An answer to prayer and an unexpected blessing all in one day.

Just a few days ago I asked you to pray that we are able to get a Luganda Bible for the woman we met on the street last Sunday. Well, we went all over town today doing many things and then returned to a hotel (our car is getting one last set of repairs/improvements). One or two hours after we returned, we were discussing upcoming things and suddenly realized we had forgotten to get a Bible. 

We called our friend Davis to see if he was still in the city, but he had just left. No problem, of course, because he wanted to help us out. Because he knows where to go and has no language barrier, he could take a boda into the city much faster than we could take a car (at this time, traffic would be very bad). So, he called someone to estimate how much it would cost, we gave him some money, and he headed into town. As he left our room, he said, "when I get back, I'll tell you why today has been the worst day ever." We told him, "please, you can tell us now, going into town can wait", but he insisted on going to the city first. 

He returned with a very nice Bible in Luganda, so that prayer is answered. Now, we only pray that the woman will come to church on Sunday. If for some reason she does not, we'll have the Bible for whoever God intends. 

We had spent several hours with Davis today, so we couldn't imagine how it had gone so terribly wrong in just a few hours. He sat down to tell us about it. Apparently, after leaving us, he had the money we paid him for transport, a phone card (to add time to his cell phone), and the rest of his cash in his pocket. He also had some money that his employer had given him to pay for chickens that he was going to pick up. 

Before he went for the chickens, he went to pick up the office managers children at school. At that time it was raining quite heavily, so he rushed in and out of the car. When he finally got to the place for chickens, he reached in his pocket for the money and everything was gone! He had no idea at what point the things had fallen out of his pocket. He hoped it was in the car, but it was not. He had already gone home and told his wife. He felt awful because she cried, but you can imagine losing your money when you already have a hard time getting by (remember, their daughter is just over a month old now).

Now, here's the part where God's hand shows. As many of you know, when we established our budget for ministry here, we included a certain amount to be set aside monthly in what we call a "love fund." This money would be used to help in unexpected circumstances, like illness, accidents, or any other area that we felt led to help. After we returned to the hotel this afternoon, I told Floyd that the month is almost over and we hadn't had any need to dip in the love fund. 

We were discussing some things that we had seen that could possibly be areas where the funds could bless someone, although they were not sudden needs or necessities. There are just some things that we know could be small blessings for some folks.

Now, going back to Davis. After he told us about the situation, we encouraged him to pray for God to provide again and just sat with him in his frustration and disappointment for a while. Floyd also talked with him one on one because he mentioned how he hated to tell his wife things that would make her sad. Floyd was able to encourage him and remind him that he did the right thing by telling her because her temporary sadness would not be helped through lying or keeping secrets.

After he left, Floyd and I discussed that we both felt that we should help him through the love fund. We know that he is an honorable man and the funds were necessary for caring for his family. The amount he lost would be very small in the US, but here it is nearly a months wage. Even after helping him and purchasing the Bible, we could still help with those other small blessings I mentioned earlier.

So, tonight Floyd asked him to come talk with him again. He told Floyd that he had been praying but God had not answered yet. Floyd told him that God had in fact answered. That he had already provided the funds, we just didn't know what it was for, yet. Floyd put the money in his hand, and he counted it. He realized it was the same amount he had lost, even including a phone card, and he cried.

Floyd wanted to be clear that the money was not from us, that it was just a provision from God, so we gave him a little more detail than might have been necessary. We explained that some of our friends in the US could not come to Uganda themselves but wanted to support the ministry and God's work here, so they gave funds to be used when needed. We felt that the Lord told us this was a worthy need. 

He went right home to tell his wife, who was so grateful. He came back to tell us that they wanted to think of some way to thank us, so I reminded him that the money was not from us. That he helps people when they need it without expecting anything in return, just like he went into the city for us tonight. God uses him to bless others, including us, and he used us to bless him, so no thanks or repayment was necessary. 

This was a long post, but I wanted you to know a small way that you have blessed one of our Ugandan friends, and another one eventually (when we get to pass on the Bible). It was not a large amount of money in the US, but it was a large blessing here!