It was the first week of January 2011. I was sitting at my desk in the Hidden with Christ Ministries office in California praying about the New Year. Treasures of Africa Children’s Home in Moshi, Tanzania, had been caring for orphans and abandoned children for almost four years. It had not been easy, but by God’s grace and the generosity of many people, the children had never missed a meal or lacked other necessities.
As I prayed, I asked the Lord what He wanted for the new year. Instantly, I heard in my spirit these words, “I want you to buy a piece of land in Tanzania where you can build for Treasures of Africa.” I gasped and said, “Lord, you know we have just barely been paying all the bills for Treasures as it is…how can we buy a piece of land?”
Before I could blurt out any other faithless statement, the Lord said something I will never forget all the days of my life.
“I have people…people who can hear my voice and will obey my word.”
The words seemed to hang in the air. The Lord said nothing else to me that day, but that sentence was enough to ponder for a lifetime. “I have people...”
It was only a few days later, as I sat at that same desk, that the office phone rang. On the other end was a man I had never met. He lived in another state and began to ask me some very direct questions.
After a few introductory pleasantries, he got right to the point of his call. “What is the biggest need of the ministry right now?” His question took me by surprise. But I heard myself answering him as if I had anticipated the inquiry.
“Two things,” I replied, “Money to buy a piece of land in Tanzania for Treasures of Africa and enough funds to support our missionaries in Ukraine for a year.” He then asked for the financial specifics of those two needs, and after I supplied the requested information, he thanked me and hung up.
I sat there stunned for a few minutes. I had never had such a conversation with anyone in the eleven years Hidden with Christ Ministries had been in operation. I was not in the habit of telling people the financial needs of the ministry but instead would just ask people to pray for us. As I wondered what on earth that call was all about, the words the Lord had spoken earlier in the week, floated through my mind once again, “I have people…”
The following week, the Lord proved His point to me in living color. When the postman delivered the ministry’s mail, along with the usual bills and advertisements, was an envelope with a smiley face drawn on the flap along with two hearts. From the return address label, I could see it was from the man I had spoken to the week prior. His wife had decorated the envelope with joyful jottings that made me smile just looking at it. But what the envelope contained was a revelation of what God had spoken and a turning point for the ministry.
“I have people…people who can hear my voice and will obey my word.”
Contained in the envelope was a check to cover one full year of support for our missionaries in Ukraine. It was the first time we had ever had the full amount in hand for their mission’s support at the beginning of the year! In addition, was a check for more than enough money to buy a piece of land in Tanzania, pay the land taxes and hire a lawyer to handle the transaction.
To say that I was stunned by this radical generosity is an understatement. The ministry had never received a gift of that size before. As I sat there staring at the miracle checks, all I could say to the Lord was, “You do have people!”
Walking with the Lord for more than forty years, I have come to understand that God wants all His children to be “people who can hear His voice and will obey His word.” As pastors, my husband and I have observed while counseling many Christians over the years, that God does speak to them, though not always is His voice recognized or obeyed. Hearing God’s promptings is one thing, but obeying is another level altogether!
The biggest hindrance to stepping out in faith when you hear God’s voice is FEAR. The enemy of your soul – Satan – wants you to think you are just imagining the direction you sense you have heard from God. The fear of being “wrong” is a common human experience and often stops people from taking a step of faith. But it is far better to step out in faith to do something you believe God is leading you to do, than to do nothing. God will honor that, and you will begin to learn how to discern God’s voice from your own thoughts.
At Hidden with Christ Ministries we have been dedicated to hearing the voice of God and walking by faith to obey the Lord even when it looks impossible. When the Lord told us to establish Treasures of Africa Children’s Home in Moshi, Tanzania – we did not have the money, the language fluency or the cultural understanding to undertake such an impossible task in a foreign country. Yet obeying the Lord in that undertaking, one step at a time, brought forth miracle after miracle. The fruit of that obedience can be seen in the lives of the young “treasures” who were raised there and now are completing their academic careers and starting their lives as young leaders in Tanzania.
Now we are facing another “seemingly impossible” project at the direction of the Lord – the building of the TREASURES OF AFRICA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY, a Christian high school with a Biblical worldview and a Leadership component infused into the curriculum at each grade level. Orphans will be given scholarships to attend the school and other students will pay school fees to cover operating expenses. Using the very land that the miracle donation (described above) purchased for the ministry in 2011, we have obeyed step by step and have all the architectural plans ready to build. We have the Building Permit from the Tanzanian government in hand and await the miraculous financial provision to commence this God-ordained building project.
Will you pray with us for the people God has assigned to sow into this important work to come forth and partner with us now? We believe that this school will produce leaders for the nations who will lead with a Biblical worldview and a godly spirit. This is a desperate need in these last days.
If you feel led to donate to the building fund for the
TREASURES OF AFRICA LEADERSHIP ACADEMY – you can do so on our website:
www.hiddenwithchrist.org/donate
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