Gifts of Money
One farmer was led to begin giving more when he read about Uriah in the Old Testament. Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband) was a soldier who refused to enjoy the comforts of home when King David brought him home on leave, because his comrades were still sleeping on the ground at the front. After reading that story, the farmer felt that God was asking him why he should lead a comfortable life of consumption while missionaries were on the front lines. “They’re not expected to build up any kind of a portfolio. They’re expected to live frugally and make their money stretch, and I started getting really convicted about it,” he said.

So he decided that for the next year, he wouldn’t upgrade any farm equipment or replace it. He would make do and give the extra money away, and see how God blessed him. “It made me realize that money isn’t always the answer,” he said. “God has the ability to bless way beyond what we could imagine.”
In addition to growing crops, the farmer also raises chickens. One time, he decided to give whatever money he made on a chicken flock over a certain amount. He started to feel bad because it looked like it would be a poor flock, but he ended up making more than he ever had. He set the portion he would keep even lower on the next flock, and that one yielded even more profit.

Then God convicted him, he said, because he was just giving off the top. He felt that he should give all his profits from a flock. This was a struggle, because he was counting on that money to make up for the crops—the weather had been “dry as a bone.” But he did it. Soon afterward, they had what he called a “gorgeous rain.” “That year ended up one of the best crop years we’ve had,” he said. “I think it was that year I stopped worrying so much about when it got dry…I figured it’s God’s farm, he can take care of it.”

Reckless? “Sometimes I almost felt like I was being irresponsible, but I had to keep going back to ‘Are you going to be obedient, or are you going to do what you think other people would counsel you to do,” he said. “I’ve seen so many examples where God has blessed way beyond what I have ever expected. It’s been probably one of the most exciting parts of my faith.”

Many others do their giving faithfully on a monthly or yearly basis. One woman and her husband gave hundreds of dollars every month for years. “It wouldn’t have done anybody any good just sitting in the bank,” she said. “If we had the resources, the money to give, we felt like giving it was important to help others.”

One business owner in CMC gives on a quarterly basis. He and his wife look at their projected earnings at the beginning of the year and decide how much they are going to give. They don’t base it on a percentage, though. Instead, they try to give more every year, although he said that hasn’t always happened since the economic downturn. He said they started budgeting their giving this way out of a desire to make sure they were giving enough. “If you just do it on the fly, then often your giving is based on how you’re feeling at the moment,” he said, adding that a yearly evaluation also helps them make good decisions about where to send their money.

He pointed to the words of Solomon as a reason for not hoarding all the profits—“Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.”

“I’m sorry, but finances and increasing your wealth is empty,” he said. “There is the fulfillment in a job well done, we are to be stewards…but it’s much more exciting to me to see young people and others make decisions to serve the Lord and to go into missions. That to me is much more exciting than gaining a couple of extra percentage points on your bottom line.”

Gifts of Possessions
There is a hardware store not too far from RMM that has a pretty good deal available: when the maintenance staff need supplies, they can go to the store and pick them up for free. Bob Stauffer, RMM property manager, said they go to the store 2-3 times a year. “It enables us to do stuff that we would struggle with otherwise,” he said. On the last trip, he picked up a stove, a refrigerator, and a range for the Rosedale International Center, a value of several thousand dollars.

He said it is a strange feeling to load up a cart with free stuff, and that they do try to be careful not to take advantage of the store. “We can’t go there for everything.”

One of the owners of the store said they try to send money every month, but donating goods is easier for them than giving cash. “We think it’s money well spent,” she said. “To help other people, physically, spiritually, financially, that’s our goal.”

“This is for a good cause; you know that your money is put to good use,” she said. “We think they’re doing a great work.”

So if a hardware store owner donates appliances, what does a dairy farmer donate? A cow, which is exactly what one farmer gave to the SEND House in Columbus during a recent REACH training. The cow was no longer able to breed, so instead of selling it the farmer donated it. Unfortunately for the cow, it had become ground beef by the time it reached its destination, but this worked better for SEND Ministries. City officials frown on livestock and ground beef is a staple during training anyway.

The SEND House cook at that time (who asked to remain anonymous for this story) had been putting together a grocery list and was thinking about how much ground beef they used. She remembered hearing that someone had donated a cow in the past, and said—not very seriously—“God, we could really use a cow.”

A day or two later, the phone rang and it was for her. The woman calling asked if they could use a cow. The cook’s mouth dropped open. “I was just so excited and floored,” she said. “So many times I don’t ask God for the obvious needs.”

The farmer estimated that the beef was worth about $500-$600, counting the butchering. “It’s what God has given us,” he said. “Maybe we don’t have so much money to give, but what God has blessed us with, to pass that on increases the blessing.”

He said it was meaningful to give something that was valuable to him besides money. It helped him appreciate what God had given him. “I think of the good lesson too, to my own children,” he said. “To think that what we are working with every day can benefit other people, and that’s why God has in a sense entrusted it to us.”

“It was a huge blessing,” SEND Ministries director Todd Miller said. “We work diligently at keeping REACH costs down so that we can equip and send as many as possible. This gift of beef helped to greatly lower food costs.”

Not everyone raises chickens or cows. Not many people own a hardware store. And many can’t spare seven months of their time. But these stories show that giving doesn’t have to be routine. It can take many forms. And it can be part of life, instead of a box on a monthly checklist.