Financial Development - large scale fundraising for over 150 projects in Africa - certainly stretches every part of me. It involves working well with our partners (large financial donors) and my colleagues around the world. Maintaining healthy relationships is challenging across cultural and experiential barriers.

This year I am studying as well, for a Certificate in Fundraising from the Institute of Fundraising (UK) which means one day a week is study and every quarter I have an assignment. The material is challenging, interesting and rewarding; the assignments are based on 'real life scenarios' so there's a direct correlation between my day-to-day job and the study material.

So far this year I've been in rural part of Zambia, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, with our American partners plus Ghana to visit our ministries among extremely rural and least-reached people groups. I've also been in Zambia at our OM Zambia centre for a leadership development initiative with Malcolm Webber (leadersource.org). I spent time in Atlanta, Georgia in June for the final financial generosity task force as we look at how we can see massive transformation in giving to work among those who have the least opportunity to meet a follower of Jesus. 

July and August was the busy season where I was in Zambia for a couple of weeks for our annual Africa conference (Love Africa) as well as more training and leadership development initiatives and team meetings.