Do you remember the widow of Zarephath who had just the right amount of flour and oil for Elijah, her son and herself? It was not because of the adequacy of the oil and flour, but the adequacy of God. Gary Thies, Mission Counselor for LCMS Foundation Ministries Support in Iowa and Nebraska, knows that many gifts come in just the right amount because that is the amount requested. When exactly the amount comes ... twice ... when no particular amount is requested, well, Gary described the experience as a "funny feeling."
In the middle of August, 2001, LCMS Missionary John Duitsman sent an e-mail asking if I could provide scholarships for several students who were going to go to a seminary in East Africa. The cost of providing education for each student was $1,800. I e-mailed him back and said that I couldn’t do anything to help, but God could and would raise up people if we would pray.
I prayed that God would raise someone up and the next day I received a telephone call. A farmer in Nebraska said that he and his wife had enjoyed being part of some direct mission projects and that they were looking for something special. They had cleaned out the last of their corn and put it in the name of LCMS World Mission at the elevator. He and his wife had been praying about this and wanted to know if we had any new projects that were designed to help foreign seminary students.
A funny feeling came over me as I told him that I had just received such a request. He said he was excited about this and told me exactly what they wanted to do. When I asked him how much corn he had sold, he told me it was only the balance of the corn in the crib and he’d sold it at the elevator and it only came to $1,800. What a joy to see that God had called this family to provide exactly the right amount to provide for one of the students!
The very next day I received another call from a family that I had visited a number of times but who had not been able to respond with a gift. The voice on the phone said, "Mother passed away, and now for the first time in our lives we have some extra funds that we would like to provide for the Lord’s work in thankfulness of the wonderful gifts we’ve received." The voice continued, "You wouldn’t have anything in a foreign seminary student project, would you?"
God was moving again, calling these special people. I told them that we did have a new project and I asked them how much they wanted to provide. They said they had about $3,600 in mind. I had that funny feeling again as I told them that amount would take care of two more students in East Africa. What a special blessing!