Knox Family Update

July 2007

A couple of weeks ago we had a great team of teenagers come to Nicaragua to do a series of vacation Bible schools in area churches. Included in each VBS was a station in which the children received a new pair of shoes. It was a blessing all around, and I was pleased to know that at least one of the churches really used the event to leverage its own outreach to unchurched kids in the community.

As you can imagine, there were some shoes leftover at the end of the week. In times past we've given them to other churches or schools. But this year we decided to try something different. One our pastoral couples, Alfonso and Connie, have a "pulperia"--a little store--in their home. Connie used to sell clothes on the street but when her manager asked her to move to a route in a more dangerous part of the city, she decided to open the pulperia instead. They have done well, and have been making monthly payments on a refrigerator that they bought from the mission for their business. The money from the sale of the fridge goes back to the national church to be made available for other micro-loans.

So this year, looking for another way to maximize the benefits of the shoes, the youth team agreed to give the leftovers to Connie to sell in her little store, but with the understanding that one half of all the profits would go back to the national church to augment the micro-loan fund.

I dropped in to visit Connie and Alfonso the other day, and Connie told me a great story: Three years ago she had a dream that someone gave her a boat-load of shoes to sell. She shared the dream with her family and a couple of friends and it became something of a running refrain between her and one friend that when they would run into one another on occasion, she would say, "I'm still waiting for my shoes!" Connie told me that she had just recently run into this friend and she had told him, as usual, "I'm still waiting for my shoes!" So when we delivered about 100 pairs of shoes to her a few days later, it was a surprise but not totally unexpected. The Lord had given her a vision three years earlier that one day He would provide her with a bunch of shoes to sell. I had the privilege of listening in on the phone conversation when she called her friend and told him that the long-awaited shoes had actually come.

God is at work in Nicaragua, as He is all over the world. Three years ago He already had in mind what you need for today. He provides food for the sparrow and clothes the lilies of the field in splendor. "Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Mt. 6:33)

We are mindful of God provision for us and for the work in Nicaragua through you. May you know His peace and joy in a special way today.with love,

the Knox family
Mike, Amy, Trisha, Rikki, and Jacob

Thank you for partnering with us. Your emails and letters encourage us daily.

View Archived Knox Family Missions Updates >>