After I got home from that mission trip in 2014, I told my family that I wanted to start and collect my change to put into the dump for our trip in 2015. That was my only goal, to raise and collect some extra change to give to Port for some extra food... God was not pleased. He knew that there was more, that I was able to do much more than collect a few cents for His people. With the help of Jim, God begun to put thoughts into my heart, ideas on how the dump could prosper and become better for His people. As I begun to think, I had the thought of a fundraiser. I thought of a small event at my mom's gym, I could raise a few hundred dollars, hand it over to the church to give to Pastor Earl, and my job would be done.
Boy was I wrong.
After many talks and planning sessions with Jim, it was decided that we needed to go bigger and better than a little fundraiser at the gym, so we did. We ended up being able to do a workout at Concord Mall. I got publicity from friends and the public, the money kept coming and coming. We first reached a thousand, I was thrilled, and then the money did not stop. God was in work... and after research I thought I knew exactly where I wanted the money to go. I wanted a feeding center at the dump. Why? I don't know. How would it be beneficial? I couldn't tell you. All I knew was that I wanted the kids that walk for miles to get food to have a safe place to eat it, not just squatting by the side of the road to shovel it in their mouths before the long walk back.
After the fundraiser, the final number came to $6,000. Wow, I raised $6,000 to build a feeding center for the people of the Pines. I then thought it would be easy to get the money to Pastor Earl and get the project done... but July was not God's timing, He wanted me to wait. Through many phone calls, emails, and long-waited moments, I finally got to talk to one man, John Meiser, who is in charge of missions work at Granger Community Church. When he talked to me, he had to be the one to tell me that there were no plans in the future for a feeding center at the dump. I was crushed. I saw it on Verbo's website, but there was some kind of miscommunication, and now I did not know what to do with this $6,000 I had raised. I told so many people that this money was going towards a feeding center, and yet now I had no clue what to do with it. So, I waited. John Meiser told me to wait until he got back from Nicaragua in October and we would talk again. I waited, for many months, with $6,000 waiting in my bank account. I was frustrated, confused, and felt hopeless. I thought that this would be easy... I raised money and now it should go to what my vision was. But through this, I just had to wait. And I lost faith that God had a plan in all of this... but of course, this was all in God's plan.
Fast forward to Monday, November 9th, at around 10 am. At this time, I was talking to my mom, telling her that I have given up. I was just going to give John the money, tell him to somehow give it to the dump or feeding center, and move on with everything. I have given up on my dream and God. Then, while studying in Jazzman's at 2 pm, I looked at my phone and I had a Facebook message from John Meiser, "Call me ASAP." So, I did. And because I did, God showed me that giving up on Him was silly, that He wouldn't let me down. He showed me that the vision He had placed in my heart was truly from Him. God had spoken, I had answered, and now... the kids of the Pines will have a feeding center. When John told me that life missions was matching my numbers and that there was going to be feeding center at the dump, because of my vision, I almost broke into tears. Because of a vision God put into my heart... these beautiful kids will have a place to sit and eat. They will have a place to get food even if it rains. They will have a place to eat without flys and stray dogs surrounding them. They will no longer have to eat out of the back of a truck. They will have a hope for a better future. God is truly amazing, and He has shown me through all of this that He is mighty, and because of Him, great things happen.
After I got the phone call from John, I called all my family and friends and told them the good news. As I was talking to Jim, my partner since the beginning, I mentioned that it was time to start planning for next year. He laughed, told me to celebrate first, then we plan. Well, I believe that the celebration will continue as the months continue and the feeding center is built, but it is also time to plan for Funds for Food, round two. And trust me, it is already underway.
Thank you for showing me joy and hope in the world. Through your smiles and your simple love for being alive, you inspired me. By February 2016, you will now have a place to sit and eat. And I know that this is just the beginning of an entire process to change your lives.
To Julio, the man who runs it all,
To everyone else,
Thank you. Because of your donations, because of your faith in me, and because of your encouraging words... my family will now have a place to eat.
God is good all the time, and all the time... God is good.
