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Eighty million hungry families in Africa are wondering how they will get their next meal. Ten people at Woodland Hills want to have an adventure with God. Put the two together and you have an adventurous mission trip that saves families from malnutrition and starvation.
 On November 19, a team of ten will depart for Cape Town, South Africa. They will work with Bruce Wilkinson and Never Ending Gardens to equip hungry families to grow their own food in backyard gardens. But the adventure has already begun.
As with most mission trips, money was the first obstacle to be overcome. The trip is distant and lengthy, and with ten people participating, it is the most expensive trip ever taken from Woodland Hills. The team had to raise $35,000, and they had to do it in less than three months.
The usual letters went out to friends and family. The team held a Bowl-A-Thon fundraiser that raised nearly $5,000 and set a record for a single, missions fundraising event. But there still wasn’t enough.
When the funds were due, there was only enough for eight of the ten. Two people were forced to withdraw from the trip – the first time that had ever happened at Woodland Hills. Or so it seemed…
Within just a few hours an anonymous donor surfaced; Steve Williamson, a team member said, “Suddenly, doors that were closed six hours ago, opened up and the money was there.”
Now there was enough for nine of the ten.
The team rallied and agreed to share the burden of a $2000 personal loan so that all ten could go.
When the $2000 check was turned over to the missions department, Steve Schmidt asked, “What’s this for? You’re already paid.” The airfare had come in considerably less than originally quoted and the personal loan was unnecessary.
Within twenty-four hours the team had lost two members and then miraculously had them restored without the need for the whole team to go deeper in debt. “I’m so proud to be associated with this group of people. They simply refused to take ‘no’ for an answer, and God responded to their faith,” says Mark Kretschmar who leads the team with his wife Cynthia.
Mission trips don’t affect just the needy. Some would argue that the missionaries are changed more than those served during the trip. The faith struggle the team experienced while raising funds was an opportunity for just that sort of change. Cynthia Kretschmar said, “It’s an incredible opportunity to see what’s really in your heart when you’re in a position where you can’t rely upon your own abilities.” Team member Suzanne McInnis put it this way, “It’s not just about a single event – it’s before, during and after.”
Steve Williamson reflected on the whole experience to this point, “It has grown my faith. I’m totally in awe at how everything came together at the last minute. God came through; I’m incredibly humbled, incredibly humbled.”
When a team stands in faith and God shows up like this just in preparation for the trip, what sort of adventures await them when they begin the work in Africa?
The team asks for prayer that God will open many opportunities to minister to the needs of the people they are going to serve. They are asking God for miracles of healing, freedom, and salvation.
article by Mark Kretschmar
email him at mark@fierydesign.com
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