What a crazy three weeks! Update!

We are so blessed. Thus far our visit to the States has been great. We have been able to visit family, reconnect with old friends, meet some new ones and knock out a big chunk of our fundraising.

When we left Edinburgh we needed about $1200 a month to reach out bare minimum budget. Within the three and half weeks we have been in the States we have had about $800-900 committed. We only have about $350 a month to go in order to reach our goal.

We have been so blessed and surprised by the people God has sent to us and who are willing to support our ministry in Edinburgh. It just goes to show how much bigger the Church is than our congregations.  We are excited to see how God is going to move and who he will send our way in our last few weeks of fundraising. Thank you all for your support and prayers. It has been an incredible, crazy adventure thus far. We couldn’t do this without you backing us.

We need to raise the rest of our support before December 15^th, so we can have time to apply for our visa. We only need $350 more a month! If you can commit to a monthly gift at this time, but would still like to support us – one time gifts are a blessing as well. These gifts will go to cover the expense of our visa application – which costs about $2,500.

**If you are interested in supporting us financially please let us know. We would love to grab a coffee or meal with you and talk about what our ministry looks like in Edinburgh and how you can partner with us.

 

 

Support Update Letter

Dear Family and Friends

As you know we have been living Scotland for about 14 months now, and let me tell you it has been absolutely amazing. We love everything about Edinburgh, the culture, the people, the city itself. It is an amazing place to live, we are so blessed. This is where we have made our homeand meet so many amazing people we get to share our lives with.

We originally went to Scotland for Nic to get a Master’s degree for Edinburgh University and hopefully go straight into the PhD program. However our plans changed a bit. After Nic completed his Master’s Degree at Edinburgh University this August, we transitioned into working with a church plant called Mosaic full time. We feel like God has been preparing us for this and has called us to work with this amazing group of people.

In the beginning of September, Nic came home for a short fundraising trip; however we were a bit over-ambitious to think we could raise all of our support in two weeks. We were able to secure about 50% of our annual budget. However because our visa application was rendered invalid, the cost of applying has increased. This means that once we apply for our visa application it will drop is back to 30% of our annual budget. So after much consideration we have decided to come back to the states to fundraise for a couple of months. Once we feel comfortable that we have secured enough funds, we will reapply for our visa from the States.

Our goal is to raise $1,800 a month. As of November 20th, we have about $1,200 a month committed. We have had a few small victories while we have been back in the states, which have bumped our support back up to 65%. While we are excited by the increase in support we have seen already; we also know that if we do not raise the rest of our support, we cannot return to our Edinburgh home unless we have reached our support goal by December 15th.

Would you please consider supporting our ministry in Edinburgh? We are asking for commitments of $25, $50 or $100 on a monthly or quarterly basis. We are also accepting on time gifts. We say this with all honesty, we cannot do this without you. Your donations are the only reason we can stay in Edinburgh and do this ministry, so please let us know your decision as soon as possible if you can help!

Thanks for your prayers and support. We look forward to hearing from you.

Nic & Ashley


PS. While we are in the States you con contact us by email or phone at 1(317) 372 8644

Our Schedule

Here is our schedule while we are in the States. We would love to meet with you! Please let us know if you are available. Our contact number is 1(317)-372-8644, or you can always email us at nic.ash.edinburg@gmail.com

 

November 16-30 - Indianapolis

 

Decemeber 1- 10/11- Bolingbrook/Romeoville

 

December 10/11-21 Indianapolis

 

December 22-30 Bolingbrook/Romeoville

Sometime in here we are hoping to take a trip to Central Illinois. If you live in central Illinois and would like to see us let us know and we can hoepfully set up a date :)

Looking forward to seeing you all!

Secrets and Surprises

We are back! Yes it is true… the Alexanders are back in theUSA.

If you have been following our blog or Facebook’ you are aware that we have had a few difficulties with our visa situation. In short,due to a random security hold on our bank account the UKBA was unable to take our visa payment, which rendered our visa application invalid. While we did not have to pay the visa fee for the first application (THANK YOU JESUS), this mess has caused our visa application to be more expensive. While we have raised about 50% of our annual commitment, once the fee for the application is taken out we will drop back to 30%. It is not wise for us to pay for our visa application with the possibility that we may not have enough support to stay in Edinburgh more than 3 or 4 months’ time. So after much consideration we have decided to come back to the states to fundraise for a couple of months. Once we feel comfortable that we have secured enough funds, we will reapply for our visa from the States.

Our goal is to raise $1800 a month and right now we are at about $600-700. So we still have a ways to go. If you have been considering partnering with us, please let us know. Honestly, we cannot do this without you.You all are a crucial part of our ministry through prayer support and financial support.

We will be splitting our time between Chicago and Indianapolis, and elsewhere in between. We will post up our schedule soon. We would love to see as many people as possible and cannot wait to catch up with everyone.

On a happier note: We are so excited to be here. While this is not an ideal situation, we are so blessed to come home and visit with family and friends over the holiday. See you soon!!

Please continue to pray for us as we will be traveling and pray for God's guidance for us and our ministry.

P.S. Sorry for the late notice- things developed very quickly and we had to make a fast decision.