World Renewal International
Monday, November 17, 2008
God's People Care!
Frank Penna is a wonderful servant of the Lord Jesus and World Renewal. He spends a great deal of time with our international leaders in Haiti, Brazil and Mexico. He recently had this experience. God is good and so are His people. [pictured Frank and Luc holding donation].
I went to the Dallas area this past weekend to pick up my mother who had been visiting my brother there. On Sunday we went to a small church where my brother Bob preached. Sparrow's Way is a church plant in a daycare building. The lay pastor and wife run the daycare and are planting this church made up of what appear to be several "down and out" folks. Most every person (there were 30-40) just looked like they had an interesting life story to tell if you know what I mean. I loved it. It reminded me of our church plant in Xochimilco (Mexico City, made up mostly of recovering alcoholics).We were greeted at the door by half a dozen tatooed people smoking and laughing together. The singing was "lively" with lots of clapping and amens...not the kind of church my brother typically frequents. His connection was through the daycare business. Anyway, just being there with him in that setting was, let me say "unique," especially if you knew our history.
That is another story.Bob only introduced me and Janet and then briefly mentioned what I do, and said maybe two sentences about what is happening in Haiti. At the end of the service, the pastor got up and explained that they don't usually take offerings (they have the plate in the back). He talked a little bit about sowing good seeds, and then said they were going to take a love offering and give it to (pointing to me), "that gentleman and the ministry he is doing in Haiti." He mentioned wanting to give some to my brother , too. They took it up, and after the service handed me two seperate envelopes. Even after the service, two little boys ran up to our car and said they wanted to help, too. They gave us a few quarters. Bob told me to just take it all.I did not open any envelopes until 8 hours later when I got home.
I told Janet there was probably $50-100 just from what I had seen. I opened the smaller envelope first, and to my amazement found 2 $100 bills and 2 $50's. All together, there was $451.50! My brother joked earlier that all I did was show up, he did all the work, and I got all the money! Little did he know how generous that little group of people had been (I haven't told him yet).
I told that story to a cousin of mine yesterday, one I rarely see who ate lunch with us because mom is in town. Right as she left us, she handed me a check for $200.
I know this kind of stuff happens all the time in our ministries, but sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. God blesses, and then we can pray that He will in turn bless the givers. The folks at Sparrow's Way (good name, don't you think?) really got a excited when I told them that our primary ministry is planting churches and that much of the money they gave would go to feed orphans. I got all the info I needed to report back to them about the results.
Thanks for stopping by.
:: posted by Gary Wright, 10:33 PM
