After 28 years of serving the Free Methodist Church, first as a pastor then for the past 10½ years at ICCM, I took a six-week mini sabbatical. For one week, I was in a silent retreat at an abbey in the Coronado National Forest of Arizona. I watched the sun rise silently over these mountains every morning, and then I went to chapel and let the sound of Psalms being sung wash over me. I read six books, journaled, prayed, exercised and rested. It was wonderful! The other weeks were filled with rejuvenating time with dear friends … and more exercise and rest in beautiful Arizona.
Yesterday was my first day back in the office. What an amazing team we have at ICCM Central! They serve sacrificially and faithfully, and they do it all in a spirit of love for God and harmony with one another. We are blessed! I loved seeing them all again.
Now let me name a challenging situation they’ve been encountering. Many of you have discovered that the transition to our new database has been rocky. The new website has lots of great features that we love, but sponsors and donors have experienced glitches in how the donations have been processed and how the paid-through dates work. Receipts and “friendly reminder” letters have not always been accurate, to our chagrin!
I want to apologize to you if you are one of the many sponsors who have had a disappointing experience. We are so sorry! At the same time, I offer kudos to the nine gracious, competent, hardworking people in our office who are doing their very best to serve you well and make things right. In fact, we have added full-time and part-time staff to handle the extra customer service calls required by this situation. We continue to work with the new software company daily. Please pray that our technical problems are resolved.
One final note: Please check your own records to make sure you are keeping up with your sponsorship. Since October, we have only been able to generate notices that accounts have fallen behind once, and then we discovered some errors in the paid-through dates. We have not been able to issue annual payment reminders for those of you who have asked for them, either. So, please check your records or call our office for assistance.
I’m more convinced than ever of the world-changing power of ICCM. You, our faithful sponsors and donors, are absolutely essential. We appreciate you! We thank you for your patience and loyalty. May God richly bless you and, through you, the children of the world.
For His children,
