We made it to Tanzania Safely! We hit a small roadblock upon arrival at the airport, in the form of paperwork. For a short time, we didn’t think Glenna was going to make it on the flight, but God performed His first miracle by putting the right lady in our path who helped Glenna get through the process quickly and we were on our way! We arrived in Moshi at 7 am on Friday.
Upon arriving, we found out that the school we were hoping to purchase had already sold. It was a disappointment, but we spent the next two days looking at other properties, other schools, and most importantly, praying that God would direct our steps. Saturday night, after going to bed, I woke up very discouraged because I had shared the dream of running the school with churches across the nation, and God had provided the funds. I told my wife that I wished I had never shared my dream. How was I going to tell the people who had donated that we were unable to purchase the school? The rest of the night was restless. We woke up Sunday morning and headed to a local church for Sunday Worship. Our original plan was to attend one of the churches we had built in the Rift Valley, but due to bad weather, we were forced to change our plans. When we arrived at the church, the pastor asked Brother Jonas to interpret the message for us. The pastor’s message was entitled “The Steps of Faith.” One of the examples that he used was the story of Joseph. He made the point that had Joseph not TOLD his brothers his Dream, they wouldn’t have sold him into slavery and his Dream would have never come true. The message hit me like a ton of bricks. Here I was discouraged because, after sharing my Dream, I was facing some difficult steps. But God sent me to that specific church that morning to tell me, “Don’t put your dreams in a bag and hide them, but tell them until they come to pass.” God gave me the Dream, provided the funds, and I know that He has ordered my steps. He has never failed me yet.
God gave me the Dream, provided the funds, and I know that He has ordered my steps. He has never failed me yet.
On a more positive note, we made the 9-hour drive from Moshi to Dar es Salaam. We spent the day walking from car lot to car lot, looking for a used truck to purchase. We had a list of needs:
It needed to be in good repair,
it needed to have good tires and
it needed to be in our price range.
We also had a list of much less important wants:
We wanted it to have tinted windows, and not because we think it looks cool, but because it actually is!
We wanted it to have an alarm system because we feel safer leaving our belongings locked inside, and
we wanted it to have a working air conditioner for obvious reasons!
As the day wore on, we started to feel that we’d be good to get our needs, much less our wants. Every vehicle we looked at needed some minor repairs. A few hours in, we decided to break for lunch and Brother Jonas suggested we reach out to some local individual sellers that he knew. As we ate lunch, God provided his third miracle. Within the hour, we had pictures of a 2014 (two years newer than anything we had looked at) Toyota Hilux. Not only was it in perfect repair, but the tires were in excellent shape. It also had lower mileage than any other vehicle we had seen that day, and it was within our price range! And just for kicks, the Lord tossed in a working air conditioner, tinted windows, and an alarm system. Five hours later, we paid for the truck, and after the sellers left, we climbed inside, started the engine, and looked up to see a small cross hanging from the rearview mirror. On it was the word “FAITH.” In that moment, we received confirmation that God has everything in His control, and all we need is a little faith.