We got a late start, but we were determined to make it to East London tonight. We had no idea where we were going to stay, but we trusted God to provide.
We pulled into East London after dark, and had no idea which way to go. The map showed a few churches and a Holiday Inn, so we headed in that general direction. On the way, the Quigney Baptist church stood out. The parking lot was full of cars, so we pulled in.
The doors were locked, and nobody answered the bell. A woman was outside waiting for some other people, so we walked over and introduced ourselves. She gave us some recommendations in the area, so we sent Jake and the other girls to go check them out. Eric and I stayed behind to try to make contact at the church. Sure enough, as soon as they pulled away, a man came out the door. I introduced myself and explained our situation, but he was on his way to the airport an had to rush out. But he let me in to speak to the people inside.
I was directed to the Youth Pastor, who in turn spoke to the office manager. We explained who we are and our situation, and asked if we could have a little piece of floor to sleep on for the night. With this being a rather large church, I did not expect they would allow such a thing without going through a bunch of red tape first. But, much to our surprise, not only were they willing to offer us a place to stay, they actually handed us the keys to the house next door for the night.
The house was converted into classrooms for their Sunday school, but we had ample floor space as well as two bathrooms with hot water. He even directed us to a fast food place down the street where we could pick up some cheap dinner.
It was such a blessing to see how God could provide in what could have seemed like and impossible situation. And not only did He provide, but He provided abundantly through our brothers and sisters in East London, South Africa.
