Miracle Money  

by Jean Easley  

    The year was 1987, and we were in Guatemala for an extended stay.  We had found a small, unfurnished apartment in the western part of Guatemala City.  We slept on the cold, tile floor on an air mattress until we were able to purchase our first household item, a good bed.  Our nightstands composed of our packing boxes turned on their sides and covered with extra pillowcases.  It always amazed me how we could make do with this or that.  The rest of our living quarters would be furnished as we could do so financially.  

    The monthly support we had been able to raise was not great but adequate for this stay on the mission field, but there was not a lot of cash for household expenses beyond our rent payments and miscellaneous costs of living and keeping the car running.  

    Bro. Easley's office was totally unfurnished as yet; he sat on an air mattress to study and pray, while I sat with a pillow behind me on the bed.  These were our only creature comforts.  We were able, as time progressed, to buy a table and chairs for the dining area, so we would have some place to sit for our meals.  There was no living room furniture.  And there was no stove or refrigerator.  

    As a result, we had only the kitchenware and appliances we had brought with us to do our cooking and serving of our meals.  Without refrigeration, we bought our food more frequently…vegetables, butter, and meats on an almost daily basis.  We bought dry milk powder to mix by the glass.  We had an ice chest to keep cheese or something small overnight.  We were able to fix fairly good meals with an electric skillet, crock pot, or a one-burner hot plate.  As you may guess, it was not ideal, but we were happy and receiving lots of invitations to preach.  

    One day, as Bro. Easley was praying about the living situation and our needing the kitchen appliances and other things such as a hot water unit for our shower and cupboards for the kitchen (apartments there do not come with these), he felt definitely impressed that the Lord was telling him that someone had given us a large offering.  In fact, he felt the Lord was saying that the amount of $3,000 had been given (an unheard of amount for poor, independent missionaries like us).   

    A ministry friend of ours living in Colorado received our mail and deposited in the ministry bank account what funds came in for our work.  Gene felt we should call her and see if this had really happened.  Obediently (I was hopeful), we made the trip to the Guatel.  A Guatel is a public telephone in Guatemala that the common people use when they don't have telephones in their homes.  This was another missing convenience at the Easley household.  We placed our call to Colorado , and our friend said she was so glad we had called because a letter had arrived from some people she did not know and that there was a check in it for the amount of…you guessed it…exactly $3,000!  We almost danced around our telephone booth as we registered this good news!  

    Feeling like millionaires, we were able to go to the store and buy us a stove, a refrigerator, and a hot water connection for our shower!  During this stay on the field, events for several of our website missions stories (Saltan, Los Pozos, El Rodeo) were to occur.  We also ministered in a little colonia in a friend's church with a weekly series on the Holy Spirit, and we held meetings in many other churches in the surrounding area.  God was again faithful to meet our need, as He has done so consistently in our missionary life and work!  Praise God!

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