I love dreaming. I mean, I love trusting God to do big stuff...things that I can't really pull off on my own power. Two years ago, I started reading and studying micro-credit in third-world countries (you can see some of my previous posts). I was intrigued and then I became challenged. I became challenged and convinced that God wanted me to step out and do the very thing that I was reading about---lending money to some of the world's poorest people. I started to network with people who were involved in micro-lending and I started to ask questions. Through a friend, I was put in touch with a young man in Burkina Faso who desires to be involved in micro-lending. So, to make a long story short...here is what happened.
After 8 months of dialoguing with my new friend in Burkina Faso, writing up a job description and then drawing up loan guidelines, the time came to send the money. Make no mistake about it...a lot of thought, prayer and dialogue went into it (a lot of details)...but eventually I had to leap. I had to risk and trust God. So, a friend of mine and Mandy and I decided to invest some money and lend it to some poor people in Burkina Faso. We've invested our monies in a small village 28 miles outside the capital city of Ouagadougou. Twenty-nine different women received small loans of money to be put towards their small businesses. These loans will in turn empower these women and hopefully lift them out of poverty. They are given 9 months to re-pay the loans. If they re-pay the loans with a small interest rate attached, they will qualify for a second loan.
So, right now, the money that was sent is on the other side of the world in the hands of twenty-nine different women who I have never met. It's cool to see God do what I was unable to pull off on my own strength. I have so many limitations. God has no limitations. He's eternal and Creator of all. Trusting Him leaves me (and you) in good hands.
My prayer is that these monies would be used to lift many out of the grip of poverty and give them a hope. Here's another cool part. Every person who receives these monies will hear about this God who created them and loves them with an undying love. My friend (who is doing all the legwork for me) has been tasked with sharing the gospel of Jesus with these precious people. So, it's not just about lending them money, rather I want to see people place their faith in the Jesus who can change circumstances and one's eternal destiny.
More to come on my micro-lending venture. I'm excited. I love to talk about it and share how God is using these monies to help the poor and needy on the other side of the planet.
If this intrigues you, I'd love to share more with you. If you want to give, I invite you to prayerfully consider. It's exciting how a small amount of money can change the trajectory of one's life. Feel free to email me with any questions or comments. I'm all ears.
Stay tuned...more to come on micro-lending and how we can care for the poor in our world.
"He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord" Proverbs 19:17
No comments:
Post a Comment