Small Group Leader(s): Tammy & David Moriarty
Small Group Members: Corey Norris, Alison Luetkenhaus, Andrew Sagar, Blake & Megan Vandergeest, Derren Raser, Kent Lacy, Lisa Brown, Drew & Heather LaForge
Description of your project: We took the $100 and substituted things in our lives for cheaper alternatives. The savings were then put back into the pot. As an example, Tammy and I ‘took’ $40 out of the $100 in order to buy groceries for ourselves for three Friday nights. We cooked at home instead of going out to eat. So we saved ~$40 a week. (3) weeks x $40 = $120 which was put back into the pot. So ‘the pot’ had a net gain of $80. The whole small group was able to raise $350. Then Allie, who happened to be going to Africa to visit a friend who volunteers at an orphanage in Malawi, took the money and purchased clothes, food, soap and other essential items for the children.
How did you come to your idea? I think this was the most difficult part. We brainstormed on ideas but there wasn’t an idea that really made everyone jump up and down. It was difficult as leaders because there were some ideas we were interested in but didn’t want to push the group to do something that the group didn’t buy into. Then Allie mentioned that she was going to Africa to visit her friend. We decided we wanted to do something to support her. Megan suggested we all substitute our normal diets with nothing but pinto beans and rice and contribute all of the money. Everyone liked the idea but we decided to modify the substitution – however, pinto beans and rice for a month sounds entertaining.
How did you “invest” the $100? We purchased diapers, clothing, toys, cloth wraps for the workers, dishware, formula, bibs, and other necessities for the orphanage. The workers were very excited to have new wraps and loved being photographed. These women exude a remarkably humble kindness and their sincerity for the work they do is quite touching. It was an honor to see our money extended to the poorest country in the world and a pleasure to have the opportunity to witness the joy it brought.
Beneficiary(s): Children (all under the age of two) and workers at Ministry of Hope’s Crisis Nursery in Lilongwe, Malawi.
Process or procedure: After raising money for the orphanage, we sent it along with Allie on her visit to Africa. It was important to the group that our money was spent in Malawi, supporting their local economy and benefiting from a favorable exchange rate. Allie spent hours at an open-air market, hand selecting clothing for the orphans. After some serious bartering, Allie came away with bags and bags of clothing for the Crisis Nursery. The majority of our money bought other necessities requested by the nursery (diapers, formula, soap etc.). New cloth garments were also purchased for the women who have dedicated their lives to serving these children and God. They were delighted by the gesture.
Outcomes to date: Since Allie’s visit, The Crisis Nursery is known for having the best cared for babies and most stylish tots in town!
Stewardship Lessons learned: It is really difficult spending God’s money. Maybe we were trying to be too careful – we almost buried the money in the ground and didn’t do anything with it. Not literally of course but it was difficult to come to an agreement on how to spend the money. We didn’t disagree, we just didn’t agree. My initial thought was maybe everyone is distracted with other things in their lives. But maybe, like me, other group members felt passionate about an idea but it was not received with enormous enthusiasm. Then each group member kind of let their idea fizzle away.
Would you invest your money in this way again? Of course! Allie’s pictures with the smiles tell me God’s money was invested wisely. I wish there was a way we could track each penny’s worth of the investment to see just how God will work in it. We don’t get to see the full outcome. We have to have faith that God will take the small seed we helped plant and it will bloom. But maybe…just maybe God will let us know how he took our small effort and helped to usher in His Kingdom.