Chapter 51 - The Big Surprise

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean

not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

—Proverbs 3:5–6

At the end of our furlough as we prepared to

return to our ministry in Belize, we were in
Jacksonville, Florida. It was a great day. We were
all packed and ready to leave the next day; but there
was one problem: we still needed a great deal of
money for shipping, duties, and travel expenses.
    We had already celebrated our thirty-third wedding
anniversary on the first of April. We were
able to attend church on Sunday, which was the
actual date of our wedding in Horry County, South
Carolina. What a great day that had been all those
years ago! On that day, the Lord gave me the best
wife in the world.
    But now we were off to First Coast Baptist
Church where we had been attending while living
in Jacksonville, Florida, during our furlough time.
Brother Bundy had asked me to teach Sunday
School for the last time. We had enjoyed being
in the Pacesetters’ Sunday school class, where
we were treated as royalty under the teaching of
Brother Bundy. Sunday School was soon dismissed.
We headed into the auditorium for the ten o’clock
worship service.
    Linda and I were enjoying the service, but we
were also praying for the funds needed in order to
leave the next day. The church had already been a real
blessing to us while we were on furlough, treating
us as family from our very first visit. The worship
service was always filled with the Spirit of the Lord,
and we were always blessed by the preaching of
Pastor Edwards. We were already beginning to miss
the church and its wonderful teaching and preaching
of the Word of God.
    The funds that we needed were a cause of concern
for us, yet we tried to remain focused on the
Lord and endeavored to encourage ourselves by
remembering other times when God had supplied
our needs at the last minute. Lord, it sure seems we
are down to our last minute, I prayed.
    Pastor Edwards opened the service with prayer,
followed by singing. Then he walked to the pulpit
and announced, “Brother Ayers and his wife, Linda,
are heading back to Belize tomorrow. They need
some funds, and I believe the Lord wants us to help
them. Who will give a hundred dollars?” I sat there
awe, as did Linda.
    One man promptly said, “I’ll give a hundred.”
Then another person added, “I’ll give two hundred.”
A third person spoke up, “I’ll give five hundred.”
    My faith was growing with each passing second.
Then another person said, “I’ll give a thousand dollars,”
and my faith rocketed sky high. When the
giving finally stopped, the people of that church had
given $8,500, exactly the amount we needed, in less
than ten minutes.
     I could not contain myself any longer. My cup was
running over.There in the back of the church, where
we sat among some seven hundred other people, I
rose to my feet and let out a big yell. It was “un-Belizeable!”
The only way anyone could ever believe it was to have
been there to see and hear it. God does some amazing
things when we least expect them.
     The next morning we went by the church, picked
up the check for $8,500, thanked Pastor Edwards
again, drove to the bank, cashed the check, headed
for Belize. We were thanking and praising the Lord
for the unusual way He had supplied our need at the
last minute once again, even though our faith had
been weak. What a great gift God had given us that
morning for our thirty-third wedding anniversary!

(Copyright by Jay B Ayers)