joey's going to zambia and we need you!

here's an email joey sent earlier today about his upcoming missions trip to zambia!

Hello friends and family, I am seriously humbled as I write to you now. 10 minutes ago, I found myself weeping in my office. And I am more convinced now than ever that God's will is for me is to visit the orphans of Zambia in their distress (James 1:27). It is a strange conviction to have as I look up and see that I am still $2,515 short of my goal with the April 1 deadline 3 days away. I certainly don't want to seem naive, but I do believe that all things are possible with God. And I don't want to claim promises that He hasn't made by saying "I know God will raise $2,515 in 3 days!" But from where I sit now it seems irrelevant whether I make this trip or not. I will go. If I reach my support goal or not I will go at some point. It's a relief to realize that Gods desire to rescue and redeem His children in Zambia doesn't depend on your check or my making the trip. He will accomplish His purposes with or without us. But I want to be in on it. I wasn't sure of that a week ago. I was doubting God's desire for me to go because the money wasn't coming in. I'd been half heartedly asking God to give me His heart for His children in Africa. And I had been occasionally praying for God to provide the money. But I don't think I was really ready to be serious about it. I think I was waiting to see if "I" could actually make it happen first by bringing in the money. At our last Zambia meeting the speaker reminded me that Satan wants me to be discouraged and to think that God doesn't want me to go. I decided to start asking God seriously if He does, in fact, want me to go. So I've been praying. And I've seen that Satan can be quite convincing. "God would have provided the money by now if He really wanted you to go...Kyle will be very pregnant by June, what if she needs you..." But I continued to ask, "God, do you want me to tell them about Jesus. Do you want me to show them Your love?" And today, 10 minutes ago, I asked "Do you want me to tell them that You are their Dad?" And I started to cry. I know that He is the Father to the fatherless (Psalm 68:5) and that they need desperately to meet Him. I stopped praying and started to look at a book with some pictures and stories of some of the of the Zambian orphans. The tears came again as I looked at the cover and was overwhelmed with the thought that God loved His daughter, that little African girl in the picture. And I am floored at the prospect of being part of God's process of revealing Himself to others just like her. His answer to me was yes. So I'm ready for the final stretch. And I hope that you can be in on it with me. Thank you so much for reading this email and for being willing to consider your part in what God wants to do in Zambia. If you've already given, thank you so much. If not, please pray. If you are undecided, I hope you'll continue to pray about that decision. You can make contributions online at www.camplifezambia.com/joey . There is also a fun way for you to buy a silly Tshirt or hat that will contribute to my support at www.joeyvanderveer.com/fmwhy . I certainly don't want to pressure anyone but I may be calling some of you over the next two days to see if you have any questions for me and just to follow up on this email. I'd love to talk to you more about this or Zambia in general if you want to talk. 817-907-6357 Thank you
our family would greatly appreciate your support!