Jehovah Jireh, "The Lord Will Provide"

as y'all know, I'm currently raising money to return to Africa for five weeks. and as y'all also know, traveling across the globe is far from free. this will be my fourth time going to Africa and each year, it gets a little bit harder to come up with the money. but, God funds what He favors. His heart is for the orphan child. He is Jehovah Jireh.

here's a little story of the past 24 hours that reminds me that God is Jehovah Jireh always:
yesterday I was talking on the phone with my mom. we were just chatting about life, the fam, and anything that makes time pass while I walk across campus to music appreciation. then I brought up my africa funds. I had to have $1600 of the $4000 in my account by Friday and ends were just not meeting. I was really bummed and stressing about it because that's what I do. I'm an instant-worrier. she was asking me where the rest of the money would come from because I had to come up with over $1000 in two days. I really didn't know where it was going to come from so I laughed and said "the lord." she laughed with me and said "that's true, the lord will provide." then I said half-joking half-serious, "He needs to because I don't know how else I'm going to get all that money." we said our goodbyes and the rest of the day I went to all of my classes but in the back of my mind I was worrying and calculating and recalculating ways to get that much money is so little time. that night, before I fell asleep, I prayed and then wondered if it was even possible to get that much money. then I started to think that maybe going to Africa for five weeks is a mistake because I can't even get the necessary funds to make that happen. I started to doubt God's providing skills (which no one should ever do).

flash forward to this morning. when I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is check my text messages and my email. when I opened my email, I had 6 emails. I quickly scanned through them and saw one that was from Love Africa (one of the nonprofits I'm going with to Africa that has the balance due Friday). when I opened it and my jaw dropped and my eyes welled up with tears. the balance in my account was the EXACT amount I needed to meet the deadline. my tears turned into more tears and I just couldn't believe it. God had heard my prayers and worries and anxieties. "cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." ain't that the truth. I felt so bad for ever thinking that God wouldn't provide. I see in the Bible a million times He provided and He is that same God providing for each of us today.

the funny thing is, God hinted that He was going to do big things when I got a Facebook message from one of the older boys from fiwagoh last week. this is what Johari told me: "Hey molly, I know God is opening all doors for you to pass through this challenging life. My daily prayer for you is that God may provide all your needs for your soon coming missionary trip to African Kenya." it's not a coincidence that this happened just days before the lord provided big time. God hears prayers, pleas, and praises regardless of where you are.

thank you to everyone who has donated to my trip this year and every other year. I also want to thank everyone who has prayed or has been praying for my trip. all of y'all are the reason why I can love on kids who have been through so much. y'all are the reason why I can build relationships by coming back year after year. y'all helped me find my heart's desire: to love and care for orphans. no amount of thank yous will ever be enough for that.

I'm not telling everyone this story to guilt people into giving me donations. I'm telling this story because we serve a great God. He provides for us. and most of the time He does it last minute right before we are about to give up hope. God's funny that way. I'm so thankful that He is Jehovah Jireh. He will provide. always.