Aug 3, 2013

What have I gotten myself into? (And an update...)

Sometimes things can change in the blink of an eye...

There's a story in 2 Kings 6:24-7:20 of a time in Israel's history when the city Samaria was under siege and the food supply for the city had been cut off. Food was so scarce and expensive that people had resorted to eating donkey's heads, bird poop & cannibalism. (Which is probably still better for you than McDonalds...)

I'll let you read the whole story for yourself, but at the word of the Lord in a mere 24 hours everything changed and food was plentiful. That's the God I serve. In the blink of an eye everything can change!

And now I'm in a spot where a few months ago the idea of doing Financial Peace University in a correctional facility was just a wistful dream and a vague hope. And then the door opened to do the class out at the new Goose Creek Correctional Center, but I didn't have the money to fund the class. But after putting a call out to you, the reader, I had enough come in to cover this class and part of my next class.

And now this week I've been asked to do a second class at Goose Creek. Oh, and I've also been asked to do a class at the Alaska Dream Center, a local rehabilitation center. And I've also been asked to the do the class at the transitional home in Anchorage operated by Alaska Correctional Ministries. And then the chaplain at Spring Creek Correctional Center in Seward (which is about 160 miles away) wants me to do the class... And I have a full time job.

So four weeks ago all I had was one simple class at Goose Creek that I was able to re-arrange my work schedule for (and thanks to my incredible employers for being so understanding...). And now this week I'm trying to figure out how to be 6 different places during the week. And figure out how to pay for all of it... But it's a good problem to have. If forces me to rely on God.

And don't worry... this blog post isn't another call for money.... but if you feel inclined to give, you can see your options on how to do that here in this post. I would solicit your prayers though. And if you are local and want to get involved in a really exciting, fun ministry there's plenty of room for more volunteers.

So here's the update on my current group at GCCC: This was the third week and we talked about the nuts and bolts of budgeting. These guys seem more engaged in the class than most of the other classes I've done. They are eating it up. And this week I handed out the workbooks that you guys helped to buy. The men wanted to me to pass on their gratitude. I've asked them to write down their thoughts on the class for me to share with you. I'll have some of those next week to share with you.

For now though, I have to find a cloning machine and a pile of cash...

1 comment:

tbbotts said...

When you step out in faith all manner of good things can happen. Good luck! Don't get burned out.