The Effect of the Falling Exchange Rate of the Dollar

In the May 2005 edition of Christianity Today, there is an interesting editorial titled "Cost Plus: Missionaries pay a high price for a falling greenback" (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/005/22.27.html).

It mentions that since 2002, the U.S. dollar has fallen 33% against the euro.

Overall, the dollar's fall has been most pronounced against the euro, affecting missionaries in Europe most dramatically.

Overall, the dollar's fall has been most pronounced against the euro, affecting missionaries in Europe most dramatically. But by no means is the damage limited to the European Union. Douglas LeRoy, assistant director of Church of God World Missions, says missionaries in Russia have it the worst. The dollar's performance against the Japanese yen has also been abysmal, experiencing about a 24 percent decline since 2002. Even in Africa, missionaries are feeling the pinch. World Relief says its operations in Mozambique are caught in a pincer of an increasing cost of living combined with the declining buying power of the U.S. dollar.

It concludes with the following:
Painful structural corrections to the U.S. economy may or may not be necessary. But it is necessary that Christians sharing the Good News from Russia to Mozambique continue fighting the good fight. To make sure they do, Christians at home can contact missionaries they support to learn their additional financial needs. They can increase their giving to mission agencies in need of more money simply to maintain their operations. Christians must take this opportunity to look at how their spending matches gospel priorities—and then adjust accordingly.

As self-supporting workers, we are grateful for the generous and sacrificial amount of financial support that has been given toward our work in France in 2005. We praise God for his stirring the hearts of different individuals, families, groups, and churches to invest financially in this work.

When I first began raising support in 1986, I really had little idea of how to do it. I sent around 300 letters out to friends and God seemed to use that to get the ball rolling financially. During the last 19 years, I've been amazed at how God has used thousands of donations from hundreds of people and churches to keep me and now my wife and 2 children fed, clothed, and housed.

There was a point a few years ago where I began to feel a little confident in the ability of a wise and winning support-raising strategy to build up our support team.

While in the U.S. last year, God reminded me that it was Him who stirred the hearts and not my convincing speech, strategies, or powerpoint presentations. I do feel that it is good stewardship to try to do my best with these tools. At the same time, I feel that there is no rhyme or reason why some people and churches join on board, while some others don't.

I've also seen God provide many hidden costs through the generosity of people. These include gifts and supplies that people bring over with them to France for us, children's clothing and books, borrowed vehicles, free meals and housing, carrying mail over to the U.S. for us, etc.

Many thanks to the generosity of many friends around the world for our work in France!