What can $50 buy?

Hannah has her driver's license and I am thoroughly enjoying it.  I hear myself constantly saying "Hannah run to the grocery store.  Hannah run get Alex.  Hannah..."  She also has a VISA Buxx card (parents - this is a perfect way to let kids learn about wise use of a credit card without them really having a credit card).  Her allowance is automatically deposited onto this card and I have the ability to transfer funds to it from any computer.  It is very convenient. 

She has been saving for her Honduras trip so her balance on her card had begun to accumulate until I began to send her on errands.  I say "just use your card and I'll reimburse you" but I am slow on the reimbursing side.  Yesterday, I realized she had done two errands for me and I owed her $50.  All she had bought was some painters tape and one bag of groceries.  Really?  How could that equal $50?

$50 sounds like a lot, until you realize how little it actually buys at the grocery store or how quickly you can spend it without ever noticing.  The average monthly supporter for SEND is $50/month.  It sounds like a big sacrifice to find $50/month in a budget to commit to financial partnership.  For some of you reading this it might as well be $500, but I dare say for the majority of those reading this, you too would be surprised what kind of sacrifice it requires to give $50 per month.

I sat there pondering what does $50 look like and here are a few things I came up with for my family:

• One tank of gas
• My Direct TV bill
• Matinee movie for four of us plus a shared popcorn and drink
• Dinner at Chic-Fil-A twice 
• A pair of shoes
• My Sunday night Zaxby ritual 1 1/2 times
• The four hanging pots on my front porch - that by the way I have already killed

We've had to ask ourselves repeatedly through this journey what kept us from supporting other mission ventures in the past.  The answer we gave was we didn't think we could afford it.  I am slowly beginning to realize that perhaps the real answer was I wasn't willing to sacrifice just a little. 

Will you prayerfully consider becoming a financial partner with us?  We need 208 partners at $50/month.  We have 30. 

Everyday someone dies in Spain without ever hearing the truth about Jesus Christ.  Mormons and Muslims are aggressively reaching Spain with lies.   We are having to cut those things listed above out of our budget to be in the financial situation SEND requires of us.  We're in this together and we understand the cost of this sacrifice.

What about you?  What does $50 look like in your family?