(Read Part XI)
In between medical appointments, Chuck and I discussed what happens next? We knew we would be working with impoverished children (over the years we had donated to several charities working with children in poverty) we just didn’t know where or how. Chuck, being the business minded guy he is, thought we should at least start the process to get a non-profit organization set up and approved by the US government.
The path would be made clearer through prayer and miraculous ways!
Chuck knew through his experience of fasting and prayer we were supposed to get rid of our “financial security” we were leaning and depending on, so in the course of a couple of months Chuck got rid of IRA’s and stocks. One day he was on the phone with an investment firm selling off whatever it is you sell off there (yea I’m not the financial person) and the person on the line asked Chuck – “why are you doing this?” He thought for sure they were thinking he was a nut case in need of psychiatric help, but he told her, God is leading us to do something more with our lives, something with impoverished children and we don’t know where or how yet but we were setting up a non-profit and beginning to live totally by faith. Instead of laughing or snickering she asked Chuck “do you know what I’m doing today?” This took him a bit by surprise, but he said “no” and asked what she was doing. She said she had to decide that day whether or not to leave her well paying job at the investment firm to go to school to become a pastor. She asked Chuck “what are you going to do?” He said “sell, what are you going to do?” “Quit and become a pastor”, she replied.
It was an encouragement to both of them that God was working in different people at different times and we could each trust Him to move us in the right direction.
“Releasing” our grip on depending on our financial resources was not easy. Several times Chuck said his stomach was doing flips and questions like “how is this going to work”, “how are we going to live” or “what about retirement” were on our minds. It was a process of trusting God more and more instead of what we felt we had to do or have to survive.
As I look back four years later I see so many instances where God has met our needs and He has challenged us to trust Him more everyday, especially when there is no money in the ministry account and we get a call from Kenya saying one or more of the orphanages need food. He has always moved in His perfect timing so funds can be sent for even a little food. The glory of that is we, and the kids, are seeing God providing, not Chuck and Tammy!
(Go to Part XIII)