In 2010 God called us to move from Switzerland to be part of the team pioneering the new YWAM Base in Rostrevor, Northern Ireland. One of the things needing to be done in preparation for life on the Emerald Isle was to change our car for a right-hand drive vehicle. Five years previously through miraculous provision, we’d purchased a comfortable car well suited to all of the ministry trips we made. It had maintained its value and we hoped to use the funds generated from selling it to get a good quality replacement.
In the run-up to the move, we were at the first inTouch in Germany, held at Hurlach Castle. This was the second property YWAM had ever purchased – just in time for the 1972 Munich Olympics. We met a young family on staff who were expecting their third child. “How much do you want for your car?” the husband asked. His face dropped when he heard our hoped-for price.
As we drove away from Hurlach at the end of a fruitful ministry week, Shirley and I talked about letting him have the car for a reduced price. We just knew that we needed to help. Once we got home, we emailed an offer to sell it at around half of its value. It was accepted within minutes and, although we were at peace with our decision, there was still going to be a shortfall in being able to purchase a suitable replacement for Northern Ireland. We were confident that God would open the right doors to release the extra money now needed; after all, He had done it many times before.
He was already at work, graciously allowing us to master more lessons on giving and receiving, Kingdom style. Some days after we’d made our offer, I opened what initially appeared to be an ominous email from a man at the charity which deals with gifts made towards our financial support. ‘I’m sorry to have to advise you, but…’ it began. My heart sank as I imagined the possibility of our support decreasing. The message continued, ‘we’ve made some miscalculations during the past few years.’ I guessed that the errors referred to were overpayments. Would we be required to repay a substantial amount?
Not so! The message concluded with the good news that it was us who were owed money and a promise to transfer it to our account soon. Those underpayments amounted to hundreds of Euro’s and enabled us to afford the right vehicle for our needs when the time came.
One of the lessons gleaned from this experience was that whether we had offered our Swiss car at a lower price or not, the extra funds were going to come our way anyhow. If we hadn’t obeyed God’s prompting to sell at a reduced price to our German co-workers, we’d have been richer financially but would have lost out on the valuable opportunity to bless others.
Extracted from Roy Jones’s book Perfect Timing – adventures of Faith, Family & Finance.
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Roy Jones, relates how God challenged him and his wife Shirley, to give up their normal lives and become missionaries with YWAM. Roy and Shirley is elders in YWAM Central Europe.