Half life of Money

 Every other week or so Jeffrey will pull out money from the ATM and splits it with me. He and I look at what is happening during the week and what we have set up to give to different people. I divvy up the envelopes. 

One project is a tie for every man in the ward and a little satchel or purse for the ladies that will match. It is for a Christmas celebration planned and makes a livelihood for some seamstresses in the ward. Each week, I give a lady money to sew up a few more. Two men on the corner without the use of legs always get an apple, biscuits, and 50 cedis. Meals for ward members, enlarging my elephant herd and sometimes giving a thank-you lunch for the workers in our apartment complex. Biscuits for the children on the corner. Whenever we go shopping there will be the two men pushing our carts and the two men in the parking lot to tip. Then there will be the guy who washes the car and another who brings up the groceries to tip. We have a Christmas choir that we are collecting money for from other missionaries.

Then Jeffrey generously gives me half and he keeps half of the money from the ATM. He goes to the office and works hard all day. I do projects, sometimes come to the office, and sometimes run around with others doing errands. I am always running into people and usually by the middle of the week I don't have any money left. Jeffrey usually asks (as he has for years) if I have any money in my wallet. If I don't have enough he splits what he has in half again. Around the end of the week, he'll ask again and gives me another half of what he has. When he feels he is empty he'll go to the bank and we start all over again. 

Have I told you how much I love the half life of money!? I feel good about helping out those around me who are wringing my heart out while Jeffrey is doing the real work of making life work for hundreds if not thousands in the church. He is making sure the lights stay on as well as making sure there is a building to meet in. Lots and lots of technical issues that make life run smoothly in the church. I concentrate more on the one to one.

This mission is different than the last in the money department. In Manila when my heart was pinched, I would work really hard to scrape around and figure out how to give money to certain people. I prayed that Jeffrey would have the means and ability to feel good about giving money away. We had some amazing investments that took off like a rocket and my prayers were answered. 

This time we both went into the mission knowing we would be giving money away for good causes. There hasn't been a hint of "what are we going to do when we get off our mission" because Jeffrey knows the Lord gives and expects us to do so also. 

One lady is out and out asking the Lord to make us prosperous and live long so we can be generous. I thought that was one of the more unique prayers I have ever heard. [They do pray with a different perspective here]

I don't go around throwing money at everything I see as no amount of money will fill in a quarter of the holes in the fabric of society here. I find my circle and support those in my circle to the best of my ability. I have to admit my circle keeps growing. Good thing the money has a half life!