The original Reporter story about the "Grassroots Effort" in support of LCMS World Mission by Paula Schlueter Ross can be found Here! The effort began after the Board for Mission Services released nearly one-third of its St. Louis staff...the second such "in-house" cut within a year. The Board also eliminated 28 overseas missionary positions.
Since the first e-mail and the article were published, individuals have shared them with others; churches have published the news in their bulletins and the movement just keeps going. The gifts from $1.00 to thousands of dollars just keep growing! As of April 7, the total had reached $60,970.00, not counting gifts that may have been prompted by it, but were not specifically earmarked for the grassroots effort.
Some of the notes and stories that have accompanied gifts are amusing. Some are inspiring. We told some of the stories the last two weeks here in our "Stories to Inspire." Here are some more.
One woman wrote: "I'm a widow, disabled by multiple sclerosis. But God has blessed me in many ways. By His grace I've been saved. I look forward to the day He takes me home and I see Him face to face. How can others have this assurance of salvation without missionaries to share the Gospel so the Holy Spirit can work? I hope my small contribution along with many others will continue the work of Lutheran missionaries."
Another woman sent a dollar for each person in five different households of her family. A couple sent $20 with the note: "We don't have 18 kids, but since our kids are missionaries we decided to up the ante!"
A man wrote: "My wife passed into heaven last April, which leaves me alone in the household. Furthermore I have no computer, so I cannot involve seven other people. But since I have inherited monies from my wife's estate, I wish to share some of it in this much-needed endeavor."
Another...a missionary in his own right...wrote: "Because God has blessed and taken care of me these 77 years I am sending a small token of thanks.... We are dairy farmers and have trainees from other countries. I feel all I can do is plant the seed. God will take care of it from there. The newest trainee is from Latvia and was raised a communist. I am finding it difficult to engage in conversation about his life in the future. At age 22 he feels like he will live a long time and he believes there is no God, no heaven and no hell. But I know we are planting the seed—God will do the rest."
Until further notice, all gifts to the project "Where LCMS World Mission needs it most" on the Giving Catalog will be counted toward the grassroots effort. You can click on the words Giving Catalog and make your gift right now!