What A Year Jehovah Jireh!

One year ago this month, God made it clear His call for me and my family in Africa.  It started the year before when my heart was left there during a mission trip with Alice Drive Baptist Church.  My love and concern for the eternal growth for its people and knowing the only hope was in their children, a resource they mostly ignored and saw of no value until they became adults was overwhelming.  Then a year later at breakfast on my second trip to Botswana with Clay Smith and Norman Shaeffer God revealed His plan and a way for me and my family to serve Him in Botswana, as missionaries for children.  We wrote down the costs and what all three of us needed to pray about for this to happen.  We would go as independent missionaries who are self supported by friends, family and local churches.  First item on the list was call my wife Tonya and get her to Botswana if she said yes.  There was no hesitation, the answer was yes and when do I come.  God had been building her heart along with mine for missions.  I was at peace about my decision and God confirmed it when the former President of Botswana sat beside me and Clay on the plane home.  This man stirred my heart the year before when he made a video telling his people the hope of Botswana was in it's children, the same hope God laid on my heart.

Tonya and I went back in October wondering how this was going to actually take place. It was raining when we arrived.  I never saw clouds or rain on my previous visits, it was a joy to see, the Lord provides.  The Botswana people have a big heart and reached out to us graciously.  There is a strong value for family and fellowship.  We meet a number of people at church and rode to many places around the city and were always greeted with kindness and questions.

First item of the Lords provision was our children's education.  Public school not an option and home school would take away from the two of us working together, private school was best option for our children's education.  Our problem is the cost is very expensive and we felt our supporters should not have to pay the costs to educate our children.   We thought that our family as a whole was not supposed to go that the two of us would only come 3 times a year for a month.  Pastor Norman reminded us that we did our part by saying yes to Him, the rest is God's business and He will provide.  We received a phone call that night telling us the school considered our reason for coming and reduced the cost to 10% of the actual fee to attend school.  From that point on Tonya and I agreed we would do our best to get out of God's way as He provided a way for us to serve in Botswana.

The next day we attended a prayer meeting at the church and it was a blessing.  We split up into small prayer groups and went over needs and requests and prayed over each other.  Then the singing began that impacted my heart and thinking for the rest of the week.  They song about Jehovah Jireh, the Lord our Provider - He keeps on doing great things.  Hearing people sing such a song after hearing so many hard needs to fill and experiencing God the day before with the school broke me.  It broke me of myself reliance that I have to be in control and can do all the things that need to be done.  Without God I am nothing, with me doing it all He is nothing, God wants the glory and praise as our Provider.  We heard that song and sang that song probably for the first time in our lives.  We were ready for God to be our Jehovah Jireh and go to work around us so we could serve Him.

Jehovah Jireh started with overwhelming support from Alice Drive Baptist in Sumter.  I quit my job of 25 years to work along side my wife at Alice Drive Baptist.  I never looked back and enjoyed such a tremendous learning experience of how church life works and to serve the leaders in the children's department.  We enjoyed ministry life and watching God grow us and the people around us.  Millbrook Baptist surrounded us with love and the Harmon Sunday School Class adopted us as their own during their Global Impact Conference.

God continued our provsions by selling our house in a very soft market.  He allowed us to sell or give to those in need all of our items we owned.  We shipped a car and a few personal items to Africa.  We have been able to live out of suitcases like nomads since July 8th.  God provides friends and family to stay with them until we leave for Botswana.  My kids have commented the best time they have had as a family was living upstairs at Alice Drive Baptist during VBS.  We played, ate and slept in close quarters but we had so much fun.  It was just honest fun and a whole lot of laughter.  I have to admit it was fun up there.  God has provided this time for our family to connect and hold together before we depart.

We made a list of a number of items that needed to be done for us to make this next step in our lives.   I can say honestly, God has provided and the list is complete.  The biggest items were selling our house, finding a house in Botswana and Makenzie.  The hardest part of all this is leaving my 19 year old daughter here in the states to attend college.  College is not an option for her there.  We thought she was not going to spend our last summer together because she was going to work a student camp all summer.  That did not happen and she was upset because at the time she felt nothing was happening in her favor lately.  We are so glad she did not go to camp.  We had a fantastic summer, the beach, camping, the lake, the mountains and VBS.  One of the items on my list was for someone to be in her life to help her while we are gone, to be there for her as a friend and agreed that if God wanted this person to be guy I was OK with it.  At the end of the summer Makenzie is now dating a class act guy named Tyler, who knows our family and all its craziness for one another and our love for Makenzie.   As her father, I never thought anyone would be welcomed into our home that dated her.  5 brothers and myself is a hard wall to break through.  He did just fine and he survived Chandler's jabs about holding his sister's hand.  I am glad he is here for Makenzie.

We leave for Botswana knowing he has provided all the details small and large for our journey.  We have a large task ahead of us in Botswana.  We have a goal, to equip churches with resources to reach children with the gospel of Christ.  I know God will provide during the good-byes, the missing family on quiet days, and when there times we need to talk and technology does not do the job.  I look forward to serving God in Botswana because we as a family love Him so much.  We always said we fear more telling God, no, than telling God, yes.  There will be difficult times with the blessed times but I can walk forward because He called us, He worked in the hearts of His people to make a way for us, He sends us and has proven He is Jehovah Jireh.