Proverbs 11:24,25 ESV “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will be watered himself.”
This month, we want to talk about how the ministry in Africa has grown. We have seen great multiplication in recent years – and we are grateful! We could never have imagined in 1987, when we first moved to Africa, that we would have seen what we have seen thus far.
With growth comes a greater burden to lead in God’s grace and for God to supply. It may be that we are the worst fundraisers in the missionary world. I’m sure we’ve frustrated some of our supporters over the years, as we rarely mention finance unless asked. However, when it comes to fundraising, we echo William Carey’s statement:
“God’s work done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply. He is too wise a God to frustrate His purposes for lack of funds, and He can just as easily supply them ahead of time as afterwards, and He much prefers doing so.”
If we have to beg and plead, we are, in effect, taking charge of funding the work. God has a vested interest in His work getting done – in His way and in His time. He isn’t interested in us carrying the load. We aren’t made to carry the responsibility of providing, God is. We are responsible for faithfully stewarding what He gives us to manage (see 1 Cor. 4:2).
Pictured above, our students at Trinity Christian Academy, Blantyre, Malawi
Pictured above, our students at Trinity Christian Academy, Blantyre, Malawi
First faith, then doors open
We’ve learned to step out in faith when planting churches, opening schools, and other outreaches.
The first church we planted, we planted without a financial plan because we had no finances. We just told people about Jesus and got on with it. The church grew and today we have churches in several nations on the continent, and we have to plant more. When we initiated feeding sites and schools, we did so without solid backing. The funding came later as we stepped out. Do we have enough for all we want to do? No, but God does. So, we’re not worried.
Pictured above, our students at Trinity Christian Academy, Blantyre, Malawi
“If it’s not nailed down, we can sell it”
This past month, we were taken aback when we received news from a couple of groups of faith-filled ladies (and a few gentlemen). These groups (Helping Hands and the Africa & Beyond team) have taken it upon themselves to hold yearly fundraisers. They raise money for our schools by holding garage sales, and raffles, and selling whatever they can get their hands on. The leader of the Helping Hands group, Yolanda Camhi, said to me, “If it’s not nailed down, we can sell it.”
This year, at their fundraisers, these groups raised enough support to fully provide scholarships for 40 orphans/abandoned children for the coming school year (20 in Malawi, 20 in Burundi), help maintain school/church facilities in Blantyre, Malawi, and help begin building a much-needed toilet block at one of our local schools.
Waking up to this miracle for the schools a few weeks ago was God reminding us, very clearly, never to worry about getting the job done.
Thank you
Thank you, everyone, for believing in and partnering with us for Africa. Time and again, we have woken up to miracles like the one we told you about today. So many of you have been part of these miracles, and we are thankful. If we can have faith in God, we will see Him do more than we could ever dream.
Jamie, Lea, and Andreya