Happy New Year to you! I am excited as the year 2012 starts off. I have two video projects to do for
School of Promise, a Christian school that ministers to "at-risk" grade school students... 70% of whom
come from Buddhist backgrounds. The school is doing amazing work with those kids, and I am grateful
for the opportunity to come alongside them and help grow their vision to reach more students and
families.
But this month I actually have a more URGENT matter to mention: the survival of DigitalMission as a
service to mission groups in SE Asia. I have been reviewing my budget from last year and can now more
accurately determine the costs of living, work, and ministry. I have also seen the cost of "surprises" that
tend to come up in anyone's life: health tests, car repairs, vet bills, travel expenses, etc. And since I no
longer work with FLC Mission and receive their $400 a month, starting out this year has me very
concerned... not for ministry, that looks GREAT... but for the budget.
The BOTTOM LINE is this: DIGITALMISSION NEEDS MORE PEOPLE WILLING TO GIVE MONTHLY
SUPPORT and pledge donations for this calender year 2012.
Let me outline some key facts which may influence you to help support Bob Bowling and DigitalMission...
please read on, just a little more:
1) It is a long-time dream of mine to work full time in Missions, ever since my first trip to Romania with
Northwest Medical Teams in 1991. So, by helping me, you are helping a friend realize and fulfill a dream!
2) While this is no Haiti or Sudan, there is a lot of poverty and darkness among the Hill Tribe and Thai
people. DigitalMission is helping SEVERAL mission groups as I start off... YWAM, School of Promise,
Frontier Labourers for Christ, and New Life Center for exploited/trafficked girls. Helping me is really
helping THEM! (See quote from the Principal of School of Promise in last month's newsletter.)
3) I pray so hard for enough budget to also help the needy INDIVIDUALS that God brings accross my
path. I always make sure the money is truly needed and well spent. We have helped Nopparat, Pin,
Pastor Suradet, Ahoo, Peram, and several others this year. I bought motorcycle helmets for a single
mother and two teenagers, bought a printer for a children's home, paid the rental deposit for someone in
need of an apartment, paid bus fare to Bangkok for some Bible conference attendees, and we also
support Nop and Pin for their monthly school and living expenses.
4) I am a NEW missionary,,, just starting out. I am not asking your help to simply grow or add a new
program, I am asking your help to SURVIVE out here. The first few years are the toughest. It is sad that I
see yard sales advertised every month in Chiang Mai for missionaries who must return home due to cuts
in funding. (Yet many mission veterans I know feel the HARVEST IS RIPE in Thailand due to the
Tsunami disaster, politcal unrest last year, and widespread flood devastation this year!)
5) While I certainly welcome large gifts, even $20 a month is HUGE over here. Many things are cheaper
in Thailand and your donation goes a long way! I won't give you that line about "skipping some latte's" or
"foregoing one meal in a restaurant", but I WILL tell you this:
If you can somehow squeeeeze me into your budget, I am POSITIVE your gift will be multiplied and there
will be souls saved, people healed, and hearts nurtured because of YOUR GIFT. And the really fun part
is... you get to KNOW that you t o o k a c t i o n and made a difference when you read my
newsletters, see my photos, and view the videos showing the different MINISTRIES helping people in
Thailand and SE Asia!
NOTE: I need to organize a BUDGET for the coming year. I sure do appreciate special one-time gifts,
but I am really needing pledges for MONTHLY support so I can figure out how to make this work. I
receive no funding from churches at this point, only my friends who care and contribute. Please PRAY
diligently for me, the mission groups I help, and during this fundraising campaign, an ABUNDANT budget
to help people in SE Asia!
Thank you for reading this and your caring, concern, and help.
Sincerely,
Robert Bowling
Chiang Mai, Thailand
January, 2012
An important letter about DigitalMission in Thailand for 2012
|