Giving Back

References:
http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=23213
http://www.freshministry.org/illustrations.html

Keywords: stewardship, gift, communion, fellowship, unity

Officials at the Louisiana Baptist Convention are used to receiving donations, but a recent gift was unexpected and extraordinary.

A group of twenty men from the Island of Sumatra sent a gift of $854 to help those hit hard by Hurricane Katrina. The men themselves experienced the tragedy of natural disaster when their island was hit by the tsunami on December 26, 2004. Teams from Louisiana traveled to the stricken areas to help with the recovery and relief effort. When the news about Katrina and the damage it caused in New Orleans reached Indonesia, many Indonesians who were impacted by ministry efforts wanted to do something to help Americans in the midst of their disaster.

Disaster strategist Gibbie McMillian said the gift shows the spiritual impact of the tsunami relief work. McMillain said, "This gift is amazing. Just think people on the other side of the world felt led to make a contribution to our disaster relief work here in Louisiana." What makes the gift even more amazing is that the average monthly income in Sumatra is around $100. The men who gave the gift gave sacrificially, because they remembered how these Americans helped and cared for them.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 (NIV) "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."