What really has value?

Plane ticket to Ghana........... $1,400
Cost of a school building...... $30,000
Increase in faith ................... Priceless

When JD first told me she believed we could raise the $30,000 for the school, I was absolutely sure she had lost her mind. I believed God could do it, I just didn't believe he would do it through me. I had a laundry list of reasons why we would come up short.

I don't know enough people.
It's a bad economy.
We have no way to prove that we are legitmate.
I'm not a good sales person.
and on and on...

Then somewhere along the way, I began to see the vision she saw. I was desperate to see God work though the two of us, who soon became three. I prayed earnestly for God to build the school and knew even if we didn't reach our goal before we left, we would continue until it was complete. After breakthrough often comes battle.

As the months went on and the numbers seemed to be at a stand still, I once again began to doubt. "See... I knew we couldn't do it." I felt let down by God. I trusted Him. I believed in His ability and even though we had sucessful raise 12% (still a large amount by any standards) I still saw it as disappointment.

Then He blew my socks right off! In one minute, the school went from 12% to 46%. And with only a couple weeks left, we discovered that if we could simply get to 50% another organization would match our funds and be able to oversee the construction of the school. Voila! The school funds were raised. My doubt once again put to shame.

God could have easily brought people together to raise all that money without me. He could have given us all the money in the first month or two when I was riding the high of trust and big dreams for him. But he didn't. I believe it's because He always focuses on what really has value for his children.

Does he want the children of Lake Volta to have a school? Absolutely. But what is more valuable is not a building that will eventually crumble, but a faith that is stretched and built with incorruptible materials. He wanted to teach me to never see a situation as hopeless, that even when things appear to be failing it can turn around in an instant if I just wait patiently on Him.

God's plan was always about my faith and never about the money or the school. In the end, it's a larger, deeper blessing for me and His African kids.