Cigarette Money and the Glory of God

Fundraising truth as told by Josh, a missionary on the field.

I was back at my sending church in late July to give an update on how my first six months had gone.

As I finished my 10 minute report, the lady in front of me, Judy, turned around. "You know I finally quit smoking last month," she told me in an assuming attitude. "Oh, really? That's great." I hastily responded to her seemingly unrelated fact. "Well I was so touched by your update that I want to give you the money I used to spend monthly on cigarettes, that's $75 a month."

Up to that moment I had been praying and looking for my last $70 in monthly partnership to get me to full support. The words of gratitude I gave to her after were minuscule compared to the depth of assurance and love God was pouring into my heart. See, the atmosphere of familiar people, sights, and sounds at my sending church were leading me to forget one critical truth, God is still at work in building my partnership team.