Inspire! Women’s vision is to create a united sisterhood across ethnicities and denominations, inspired, trained, and mobilized for maximum missions and service. I was drawn to Inspire! Women, because I experienced first hand how they were living out their vision. Last November, I went to a conference held by Inspire! Women, and I got inspired. At the conference, I signed up for a free five-week discipleship training class taught by Anita Carman, the president and founder of Inspire! Women, and through the class I applied for their Gideon’s 300 Program, which mobilizes 300 women in the city to mentor, train, and send into the community for God.
I was applying for mentorship and biblical training, and I got offered a job that I didn’t feel ready to take. I tried to tell Anita and God that due to my circumstances, I don’t think I can do this right now. My parents aren’t believers and they didn’t bless my decision to work here, and they keep reminding me of all that they sacrificed for me. Shouldn’t I honor my mother and father? And I have a school loan, how will I pay for that? And I have a good paying job, why would God want me to raise support to work? It just didn’t seem logical.
But when is God logical to the human mind? He is supernatural! God showed me that things are not what they seem. 2 Corinthians 5:7 – “We live by faith, not by sight.” He wanted me to see He was working behind the scenes to take care of my worries, but to see, I had to persevere and trust. Through the struggle to go, it was no longer about the task, or the honor to work with Anita Carman, or my parent’s disapproval, or my lack of finances; it just became about me and God. Do I trust Him, and will I follow Him wherever and whenever He leads me? God wanted my primary reason for going to be for Him.
Psalm 40:3 – “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.” The day I said yes to the offer, God provided for the biggest thing holding me back from taking this position, my school loan. Someone called me and felt led to pay my monthly school loan payments for the next seven months, without even knowing my payment amount or me asking them to do that. Also, the day I moved into my new apartment, my parents cooked dinner for everyone who helped me move. I didn’t think they would ever bless my decision, but God is softening their hearts. And lastly, though I could continue with the praise reports, my company gave me an extended non-paid personal leave of absence, and they are donating to Inspire! Women. I struggled to surrender all my dreams and finances to God, because I had forgotten that when I give to God I am not losing anything.
Mark 10:29-30 – “‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus replied, ‘no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields – and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.'”
For the next seven months, I will be working in Houston as the Special Projects person at Inspire!, analyzing ways to improve on expenses, finding prospective donors, researching new training programs, and anything else they need me to do.
If you feel God is leading you to take this next step of faith with me, please consider praying for and/or supporting Inspire! Women financially. Part of my training is raising support, and the more of my stipend that I raise, the more women we can help. My monthly stipend before taxes is $1,200 a month, $8,400 for all 7 months. I paid 20% out of my pocket, $1,680, and God has already provided for my school loan payments, $2,450. I have $4,270 remaining to raise for the following:
– $2,100 for food for seven months
– $1,085 Gas and Car Insurance for seven months
– $1,080 Medical Insurance for seven months
Prayer requests for Inspire! Women:
– We will be a women’s movement, taking back women for God
– God’s daughters will be highly trained and moved from God’s word
– Courage, unity, compassion, mercy, and love within our team
Thank you for your love and support.
Your sister in Christ,
Mia
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