But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

(Matthew 6:33)

Greetings from Amsterdam!  I hope this letter finds you doing well.  For the most part, things are going pretty well with us here in Holland-but I'm going to level with you, right from the start of this month's letter:  We need money.

There's not really any nicer way to say it.  The balance of the ministry account from which we are paid has been gradually eroded over the last year or so to the point that it is now dangerously low.  I had thought we would be able to make it to this summer before needing to really focus on raising funds-but a few significant ministry expenses combined with the loss of a few key ministry partners at the beginning of the year has left us in a difficult situation.  The fact is that we're now trusting on God-and on the generosity of others-to help us develop the funds required to even sustain us through a season of fund-raising.

Perhaps I need to apologize for the frankness of this letter.  I'm not going for shock value, and I certainly don't want to come across as manipulative.  I just feel like I need to state our case plainly and ask for your help, if God should so lead you.  For those of you who have been reading our prayer letters for any length of time, you know that I very rarely make such a plea through this means of communication.  And yet, our circumstances make it difficult to do things any other way at this point in time.  I feel like I've got my hands pretty full with the church here in Amsterdam, at the moment.  I'm carrying the lion's share of the preaching load-which has never been in the case, previously-and I'm also providing critical leadership to the church through a period of strategic ministry transition (as discussed in previous prayer letters).  Thus, I cannot simply leave Amsterdam to fly back to the States for a few weeks of fund-raising (and besides, the truth is that I'd have a hard time scaring up the funds to pay for such a plane ticket, with our ministry account currently running so low).  The situation really is that serious.

As you might be able to imagine, I've been praying about the situation a lot lately.  I have a peace that God will provide for us, and that I don't need to worry.  I don't have to worry.  Our family doesn't have to run around, saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?"  Because our heavenly Father knows that we need these things.  We just have to seek God's Kingdom, first and foremost, trusting that all these other things will be given to us as well, in due time (see Matthew 6:25-34).  Even so, I feel that part of God's provision for us may be through others from the world-wide body of Christ.  Maybe even you...

So here's what I'd like you to prayerfully consider:  Is there an amount that you might be willing, able, and directed by God to give as a special gift to Great Commission Ministries, on behalf of our ministry in Amsterdam this month?  Increases in regular (i.e. monthly) giving are also welcome, of course-but at this point it seems wisest to just put out a request for special gifts, to replenish our ministry account and give us the extra funds that we need until we can get back to the United States for a more dedicated season of fund-raising later this summer.  I'm honestly curious to see how God will provide for us, in this, and I feel hesitant to put any specific numbers or time-tables on God's Provision.  Even so, to give you something of an idea for what we're shooting for, we are praying and hoping that God may be able to help us raise $12,000 in special gifts, to float us through the coming months of ministry, prior to our July fund-raising trip.  But really, even more than the big picture (which can sometimes be overwhelming), I just ask you to consider whatever you might be able to do at this time... Here are a few ideas that you may want to prayerfully consider:

• Give a double gift for this month. Perhaps you would be able to gift a special gift in the amount of whatever your monthly gift may normally be. If everyone on our ministry team were able to do this, we'd be over half-way towards our immediate goal! Or even if you could give a gift-and-a-half this month, it would go a long way towards helping to meet our immediate financial need.

• Consider a simple set amount that you might be willing to give. Even an extra $5 would be helpful. Or if you wanted to give $55, or $505-that would, of course, also help a great deal, too. Don't feel like you have to over-think this opportunity to help meet our ministry's special needs. We would be extremely grateful for anything that you may be able to provide.

• Think about us as you're filing your taxes. You should have gotten all of your official 2009 accounting information by now, and you may now already be in the process of filing for the April 15^th deadline. If you're blessed with a tax return this year, would you please consider giving part of that return to Great Commission Ministries, on behalf of our family's ministry in Amsterdam?

If you feel that you are willing, able, and directed by God to help with giving a special gift at this time, the mechanics of sending in such a gift are easier than ever.  Of course, there's always the possibility to simply write out a check, include a little note in the memo section of the check or on an enclosed slip of paper indicating that the funds are to be directed to ministry account FD6305 (Amsterdam50 - Eric and Marci Asp), and send it to Great Commission Ministries at P.O. Box 7101 / Winter Park, FL  32793-7101.  In addition to the paper-based way of giving, you can also give on-line at www.myGCM.net, which offers very clear, convenient instructions for giving via credit card or electronic funds transfer.  To sketch out some of the basic steps of giving by this method, you would just go to the link listed above, log into the secured website (it's also easy to create a new GCM-ID, if you've never done it before), and then do a search for "Asp"-which should immediately present you with a button offering you the opportunity to "Give" a special gift.

Maybe you won't be able to contribute anything further, financially.  Maybe you're going through your own set of difficulties.  But in any event, could you please pray with us, for God's Provision in this situation?  We appreciate you all, so much!

Eric