we’re $157.76 further away from our goal than we were at the end of july. and i’m okay with that. [shout out to the Big Man upstairs for that!] here’s the update, read on for a more detailed account of the crazy month of august.

total tuition for 2011-2012 school year: $9,654.00
total tuition paid so far: $2,090.00
savings at the end of august: $1,476.60
difference: $6,087.40
percentage saved: 37.96%
percentage left to save: 63.06%

at the beginning of august, we had a broken back door, a broken dryer, and a broken moped. my first paycheck was quite a bit less than i was expecting it to be (i assumed it was taxes). and i told bryan that i wanted to be prepared to empty our entire savings account if God asked us to. [He didn’t, by the way]

throughout august, it became apparent that this was another month to carry our checkbook around with us and trust in God’s provision. we have a friend fighting cancer, a friend going to kenya [and working hard to support adoptive families!], a friend going to the dominican republic to rescue children off the street, and a friend who just moved to iowa city who needed a place to stay for a few weeks.

we didn’t want to miss those opportunities God was giving us to give.

we haven’t fixed our door yet [because the duct tape seems to be holding up] and we haven’t fixed our dryer yet [because the clothesline is perfect for summer]. we did get the moped fixed, so bryan can easily get to class. we still need to put at least $613.40 in our tuition savings sometime this semester. the exact amount of loans we’re taking out this year is $5,474.00.

the month ended with a little gift from my parents, bryan’s grandparents [yet again] paying for all of his textbooks, and my paycheck being more than last months. we once again experienced joy in giving, and joy in being astounded by God’s provision.