ON TOP OF THE WORLD (Part 1)
I am totally pumped, I am doing what I was made to do and it feels great. OK, let’s rewind a little bit and start at the beginning of this story.
I have known that I deal with money well and have been prophesied over that I will help people in that area. Initially that didn’t sound too appealing, I pictured sitting in a cubicle and having a boring number crunching job, needless to say I wasn’t too excited.
So, last week I was prophesied over that I have a business anointing and that things I will be apart of in the business world will grow and flourish. Again I thought negatively immediately, “oh no… businessman…” there are just not many examples of Christian businessmen that I see who live a godly life, that live the life of abandon and trust in God that I want to have. I feared that this was just a life destined for complacency and getting sucked into the “corporate” world.
During the debrief and vacation time we had here in Swazi I had the honour to run with Seth Barnes, the head of the organization that launched the World Race. I heard different aspects of missions that
I had never even thought of before. He told me of Microloans that he was a part of in Indonesia over 20 years ago. In essence his organization loaned out small amounts of money to promising people in rural areas, giving them some capital to start a business, then worked out a payback plan. This enabled many people to rise out of the hopeless circumstances that they found themselves in and gave them the ability to sustain themselves and their families!!
I had the opportunity to go to a care point (community centres where children are fed and there is some sort of school teaching, eventually the dream is to have churches here too and gardens and ponds and so on, places to bring change to the next generation of Swazis.) I went with only two other guys and we didn’t really know what we would be doing for our time there. But soon I found myself walking children home and talking with their families, getting a feel for the community. I heard many business ideas, even before the people knew I was there to ask business questions. I asked questions to get their minds thinking about the future, about how much materials cost and then how much a product sells for, and don’t forget transportation to the market to sell the stuff. An older lady thanked me over and over again that I made her mind work in new ways, that I made her think about things she never would’ve before, just basic business planning.
It makes me feel alive to see the look on these people’s faces when they start to think of their business dreams in more depth, and the words of joy they give saying, “We thank you that you even care to ask questions.” I don’t make any promises, I just bring ideas of hope.
I am so excited to get this project started, giving a few people hope and sustaining them for years to come. Please pray (1) that this idea and project will be accepted by the people of Tembeni where I am located during the week, and (2) that there will be a godly person permanently here in Swazi who could take over this project after I leave.
I am realizing more and more what my gifts are, they are not boring, and they make me – and others who benefit from them – feel alive!!
