Dana is one of my new blogging friends. (I mentioned her in the post below.) Ever since I visited her website, I’ve been intrigued by her calling in life: to serve as a Wycliffe missionary in Tanzania. I had a few questions for her and thought you might enjoy meeting her, too.
First of all, how long have you and Jonathan been married?
We’ve been married since October of 2004. So about 2 1/2 years…
Were you both interested in the mission field? Maybe one more so than the other?
We were both interested in missions when we met. How we got where we are now I have in a blog post here: http://www.jonathananddana.com/dana/?p=113.
Why Tanzania?
Well, this isn’t a great, romantic story. Jonathan’s role in missions is to put Scripture into audio/visual form such as tapes, Jesus video, radio programs, etc. We looked to see what countries needed this kind of help (and was asking for it). Tanzania was one that appealed to both of us. As we looked into Tanzania and a couple other locations, God opened the doors to Africa wide open while completely shutting all other doors. So we walked through until here we are.
What do you expect to be the greatest challenge? Greatest reward? What do you anticipate the effect on your marriage to be?
Greatest challenge: difference in lifestyle I guess – I’m a picky eater here, I’m task-oriented, and introverted… a lot of adjusting to do! The effect on our marriage – I don’t know really – hopefully we’ll grow closer since we’re on the same team going in the same direction for the same reason.
How does the support level work? Would a monthly pledge of as small as $10 make a difference? Or a one-time gift of $100?
We have to raise all of our own support in order to get there, live there, and work there – so we pay our own insurance, taxes, living costs, and ministry expenses. The total estimated need is $2,597 a month. Currently we’re at 52.1% of that goal. We are completely supported through the giving of others. People can partner with us monthly, quarterly, or annually. One-time gifts DO help to get us there and help us to get set up. (For example, that pays our trip out there, set-up of a home, and buying a vehicle.) The checks are sent to Wycliffe in Orlando with a note attached saying it’s for the ministry of ‘Jonathan and Dana McCall’. Therefore, it goes to us and at the same time is tax deductible to the donor.
We can’t leave for Tanzania until we have 100% of our support pledged.
We do have monthly supporters giving $10 a month. We have friends who have $5/month supporters. Every cent makes a difference. A BIG difference. Yes, it all counts a great deal and we’re thankful for everything given to us. We’re also thankful for prayer partners and those who sign-up to get our quarterly newsletter.
Another way people can help in a big way is to give us opportunities to present our ministry to others. This could be presenting to churches, Sunday school classes, a small group of friends (say a dinner party or dessert and coffee), a ministry event, or anything else you can think of. The more we get out in front of people to tell them about what God is doing through us and Wycliffe, the more people we have on our team as prayer partners and/or financial partners. We travel around to speak when we can so aren’t limited in that way. We are grateful of any and every opportunity, no matter where in the country it is.
Closing thoughts?
A great way to get to know us better is to visit our website: www.jonathananddana.com. Links to our blogs can be found on the main navigation toolbar at the top. There is also a contact form, partner information, photos, FAQ’s, and links to our previous newsletters under ‘resources’.
Readers, make sure to click on the button to check their support level on their website. There’s a fun treat: I love it!
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