Suffer the Little Children
 The Vision Catchers

In the winter of 2001, God opened a door for us in the Republic of Georgia. We stepped in. This was to be a short-term, fact finding trip. Visiting several orphanages, all with needs of some kind, none quickened our hearts, until we entered the gate at Bodbe. The needs were great, almost overwhelming. Built on a hilltop, in the beauty of the Caucasus Mountain Range, the crumbling facility, no, the children, had not lived with running water, electricity, or heat for five years. Candles and oil lamps glowing in the night, small buckets, carried to and from the spring 3 kilometers away, serving as a water delivery system, and broken windows to stop the cold winter wind was the existence of these kids.
We had watched God work in Russia; we knew He loved Georgia, also. Wanting to help overcome these conditions, we made no preliminary promises to Timouri, the director, though we bought a small stove for the kitchen, and glass for some of the windows. We told him we would go home, pray, and wait upon the Lord, to see how He might provide. We always tell our friends we are not rich Americans, for we are not. We do not offer this help of our own purse, as it is too small. The obstacles are built for God. When He moves, we act, not until.

We know the Lord often has the answer on the way before we know there is a need. Money was coming in, from most unlikely sources, all around the country, before the needs had been published. The funds were matching the needs, as they arrived. When people ask, as frequently happens, "Why do you do this?" we have the opportunity to say "Look what the Lord has done!" These things cannot happen in the natural. There are too many "coincidences" for these to be coincidences.

Here is just one example of God multiplying the money. A young couple called Stephanie about donating some money. She didn't say how much, just that she was mailing a check, to be used however it was needed. Their employer does matching grants for their employees, but they did not know if Treasures would qualify. Their $1500 check arrived. The paperwork for the matching grant came, too. We filled it out and returned it. It wasn't clear, from their form, how much would be matched. Some was dollar for dollar, some was doubled, and some was tripled. We mailed it and waited. Her $1500 check turned into $5500, total. We still don't know how. Guess what…the water system repairs were $5500.

Greg Jenkins, the missionary to Georgia we had gone to see, made an unplanned trip to America. A group of pastors visiting Greg, in Georgia, after we returned home, had been attacked. As a result, the association called Greg and all his staff back to the US. Greg's return to Georgia was just in time. After 5 years of primitive living, by our standards, the funds for electricity and water, for Bodbe, was in Greg's hand. A lot can happen in 3 months. Greg assigned the tasks to his new humanitarian aid director, Cecil Eshelman, who, with his family, had just arrived. Cecil has been a blessing to Treasures, Greg, and the orphans. He has made this project seem simple, though he runs himself ragged in the effort.

One of those other "coincidences", as Cecil met with the mayor of Zemo-Bodbe, concerning the water supply, the village, and surrounding area, would also have water for the first time in 5 years. The mayor volunteered villagers' labor to help dig the trenches for the pipes, thus helping Treasures' funds to meet other needs.

The big needs were being met, now we started on the fun needs. We had purchased 2 sheep & 2 lambs, plus 80 chickens on our first trip. We envisioned a barnyard full of animals. Not only would it feed the children, but also provide a useful education for them. To our amazement, when we began to share the story of the farm…it was our children that heard the call to arms. It was the children who "Caught the Vision". Without prompting or coaxing from the parents, the kids stepped up to the plate and knocked it out of the park.

A preschooler, Cary, youngest of 4 siblings, until last summer, asked that instead of birthday gifts, she wanted farm animals for the orphans. She was able to purchase one milk cow, 2 lambs, and chickens. You think that request could be denied?

Another preschooler, Benjamin, had a wonderful idea. He would sell snacks to his Royal Ranger friends, at Wednesday night meetings. Being ever the entrepreneur, he showed no favoritism to his buddies in need of a Coke or bag of chips. Money talks. Through this successful business venture, he purchased another cow.

Another elementary child, Nathan, moved his Royal Ranger leaders to tears. When a Royal Ranger achieves a badge, he is given a 2 dollar bill. Nathan gave all his little wadded up 2 dollar bills for the year to purchase a lamb.
Pre-teen, Holly, involved her Missionettes and church, in San Antonio. They made a big lamb out of poster board, felt and cotton balls. The title is "Shear Joy." They placed the "lamb" in the foyer of Dominion Church. As they collected more money the Missionettes "sheared" more of the "wool" off of their lamb. Her brother, Jimmy, mowed lawns to purchase a lamb.

They raised the funds to purchase 20 sheep. Shear Joy!

 
Greg had been given 200 Russian Study Bibles, for training Georgian pastors, by a group in Russia. The problem was he had to pick them up. He requested our team to bring them in. One small $1300 problem…freight costs for extra baggage on the plane. He didn't have the funds, nor did we. Actually, this request didn't meet Treasures' mission statement for expenditures. At the last minute it was added to the newsletter. The letters were mailed on Friday. Saturday morning $1200 cash knocked on the front door. Close, but not $1300. That evening, the phone rang. It was the other $100. Another teen, Dallas, had done some construction work with her dad. She was paid $100 for the day's labor. Let's see, now…$1200 + $100…yep, $1300 on the nose. Not another penny came in for that need. Another "coincidence".
Timouri, the director, is a humble man, with the children's welfare at heart. Our first visited, we bought sheep for them. The next day he asked if it would be possible, though he appreciated the sheep, to have chickens, instead of the sheep. The chickens would provide eggs, as well as more chickens. No, we already had pictures and video of the sheep, but chickens would be provided, also. Timouri sent word, through an email, they really could use a car if they needed medical attention for the kids, as the nearest hospital was a 3 hour drive. We informed them that autos were not in our mission statement, either, but we would pray about it. That email was accidentally sent out to the team members, instead of the Board Members. One of the team members had been praying about his roll in the trip. He called, "That car is mine! Don't you let anybody else buy it." They now have a beautiful new-to-them '95 Opal station wagon.

God's mission statement is, apparently, a bit more inclusive than ours.
Another "coincidence", I guess.