Wednesday, October 07, 2015
The Impartation of Blessings
I read a powerful piece today on Scot McKnight's blog by Josh Graves that deals with the practice of blessing others. It is well-written and worth reading.
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
God's Timely Provision
It's always exciting when the Lord does something in a serendipitous manner--unexpectedly and often without fanfare or build-up. I was privileged to experience such a moment a couple of weeks ago. One of our church members who is a veteran of multiple missions trips and a leader in our Women on Missions program asked if she could visit with me prior to the meeting of one of the groups. When she did so, she shared that for quite some time that group had been raising money to help dig a water well somewhere in the world. The initiative began with one of the ladies having a burden to supply fresh water for those who didn't have access to it.
The issue was that the ministry that they had been considering channeling the funds through had established a cost of around $4000 per well. The ladies had collected about $650 and wanted to know if some other group might be able to use it to complete a well for much less.
I shared that one of the churches that we've worked with twice on previous trips to Guatemala has been trying for a prolonged time to obtain a water well on their church property without success and suggested that I'd contact the pastor and see where they stood on the project. Taking advantage of Facebook Messenger, I had an answer back from him in a few short hours. The estimated cost to finish the well and also obtain a pump to bring the water to the surface was $670. When I shared that news with the leader who had brought up the matter to me, she informed me that additional funds had been received that day from among the ladies in the group, pushing the total beyond the figure that the church needed to complete the well. She excitedly told me that they were thrilled to designate those funds for a church with whom we've previously served in Guatemala and the funds have been sent to Churchnet to be transferred to the church in Guatemala.
I eagerly anticipate in the near future learning that the church has received those funds and is proceeding with the drilling of the well. I'm overwhelmingly grateful to the Lord for the generous actions of the Women on Missions group and for international connections that facilitate being able to meet a critical need.
The issue was that the ministry that they had been considering channeling the funds through had established a cost of around $4000 per well. The ladies had collected about $650 and wanted to know if some other group might be able to use it to complete a well for much less.
I shared that one of the churches that we've worked with twice on previous trips to Guatemala has been trying for a prolonged time to obtain a water well on their church property without success and suggested that I'd contact the pastor and see where they stood on the project. Taking advantage of Facebook Messenger, I had an answer back from him in a few short hours. The estimated cost to finish the well and also obtain a pump to bring the water to the surface was $670. When I shared that news with the leader who had brought up the matter to me, she informed me that additional funds had been received that day from among the ladies in the group, pushing the total beyond the figure that the church needed to complete the well. She excitedly told me that they were thrilled to designate those funds for a church with whom we've previously served in Guatemala and the funds have been sent to Churchnet to be transferred to the church in Guatemala.
I eagerly anticipate in the near future learning that the church has received those funds and is proceeding with the drilling of the well. I'm overwhelmingly grateful to the Lord for the generous actions of the Women on Missions group and for international connections that facilitate being able to meet a critical need.
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