Every need provided
Even buying two months early, the plane tickets to the States ended up costing quite a bit more than we had anticipated.
Then the annual heating fee to keep our house toasty during the winter came due. So out went another extra couple hundred dollars.
Then Josiah got another of his unstoppable colds, which quickly turned into bronchitis and on into pneumonia despite all our best efforts. He avoided being hospitalized, but he still managed to require six trips to the hospital (none of which were free). Chinese health care is still inexpensive compared to western health care, but twenty to forty dollars a trip plus all the medicine added up quickly.
Needless to say, November turned into a tough month financially. Once again life was by faith. We did not despair or lose sleep. We just prayed more and economized further. During one stretch, three weeks lapsed between trips to McDonalds! If you know us, you know that is pretty extreme!
I get calls weekly from schools and students who are interested in giving me extra work. However, I have reached to the point where I am too busy doing more important things, so I no longer accept any of these. I am confident that while we are busy doing His work, God can supply all our needs without our needing to take on extra secular work.
Then one afternoon, another language school called me and asked if I was available the following Tuesday for a full day of work. This school pays very well, and he said it was a one time commitment. I knew we could really use a hundred more dollars for the month. So I mentally checked my calendar and felt I was relatively free. I was wavering on whether or not to accept his offer when he mentioned I would be judging an English competition for a government bureau. That meant no preparation time for lessons! That news pushed my over the edge. I agreed to go.
The day came and I was out of the house before six in the morning to get to the venue by seven thirty. I enjoyed the whole day. The occasion was pretty formal and the contestants all did excellent. Their high English levels made listening and concentrating easy. For lunch everyone was taken to a delicious buffet at fancy hotel. They even provided snacks and juice throughout the day. I was not complaining.
At the end of the day, we went to a very fancy, five star hotel. There, we had a first-class Chinese banquet. The food was very good, and I enjoyed meeting many interesting people. While I was eating, a man came over and handed each judge an envelope and thanked us for judging. I realized that this was probably my pay. I was being paid directly by the bureau instead of being paid through the English school. I thanked the man, and slipped the envelope into my pocket.
After arriving home, I pulled out the envelope and handed it to my wife making some comment about bringing home bacon. As I pulled off my jacket, she open in the envelope and pulled out a stack of 100rmb notes. She began counting the bills. When she reached two thousand yuan ($250) while still only half way through the stack, we both looked at each other with opened mouths. She kept going until she ended at four thousand yuan. That is five hundred US dollars! I had never made that much for one day's work in my life.
We prayed together and thanked the Lord for once again providing for us exactly what we needed when we needed it.
Still I was worried that somebody had made a mistake. I kept expecting to get a phone call asking if I had accidentally received an exorbitant amount of money. Sure enough, the next day while I teaching one of my normal classes, I received two phone calls and text message from the English school. Fortunately, my phone was on silent, so the call did not disturb my lesson. After class, I got ready to return the call. I felt pretty sure I was going to have to give back most of the money. I prayed and called the school. They asked me to teach more classes...
I declined. I am waiting for the next English competition to come around.
Living by faith is truly a wonderful adventure!
Then the annual heating fee to keep our house toasty during the winter came due. So out went another extra couple hundred dollars.
Then Josiah got another of his unstoppable colds, which quickly turned into bronchitis and on into pneumonia despite all our best efforts. He avoided being hospitalized, but he still managed to require six trips to the hospital (none of which were free). Chinese health care is still inexpensive compared to western health care, but twenty to forty dollars a trip plus all the medicine added up quickly.
Needless to say, November turned into a tough month financially. Once again life was by faith. We did not despair or lose sleep. We just prayed more and economized further. During one stretch, three weeks lapsed between trips to McDonalds! If you know us, you know that is pretty extreme!
I get calls weekly from schools and students who are interested in giving me extra work. However, I have reached to the point where I am too busy doing more important things, so I no longer accept any of these. I am confident that while we are busy doing His work, God can supply all our needs without our needing to take on extra secular work.
Then one afternoon, another language school called me and asked if I was available the following Tuesday for a full day of work. This school pays very well, and he said it was a one time commitment. I knew we could really use a hundred more dollars for the month. So I mentally checked my calendar and felt I was relatively free. I was wavering on whether or not to accept his offer when he mentioned I would be judging an English competition for a government bureau. That meant no preparation time for lessons! That news pushed my over the edge. I agreed to go.
The day came and I was out of the house before six in the morning to get to the venue by seven thirty. I enjoyed the whole day. The occasion was pretty formal and the contestants all did excellent. Their high English levels made listening and concentrating easy. For lunch everyone was taken to a delicious buffet at fancy hotel. They even provided snacks and juice throughout the day. I was not complaining.
At the end of the day, we went to a very fancy, five star hotel. There, we had a first-class Chinese banquet. The food was very good, and I enjoyed meeting many interesting people. While I was eating, a man came over and handed each judge an envelope and thanked us for judging. I realized that this was probably my pay. I was being paid directly by the bureau instead of being paid through the English school. I thanked the man, and slipped the envelope into my pocket.
After arriving home, I pulled out the envelope and handed it to my wife making some comment about bringing home bacon. As I pulled off my jacket, she open in the envelope and pulled out a stack of 100rmb notes. She began counting the bills. When she reached two thousand yuan ($250) while still only half way through the stack, we both looked at each other with opened mouths. She kept going until she ended at four thousand yuan. That is five hundred US dollars! I had never made that much for one day's work in my life.
We prayed together and thanked the Lord for once again providing for us exactly what we needed when we needed it.
Still I was worried that somebody had made a mistake. I kept expecting to get a phone call asking if I had accidentally received an exorbitant amount of money. Sure enough, the next day while I teaching one of my normal classes, I received two phone calls and text message from the English school. Fortunately, my phone was on silent, so the call did not disturb my lesson. After class, I got ready to return the call. I felt pretty sure I was going to have to give back most of the money. I prayed and called the school. They asked me to teach more classes...
I declined. I am waiting for the next English competition to come around.
Living by faith is truly a wonderful adventure!
posted by William Maricle | 3:35 PM
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1 comments
