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RENDEZVOUS

Financial report--anything but boring

by Leota Fred, Missoula, RMBM office and finance manger

I was preparing my report for the Mission quarterly meeting held in late October, and I thought, "This report is so boring." I tend to be a bottom-line kind of gal. What could I say to the missionaries? What could I say to our supporters? Money came in; money went out. Fortunately more money came in than went out. Not a lot, but nevertheless, we ended the year in the black. Yup, the report is boring.

Wait a minute though; maybe I’m just too close to the numbers. It must be because the year was not boring. Camps were busier than ever with retreats and conferences. Our numbers were up for our own summer campers. Youth and adults came to know Jesus as their Savior through the ministry at these camps. At Elohim, the loss of the commercial refrigerator at the start of our camp season was anything but boring. The plea went out for help, and response came fast and furious and ample. We were able to replace that old, huge refrigerator with two commercial refrigerators that better fit our needs. In addition, two ancient freezers were replaced with new ones, and the coffee maker that was on the fritz was replaced with a durable one that should make many pots of coffee to come. The Lord met the immediate need of the refrigerator while also taking care of some other needs.

We discovered in August we were under-insured when it came to camper medical issues. We had a couple of minor mishaps earlier in the summer that were well below our insurance cap. Unfortunately at Camp Utmost’s high school camp, a young man was injured during a game, and his injury required some surgery. The medical costs have exceeded our cap by $17,000, and treatment is not completed. Yet, the funds were there to pay for these additional costs, and we are in the process of adjusting our cap. The Lord met the financial need and gave the appropriate shove to take care of some business.

Developing the general fund budget for 2006 was such a struggle last year; trying to pre-determine travel costs for the executive director and Shepherds’ Conference speakers, anticipate increases in utility, postage, printing, and insurance costs. More difficult was the amount of revenue needed to increase to cover the expenses. It was somewhat overwhelming. After much prayer and lots of erasure marks, we came up with a budget.

When I first looked at the comparison of the budget versus the actual, I thought "Good. Boring, but good," because we were in the black. But as I reviewed the bottom-line further I realized the numbers were anything but boring. The revenue was at 100% of what was budgeted and the expenses were 99.5% of what was budgeted, resulting in a net income of $535. God had once again met our needs as only He can do!

All of this further reminded me to reflect on the many blessings I witness in my position at the Mission—the thank-you note from a camper who received a scholarship, the note of encouragement from an elderly woman that prays for all of the ministries of RMBM, the new people God raised up to work on the director’s house at Utmost alongside of our forever faithful; the young Native Americans who have risen to the challenge of evangelizing; and yes, the monetary blessings brought by God through people. Yup, I must be too close to the numbers, because none of this is boring.