Dear Friends and Donors!
Praise the Lord for all he has done! IWM is celebrating 14 years of WIPING TEARS for the Lord! The call was a difficult one. The road has been marked with “mountain tops and low valleys” but the Lord is Lord of it all.
Many of my own tears have been shed and wiped during these 14 years. When I said yes to God to take on the assignment to wipe tears I didn’t know what a faith journey it would become. In 2010 I said yes to raising my own support. I said yes to making only 25% of my current income. I said yes to putting my home at risk of foreclosure. I said yes to my children wearing hand me downs. I said yes to Christmas being more about God’s blessings than material things. I said yes to many unknowns as a single mother of four children.
There were days when I would lay my mortgage statement on the kitchen counter and pray over it. “Lord, you called me, so provide for this bill.”
“Lord, my kids need shoes.”
“Lord, my van needs gas.”
“Lord, my cupboards are bare.”
It went on like this daily….
BUT GOD…who is rich in mercy made daily provisions for my household needs. I prayed for everything. Funds for my needs and funds for the ministry came in ways that were always a surprise! Missionaries would support me with $10 dollars each. The occasional “just in time gift,” would come when the college tuition was due or mortgage would be paid. God was showing me how to have faith in the unseen.
The territory I was called to had not been traveled before. I was called to something that had not been in existence. I asked the Lord for the vision. I prayed to Him for what it means to wipe tears. He put many women in my path that needed their tears wiped. They were the initial assignments. My mother was one of them, newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, I helped to wipe her tears.
Many people had wiped my tears as a single mother. I had many godly examples of tear wipers.
God showed me that wiping the tears is a vision that will be ongoing, never ending and would test every ounce of my being. The wives, widows and single women on the mission field have great needs! As I pursued this calling, the ground I was plowing was hard ground with many rocks and roots. Turning that soil meant that I had to pray and fast. It seemed the work was at a slow pace. I wanted to do more, faster. I was learning God’s timing was not on my timeline.
He spoke to me one day as I was struggling with all the requests coming from overseas. I sat at my computer and cried over the great needs of the missionary women that were plowing in fields that I could not plow.
In his still, small voice, the Lord said: “You are my mouthpiece for the nations. I will touch the hearts, you present the needs.” In that moment, a great burden was lifted. I knew I had my part and God would take care of the rest.
In 14 years by God’s grace, IWM has accomplished hundreds of stateside events to encourage women and advocate for missionary women.
In 14 years thousands upon thousands of dollars have been raised to support suffering sisters globally, wiping their tears and giving them seed money for projects and ministries.
Some of the highlights of the ministry:
-Provision of safe houses for persecuted believers
-Medicines for orphans in India
-Surgeries and medical care for pastors, wives and children
-Bibles for Pakistan
-Restoration projects from natural disasters in the Philippines and other places around the world.
-Rescuing children from sex trafficking
-Medical provisions for medical missionaries
-Overseas events to wipe the tears of sisters
-Financial assistance to help women start small businesses in Africa, Philippines and other places.
-Provisions for buildings for women to meet
-Provisions for motorbikes and cars for missionaries
-Evangelistic outreaches
I could go on and on but you get the point. God get’s all the glory for what has been accomplished. God is not done yet! He is still using IWM to answer this call and he is still affirming that call.
“Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:37-38
The fields are white and ready. The plow is sharp. IWM’s plow is working. Join us in the harvest! We will not look back because we know if we look back, we are not worthy of the Kingdom. So we press forward, pushing the plow, tilling the soil, preparing the way.
With Love for the Harvest!
Autumn Nims
Founder and President
