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A few months ago I gave away the last large print Bible from a box that had been sent to Saint Vincent since the volcanic eruption. Within a few days individuals found out I had them, and were asking me if they could get one. This is actually a common problem in SVG since many individuals suffer from glaucoma, which keeps them from reading fine-print Bibles.

At that point my only hope of getting more was to order them from the States, and have them sent over with a shipping agent. There was definitely a need for this but it would end up costing around $500 for the Bibles alone without including the cost of shipping.

So I sent out some updates asking for help raising money to send Bibles……

And the response was incredible!

Since late January I have received around $700 of gifts to go towards purchasing and sending big print bibles! This doesn’t include the $1,000 gift a church sent last week to help bring new shipments of them in!

My favorite way the Lord worked has to do wiith my home church however

A close friend there really felt the Lord calling her to help me with my need for Bibles. She began raising money with a sunday school class, but then happened to find older big-print Bibles that had been used in past services (they had since been replaced with new Bibles). With the churches blessing she is sending twenty-five Bibles that had been greatly used in Winston Salem North Carolina so they can continue to be used in Saint Vincent! The Bibles themselves and shipping are free (the church pays for that) so the rest of the funds can be spent on future Bible shipments.

I’m honestly overwhlemed by the way people responded to my request for help

And a little convicited.

With missions there will always be new projects or needs, and each of them costs money. In these situations it’s easy to fall into the bad habit of continually asking for financial help or support. But there is also an equally bad habit, never asking for help at all.

I must confess I fall into the second categry

Asking for help has always been something I struggled with. Often I’d rationalize it by saying I don’t want to be a burden, but the truth is my stubborn pride just refused to do it. This pride was based upon the belief that it was a bad thing to ask for help.

The truth is it’s unhealthy to constantly have a new need for financial assistance, but allowing others to meet a need financially isn’t a bad thing. In fact, its a WONDERFUL thing since it allows supporters and prayer partners to help in a tangible way. To not bring up a need is to remove a blessing for them, and you.

So let me end this post with two words…..thank you, and sorry

Thank you for giving in such a sacrificial way to help Vincentians receive a copy of the Word of God they can comfortably read.

And sorry that I often allow my pride and thoughts about asking for help being a bad thing to hinder your opportunity for ministry.

In the future I will with the Lord’s help share with you the blessings of ministry, as well as an ocassional need.