It’s so simple that either you or I could have said it, but someone else beat us to it. Though Teddy Roosevelt made it famous, he actually got the quote from someone else.
“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.”
Long ago, I realized it was highly unlikely that fame would ever be my fortune. Others would do things that would far exceed my efforts. They would travel more places, speak to more people, raise more money, fund bigger projects, and have more Facebook friends than me.
So, from the converted small bedroom of our home, the international office of DoorWays® and Simply Sisters® has done what we could with what we have. Our most valuable resource has been our friends and partners who have trusted us and joined with us to help others, near and far, to be effective. They, too, are doing what they can, with what they have, right where they are.
What did that look like in 2021? Looking back and bringing it all forward helps us to realize we may have been able to do more than we thought.
- Helping our home church re-write their Constitution and Bylaws (it was not a small editing project).
- Aided a small Burmese church to obtain legal status, open a bank account, bring them into association with a denomination of their choosing, and helping their pastor receive ministry credentials (this was not a small project, either). There’s still more to do, but they are doing very well as a congregation.
- Supplied thousands of dollars of financial resources to other ministries (i.e., water projects, healthcare, international ministry training, university outreach, and ministry at an ICE detention facility).
- Simply Sisters® has been busier than ever. Just this year, they have spent over $1,500 in postage alone sending encouragement boxes and hundreds of special, handmade cards to women in ministry. We don’t have a final count, but nearly 150 baskets or boxes were prepared and delivered to women facing life-altering crises. They have partnered with other ministries in our area who are helping young women leaving the foster care system and those who are working to reunite their families following action by DHS due to insufficient home care.
- The DoorWays® Leadership and Influence Network has provided ministry license and ordination credentials to 18 called men and women, bringing our total to 43 members. We also hosted four continuing education events to help our members grow in their ministry gifts and skill sets.
- I completed writing “Generous Measures,” a small book with big takeaways, full of one-minute lessons with a lifetime of value about how to live a life of generosity. It is scheduled to be available in January 2022. A free PDF download will be available to our friends and partners (I’ll let you know when and how) and will also be available on multiple platforms for purchase of either a paperback or electronic download. It is being translated into Spanish and hopefully into Arabic and will be provided to those language speakers in electronic versions.
None of this includes the ways we have ministered one-on-one with people through visits, phone calls, letters, emails, texts and cards. We have spent hundreds of hours mentoring and caring for others in ways we believe honor Jesus as we share His grace, love, mercy and joy.
What lies ahead? Much more of the same, made possible by doing what we can, from where we are, with what we have. A performance coach wouldn’t like our plan, but we think it’s far more important to do what God is blessing than asking God to bless what we’re doing. So far, we haven’t run out of ways to partner with Him.
Thanks for all you do… from where you are… with what you have.
Grace and peace to you!
Ric Shields