Have you ever SEEN God work? Ya know what I mean. Like you could almost SEE Him reach down from Heaven and touch something or someone. Well, that happened yesterday. Ya wanna hear about it?
Well, as you know, we have "adopted" an Iraqi family. We have truly grown to love them. They are not Muslim but Catholic. They love the Lord and talk about Him often. We have spent a lot of time with them since 9/11/08 when they arrived in Tucson. We have visited for hours on end. When you go visit, it's AT LEAST going to be a 3-4 hour stay! You have to exchange pleasantries and drink water from the tap, have an apple, and you CAN'T leave without a cup of hot tea! (Why don't these people drink Diet Mt. Dew?) We have taken them to get their SS#, their food stamps, their bus passes etc. We have taken them to the supermarket several times (I'm teaching them to call a "shopping cart" a "buggy". Funny huh?) They walk to the supermarket everyday. In their culture, you go everyday and buy just enough for that day. They were surprised to see Americans filling up their "buggy" till it over flowed. Shari and I have gone several times to Walmart to get things likes, bed sheets, a baby bed mattress for the 2 year old, sippy cups, hangers, bowls, spoons to cook with, knives, a $29.00 recliner from the Goodwill etc. This week Jay and I took Nahren back to Walmart (she had never been before) to get a few things that she needed.
The stuff that she needed was stuff like a hairdryer, a cutting board, a pan to cook in the oven, yeast and baking powder (I have no idea what that's for) a strainer, and the most important thing was some anti-itch cream for their mosquito bites. Especially Nancy, the 4 year old. She had whelps on her little legs where bugs were eating her alive. We bought some OFF spray and some ointment. AND a fly swatter!!! At the check out we got Devid, the baby, some gum. He LOVES gum, and we started putting the items up on the register. She had brought some cash that she had gotten from Polus her husband. (Along with paying their first months rent of $550.00, the Lutheran Social Services gives them $425.00 when they land to last them FOREVER!) I told her that we were going to pay for this!
(Jay made SURE that every dime that me or Shari or any of us, spent on them was put on ONE credit card! It's actually our personal credit card that doesn't have a balance. When people said they wanted to help, the money would go to that card!)Anyway, I told her that we were going to pay for her things. She got HUGE tears in er eyes and asked "Why?" I said, "Well, we want to help you in the same way that we have been helped in the past. When Jay and I were struggling, Jesus sent people to "help" us and we are doing the same to you. When Polus gets a job and you can all speak very good English, YOU then can help someone else! That's what our Father wants us to do. We are FAMILY." It took a little while for me to explain that to her but when she understood, she was very appreciative.
OK... HERE'S THE COOL PART!
As of yesterday on our credit card, we had spent, $640.81. We have never been worried about it because it wasn't money out of our kids mouths or bill money.
Steve called last night after speaking at Smoke Rise Baptist Church. He told Jay, "Tonight was great. It was a huge blessing. They took up a love offering for us." Jay said, "Man, that's awesome" and being the financial guru of the bunch then asked, "How much was it?" Steve said, "Before I tell you, I want you to get these receipts that we have spent on the Iraqi family and add them up. I wanna know how much we have spent on them so far." Jay said, "Gotcha. I'll call you right back." Jay added all 8 receipts and called Steve back. "Ok. I added them. As of today it's $640.81." Steve said, "The love offering that they collected for us was $647.00!"
I just thought this was a neat story of how God works!! Praise Him for He is Alive!!
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