Needs on the Farm - Being Content With Little or Much

It’s unbelievable to think that we’ve been living in South Africa for 1 year now.  On September 5^th, 2014, our family left everything behind in the States to follow God’s leading for our family to move to Africa.  We never knew where we’d end up, and now look, God has planted us in Mossel Bay, South Africa, on a beautiful farm!

I think back to when we first arrived in Pretoria, South Africa, to a beautiful 10+ bedroom home with a swimming pool.  At first I struggled with being content in such an enormous house because I wanted “less”.  I gave up everything in America with the mindset that eventually we’d be landing in Pemba, Mozambique in a home with molding walls, extreme temperatures, lack of power/water, and lots of rice and beans to eat!  In my heart I was ready for that, ready for less to receive “THE more”.  So, when we ended up in what looked like a mansion to me, I thought, “God, this isn’t right.  This is too much.  I want to be living in the dirt right now.”  That is when He reminded me of some profound truth.  The conditions under which I serve don’t matter.  What matters is the condition of my heart, simple as that!  He told me that I don’t need to be living in the dirt for Him to use me to further His Kingdom.  So there you have it!  It doesn’t matter where you are living or what those conditions are like.  He simply wants to use you as a vessel….He simply wants YOU!  Let’s put off the armor of false humility and instead simply be obedient to what the Lord’s asking us to do.  There’s no comparison.  Whether He sends you across the world or simply across the street, be available for Him!

When we moved to the children’s base at Footprints and shared one room with our 4 children and had a community bathroom and kitchen, I actually enjoyed it.  In Philippians 4:10-14 Paul talks about being content and learning to live on almost nothing or with everything.  Whether his stomach was full of food or empty, whether he had much or little, he was happy.  No matter what his conditions were, he learned to have a happy heart and not become too comfortable in his conditions because God gives and takes away.  I’m thankful to be in a place of contentment no matter what my circumstances or conditions are.  If I have little, I celebrate God’s goodness.  If I have much, I celebrate God’s goodness.  If God gives me more than I asked for or expected, I celebrate God’s goodness without feeling guilty!

Now, this doesn’t mean we just sit back, live a passive life and then expect God to “magically” provide for our every needs.  God tells us to let our needs be known, to trust Him to provide what we need when we need it and then be content in the waiting.  The Gager family would like to have a table and chairs in their living quarters so that, when desired, their family can gather around the table and eat meals together or do devotions just as a family from time to time, but we did not feel we were supposed to go and buy one right away.  They are learning to be content with what they have and only try to purchase things when God says to or gives peace about it.  Well, yesterday Josh received a phone call from a guy that is clearing out a prayer room and said that there’s a table available (plus other furniture and lumber) and it’s ours for the taking (FOR FREE) if we want it.  It seats 10-12 people.  Praise God!  Not everyone has storage space to put their clothes away in so they’re using suitcases and learning to be content until the Lord provides.  We are living on complete faith when it comes to finances.  We didn’t “fundraise” prior to moving to Africa because we didn’t feel the Lord’s leading on that.  God has placed it on people’s hearts to help support us on the mission field, and for that we are extremely grateful.  If one week we have tacos for dinner but the next week we’re eating potatoes and vegetables for every meal because that’s all we can afford to buy, then we’re content and celebrate His goodness for providing food on the table.

God knows the difference between our needs and our wants.  He promises to provide for our needs, and there are times when He gifts us with our wants too because He’s a daddy that knows how to give His children gifts.  The question to ask yourself is what is your attitude or appetite like when you don’t get what you want or are always wanting more or bigger and better?  Do you have great needs, or are you discontented because you don’t have what you want?  If you always want more, ask God to remove that desire and teach you contentment in every circumstance.  He will supply all your needs, but in a way that He knows is best for you.  Be content whether you have plenty or are in need by relying on God’s promises and Jesus’ power to help you.

Some of you have been asking what our current needs are on the mission field.  Other than general funds needed to live simply as missionary families overseas, below are some items we have been praying over collectively as a team. 

Vehicle: We have been generously blessed with this beauty for over 7 months now, much longer than expected, but the owner of the vehicle needs it to be returned.  They don’t want to leave our families high and dry without a vehicle and are letting us continue to use it until we have a vehicle of our own.  This is one of our more immediate needs.

Own Land: We believe God placed us on this farm to begin the next steps of our vision in providing a safe place for children, especially troubled teens, to come to and know what the Father’s love looks like.  This is to be a place of healing and restoration for the abandoned, rejected, lost and broken.  In order for us to move forward with more permanent decisions and steps in our vision, we must first obtain the funds to purchase the land.

Water: We continue to experience blockage in our water line which leaves us without water supply on occasion.  The previous tenant also took the pipe leading into the servant’s quarters so we are in need of a new one for water.  There is also a lot of sediment in the bottom of the tanks which leaves our water looking quite brown.  We're looking into various ways to solve this problem with new pipes/pumps/tanks, but if all else fails, we may need to look into digging a well for long-term use...but only if we own the property.

Outreach Items: We would like to be a blessing as we go into the townships.  We never know from week to week what the Lord is going to have us do, but some things He has laid on our hearts is to provide food as needed, worship with the children, build relationships through fun activities (i.e. sidewalk chalk, face painting, rugby) and show the Jesus film.  We are in need of a generator and screen/projector to show the film, a portable sound system and some djembes for worship.

If you feel led to help contribute in any way, you can make a tax-deductible donation online at www.Four18.org.  We also list our current needs with greater details and costs on our non-profit organization site: http://four18.org/get-involved/current-needs/.  Thank you for taking the time to read and pray over these items.  Last night I was reminded of the verse in Acts 3:6, “Silver and gold have I none, but I’ll give you what I do have….”  Even when we don’t have as much funding as we’d like or are unable to give tangible gifts to those we minister to, we are never in lack because we still have the best gift to offer….Jesus!  He is what everyone needs!