Finishing Strong in 2022
Dear Links Family,
I recently had the opportunity to spend time with leaders in Boston. During a free moment between sessions, I called Holly as I wandered through the beautiful, historic streets downtown. She asked if I found the Boston Marathon Finish Line, and I said that I couldn’t find it. She looked it up online, and I was literally right next to it but couldn’t see it.
It’s been almost 10 years since the tragic Boston Marathon bombing, and it was still surreal to stand in the same places where people were badly injured and killed. It almost seemed wrong for it to now be a normal street full of shops, apartments, and places of business as it had been before. Cars drove by, cyclists made their way to their daily destinations, and pedestrians crowded the sidewalks.
A few of things immediately came to mind.
I thought about how easy it is to miss significant opportunities. It took intentionality to find the spot I was looking for. It took cutting through the crowd. It took help. As the crowds didn’t leave much room, it took resolve to not be deterred from spending a moment at the monument there in honor of one of the spectators who died.
I thought about the courage the runners in 2014 had. It was bold to line up and run. They were strong to not let the previous realities of evil hinder them from running their race...even in the very same place where terrible things had happened. One of the strongest things we can do sometimes is to just keep going.
You can still feel how powerfully the city came together after the tragedy. Pain, suffering, and tragedy is actually a unifying reality. People were made to help other people, and adversity helps people move away from self-preservation, and move toward serving others.
As I usually do, I started to think about how this relates to missions.
As we come to the end of another year, we have another opportunity to FINISH STRONG! Taking the GOOD NEWS of Jesus to the ends of the earth is also a matter of life and death.
We don’t have to miss opportunities to help. When we travel to the nations, we stand in places where thousands of people die every day from mostly preventable causes. As Jesus talks about in Luke 4, we want to be a resource to make sure the needs of the poor are not missed.
We are to follow the words of Jesus from Acts 1:8 to be His witnesses…across the street, across our cities, across our nations, and across the world! The vulnerable are exploited for selfish and evil gain. Refugees are held captive with no opportunity to work or live on their own. Millions remain unreached by the Gospel. We need to continue to line up with courage and run the race marked out for us.
We are GOOD TOGETHER! I once heard someone say that, “If you aim for building community, you may or may not find mission. BUT, if you aim for mission, you will 100% of the time find community.” Serving the poor together brings us together. It is a unifying reality. We were made for this, and we are committed to linking people together to do the most GOOD in as many ways as we can.
I would like to ask you to consider (1) praying for us and the work ahead as we move forward into the upcoming year and (2) making an end of year donation to the mission work of Links. On the info sheet enclosed, you can see some of our 2022 highlights, as well as, our most urgent needs for next year.
Thank you for your love and ongoing support of Links. I am truly grateful for our #LinksFamily and all of the GOOD we get to do TOGETHER. LET'S KEEP GOING
We are highlighting several urgent needs for our organization as End of Year giving opportunities. Your generosity will help us position for an incredible launch into 2023. Donations of any amount make a BIG DIFFERENCE in our organization, and we are grateful for your consideration.
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