You just never know what God will whisper in your ear. As I'm sitting here listening to "In My Time of Dying" by my new fave band, Led Zep, the title seems apropos. Ty and I went to Africa last winter and I came home not knowing what to do to help. Other than write a book. i know, books seem like big things, unless you're an author and it's a bit like peeling an onion for the kingdom, especially if it makes people cry. We all want to have left something bigger than us behind "in our time of dying". I realize our children can fit this bill, but hopefully we have a wider vision than the four walls of our home. (Unless you have special needs children. God bless you.)
I wanted to help Pastor Sam and the kids in a nearby village more than anything when I came home. I fell in love with the child to the right. Nothando. Came up with some hairbrained ideas, but nothing stuck. Okay, I sighed when God whispered about helping Sam build a school, I guess I'll have to organize a fundraiser.
So I was across the street sitting on the Billy Ray's porch having a beer. Billy Ray is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has been planning events for decades. I asked him how to go about a fundraiser.
"Well, the first thing I would do is send a letter out to everybody you know and see how much you can get that way."
IOW, "I'm a profession at this, neighbor. It's like asking a doctor why you have that pain in your groin."
Hmm. Okay.
Well, why not? I thought. So I sent out an email pleading for cash. Here's the letter at this link. So many folks were so gracious. Believe me, it was one of the scariest things I've ever done. The outcome from the email is that almost 11,000.00 has been raised, a large part of that from Relational Tithe for the well. Only 4K more to go to furnish the school!
Really, really exciting. Hopefully a little something, by God's grace, those of us who've participated in the project, can remember in our time of dying as one of the good things God allowed us to do in His name.
Woooot! Amazing what happens when we allow ourselves to be broken, and to listen.
Posted by: wilsonian | October 02, 2008 at 11:26 PM