To start this off I'd like to say that a lot of my insecurities on this topic come from my fear of judgment, not from my feeling toward people I have received these letters from.
Support letters. We've all received them. We've all been cynics. We've all judged.
I, myself, have always been very aware of peoples feeling (good and bad) toward "support letters". Maybe it's because somewhere deep down, I've had the fear that I would one day need to write one myself. And here I am! Sitting down, trying to figure out the least awkward way to tell everyone I'm going on a mission trip (without bragging), and ask them for support (without begging). I've decided there's going to be no way around the awkwardness. Story of my life.
But I had a really good conversation with a friend of mine the other day when I was telling him about my trip. After I finished telling him about the children's homes I would be working with he immediately asked for my address, and I immediately changed the subject. You see I have this problem... it's a thing called pride. Maybe you've heard of it? Anyways, I knew he wanted to help support me in my mission. But I was afraid of seeming like a beggar asking for money from one of my closest friends. He was relentless, and I eventually ended up giving him my address. He's a good friend.
After this encounter I started getting really nervous, knowing that I was going to need to probably send out support letters if I am going to be able to raise the $3,000 that I need. So after several days of breaking down my pride, Jesus brought this verse to my attention-3john 1:5-8. It talks about supporting believer that are working in spreading the truth. The writer of 3john is telling a friend that it is to their benefit to support these people, because it makes them co-workers. CO-WORKERS. How neat is that. This also helps me because I definitely cannot do this on my own.. I NEED some solid co-workers on my team. Not even necessarily for financial support, but for spiritual support.
So if you do happen to receive a letter from me, begging you for money, know that I respect you and want you as a part of my team :)
Shalom y'all.
