$10 Challenge Letters
Psalm 37:21
The Sunday before Thanksgiving you challenged us to “do something good with $10! For some reason that challenge struck a chord in me. Someone mentioned the church bike ministry had 65 bikes to give to children! A member donated safety helmets for each bike, so, I popped up with: “Here's my $10 for locks!” In a heartbeat, others from the neighborhood joined me. We will purchase four or five bike locks.
That was a start, but a far cry from the 65 needed! One person suggested I talk to a bike shop. The managers of the shop were supportive when I described my idea of turning $10 into 65 children’s bike locks! They agreed to accept whatever I could raise. I called, cajoled, and convinced a total of 19 people to help!
In 24 hours $220 had been promised. During a busy time, this project took shape! The bike shop added $210! The locks arrived on time and were given to the children! GOD IS GOOD!! Thanks for the nudge!
When Pastor Larry gave us the $10 challenge my heart was all in it but I seriously wondered how I was going to find the creativity much less the time to convert my $10 into more than that amount, especially during the busiest work time of the year. I decided I couldn’t do it alone so I prayed that God would allow me to see opportunities to either expand the $10 or share even that small amount with others.
I prayed each day for a week. Nothing. Then I got a text from the Red Cross looking for blood donors. They promised a $10 gift card to Amazon. That $10 amount spoke to me. I added that $10 to my original 10 and gave precious blood to someone. Then we went out for dinner with friends. Our gift card was more than we ordered, so they insisted on giving cash back. How much? You guessed it, $10. Now my fund was $30.
Four days later I came home from work to find a strange envelope from a health insurance provider. In it was a refund check for a parent who passed away over five years ago. I texted my siblings and totally unprompted all three of them told me to just keep it and when I suggested giving the amount to charity, they heartily agreed. The check for $71 added up to just over $100 for the $10 challenge.
By being open to how God moved he multiplied my original offering 10 times! Some friends and I then served dinner to the homeless during the winter shelter ministry. This gift was the startup money to help us provide a hot meal for over 70 people. God not only multiplied the original $10 but multiplied it to share with others.
Prayer Challenge: How can you creatively use your resources to help others?
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