Another HUGE blessing occurred the first year of our medical mission trips. To get to Zambia and back is quite expensive; add to that food, a place to stay, medical and optical equipment, medicines, collecting and transporting glasses and it seemed like a lot of money to us, but before we left America for our 18 day mission, God had given to us (through various donations) enough funds to cover all our expenses.
We had made plans and was willing to work harder ourselves to meet the financial burden of this trip, but God, seeing our faithfulness to His work, brought the money to us. What an all-powerful Lord we serve!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Not So Patiently Waiting...
Another dear friend of ours had quit her part-time job to get back into teaching. After many interviews and many prayers, she still did not have a full-time gig, only some subbing here and there. Her family needed this additional income to make ends meet and each time the door seemed to be closed. So each week we all prayed for her interviews asking God to open a door. Well, after a few more weeks and no job, we were getting frustrated. Perhaps God had a different plan for her?
Then we got a call from her with great news. She had been offered a job at the school of her choice (the one close to her house and where her kids were presently attending) a school where there had been no openings. Who knows what all God did to “free up” a spot. And while we saw nothing significant coming from our prayers, He was busy at work and gave her a position that was better than that for which we had prayed.
Then we got a call from her with great news. She had been offered a job at the school of her choice (the one close to her house and where her kids were presently attending) a school where there had been no openings. Who knows what all God did to “free up” a spot. And while we saw nothing significant coming from our prayers, He was busy at work and gave her a position that was better than that for which we had prayed.
Missing Container...
My wife and I travel to Zambia, Africa each year to be a part of a medical mission. Each year is stressful. Travel is long and rough, food is less than desirable, our equipment, our bags, our clothes each arrive as a small miracle (after 2 days and 4 planes). In 2007, we packed a full container (like those on railcars, or in this case, loaded on a boat and shipped over). We had packed, planned and shipped out the container to arrive almost a month before we were to get there. As it had most of our supplies, food, equipment and everyday items for the medical mission, we didn’t want to risk it not showing up.
Well, as things go in transit and working with foreign governments it was delayed and delayed and delayed. So much so, that when we boarded our plane, our missionaries had no idea where it was and neither did the transit company. So during the next 2 days of travel, we brainstormed on how we could “make it work” without everything we needed to make it work. Our expectations were low, but our ambitions were still high. Then, on the day before we were to leave “base camp,” the container arrived.
There is no other explanation other than God was working behind the scenes to make sure His work would be done. I’ll never say to not plan or make provisions to accomplish tasks you feel called to do; but never, and I say again, never doubt that God will do His part.
Well, as things go in transit and working with foreign governments it was delayed and delayed and delayed. So much so, that when we boarded our plane, our missionaries had no idea where it was and neither did the transit company. So during the next 2 days of travel, we brainstormed on how we could “make it work” without everything we needed to make it work. Our expectations were low, but our ambitions were still high. Then, on the day before we were to leave “base camp,” the container arrived.
There is no other explanation other than God was working behind the scenes to make sure His work would be done. I’ll never say to not plan or make provisions to accomplish tasks you feel called to do; but never, and I say again, never doubt that God will do His part.
A Near-Fatal Car Wreck
I received a call from my very best friend that he had just received a call that his wife never made her morning appointment. He started calling hospitals and finally found her. She had pulled out in front of another vehicle at a seeming 4-way stop that was actually a 2-way stop. The other vehicle had t-boned her right on the drivers side. I remember racing around the interstate, trying to get to the ER as fast as I could.
Within minutes our minister and a few elders from our church showed up there. They literally laid hands on her and prayed. She was in a comma and the one thing I remembered hearing was that she only had a 15% chance of surviving. That night I prayed (along with hundreds of others I’d guess) that this woman, this wonderful friend of ours would be restored. Within the next couple days, she came out of her coma and within a couple weeks made a full recovery. This was God working and doctors being amazed. Now, I don’t know why God chooses to restore some and allow others to pass, but I know this was directly His hand at work.
Within minutes our minister and a few elders from our church showed up there. They literally laid hands on her and prayed. She was in a comma and the one thing I remembered hearing was that she only had a 15% chance of surviving. That night I prayed (along with hundreds of others I’d guess) that this woman, this wonderful friend of ours would be restored. Within the next couple days, she came out of her coma and within a couple weeks made a full recovery. This was God working and doctors being amazed. Now, I don’t know why God chooses to restore some and allow others to pass, but I know this was directly His hand at work.
His Work Or My Loss?
Several years ago, we were involved in a business that required us to rent a backhoe for a few days. Well, the second night we had it, it was stolen. As the signers of the contract my and wife and I were personally responsible for the entire “replacement cost” of the equipment, some $32,000 (which was more than I made in a year).
Prior to this occurrence, we had made a commitment to a young missionary couple to help support their work oversees. We had been making monthly donations to fulfill our commitment, but we stopped after the missing backhoe. Days turned into weeks which turned into a month and no backhoe (believe me I drove several hundred miles looking). Needless to say, we were in heavy prayer about this and when the last day came to send in our money for the missionaries, we had a choice. Keep the money and add it in to what we were saving to pay for the stolen equipment or write the check to the church.
Well, it was a VERY tough decision. But in the end, we figured the affairs of God took precedence over the affairs of man. We wrote the check out on a Sunday and the very next day, we received a call from someone in another state that the backhoe had been found and it was on its way back to the rental place. WOW! What can you say, but praise God!
Prior to this occurrence, we had made a commitment to a young missionary couple to help support their work oversees. We had been making monthly donations to fulfill our commitment, but we stopped after the missing backhoe. Days turned into weeks which turned into a month and no backhoe (believe me I drove several hundred miles looking). Needless to say, we were in heavy prayer about this and when the last day came to send in our money for the missionaries, we had a choice. Keep the money and add it in to what we were saving to pay for the stolen equipment or write the check to the church.
Well, it was a VERY tough decision. But in the end, we figured the affairs of God took precedence over the affairs of man. We wrote the check out on a Sunday and the very next day, we received a call from someone in another state that the backhoe had been found and it was on its way back to the rental place. WOW! What can you say, but praise God!
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