Fundraising

I have always felt awkward about asking for financial support. However, I have never felt awkward about giving financial support! We have been called for many years to support the mission field through giving and have been blessed to be able to support many missionaries. Now it is our turn to go and serve and to accept others financial support. We would love for you to be blessed through supporting us. 

“Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Philippians 4:17-18 

We will be quitting our jobs during this time and so our source of income will be our savings. God has blessed us tremendously in our finances to allow us to be able to do this. We also have full faith that God will continue to support and bless us as we serve Him. 

We have budgeted our startup costs as well as our monthly costs. The total cost of this trip will be around 27,000. Although this seems like a large amount to raise, we have already seen Gods faithfulness through supporters.  

If you would like more information or a breakdown of our financial needs please let us know and we will provide that. 

You can give a tax-deductible donation to us through Teen Missions by sending us a check made out to Teen Missions. Or click the link to donate online.
https://teenmissions.org/team-member/robert-harms

Please only give if this is something you feel led to do. And please continue to read our blog and follow along with us if you do not give! We covet your prayers more than any financial support!

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Prep work

We have about 5 months left before we leave California, our official leave date is May 27th. We bought our tickets to fly to Florida where we will spend the first month of our journey at the Teen Missions base getting to know the US staff and helping run the training “boot camp” for the teens who will be going on missions trips this summer. If you get a chance go look at the teen missions website to see all the things they do!

Robby has started the work on our bathroom! We picked out all the tile and he is busy getting prepped and laying the tile.

first pieces of tile being put down.
After the tile is put in Robby will replace the sheetrock
The whole shower will be replaced and tiled

We are preparing the girls as well. I started letting them sleep in their little kid tents so they associate these with sleep and will have a safe bug free place to sleep no matter where we are! Their bedroom looks a little crazy but thankfully both girls love sleeping in their tents!

Abby’s tent on the floor. I can zip down the screen to keep them bug free
Nora’s tent in her crib

we have also started slowly to pack up some of the house. I am currently sorting clothes and packing up baby clothes to put into storage which means clothes are everywhere! I have made a list of what sizes and what clothes we will need when we are gone. It works perfectly that when Abby outgrows her clothes now Nora is growing into them! It’s hard to know what to pack up now that we won’t be using in the next few months but we packed up all the Christmas decorations and put them in the storage container as well as some books and no knack items.

We know the motto of mission life is to be flexible and ready to do anything so we are preparing to be willing servants and ready to tackle any projects that need to be done! With that being said some of the projects for Robby that have been mentioned have been redoing the plumbing in the staff housing that is 20+ years old and in disrepair as well as teaching the local staff some basic plumbing and maintenance skills. They also may be working on building a new matrons unit which is a dormitory style boarding house for girls who have to travel to other villages to attend school so they can have a safe place to stay while continuing their education.

Many people have asked how they can support us. We are in the process of setting up an online place where you can donate to teen missions on behalf of us so it will be tax deductible. You can also send us a check made out to teen missions. But the best support we can receive is your prayers. Prayer for safety and endurance for us as we travel, I am not looking forward to long flights with the three babes! Prayer that we will be efficient and effective in our work and that we will not be a burden to our hosts. This is what we need most!

Thank you for reading!
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We are Headed to Malawi

It was sometime in June, I was 8 months pregnant and the only move I was thinking about was moving to a bigger house. As always God had a more exciting plan. We got the mail and there was a newsletter from Teen Mission International (TMI) with a short blurb on the back requesting help at their base in Malawi Africa. They were specifically requesting volunteers with plumbing and welding experience as well as anyone with medical skills… Here we are God, send us. It just so happens that Robby is a journeyman plumber with welding experience and I am a nurse.

Robby and I have always talked about doing missions work of some kind. I grew up going on summer mission trips with Teen Missions. I have helped build orphanages, refurbish summer camps and build dorms for Bible colleges. After getting my nursing license I went on several medical missions as well. Mission work has always been part of my life and has been a desire of Robby as well. So when we heard/read the call in that newsletter we decided that we could not turn down such an incredible opportunity!

We have said yes to TMI and are choosing to leave June 2020 to move for nine months to serve and support their missionaries in Malawi. We are still in the planning phase and have many questions about what we will do and what everyday life will be like. Many questions will be unanswered until we get there! But we have started the prep work; we have bought a sea-can to store all of our belongings in while we are gone,

we have put together a budget of expenses for the 9 months we will be gone as well as all the equipment and expenses such as passports and visas and airfare, and I am starting on all the paperwork for the passports for all the girls and myself!

I am starting this blog as a way to update anyone who wants to follow along as we take a step of faith to see what God has for us in Africa! I will update a few times as we prepare with prayer requests and our planning but the real fun will happen in June when we actually leave!

We have already been so amazed by how God has been planning this trip before we even knew we were going. Our greatest need right now and going forward is prayer so we are asking for you to partner with us.

Some things that we need prayer for:

  1. We need to remodel our master bathroom, it’s just studs and a cement floor right now. Robby is incredibly handy and capable of this task we just need to find/use our time wisely to get this done.
  2. We are looking into what to do with our house when we are gone, do we rent it, do we use it as a furlough home for other missionaries?
  3. We have no guarantee of our jobs being available when we get home. We are not worried about this but just seek prayer that God will provide.

Thank you for reading and praying! -Robby and Marissa

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