Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Would $25 Change Your Life?


“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.”  James 2: 15-17

 On July 27th, an American woman named Margaret attended a Dorcas Widows Meeting.  She had visited the women once before and was awestruck at the challenges they face and at their tenacious belief in God’s goodness despite their circumstances.  So, quietly…without any advanced notice Margaret stopped by to see the widows. 

She announced at the meeting that she would buy 50,000 Ugsh ($25) worth of beaded jewelry from each woman at the meeting.   At first the women just stared at her in disbelief…then they began to jump up and down screaming.  Joy oozed from every pore of their bodies.  After receiving the money one widow named Stephania ran around the compound of the church waving the money in the air…tears of joy running down her face screaming in Luganda…”I have 50,000, I have 50,000, I have 50,000.”  She was completely overwhelmed as they all were…they could not imagine a woman coming seemingly out of the blue and giving them each such a large sum of money.

This last Tuesday the women testified about what they did with their unexpected blessing.  Since many of you could not be there, I wanted to share their testimonies with you…

Helen: Prior to coming to the meeting that night Helen’s son was sent home from school because she couldn’t pay the remainder of his school fees.  Her business had collapsed as she had spent all her money on treatment for herself and for two of her sick children.  Then on top of that she had to spend what little was left over on a relative’s funeral.  She felt helpless…tapped out…she had no idea how God would provide the money to send her child back to school. When she came for the meeting she asked the group to pray for her…to ask God to do something to get her out of this mess. So, when Margret gave her the 50,000…she couldn’t believe it and waited with the money outstretched thinking surely the woman would want a balance…that she wouldn’t let her keep such a sizable amount.   She kept quiet and waited to see what would happen.  Then she saw that all the widows were being given 50,000 each.  She was overwhelmed because this lady gave her the ability to pay the school fees, buy new bed sheets and to buy food for her children.  Even a week later, she can’t believe it…that God would so immediately answer her prayer…that a stranger would come in the name of Jesus and bless her so abundantly.

Nancy: Nancy is HIV AIDS positive and struggles with constant pain in her legs making it hard for her to work long hours. One of her sons is also sick, so much of her money goes for medical treatment. She struggles every week to buy enough food for the house.  At this point paying school fees for her children seemed like a luxury she could not afford. She came to the meeting expecting emotional support and prayer…that other widows would understand her situation and give her encouragement. Nancy was shocked…I mean shocked to find Margaret at the meeting giving each woman 50,000 Ugsh. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought that someone would give her so much money at one time. Even when she was going home she kept telling other widows, “I can’t believe I am going back with 50,000. God alone knows what she can do for that lady.” She used the money to send one of her children to school...all of sudden she could afford that luxury.  What a great gift!  She also stocked her house full of food…no going hungry this week!

Stephania: Stephania is HIV AIDS positive.  She sells school supplies but it is not enough to cater for all her family’s needs. When Margaret gave her the money, she counted it over and over.  She wondered if she really was holding 50,000 or if she was counting it wrong.  She was worried about not being able to feed her children.  She had also borrowed some notebooks of paper for her children; which was not paid.  When she received the money, she celebrated her blessing by buying meat for her whole household.  They had not had meat in a long, long time.   She also cleared her debt for the notebooks and stocked the house with food. She regrets not thanking the lady properly as she was so shocked she just ran around the compound yelling, “I have 50,000!  I have 50,000!”

Lucy: Lucy sells fish, but since she stays in a poorly constructed house with holes everywhere, every time she is away…thieves sneak in and steal her fish.  This constant loss of inventory causes her to loose a lot of the profit of her business. Unfortunately, she cannot leave that house because she stays there free of charge and she just can’t afford to pay rent anywhere else.   Because of this, she has incurred a lot of debts. She had promised one of the creditors that she would pay him on Friday, but she was only trusting God for that money.  She hoped she could get at least part of the 15,000 from somewhere to pay the creditor, but never dreamed she could pay him 15,000 all at once. So, the money given to her was a huge miracle. She had been praying and praying for a way to clear this debt.  As she shared her testimony, she was awestruck at what God had done for her.  Then she thanked Margaret for remembering the widows.  She told her, “It is now only God who can reward you.” 

Esther: Esther came to the meeting worried because she was unable to pay her daughter’s examination fee and the deadline was July 30th.  She sells candy in the market and it was not going well.  She did not have the money to pay her daughter’s fee and was asking God to please provide.  So, the 50,000 she received was a miracle to her…a direct answer to her plea.  She screamed, “It is like I have one million!”  She was able to pay the examination fee and stock her house with food.  Her great provider had used his follower to create a miracle in the life of her family.

Rose: Rose has been having a problem with her neighbors since she failed to contribute for the shared electricity bill.  She was worried and ashamed of herself.  She had no hope since all she could do was give empty promises to her neighbors.  She was also worried as children were coming back to school and she had no food in the house.  She thought it would now be better to be disconnected from the electricity because she could not pay the bill, but they refused until she cleared her debt.  As she came to the meeting, her only hope was found in prayer.  She asked the other widows to please pray for her…that God would allow her to pay all her debts and to fix her relationships with the neighbors.  After she received the 50,000, she paid her electricity bill and was able to restore those strained relationships.  She also was able to stock the house with food.  God not only answered, but created peace in the place she feared the most.

These are only a few stories of how a gift of $25 changed the lives of life’s most destitute women.  Isn’t glorious to see another follower of Jesus bless those Jesus loves?  For Margaret praying for these women was a gift of faith, yet she has learned that faith without action is dead…so she gave.  She fed them, she kept them warm and met some of their physical needs…and in the process they felt the warm tender hands of the savior envelop them and give them life.  I have a feeling that Jesus will one day hold Margaret’s hands and say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”