HE'S FAITHFUL TO THE END!!!!

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        So officially I only have 77 days to go before I head out on my 2 month journey to Afrika!
I cannot even begin to describe the excitement building up in me! I've been dreaming about this trip for the past 7 months and it is now so close! But what blows my mind even more than how close this trip is coming up is how faithful God has been throughout this process!

 Lets overview...

When I had started making plans for fundraising and writing letters... I felt like God was telling me
"Woah, hold on. I DON'T want you to fundraise AT ALL until I tell you to."
Now first of all, I'm cool with following direction from God.... but this seemed crazy!I was like
 "What?! God, is that really you? This is insane! But, I'm just going to trust you no matter how crazy this seems."
 So, I think me and God had a pretty good understanding after I finally said
"Im just going to trust you."
You see, when you tell God,
"I'm going to trust you. I'm not going to doubt you no matter how crazy it gets."
you give him plenty of room to work. And that is exactly what He did!
The next week... I was offered a meeting with my pastor so he could talk to me about what the church could do to help me out financially.

BEFORE I even started fundraising....
-I have had people come up to me and pledge to donate as soon as I start fundraising!
-People who I hadn't even sent letters to were giving me money and I soon had $900 in my account.
-Many people had already begun praying for this trip and for God to use me this summer!

So I sent out letters not to long ago and it seemed like no one was responding to them. YET.
Now, let me make it clear to you that God works in ways in times that make no sense to us BUT His timing is perfect!

Here's the story:
About 3 weeks ago, I was really struggling. I seriously hadn't read my bible or had time with God for 2 weeks. I felt like I was drowning in mistakes and everything felt like it was falling apart. I knew in that time I was so unfaithful to God. One week, I suddenly got a $100 check in the mail. The next day, I got another $100 check in the mail. The next day, I got a $75 check in the mail! A few days later in that same week, I got a $20 check in the mail! A week later, it was spring break. I checked my financial account that Monday and saw that $50 had been added to it.
 Wednesday night came and I went to church... During worship, I got on my knees and began to cry. I couldn't understand why God had provided so much in the time that I had been unfaithful! I was so unworthy of it! Then, I heard him telling me
"I am not faithful to you because you are faithful to me. No, you don't deserve it, but I have called you to do my work in Africa! I knew from the beginning that you were going to be messy and fall but the whole point of my grace is that I love you any way and I STILL have a call on your life!"
That night, my relationship with Him was taken to a new level and He seriously humbled me.
    Thursday came around and I checked my account again. I had $500 more than I did on Monday!

 Today, I currently have only $2858 left until I have all of my money in and I am almost to my halfway point!
                         God has seriously taught me something through out this process...
                                HE'S FAITHFUL TO THE END! Even when I fail to be.

Walking in His faithful love and grace,
Olivia (Thabisa) Cartwright

Comments

  1. The Path:March 27, 2011 at 7:52 PM

    This made me cry! Girl, I love you SO much and it makes me so stinking happy to see how God is working in you! He is up to something huge in you! Wow, thats really all I can say. He has chosen YOU to do this! He is amazing. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Olivia March 28, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    Aww. My Java! Yantanda! I cant wait to see you and Im so proud of everything he has called you to as well! And Im so happy I get to be a part of a little part of it in South Africa! =)

    ReplyDelete

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