i arrived back in the states assuming i'd have at least 2 months to re-raise my support. CCC raised our support goal to $53,000 for this next year due to the abominable exchange rate, so i knew i'd have my work cut out for me. then on August 1st, i received an email from CCC saying that because i had not met 100% of my goal, i needed to immediately submit a deadline extension request application.
...........................wait.
.............................................what?????
i was at 37% when i received this email. a momentary feeling of panic welled up inside me, but i took a deep breath, filled out the deadline extension request, emailed it back to our coordinator, and then sent an email out to all my supporters with the subject line: EMERGENCY!!!!!!! PLEASE READ!!!! (thank you to all of you who responded to that, by the way- y'all are amazing). i received a 6 day extension, and while i later found out that the August 1st deadline was mostly for first-years so they could get their insurance by September 1st, i did still try and raise as much support as i could- in fact, God provided me with 50% of my support in just those 6 days! i could hardly believe it- God is so good, and has proven over and over how much bigger He is than financial need, and yet for some reason i am always surprised when He comes through like that! why is it so crazy that God would provide that much money in such a short time? our God can do ANYTHING. He's bigger than money, He's bigger than deadlines, and i know that, but i'm still blown away by His grace and goodness every time He provides.
God has since then actually provided me with extra support so that i've been able to help out other teammates who are struggling to finish raising. if you have promised to support me and have not yet done so, i ask that you would consider supporting one of my teammates- you can either still give to my account (go to http://give.ccci.org and search Kimiyo Brown) and i will transfer it to theirs, or i can give you the account number of the teammate who needs it the most.
August 13th-19th i joined over 400 other STINTers for STINT Briefing 2011 in Chicago. it was a bit surreal at first to be honest, mostly because it was in the same location, i was going back to Tokyo, and yet i was with an entirely new team. it was weird. it was strange to be a 2nd year, a re-STINTer. i felt like it was senior year. i felt like the big kid. on my team last year, i was the second youngest (by a month), and to be honest probably acted like it. i asked a million questions every day and followed the re-STINTers around. but this year, it's completely different. i have to be the one who knows what's going on. i have to be the one who knows how to do things and where things are. while there's one other re-STINTer on my team, she STINTed in East Asia last year, and so i'm the only Japan re-STINTer. it's a very different role to be in. i do love my new team though and i'm so excited to work with them this year. here they are:
(from left)
Kylan Schroeder: our last minute recruit when we needed another guy- he was on my Tokyo Summer Project in 2009
Nikki Maldonado: another theater major from Texas who loves to dance. we're basically the same person. it's kind of awesome.
Amy Ledin: she was also on my 2009 Tokyo Summer Project and just graduated from ASU
Amanda Sever: also just graduated from ASU- she's the only one on our team who's never been to Japan but i'm so encouraged by her willingness to serve in a country she's never been to
Katie Dianrich: she actually spent her first 12 years of life in Tokyo while her parents were on staff with Campus Crusade, so it's pretty sweet to have a Tokyo native on our team
Sarah Eudaly: our new girl team leader. last year she stinted in East Asia, so she and i are the 2 re-stinters on the team
Christine Harada: Japanese-American; she just graduated from with an architecture degree from UCSB
Albert Li: our new guy team leader. he just graduated with an engineering degree from UCSB
*** in this picture is also Sam Lee, a KCCC Stinter who will be going to Osaka this year. we fought to get him on our team but God wants him in Osaka. we'll get to see him a few times this year though! ***
right now we're all back in our respective hometowns. we're all still raising support and preparing for Japan, but i'm still not sure when i'll be able to leave. we were supposed to leave September 4th, but at briefing we found out that my team's Certificates of Eligibility weren't turned in until August 15th. it felt very reminiscent of last year. the situation now is that the rest of my team must wait for their Certificates of Eligibility to be processed by the Japanese government before they can get their visas, the exact same position Henry, Michelle and i were in last year. apparently our coordinator has plane tickets for September 26th on hold....i'm desperately hoping and praying we can leave earlier though. there's a slight possibility that i could be allowed to leave earlier if one of the new International Campus Staff (ICS), a girl named Christina Eads, finishes raising her support and leaves in the middle of September. she will actually probably be one of my new apartment-mates.
i know this is all in God's timing, but it IS a bit frustrating to not know when i'm leaving AGAIN, and that there's the possibility of not even being able to go to Japan with my team AGAIN. even though i have my visa and my support, our directors don't want me to leave by myself, which i understand. but i am also anxious to get back to Japan as quickly as possible. there are several students who are leaving to study abroad in the middle of September, so i was so excited to be back by September 4th because i'd be able to see them before they left. i had prayed for humility the day we found out about the delays....learning we would not be leaving when we expected definitely humbled me and reminded me that i can't control anything (especially on STINT). seems to be one of those lessons i need to learn over and over. but i also know that God's got us. that God is bigger than visas, bigger than support raising, and bigger than my own little ministry. He blew our expectations out of the water this year, and i know that He has crazy plans for Japan this year. and it will be in His timing. not mine.
