Tis the season to give: A big step of faith

I want to share my heart with you today. 

There is a need here- an overwhelming need.  And I cannot sit any longer.  There have been so many times when I have been convicted by the Lord to do something, and I have ignored it.  I am afraid of doing big things because I am afraid of failing.  I don’t like to take big steps of faith because they are frightening.  They require for me to depend on someone other than myself.  But, you see, the thing I have forgotten all of these times is that it is not about ME.  It is not about MY comfort, MY security, or MY possibility to fail.  If God has called me to do something, then it is not about me.  It is about Him and His glory being made known.  Even when it’s all about Him, he teaches and molds us in the process as we put our complete faith and trust in Him.  So here I go, taking a step of faith and letting the Lord use me. I mean, He’s in control anyway.

I have been placed here for a reason, and I have started to uncover part that reason.  I want to tell you more about where I am working.  I don’t know what I have said in previous posts, so I will start at the beginning.  I teach at a school in a place called Mutungo.  Mutungo is a wonderful, but very poor place.  Most of the people live on about a dollar a day, and if they make more, it is not by much.  The school I teach at has 150 students, most of which don’t/can’t pay their school fees.  That isn’t a surprise, as you look at the community around the school.  So, as a result of the students not paying their school fees, the school has next to no money.  That means no money to pay teachers.  There are 11 teachers and they haven’t been paid for 2 months.  To pay all of the teachers for 2 months of work, $1200 dollars is needed.  I think that shows you how small their salaries are.  Many of the teachers have families and live far away. Half of their salaries alone go to transport for their rare visits to home.  Since many of them live in far away villages, the school has to rent places for them to stay.  These “places” are usually rooms with a concrete floor, one light bulb, a foam mattress on a floor, and a suitcase of clothes.  The money the school does have goes towards renting these places for the teachers, which means no money is left for salaries.

If they can build a place for teachers to stay, they will have more money to put into teacher salaries.  If teachers don’t get paid, there will be no teachers.  No teachers means no education for 150 children that cannot afford to go to any other school.

While being here, the Lord has convicted me about giving. It’s partly due to the fact that He stuck me in a place where giving is the only solution to many hardships.  I want to share with you some scriptures that have convicted me:

Proverbs 3:27  “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.”

1 John 3:17-18 “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in Him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.”

Romans 12:13 “Share with God’s people who are in need.”

Galatians 6:9-10 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.  Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Giving is not an option, it’s a command.  We want to follow God’s example?  He GAVE His only son to come to earth, and then His son GAVE His life.  How much more giving can ya do? 

To get to the point, I feel like the Lord is calling me to raise money for this project to build teachers housing.  The completion of this project would mean that teachers would receive salaries and that poor children would get an education.  The project would cost about $15,000, and to be totally honest, that number scares me.  A verse we all know, Luke 1:37, says, “For nothing is impossible with God.”  He is in control.  He is in control.  He is in control.  Right now He is merely using me to be a voice for the voiceless and I know that if He wants this to happen, it will.

Being born and raised in America and then coming here, I have realized that the majority of people in America have so much to give.  We don’t like to give because we want “this” or “that” for ourselves, so we say that we can’t “afford” to give anything right now.  I am not pointing you out, I am pointing myself out! Before I came here, I was hesitant to give any more than what I was tithing because I wanted it for things I didn’t need. The Lord has changed my heart so much, and if I had 15,000 in my bank account I would take it out and do this myself!  However if that was the case, it would have been all me and it wouldn’t have required me to trust the Lord. 

Here is where you come in.  Join me on this step of faith.  What are you capable of giving today?  I really hate asking people for money, and I like being able to do things by myself, but it’s really not about me.  I am merely doing what the Lord has asked me to, and it is in His best interest to meet people’s needs.  Take a look in your Bible- He cares about the practical needs of His people. 

Let’s see what we can do!  Share this with your friends and join me in praying that the Lord would provide!

To donate: Checks can be made payable to First Baptist Church of Norfolk, and make sure to write “Samantha Kynett-Uganda” on the memo line. Please send gifts to First Baptist Church of Norfolk, 312 Kempsville Road, Norfolk, Virginia 23502. Your donation is considered a tax deductible, charitable contribution for IRS purposes.  You may also donate online at: www.firstnorfolk.org. Go to “Online Giving” and please make sure you enter “Samantha Kynett” and “Uganda” in the Mission Trip box.

If you have made it to the end of this lengthy post, I am proud of you! Thank you for your continuous love and prayers!