A Test of Faith

At the beginning of the month of May, I was a fifth year architect just about ready to graduate with no job prospect due to the unfortunate fallout that the economy had with the working class of the US. With no hope of securing a summer job of any significant pay, I had just accepted an internship with eMi. This organization is a Christian non-profit organization which sends architects and engineers overseas to design projects for developing communities across the world. This decision to join up on such an organization probably does not come as such a large shock to those who know me; however, the part that came as quite a shock to even me was the amount of money I would need to raise in order to serve with them. Not only was I going to be unpaid for seven months including the preceding summer, I had to raise $8,000 in the next three before leaving the States in August! I called for my interview and then again shortly afterward to confirm that I was up to the challenge only to find out that the expected price had increased to closer to $10,000!?! Now for an introverted, reserved, and independent girl such as me, asking for money from anyone is completely outside of my vocabulary. As you can imagine I was utterly worried about this daunting task.

One evening shortly after this point, I was out with a group of friends in Chicago for a friend’s birthday. We were dancing the night away naturally. When it came time to leave, I came to the realization that my coat and purse had been taken from the middle of the pile of about 20 of our friends’ coats- and that mine were the only ones taken. Along with this coat that I loved and had bought in Spain the year before, my camera, phone, and wallet were also taken. Directly before arriving at the dance club, I had just taken out and placed in my wallet $60 cash to pay for the night’s fun and for a road trip the following day to Iowa for a wedding. You can imagine my distress then when I was already doubting the fund-raising prospects and my lack of job to assist in any financial way, when I discovered that my valuables had been taken. It was so unbelievable that my things alone would be taken so I believed that perhaps I had overlooked them and thus, waited for everyone else’s things to disappear as they left the club. When it was quite certain that my things were missing, I freaked out in silence for a moment. I went downstairs to ask the security guards if they had found anything turned in and asked them to keep an eye out. There was nothing more to do but wait until the club emptied out in case someone found anything or turned anything in. So while I was waiting I prayed. Right away I found God saying to me that I had not turned this internship and the support raising process over to Him. He had called me to serve in this way and He would provide the necessary funds in order for me to go. Nothing that I did or did not do could sway this decision of His. At this moment, I confessed that I was preparing to raise these funds on my own behalf and that I would certainly fail if I tried to take things into my own hands. I turned this season of my life over to Him and fell into the beautiful state of peace that comes from faith in knowing Christ’s love and His promise to provide us with our needs.

1 Timothy 6: 17-18
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

Immediately after I had finished praying and had come to this realization, I remember thinking, if only just my phone and credit cards would show up. Just then, a friend of mine came around the corner holding a dark blue pleather jacket. “Is this yours?” He asked. It was! It was! He had found it in a random corner on the floor. I then asked him to call my phone to see if perhaps someone may answer it, not expecting anything of course. But to both of our surprise- someone answered! It was someone working in the office of the club. We ran to the front office and guess what had been just turned in? We found that someone had turned in my phone and my wallet- without the cash- but all the credit cards were there.

It was a very convincing confirmation the God wanted me to serve with eMi and that I need not worry about how to get there. God had taken care of that years before I even knew of the organization and had been preparing me for this season of my life.

Oh and a month later God provided an opportunity to volunteer for a study of team-work psychology at Columbia College in Chicago. The compensation? $60.

silly Peter, why do you doubt?