As I sit here and write out thank you cards to all those who contributed to my trip to Uganda, I am reminded of a question that I have been asked repeatedly since I returned and will no doubt be asked again. Though it has come in many forms, the general question asked is..."so what did God show you while you were away?". I was asked this the other day as I sat down with pastor for breakfast. I am not sure exactly why but I find myself stumbling over the answer. I find it hard to put into words exactly what it is that God has shown me.
Perhaps it is because the general nature of the question seems to hint at a single comprehensive answer. And I don't feel that a single answer can be given. For me, I feel that the things that God desires to show me and work in my heart are still to come in the months ahead as I continue to reflect and pray for Kiburara and the work of God there.
One lesson I learned though, actually took place before I left the US. I have never been good at asking for donations. As a kid, I dreaded the inevitable yearly 4H cookie sale or the school magazine sales. I intended to pay for the trip to Uganda myself in order to avoid asking for donations. This was in part to avoid the awkwardness of asking people for money, but if I am to be honest, it had also to do with my lack of faith.
Originally the trip to Uganda was scheduled to take place last fall. I remember talking about it with my pastor who was very supportive but recognized that at the same time we were going to be providing for someone in the church to go to Pastor's College so church finances were going to be a little stretched. I was excited to tell him later that the trip had been rescheduled for February. But then the US economy tanked and I realized that I would be asking for donations right around the holidays. Rather than see this as an opportunity for God to provide in seemingly insurmountable circumstances, I found myself lamenting about how the money could possibly come in time. I hear our Savior's words, "Oh you of little faith!".
Then at the end of December, I received a most encouraging email from Bethany Walton, a friend from a former church. Bethany is currently in another part of Africa, Mozambique, where she is living for a year. She is caring for the needs and education of a group of orphans through Yoido Mission. She sent a tremendously encouraging story about her fundraising efforts:
I have recently been reminded myself of God’s faithfulness to meet needs when I stepped out in faith to give. It is my pleasure to share the story with you . . . Some of you know that Pastor Kawende, the director/founder of the mission I am going to serve, recently became very ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. During that time, I received countless phone calls from his concerned wife, Sifa as she battled with her husband’s health and the responsibilities of running the center alone. One night I Sifa called saying that they urgently needed to perform an operation that would cost $1,000 dollars but had no way to pay. It was not an easy thing for me to step out in faith and say I would pay for the operation. I had been working to save that money for several months and had some medical bills myself I knew I would soon need to pay (I broke my tooth and when I was 11. Figures that just weeks before I move to Africa they would say I need a root canal done on it!). “God, will you come through for me if I take care of your servants?” I received no immediate answer but knew from Proverbs that He cares for those that give to the poor and takes great delight in His children trusting Him. What else could I do? The money was sent: $1,000 for the operation and $45 for the wire transfer. Several days later I was worshiping in my small group and opened up my Bible to turn to Luke. I don’t generally read where I open but I felt prompted to look down. The page was on Zephaniah 3 and verses18-20 were highlighted. Now honestly, I couldn’t tell you one verse that is in Zephaniah though I thought the “quiet you with His love” passage was in there somewhere. This wasn’t that. I read it quietly, “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.” The words were like a promise to my heart. God would restore. Within 30 minutes the leader of my small group stopped everything to say they would be spending the rest of the time “honoring” me in sort of a farewell (I had no idea they had planned this). They had made a DVD with pictures from the year, had all written letters and made a beautiful scrapbook for me to take to Africa (I have AMAZING friends). Then came the clincher, “We took a collection for you.” The amount? $1,040! Keep in mind that they knew nothing about the money I had wired and are all in college or recent graduates, living on “dreams and spaghetti-o’s.” The next day as I looked down at the scrapbook I noticed a Bible reference one of my friends had written at the bottom of her letter, “Zeph 3:18-20.” “Oh, I thought that was the ‘quiet you with his love’ verse,” she said. Nope. God is so good.
Wow! I was reminded through Bethany's s story that God is not hindered by holidays or encumbered by economic collapse. This was a turning point in my attitude and although at the point that I received this email I had only raised a fraction of the needed money, I knew that God would provide. And provide He did. I was humbled by the way my friends and family stepped out in faith to give to this cause. Some donations were given faithfully with tremendous financial sacrifice.
One of the things that God showed me during this time was a simple truth: To avoid asking for donations is to deny others the opportunity to serve the Lord in the cause of overseas missions. I had someone in my church tell me that I had the opportunity as a nurse to do something that others in the church could not do. That by giving to my cause, I was allowing others to feel a part of what I was doing and to do something tangible with the desire to contribute to missions.
This was made apparent one night at work. A nurse assistant that I work with pulled me aside as she was leaving. She took a $50 bill out of her wallet and handed it to me. She told me that she doesn't attend church regularly but she gives money every once in a while to a TV ministry.
"I give my money to them, but I don't really know where it goes", she said. "At least if I give money to you, then you can come back and tell me how my money was used."
I realized that a lot of people feel this way. I mean, don't you?
On that note...I must get back to writing my thank you cards.
(...oh yeah, of course God provided all the money I needed to raise and I learned alot about faith in the process)
Perhaps it is because the general nature of the question seems to hint at a single comprehensive answer. And I don't feel that a single answer can be given. For me, I feel that the things that God desires to show me and work in my heart are still to come in the months ahead as I continue to reflect and pray for Kiburara and the work of God there.
One lesson I learned though, actually took place before I left the US. I have never been good at asking for donations. As a kid, I dreaded the inevitable yearly 4H cookie sale or the school magazine sales. I intended to pay for the trip to Uganda myself in order to avoid asking for donations. This was in part to avoid the awkwardness of asking people for money, but if I am to be honest, it had also to do with my lack of faith.
Originally the trip to Uganda was scheduled to take place last fall. I remember talking about it with my pastor who was very supportive but recognized that at the same time we were going to be providing for someone in the church to go to Pastor's College so church finances were going to be a little stretched. I was excited to tell him later that the trip had been rescheduled for February. But then the US economy tanked and I realized that I would be asking for donations right around the holidays. Rather than see this as an opportunity for God to provide in seemingly insurmountable circumstances, I found myself lamenting about how the money could possibly come in time. I hear our Savior's words, "Oh you of little faith!".
Then at the end of December, I received a most encouraging email from Bethany Walton, a friend from a former church. Bethany is currently in another part of Africa, Mozambique, where she is living for a year. She is caring for the needs and education of a group of orphans through Yoido Mission. She sent a tremendously encouraging story about her fundraising efforts:
I have recently been reminded myself of God’s faithfulness to meet needs when I stepped out in faith to give. It is my pleasure to share the story with you . . . Some of you know that Pastor Kawende, the director/founder of the mission I am going to serve, recently became very ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. During that time, I received countless phone calls from his concerned wife, Sifa as she battled with her husband’s health and the responsibilities of running the center alone. One night I Sifa called saying that they urgently needed to perform an operation that would cost $1,000 dollars but had no way to pay. It was not an easy thing for me to step out in faith and say I would pay for the operation. I had been working to save that money for several months and had some medical bills myself I knew I would soon need to pay (I broke my tooth and when I was 11. Figures that just weeks before I move to Africa they would say I need a root canal done on it!). “God, will you come through for me if I take care of your servants?” I received no immediate answer but knew from Proverbs that He cares for those that give to the poor and takes great delight in His children trusting Him. What else could I do? The money was sent: $1,000 for the operation and $45 for the wire transfer. Several days later I was worshiping in my small group and opened up my Bible to turn to Luke. I don’t generally read where I open but I felt prompted to look down. The page was on Zephaniah 3 and verses18-20 were highlighted. Now honestly, I couldn’t tell you one verse that is in Zephaniah though I thought the “quiet you with His love” passage was in there somewhere. This wasn’t that. I read it quietly, “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.” The words were like a promise to my heart. God would restore. Within 30 minutes the leader of my small group stopped everything to say they would be spending the rest of the time “honoring” me in sort of a farewell (I had no idea they had planned this). They had made a DVD with pictures from the year, had all written letters and made a beautiful scrapbook for me to take to Africa (I have AMAZING friends). Then came the clincher, “We took a collection for you.” The amount? $1,040! Keep in mind that they knew nothing about the money I had wired and are all in college or recent graduates, living on “dreams and spaghetti-o’s.” The next day as I looked down at the scrapbook I noticed a Bible reference one of my friends had written at the bottom of her letter, “Zeph 3:18-20.” “Oh, I thought that was the ‘quiet you with his love’ verse,” she said. Nope. God is so good.
Wow! I was reminded through Bethany's s story that God is not hindered by holidays or encumbered by economic collapse. This was a turning point in my attitude and although at the point that I received this email I had only raised a fraction of the needed money, I knew that God would provide. And provide He did. I was humbled by the way my friends and family stepped out in faith to give to this cause. Some donations were given faithfully with tremendous financial sacrifice.
One of the things that God showed me during this time was a simple truth: To avoid asking for donations is to deny others the opportunity to serve the Lord in the cause of overseas missions. I had someone in my church tell me that I had the opportunity as a nurse to do something that others in the church could not do. That by giving to my cause, I was allowing others to feel a part of what I was doing and to do something tangible with the desire to contribute to missions.
This was made apparent one night at work. A nurse assistant that I work with pulled me aside as she was leaving. She took a $50 bill out of her wallet and handed it to me. She told me that she doesn't attend church regularly but she gives money every once in a while to a TV ministry.
"I give my money to them, but I don't really know where it goes", she said. "At least if I give money to you, then you can come back and tell me how my money was used."
I realized that a lot of people feel this way. I mean, don't you?
On that note...I must get back to writing my thank you cards.
(...oh yeah, of course God provided all the money I needed to raise and I learned alot about faith in the process)
.JPG)
No comments:
Post a Comment