As I stood in the village the very last day of the vision trip, I was sorta dreading going back home. This dread came for a few reasons:
- I didn’t want to go home. I love the village. I love the simplicity, the people, the joy, the beauty and I even came to love operating on “Africa Time (everything starts a few hours late).”
- God is at work, people are being empowered and things are changing in Toloha – I wanted to stick around and see what God was going to do next!
- I was worried – how were we going to get the money needed to keep the project going? The villagers were 16 weeks ahead of schedule on trench digging which left us 16 weeks behind schedule on fundraising.
As we had our final meeting with the village elders, Engineer Burt Rudolph expressed our awe at how quickly the project was progressing and how impressed we were with the heart and unity the villagers had displayed over the past few weeks. As he started to wrap up his speech, I leaned over and whispered, “you better tell them we don’t have enough money for the rest of the pipe.” Engineer Rudolph agreed and then proceeded to share with our friends that we didn’t have the resources available to complete the project. The villagers were working faster than we were raising money and unless something miraculous happened; the project might have to come to a halt until further funds were raised.
As we traveled home, my mind was racing; thinking of every fundraiser I had ever seen and wondering which fundraiser would bring the most money the fastest. By the time the plane landed on US soil, I had a plan…BUT God had a different plan.
This past Thursday night at Grace Fellowship Church in Kinston, NC part of the vision team had the opportunity to share about the recent trip. After sharing about the predicament we were facing with the villagers digging so quickly, someone asked, “how much do we need to keep it going?” Our treasurer and engineer did some quick math and came up with ~$25,000. Within the hour, an anonymous donor had given $12,500! The goal was set – to raise the full amount by Sunday morning – in just 2 short days! From there the race was on – as word spread, checks began coming in…and coming in…and coming in…and coming in. We’ve had pledges come in from our community, various parts of the USA and even some international donations all the way from Germany!
As of this morning, we have received over $27,000 in pledges and donations! We’ve called the villagers and let them know, “Keep digging – the pipe is coming – the living God, Jesus Christ, is sending it.”
God provides through His people, in His time for His glory! Thank you for your sacrificial giving and your generosity – you are being the aroma of Christ to a village with little knowledge of who Jesus is or His great love for them.
I can’t wait to see what God does next! Thank you for being a part of this adventure!