March 2023 Newsletter

March 2023

Defeat Will Not Come Near Us - Ps 97:1

Dear Friends,

I hope you are doing well and enjoying the promises of God in your life and family. Jack, Daniel, and our team are thankful to call so many of you friends.

Many of you have been on mission trips with Jack, Daniel, or myself in the Dominican or Malawi. I can't think of a mission trip that I do not have great memories of, even the crazy ones, and there were a few. You have been great friends.

When Terica and I first moved to the Dominican, we had no idea what God had planned. We could only view it on our scale, small. We had no idea that in ten years that it would include multiple missionaries, fifteen buildings, a thousand children in programs, a garbage dump ministry, six sewing and baking schools, multiple churches, a partnering project in Malawi, and now an orphanage on the horizon. Following God on a mission is scary and exhilarating.

A medical condition impedes my ability to work every day in the Dominican heat, so I spend my time leading mission teams back and forth, mission fundraising events, and working a few jobs to keep my family supported. Still, my heart remains in those mountain villages.

As a mission ambassador, I walk a unique path. I invite people to join a mission that I feel is the best, most efficiently successful ministry in the world. God has grown it, and you have funded it. I'm a steward of the resources that people like your family and mine continue to support. So I take my God-ordained position very seriously.

Thus, I study trends in stewardship. Right now, fundraising experts are telling missions to be careful, believing the next few years will see a downturn in generosity. They believe inflation will make people turn inward, and others will be distracted by all the little internet fundraising schemes leaving them with less to share with legitimate missions. These are disheartening words when you are on the cusp of a new project. Stay with me for a minute if you can.

I want to prove them wrong. I want to report an army of God's disciples committed to making a long-term difference for the kingdom and the rescue of children. Thus, I am going to ask you a favor. There is no pressure, as we are not face-to-face or eye-to-eye. I ask you to make your partnership with The Crossover Cups Mission a priority over the next 12 months. I ask you to double down where you can to compensate for any loss the experts foretell.

Stand with me on Psalm 91:7 in saying with declaration and glory to God, "Though some fall on the left and others on the right, defeat will not come near us!" I know that God has brought us this far to finish the course! Amen?

The water pump on my 12-year-old Ford broke this week, and the cost is over $900 to replace it. My mind wanted to be depressed until God reminded me how blessed I was to have a car. Most of the people our mission serves do not, and most likely will never own a car in their lifetime. I have a credit card to stretch the repair bill out until Jesus returns, while most of those our mission serves will never hold a credit card.

We are blessed. We partner with you to feed the hungry, improve health, employment, education, and the excellent gospel of Jesus Christ. I have been allowed to invest in an eternal retirement with friends. Life has been good to me. Thanks for being on the journey as we save the lives of children.

Thank you for your partnership,

Mike Williams