a specific amount of money I must raise for the A/G to approve me staying on the field. So I must raise the required amount of monthly commitments and one-time cash donations before they give me that approval. Because I'm a teacher, it makes it a bit difficult to do a normal year-long itineration (fundraising) time in the States. Therefore, I spend my summer breaks traveling, connecting with supporters, speaking at churches, and raising my support in that way. I also do a lot of connecting via email, Facebook, and phone calls while I'm here in Senegal. 

You're already in Senegal, though. Why do you need to raise more funds?

Due to a few different reasons, I need to build up my missions cash account. Some pledged/promised support has not been coming in each month, so to cover my salary, they're having to pull from my "cash account." Also, furnishing my classroom completely from scratch cost far more than I originally thought it would. And so on... 

At any rate, my cash account is starting to dwindle. And I've received an email from our AGWM office that said I need to build it back up and I need to do so quickly.

How much do you need to raise?

I need to raise $430 in monthly commitments and $4000 in one-time cash donations.

How long do you have to raise these funds?

The sooner the better... If I don't show significant increases in my account by June, I could run into issues though. So ideally, it'll happen more on the sooner side :)

What do you use the monthly commitments for?

This amount pays my salary, my insurance, taxes, and living expenses.

What do you use the cash donations for?

This is the money I use to purchase various items for my ministry here in Dakar. It also is the money that I use to pay for my attendance at various conferences required by AGWM. Also, as in my current situation, if my promised monthly support doesn't come in, they pull from my cash account to cover, so I can receive my full paycheck each month.

What happens if you don't raise your full support?

If my account depletes, I have to go back to the US for a longer itineration (fundraising) time than the upcoming summer trip I have planned. 

But y'all... This canNOT happen.

Why? 

I teach. I can't be gone for more than a summer at this point.

And selfishly... I worked my tail off to get this class up and running. There is no way I'm leaving. Nope. They're stuck with me for a long time :) Kidding.

Honestly... These kids have no other schooling option here. If I leave, what happens to them? And I fully, 100% know God has called me here and that God is not finished with the job He has called me here to do. Therefore, I cannot leave. So I really, really need to raise these funds. It's as simple as that.

What are your plans for the summer?

I haven't purchased my ticket yet. Since this expense comes out of pocket, I have to wait until I can save up that amount to get the ticket. But as of now, I'm looking at arriving around the 9th of June and then leaving around the 4th of August. The exact dates will depend on when I am able to purchase my ticket and seeing what's available.

The plan for this summer is... I will travel and speak at as many churches and visit with as many families and individuals as possible. All the while, I'll be sharing my heart and raising funds and awareness for this incredible group of kids God has placed in my care and the ones He'll send my way next school year and in the years to come, as well. 

Will you speak to/share with our church, small group, school group, etc.? What about meeting for dinner or coffee while here and sharing about your work?

I would love to say yes to all. Send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com with what you have in mind and when. If we can make it happen while I'm back, I would love this! 

What about Skype, Facetime, or another video-conference type call?

This is a great option! I'm available (even now, while overseas) via Skype. Many churches now will do a video call with a missionary while they're serving overseas. If you'd like to do that, send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com and we'll set something up.

If we want to donate, how can we?

If you feel led to donate to my ministry and to help keep me in Senegal, doing what God's called me to do, there are a few different options....

You may click HERE and follow the steps to set up a recurring (monthly) commitment OR to make a one-time cash donation. By doing it online, it's quick and easy. It's tax-deductible too, by the way.

 You may send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com and I can send you a form to help you donate via a check through the mail. By doing it this way, you don't have to make a payment online. But it's still tax-deductible, by the way.

Want to donate specific supplies, etc., for my class? You may send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com and I'll give you information on how to do that. 

And as always, prayer is HUGE. You can help a ton by praying for my ministry, for my finances, for my students, and for just me in general. 

I'll take all of the prayers I can get :)

A Week in Black and White

A while back there was a fun "challenge" of sorts floating around on Facebook, where you were supposed to share 1 black and white photo a day for 7 days. It gave people a glimpse into your life, in a slightly different format/style than usual. 

It was fun and it got me thinking...

Why don't I do that here?

But sharing only 7 pictures probably wouldn't too interesting. So I decided to share a full week of black and white photos. A week in the life of yours truly...

I knew my week last week would NOT be a normal one anyway, due to it including a shorter week of school, some fun activities with my class, a fun event at school, Thanksgiving, a big meal with my fellow AG-ers, an escape from work/home, and a lot of down time too. 

Here's how my week went.

Monday was a fairly normal, run of the mill kind of day, I led our Staff devotions before school. Then the school day included your typical lessons and a couple fun Thanksgiving-themed activities. It also included a can of Dr. Pepper to give me that needed caffeine boost at lunch time. I made dinner for a couple of our AG MKs that evening. And then once they'd left, heading to their evening plans, I headed downstairs to my Bible Study where our hostess for the evening treated us to a delicious meal.

Tuesday was a good day. We had fun in class doing some typical and not as typical lessons/activities. I had to cover for our secretary at lunch time while she had a meeting. We made Thanksgiving Books in Friendship Club after school. I had to make a veggie run after school to the local fruit/veggie vendor. And then a bunch of our staff was invited to a fancy-schmancy event to celebrate a major holiday for the country of Oman. Perks of having a dignitary's child as a student... :) Anywho, Since it ended quite late, I crashed once I got home. It was definitely a long, full, and rewarding day.

 

On Wednesday, we got out of school early, but not before enjoying a bit of M&M math. Then we all "picnic'd" and watched our staff, students, and parents play some good ol' American football for our school's Turkey Bowl.  After a while, I worked in my room and then headed to friends' house for a couple nights. We had a tasty dinner and I made my dessert for the next day. And my friend shared her candy and Netflix for a bit of Brooklyn 99 (funny, funny show!). 

Thursday started with a cup of tea and breakfast with friends. Later in the morning, I made/prepped my contributions to the Thanksgiving meal and I helped my friends a bit with their dishes. And then it was time to head over to our AG Thanksgiving get-together. Lunch was delicious and even included turkey (a rare treat here in Dakar). And the fellowship together afterwards was nice too. After that, I headed back to my friends' house where we all kind of sat around and later played games and had a PB&J for supper.

On Friday, I had a bowl full of tasty, fresh fruit and a cup of peach tea for breakfast. Then I did a couple hours of work on the computer. Throughout the day, I prayed for our kids/staff on Outreach out in a nearby village, and loved getting reports of how God was moving out there. That evening, I went out for Korean deliciousness, followed by a tasty ice cream dessert on the way home.

On Saturday, I was as lazy as possible. Around lunch time, my neighbor and I pooled our resources to make a tasty lunch. And she let me be the taste tester for some cookies she'd just made. Then I went home and continued my goal of laziness and I read most of the afternoon/evening. By dinner time, I was starving. So I made dinner and ate it, while doing a bit of Christmas shopping for my family, while periodically checking the score of the Alabama/Auburn game, since my wifi was out and data was too expensive to stream the game. 

Then yesterday, I made some peanut butter cookies to have on hand for the week, put up a few Christmas decorations, and then spent the day reading. I took advantage of my last free day to do a whole lot of nothing. Then last night, I headed over to church to hear the testimonies of our Outreach team back from their weekend in the village.

And that was my week. How was your week last week?

What's Up November

Happy Friday Y'all.

Today I'm joining  Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. Only since I forgot to post this on Wednesday, I'm posting it on Friday instead :) 

 

Every month we answer the same few questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating this week?

Yesterday was Thanksgiving :)

What am I reminiscing about? 

November 2014 - I took my dad to the South Alabama vs. Navy game. He was pretty sick/weak at that point, but seemed to perk up on that day and we had such a nice time together that day. I will always cherish the memories from that time together

 

What am I loving?

I'm loving the opportunities I have as a result of this calling God's placed on my life. Ones like a fancy party for a sultan, where I got to dress up and hang out with this cutie :)

What have I been up to?

Lots of Thanksgiving themed activities :)

What am I dreading? 

Not seeing my family for Christmas... Yes, I'm happy I'll be attending our All Africa conference/retreat with fellow "global workers." And yes, I'll enjoy having a lot of down time and time to catch up on sleep, and maybe even work too... But it's still sad knowing I won't see my family at Christmas. 

Of course, on the flip side... Seeing them in June is going to be oh so SWEET!

* our last Christmas together before my dad passed away *

What am I working on?

Reading Comprehension. Oh my word is this hard for my crew...

What am I excited about?

Y'all, this weekend is awesome! I love thought of having a long weekend full of days with NO alarm waking me up! It will be heavenly... And I may wake up at 5:30 like normal, because my brain feels the need to do so. But I don't mind because I'll be able to take a nap (or two) during the day if I wanted. Simply heavenly :)

What am I watching?

I've been on a Boy Meets World kick lately. 



What am I reading?

Since my last What's Up Wednesday post, I've read a lot of books. In fact, I've read more than normal. So I thought I'd do a whole separate post recapping what I've read. My goal is to have it up on Monday. We'll see though...

What am I listening to?

I just bought the Pentatonix Christmas Deluxe album on Facebook as my one new Christmas CD for this holiday season. And yes, I've totally been "jamming" out to Christmas music already even though it's not even Thanksgiving yet :)

What am I wearing?

I've worn my hair down a few times recently. 

Why? 

Y'all Cool Season in Dakar has FINALLY arrived! Praise the Lord! :)

What am I doing this weekend?

It's Thanksgiving Break, so I'm spending a few nights with some friends and ignoring the sound of the construction work in my building as much as possible. Ha! :) My main goals for this weekend were to catch up on sleep, hang out with friends, read, and map out the rest of this semester. So far, I've succeeded. And y'all... Here's hoping the rest of the weekend goes the same way :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Christmas activities with my class!
Christmas party with my class!
AG Christmas party!
catching up on sleep!
no school for a few weeks!

No alarm clock for a couple weeks!

Christmas!
AG All Africa Conference/Retreat!

What else is new?

Not much. Same ol' same ol' :)

So what are YOU up to this month?