As humans age and their hair turns into substitute bright and shinny halos or slick empty bird nest, others see us as specimens of wisdom and keepers of the secrets of longevity. I say blah…humbug! But still, nonetheless, I am often approach in my twilight years (because of my white hair and longevity) by my young friends and church acquaintances who remember my youthful vocation as an international missionary, to school them on how I approached my prayer partners for monetary contributions whenever I embarked on a mission trip. Some of them desperately need financial support as they embark upon God’s calling on their lives, while others just want to receive a copy of some of my contribution letters.

What can I say. Somebody helped me back in the day, so now it is time for me to pass the gauntlet and share in what ever way I can to help keep God’s work going forward. And maybe, just maybe, there is someone else out there who needs a helping hand in this matter. Therefore, below I have reprinted one of my most successful letters wherein I solicited my prayer partners to help me meet my financial goals to travel to St. Petersburg, Russia to administer and distribute humanitarian relief to children in an orphan home sponsored by Buckner International in Mesquite, Texas.

After conversing with my teacher, the Holy Spirit, this is what I wrote.

Date: August 2013

To: All my Friends and Parayer Partners around the world

Subject: Soliciting your financial contributions and fervent prayers for my next international mission trip.

Good evening, dear friends and prayer partners, who have in the past shown me considerable kindness and generous support as I continue walking in His grace and mercy while striving to live out my sincere promise to minister to the abandon and homeless children in orphan homes around the world.

As you may know, with the Lord on my side, I have been faithful in my duties to walk worthy and to seek an understanding in the ways of our Lord as He ministers to the lost and forsaken through persons like me who volunteer their time, talent and services.

In His own way, Jesus spoke to me in 2007 while I still lived in Rockville, Maryland and made it clear that I had to sell my laundry mat and residence and relocate to a place that He would show me. Within a short period of time and after praying for guidance and patience, that place turned out to be Dallas, Texas, where I have resided for the past 6 years.

Shortly after relocating, I availed myself to 3 years of in depth mission work/studies at a local church and subsequently teamed up with Buckner International, a philanthropy world-wide organization that sponsors, financially supports and provides humanitarian aid and supplies to house orphans and caregivers in almost every country around the world.

Since 2007, I have been blessed to travel with Buckner and do missions work in Lima, Peru; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Hanoi, Viet Nam; Bucharest, Romania; San Miguel De Allende, Mexico; and Amman, Jordan. In those countries, we supplied shoes, socks, medical supplies, taught English as a second language, conducted Vacation Bible School and we always arrived bearing gifts for the caregivers, staff and government officials at the facilities.

As I view my travel exploits through the eyes of Jesus, I have learned that it does not matter if the country practices Christianity or not, because God always shows up anyway. I want you to view this website: https://wordpress.com/post/tgifmasterminds.com/999 and read how God intervened in a man’s heart who was a believer in the Buddhist philosophy. (I was truly humbled as God used me in my frailness to plant a seed in a blood-drenched land [don’t forget the Viet Nam War] where no one, neither America nor Viet Nam had turned to repent or to ask for His intervention or forgiveness.)

In closing this belated Newsletter, I would like to share with you where my next mission trip will take me. God willing, on October 3, 2013, I, along with 16 other Buckner missionaries, will be traveling to St. Petersburg, Russia for 12 days. The flight will be long and the finances required for this mission voyage is well over $5,000. Presently, my part-time employment and other entrepreneur ventures have contributed $4,000 towards this expense; but time is of the essence and I desperately need an additional $1,400.

My prayer is that the message St. Luke recorded in his Gospel will resonate in your hearts:

If you are so inclined to assist me financially on this worthwhile journey, please use the enclosed flashlight (my gift to you) to peer into the corners of your couches, pant pockets, extra purses and piggy banks and donate whatever the Lord dictates, and yours truly will be forever grateful. For income tax purposes, you can make all checks payable to Buckner International or to me, and mail them to my address by August 20, 2013. A receipt will be forthcoming. Also, if you will provide me with an e-mail address, I will send you real-time photos and updates of my assignment while serving in Russia.

Scripture Lesson: “If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” Romans 12:8

Click http://www.tgifmasterminds.com every Friday for a new post from The Master’s servant manager…Me!