Trust and Provision.

It is a nearly constant battle for me as a missionary, someone "directing" a children's home to trust in the Lord, the creator of the universe. I can trust the Lord is so many areas of my life, but when it comes to trusting in His financial provision, I must say that I struggle. I want to write this note to encourage you, to say that you can trust in our Lord to provide and to declare that He will meet the needs of every child and worker under our care here in Paraguay.

I spend much of my time crunching numbers, reviewing donations, and honestly, just worrying. God has been working in my heart in this area and He has been speaking to me in so many ways to communicate to me, "Just trust Me." The last two months, we were several thousand dollars short to pay for our salaries and food costs here in Hogar GANAR and the Itaugua Christian School. Many people do not realize how much money we need to operate monthly. Currently, we need around $11,000.00 a month to pay all teachers, house parents, other staff, and to provide for the children's basic needs. Our costs have risen significantly because the dollar has lost much of its value here in Paraguay.

I always have a way in my head that God is going to answer my prayers and provide, and He is constantly surprising me by where the finances come from. Praise the Lord that in the last two months "surprise donations" have arrived at just the right time to be able to cover our monthly costs. One gift of nearly $4,000 came from someone I have never even met.

This month, I have no idea, and don't even want to try to guess at how God will provide, but I am learning that I can trust Him, because He is faithful. A wonderful friend sent me a link to an article about George Mueller and I would like to paste a portion of a quote from him here below:

My dear Christian reader, will you not try this way? Will you not know for yourself . . . the preciousness and the happiness of this way of casting all your cares and burdens and necessities upon God? This way is as open to you as to me. . . . Every one is invited and commanded to trust in the Lord, to trust in Him with all his heart, and to cast his burden upon Him, and to call upon Him in the day of trouble. Will you not do this, my dear brethren in Christ? I long that you may do so. I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart, in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities, you can yet be at peace, because you know that the living God, your Father in heaven, cares for you.

Be encouraged! The Lord is faithful and will meet all of our needs.