Dear family and friends:

In many ways, financing is the primary challenge facing our outreach today. For the Third World that simply means having the education and technology to have free access to the message of Christ. That’s changing, but it’s still hard to try to reach those who don’t fully understand the language, or can’t respond to our sites by e-mail from their mobile device.

For GMO, staffing, connection to local churches, web development, translation and advertising are all limited by our financial resources as well.

It’s been amazing to see what applied extra financing can do during our “Million Days” campaigns in March and April. Final numbers for March’s 2 days: 2.6 million visitors, 255,889 indicated decisions; April’s 4 days: 4.1 million visitors, 417,080 indicated decisions. Looking at last March’s letter, when a half-million visitors in a day was a record number for us, I see I remarked at that time that a big push teaches that the number of people we can confront with the gospel is growing. Our traditional estimate of two million per day seems very conservative in light of the numbers our “Million Days” bring in. But we’re still learning where we lack infrastructure—volunteers, discipleship tactics and local church connections. Just as God didn’t displace the Canaanites from the promised land all at once, but slowly as Israel grew (Exodus 23:29-30), He may be training us through these experiences how we should prepare for the day when the obstacles are removed.

The way the world of the millennium’s second decade is shaping up, we just pray we learn what we can in the time we have left! Natural disasters and government instability may confront our audience with their mortality, but they also drain the resources at both ends. I thought the news photos of the unclaimed safes after the March Tsunami were ironic! For its own sake, all that wealth really means nothing when you get right down to it!
It makes us think how Jesus said, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” (Mark 8:35) Nothing spent for Christ and His Kingdom will ever be recovered in an abandoned safe, will it?
We want to once again thank all of our generous ministry partners. Because of your sacrificial gifts, we can continue to serve God full-time. You help to ensure that our work in reaching the world for Christ will never be unfruitful or vain! (1 Corinthians 15:58) We thank our God every time we think of you! (Philippians 1:3)

Love, in Christ

P.S. Please see our latest photos!

Mike and Cindy Skinner

“One day closer!” (Romans 13:11)