In November 1993, Brian Andersen of North Phoenix Vineyard in Arizona, came to South Africa. He was teaching on tithing. His message challenged me to stop trying to save for the next year and pay off my credit card first. I had so much debt left over from my divorce year that I was trying to pay off. I went to talk to Brian, and I told him that I didn't know how I would be able to tithe 10% of my earnings – now, more than ever before.

 

His advice wasn’t at all what I expected. He told me that tithing is a supernatural thing. He said as I stretch to pay the 10%, God stretches to pay the other 90%.

He told me that it is not something you can calculate, but rather it is all about trusting your Father. He assured me that the Lord will never let me down. I took him at his word, started tithing, and now I can agree with what Brian said. Two months later, by the end of December that year, I was debt-free! God is faithful and He cares so much for me; why would He let me live in poverty?

 

In December, I was speaking to someone at the Bank on the phone at work. Part of my job was to make foreign money transfers to America. I had to get the day's exchange rate. After I hung up, I wondered how much the Ranch's fees would be if I converted the US amount to South African Rands using that rate. I calculated it and the amount came to something like 6,998.54 Rands. Rounding it off I wrote down on my pad of paper, “7,000 Rand”. For a moment I just stared at the figure 7,000 Rand. That’s it! The 7,000 Rand in the two words (Yeovil 7,000 Rand) is going to the Ranch! I had no money for the fees or the ticket. But, I knew God was in on this trip to America. He would provide for me.

 

The next thing on my agenda was to find someone to work for Bill while I was away. I asked at church for a bookkeeper to do my job for 4 months. I found an Australian lady who felt God was prompting her to return to Australia. She needed a job to save for her trip home. The job offer came at the right time, and Bill interviewed her and gave her the job.

 

She then asked me if I was looking for someone to stay in my house for the four months I would be away. Indeed, I was, and I was happy for her to stay. I held the mistaken belief that she would pay me rent. That would let me afford my mortgage for the four months I wasn't working. But that wasn’t what she had in mind, and so that was another miracle that God needed to create for my finances.

 

Sometimes, the devil tries to throw us curve balls to panic us. But, he isn't playing ball against me. He is playing against Jesus and Jesus always wins. I had to jump this hurdle first. I needed a Visa for the USA and therefore, I needed proof of a job and a home to return to.

 

The next hurdle was to buy my plane ticket. Bill asked me if I wanted him to take over my car from me to release the finances for the trip. We settled the deal without delay, which allowed us to release the money for the trip right away. When I come back, I can then buy my car back from him again for the same price. He would arrange the finances for that through the company. There were no strings attached other than I come and work for him again on my return. Was he a Christian, you may ask? The answer is “No. He wasn’t a Christian, but he was someone who had a good heart and someone God could use.”

I asked him what he was going to do with the car while I was away. He said, “Oh I will park it in one of the empty hangars on the airfield.”

 

During this time, my Canadian friend Anita was very excited to share her latest news with me. They offered her a position as a nurse in Swaziland while I would be away. She said she needed transport to get around while working in Swaziland. So, I asked Bill if Anita could use the car there while I was away. I know this was cheeky of me, but he immediately said yes. The fact that they were both Canadians helped a lot. It was amazing. I saw God open His generous heart. He blessed me with one miracle after another.

 

I had one more hurdle to cross. I needed about 4,500 Rand to cover my mortgage payments for the four months that I won’t be earning a salary. With only two weeks to go, time was running out. A friend contacted me. She received a car from someone who had passed away, a blessing that surprised her. She didn’t need the car and after selling it, she felt God leading her to give me the money. The money she gave me was exactly what I needed: 4,500 Rand.

 

During that time, I discovered what it was like to live on the edge. In some ways, you say “I hope I never have to do things this way again," but in so many ways, it strengthened my trust in the Lord. The whole story taught me that, if I stay in His will, He is faithful. He will always be there for me and provide for my every need.

As I reflected on my forthcoming month in England, I sought a believer, preferably one from the Vineyard, to stay with. It was important for me to have somewhere to live with my very limited funds. I wanted to go and see where Yeovil is. Derek told me that he might have somewhere for me to stay, but in the end, this option fell through. This again, became one of those miracle stories that God brought about the day I left America. I learned so much of God’s provision and goodness.

Costa tried to help. He suggested I write to some Vineyard Churches in the UK. I wanted to find out if they had any church planting plans for Yeovil. But of course, that was going to take the fun and blessing out of God’s hands. Nobody had even thought of little old Yeovil.

 

All in all, 1993 was an exciting year, but I was ready and looking forward to 1994. I was about to experience more miracles. Even bigger ones.