In Closing: Thank you, and Goodbye

Dearest Friends and Family,

Here is the official information given to me from Campus Crusade for Christ, International in regards to the end of my internship support-raising period.

You may leave your existing donation safely in the hands of Campus Crusade and it will be redirected into the hands of another ministry with financial partnership needs. Else, you may request a refund as I outline below.

If you have any difficulty in any of the interactions you have with CCCI regarding a refund, please let me know immediately.

To request a refund of a one-time or special gift (made by physical check):
Please email DSResearch@ccci.org and include in the body of the email: your name, the [total] amount of the donation(s), my name--Maleah Pusz, 0606254--and that you are requesting a refund because I have decided not to STINT.

To request a refund by mail, write to Campus Crusade for Christ, Research Department #2400, 100 Lake Hart Dr. Orlando FL 32832-9910.

Alternately, you can call 1-888-CRUSADE, ext 2416, ask for Research, and provide the above information. Be forewarned, however: you will have to either email or physical mail in order to finalize your refund.

To request a refund and/or the termination of a monthly/recurring gift (EFT/Credit Card):
Email egift@ccci.org and provide your name and donor number, the amount of your support, my name--Maleah Pusz, 0606254--and that you are requesting a refund because I have decided not to STINT. You may also contact Donation Services through 1-888-CRUSADE, option 1, then option 1.

To remove your name from the CCCI mailing list:
The best way to remove your name from a mailing list, is to submit your request through the Knowledge Center. Please click on the link below and provide:

• Your complete address
• Donor Identification Number (located above your name)
• A daytime phone number to contact you for questions

Click here to use this online form.

If you prefer to call or mail in this information, please provide the three points mentioned above in writing or on the phone.

You can reach the Customer Service Center by calling 1-888-CRUSADE, option 1 to reach Donation Services. Normal hours are 8am to 5pm Eastern Time.

To mail in a request to have your address removed, place a sample label in an envelope and mail to:

Campus Crusade for Christ
Donation Services, #2400
100 Lake Hart Dr
Orlando, FL 32832

Thank you so much for partnering with me as I took this step of faith, and your encouragement as I seek what God would have me do next.

Grace and peace to you,
Maleah

ps - check out this cool picture of the most frequently used words here at swedenforachange.blogspot.com. I think it's really indicative of the ideas I value most.

Update: This time, the destination is in the journey.

Dearest Friends and Family,

I need to update you on the change in travel plans that the Lord has delivered in the last few days.

I've withdrawn from pursuing a STINT in Sweden this year.

My heart is just as broken today as it was two weeks ago for that country and those students, but the finances just have not come through and the deadlines have passed. Perhaps the Lord will provide the means later, and perhaps he will provide a different way to go there altogether. Thank you for praying for wisdom, guidance, and encouragement--and thank you for being a bearer of each of those to me as we undertook this step of faith together. If you've already sent a check to headquarters, the regional team is letting me know very soon how you can withdraw your support or how to re-direct it to others on my team if you'd like. I'll pass that official info on as soon as I receive it via email, blog, and letter.

In the meanwhile (the last 24 hours, actually) there have been a couple of 'plan B' options open up--some talk of late-admission graduate programs in Biblical studies, etc. The response from my philosophy and religion department at WCU has been so gracious and overwhelmingly supportive (since I was there when I got the call and had to make the decision). I'm pretty excited about what that all means for getting the academic side of my future underway (one of my initial draws to Sweden) so we will see how God directs those plans and conversations over the next few days. I've also been thinking about collegiate ministry options state-side simultaneously with seminary/academic training. I'd love to talk more about that with you sometime soon. Keep praying for Sweden, keep praying for the STINTers who will continue their work there, keep praying that God will graciously reveal himself again and again. Pray that we will be ready and open to receive that beautiful gift.

Anyway, I thought that I'd let you know all this--things are going to be momentarily hectic as I start to tell others, but they should slow down soon.

I'm praying that even today we will be spurred to find and know the God who lives with us here, in the mess of human condition, and offers us real life like we can't imagine.

Thank you so much. So, so very much. May you be encouraged to pursue a great God of mystery, deliverance, and hope. May grace and peace pervade the community that has grown around this venture, and may God continue to open and interrupt our comfortable complacencies.

God is still speaking;

Maleah

PS -- Please stay in touch: maleah [dot] pusz [at] gmail [dot] com

http://newerformsoflife.blogspot.com

Update: Busy, busy, busy

Again, I've been swept away by the sheer fact that everything I want/need/have to do may not fit in the number of hours that I have in the day.

You deserve an update, dear blog-reader. And now, having inhaled a very large iced coffee, I'm ready to start one by answering a few crucial questions.

Who? -- You! Thank you so much for reading this, for asking, for checking and talking and sending and giving and praying. I really don't have the vocabulary for all the gratefulness and warmth you've sparked in me over the last months. I'm just so surprised and overwhelmed by the grace you've given through investing in me and the future of spiritual movements in Sweden. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

What? -- Support-raising! I'm not done yet! One of the most helpful ways that you can partner with me is by linking me with your friends, your family, your bosses, your church groups, your blogging circles--anyone that you can think of, actually! Telling people about me and this crazy dream for Sweden is a great way to multiply your personal investment in what God is doing.

Where? -- Sylva, Cullowhee, Franklin, Hickory, and the Raleigh-Durham area: Let me know if you've got free time in the next month. I'm considering making a road-trip to meet supporters and I'd love to grab a coffee in a place that's closer to and more convenient for you. Leave a comment, send an email--we'll work something out.

When? -- Any time between August 21 and September. As soon as we reach 100%, we'll buy the plane ticket, kiss the family, and head out to Uppsala University (here's why) for a year. If you know that you'll be giving any amount any time in the next year, please let me know so that we can figure that into the total--and so that we can get on the plane sooner!

How? -- Pray. Give. Share. Please consider giving a small amount monthly: I've been thinking and if everyone I knew would give up having one coffee date a month ($7), that would make it possible for me to go and have a life-changing coffee date with a Swedish college student who needs to hear hope and grace. Would you consider sponsoring a fikapaus or two? It's easy to set up a monthly gift online here.

Update: Where did I go to high school, again?

My support coach (who I've been turning in numbers to all summer) just asked me for updated totals, and I realized that I've been miscalculating a little.

We're not at 25% of what's needed in hand on August 1.

We are at 35%!

This is really exciting news. I thought that I'd share so that you can rejoice with me and know what to keep praying for. Thank you so much for continuing to support the vision of a change for Sweden. Every step counts!

Update: Many irons in the fire make for hot fingers!

Wow, it's already July! That seems so weird to me; it was only a couple months ago that I was slaving away over communitarian theology, ordinary language philosophy, and the ethics of internet pornography.

Since we're now at 26 days to the BIG deadline, I want to recap some of the good stuff from May and June and then let you know what's going on this month.

In May, I . ..

• graduated from The Honors College at Western Carolina University with a Humanities double-major in Philosophy & Religion and English Literature. Hooray for the end of three long years of grueling undergraduate work done at breakneck speed!
• became a semipro housekeeper/dogsitter for a month
• helped host a thought-provoking series of literary and philosophical salons
  
• started this blog to keep people updated
  
• answered the question: "What is a STINT?"
• put all the financial information in one handy reference post: "Getting Involved"

In June, I . ..

• met with more people and families in person to share my heart and vision
• posted all of my contact information: "I Like Social Networking Utilities"
• drafted a paper info packet to send via snail mail (let me know if you're interested)
• asked you to pray for my car, Virginia
• called 270 people (not all in one day--but yes, my cell phone got really hot)
• spoke at one church congregation's Sunday services
• shared my vision for and calling to Sweden: "Sweden? Seriously?"

July is going to be a very, very hectic month. Here are the things that I will not only need your prayer and encouragement for but also your involvement and help to get done before (dun dun dun) August 1:

• Virginia is now in the shop. It is a difficult time for her--which is making it difficult for me to get out there to meet people in person!
• I'm going to be a camp counselor to middle- and high-schoolers. Pray. Hard. Please.
  
• I have to wire money to the Swedish government for the visa that will allow me to live and work in Uppsala.
  
• I have a ton of info packets that are ready and waiting to be sent . .. but I have run out of contacts to send them to. The simple truth is: I don't know enough people to make this mission possible. One of the non-financial supports that I need during this point in the journey is your help in introducing me to people you know that I don't. If you're willing to help in this way, drop me a line. Send someone a link to this blog. Talk to your friends, family, waitresses, bank tellers, stockbrokers, carpet installers and small business owners.
  
• I'm currently at 17.7% of my total one-time goal that is fully due on August 1. Would you consider sending in a one-time gift to help me meet the mark? You can give securely online here or find more info here.
• I'm currently at 12% of monthly support (that is, the amount I need pledged from my team to support me during the next 12 months while I'm in Uppsala). I have to show on August 1st that I have commitments for the total amount or else I won't be able to go. I ask that you please consider joining my monthly support team by setting up your giving online here or through the mail here.
• I have to pack for a whole year at one time! If you've ever seen my closet, you know that it's going to be a hard time choosing which shoes to bring (and which shoes to leave behind) for a whole year. At least I know that I'll definitely have to bring my parka and mittens

While that does look and feel like a lot to do and a lot of stress in getting it done, I want to end this update with a huge "thanks" for all the great things I've encountered so far:

Here's to the people who have given, people who have been and are still praying, people who are considering giving, people who have linked to me in their blogs, people who have sent notes of encouragement, people who are already asking friends to join in on this, people who callback, people who ask questions, people who feed me, people who share their own journey, people who keep me social, people who drive me place to place, and to the God who holds us all together. Thank you!

Basics: Do I get fries with this?

I crack myself up sometimes. But really, lots of people do ask what I'm planning on doing with the financial support that I'm raising right now. I think that's a great question.

If you've been here before, you know that I'm responsible for raising 100% of my total salary, ministry expenses, benefits, insurance, and administrative costs by finding a team of partners who will give one time or monthly. There are no central funds through CCCI--everything I will do in Sweden is made possible by each dollar of support from this team.

With that in mind, I’ve created a snapshot of how your financial support makes living and ministering possible in Uppsala. This is in no way an exhaustive list, but it does cover some of the basic categories of my financial needs:

Giving Regularly

• $20 / month :: 3 weeks of meeting with one student once a week for coffee (in Swedish, taking fika) and building a relationship of trust in order to share the gospel.
• $50 / month :: one roundtrip train ticket to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden and the nearest city to Uppsala—a hotbed of social activity and chances for evangelism
• $100 / month :: covers internet, TV, phone and other communications costs so that I can stay in touch with my team of partners
• $250 / month :: helps pay for approximately 2/3 of the average food and/or meal cost per month – an essential for healthy physical (as well as spiritual) growth!
• $500 / month :: helps pay half of one average month’s rent for a youth hostel apartment for one person living with others
• $1000 / month :: helps fund social security, benefits, emergency evacuation, and other administrative costs

Giving a One Time/Special Gift

• $20 :: buys one lunch with a student for fellowship, encouragement, and training
• $50 :: puts a copy of an illustrated, contemporary Swedish language Bible into one student’s hands
• $100 :: buys a month’s worth of bus passes to get around Uppsala City and University
• $250 :: pays for essential supplies (paper, printing, materials) for one focus group geared around hearing what matters most to Swedish students
• $500 :: pays for a part of the flight to the CCCI Christmas Conference
• $1000 :: pays for visa and other travel related fees so that I can legally work in Sweden
• $5000 :: covers the cost of one one-way ticket from the US to Sweden for either departure in Fall 2008 or return in Summer 2009

As you can see, there are tons of areas that I'll need prayer and financial support for--from housing to communication, from conversation to study. Is there a way you're being called to partner?

Basics: How Can I Get Involved Financially?

One of the distinguishing features of Campus Crusade for Christ International is that there is no central fund for its over 25,000 staff members. We believe that God has called us to partner (prayerfully and financially) with others in our communities so that spiritual movements can be built everywhere. Everyone who works for CCCI, from the CEO to the short-term students on summer projects, raises support for what they do.

That means that I am responsible for raising a team of individuals and churches who are committed to giving financial support during my STINT in Sweden. Everything, including related ministry expenses, administrative costs, and my need-based monthly living salary is paid for through the contributions of this team. I cannot report to my assignment August 1 until my team is complete.

I've stepped out in faith to give my next 15 months to full-time missionary activity. Would you consider joining with me to reach this generation of students in Sweden?

There are several ways to give. All contributions are income tax deductible.

Here’s how to join my financial support team:

Giving Regularly By Direct Deposit
This is the preferred way of ongoing giving. When you join the Direct Giving Plan, your gift will be transferred directly each month from your bank account or credit card to Campus Crusade for Christ. A record of each gift will appear on your bank statement. This ensures that we get all gifts, and it saves you the time and postage each month!


Online Setup for Direct Giving:
click here or see the sidebar, under "Online Funding Resources"

Analog Setup for Direct Giving:
Print out this form. Fill out the form and sign it (leave the Donor # blank).
*Be sure to put my account number, 0606254, on line A. under "Please divide my gift in this way:"*
Make a check out to "Campus Crusade for Christ"
Send form and check to:
Campus Crusade for Christ
ATTN: Direct Giving Plan
100 Lake Hart Drive, Dept. 2400
Orlando, FL 32832


Giving a Special Gift Online:
You can give a credit card or bank account draft gift right now, here or through the sidebar.

Giving a Special Gift By Mail:
Make check payable to "Campus Crusade for Christ"
Include a separate note that reads: 'To Maleah Pusz, Staff #: 0606254'
Send check and note to:
Campus Crusade for Christ
ATTN: Contributions
PO Box 628222
Orlando, FL 32862

Giving By Phone:
To make a one-time contribution by credit card, call 1-888-CRUSADE (option 1)