Howdy,

Once again I am well underprepared to write this so let’s run it and see what happens! This month has been slow but productive. I’ve been working on a lot of different things such as picking up donations, building a bed frame, working out, and lots of snow removal! Seems like a short list but I am sure I will find a way to make this letter longer than most of you care to read but you’ll do it cuz you love me! (God is watching)

Warehouse

Early in January Aidan and I filled a trailer to maximum capacity with stuffed animals for One Luv to use and give out throughout the year. We love partnering with this ministry and getting to be a part of what they do! CMTS started selling some of our excess glassware and other items on eBay so up in the warehouse we have been sorting the valuable from non valuable and packing it to send it to Danielle and then she sells them. Ebay has been a great way for us to make some extra money for the ministry and create more space in the warehouse. During the off time (few and far between) Justin, Aidan, and I have been building a bed frame for after the wedding. We are working with a smaller space so maximizing storage has been our biggest goal and we are doing very well with that. We made 4 large drawers to store underneath the frame, as well as 2 extra outlets attached to the bed so we can optimize usage! 

Personal Life

As I write this Hannah and I are 2 weeks away from getting married! Preparations are going well, yet I feel like we will be blindsided by something sooner or later but we will cross that bridge when we get there. During January I have been cutting caffeine out of my diet partially to get into better shape for the wedding, but also because I have had coffee and other caffeine substitutes probably close to everyday since I was 15-16. 

I have been staying very active in this season as well, lifting 3-6 times a week, running 3-5 days a week, and I have started playing pickleball at a local church. Pickleball has been a fun after work activity for a lot of us around CMTS. One time we had almost 10 of us from CMTS going out together! I am still trying to sell the Audi, and I will soon buy my next car which the ministry is giving me a great deal on because of the situation I am in. 

January 11th Hannah, Aidan, Caleb, the students and I went to the farm show in Harrisburg. We try to get out every year, this year was especially fun because Caleb had come down for the weekend and got to come with us before he had to go back home. The students came with and had a good time, I have enjoyed getting to spend more time with them outside of work since they got back from break. 

Finances

I want to take some time and just talk about our finances and needs so everybody understands where your money is going, or will go if you decide to pick me up monthly. So right now I am bringing in about $400 a month, which is enough to get me through the month but it is very much paycheck to paycheck with no money to put aside for my family or my future. 

The average cost of living in PA right now is roughly $50,000. Now while I’m sure none of us at CMTS make anywhere near that, to put it in perspective I would make roughly $4,800 this year with no changes. 

I say this for one reason, to be faithful. Matthew 7:7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; Knock and it will be opened to you” This passage doesn’t mean I can say “Hey God You said I can ask for anything so if I don’t win the lottery, You lied to me.” I believe God has me here. I love working here. So I am seeking something I believe He has already set aside for me. For more biblical application to my reason for asking and talking about this are: 

John 16:23 “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.” 

Luke 11:8 “I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs” 

According to His name is to say according to His will. In His name, in His will, in His character, ask and it will be given to you. Pairing that with Luke 11:8 and persistence, keep asking in His name and don’t stop. This is not just for finances, this can be for revelation, healing, direction, deliverance, etc. 

All of this to say, I’m asking not you, but Him. He chooses to use people, His spirit is in you. I believe that there will be people who read this and His Spirit convicts to give, to pray, to share. If that isn’t you, that doesn’t mean He isn’t using you, it means this isn’t the good work He has for you. I ask that you please pray and consider supporting me in doing His work here at CMTS.

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Other Work

Now that I am finally on the CMTS insurance I have been able to go out on some runs. I went to New Jersey to pick up some office supplies, picked up some 55 gallon drums (which we are in need of if you have any), and went with Nolan to pick up a car which will be sold to raise funds for the upcoming Mexico trip. Obviously with the snow we had there was a lot of shoveling and plowing to do, about a full day’s worth here around the ministry, and we are still battling against ice with how cold it has been. 

Praises &  Prayer Requests

• Praise God for 2 weeks until the wedding!
• Praise for all the work getting done
• Praise we got a Dollar General run
• Pray for the car situation
• Pray for wedding planning 
• Pray for finances
• Pray for safety around the ministry with the snowy conditions

Thanks!

I say it every time, but prayer is by far the best thing you can give me. I am not here for the money, I don’t send this letter out for money, I write this so God can be glorified and to encourage both the readers and myself. Thank you for continued prayer and financial support, the next newsletter I write will be my first as a married man. We potentially will join our letters together so the name may change but I will still be sending them out! 

Until Next Time,

Donny