God; Not Man
Margaret, Yvonne and Lindsay arrived safely back in Kampala Wednesday after a successful journey to Western Uganda where they launched an AWANA Club and did leadership training. They will be ministering to children, helping train orphanage house parents and visiting The Brigade (a boys group Yvonne came to know through Samaritan’s Purse Shoebox Ministry) on Thursday before Yvonne and Lindsay depart for home on Friday.
Margaret will be joining me (Mark) in Kisumu Kenya next Monday. When we are apart for several days, I am reminded of God’s perfect plan in making husband and wife one. I feel incomplete without her.
It has been a busy week for me in Kisumu meeting people and forming relationships to lay the foundation for the discipleship/loan program in Kenya. Pastor Paul Oselu of Deliverance Church here and I have been meeting with the lawyer and bankers. We are finalizing our LLC here to administer the program. Also, we are seeking a bank partner which will give priority consideration and favorable loan rates to the men who complete our basic business training and Doing Business God’s Way course. Some of the discussions are promising. Please pray God will give us a bank partner that catches our vision and provides favorable terms for the men who successfully complete our program.
We continue to seek US donations for the loan program, but also need the flexibility of working with African banks and serving as an equipper and advocate for the men to receive traditional financing for their businesses.
One challenge I have faced this week was expected, but it has been even more intense than I anticipated. Africans assume all Americans are rich and have unlimited funds to provide if only we will. I realized I have done a poor job of managing expectations in the program so far. Even though we have emphasized to the men in our training program that they have no guaranty of getting a loan and that the loan amounts are limited, it seems many expect their participation means whatever they ask will be forthcoming.
On Wednesday this issue came to a head as the pastor and I were speaking with a banker. I told the banker some of the proposals we have seen so far from the men will not be funded. The reason is that at present we are not funding start up businesses. We want to build on existing businesses to provide a positive track record in the initial stages of the program. Some of the men who have existing businesses are asking for funds to start an entirely new business in which they have no experience.
The pastor expressed his strong concern after the bank meeting that I had said not all men he had chosen for the program would qualify for loans. I was encouraged because it is unusual for an African to address issues even when they feel strongly about something. After a heart-to-heart talk, we came to an understanding that each man who completes the training would have to show a good likelihood of making a profit in their business plan to be considered for a loan. I explained to the pastor the worst thing for a man would not be to fail to get a loan, but rather to get a loan and then fail in his business.
I also burst the bubble that we have unlimited funds to provide. I said we are entirely dependent upon God to touch the hearts of people in the US to give and to open doors at banks in Africa where we can help facilitate credit for the men. And I told him that our program is like a start up business in that it is very difficult to raise capital (donations) until we can show positive financial as well as discipleship results. I told him I was broke and running a negative cash flow personally.
When the pastor understood, he said he would call the men into regular prayer and fasting and depend on God to meet our needs. He said after the meeting with the banker, he was thinking of abandoning the program, but now sees that God is putting us all through a process to make us totally dependent on Him and give Him all the glory for what He will accomplish.
Please pray that as I begin to teach the men on Monday that they will have the same understanding as their pastor.
Margaret will be joining me (Mark) in Kisumu Kenya next Monday. When we are apart for several days, I am reminded of God’s perfect plan in making husband and wife one. I feel incomplete without her.
It has been a busy week for me in Kisumu meeting people and forming relationships to lay the foundation for the discipleship/loan program in Kenya. Pastor Paul Oselu of Deliverance Church here and I have been meeting with the lawyer and bankers. We are finalizing our LLC here to administer the program. Also, we are seeking a bank partner which will give priority consideration and favorable loan rates to the men who complete our basic business training and Doing Business God’s Way course. Some of the discussions are promising. Please pray God will give us a bank partner that catches our vision and provides favorable terms for the men who successfully complete our program.
We continue to seek US donations for the loan program, but also need the flexibility of working with African banks and serving as an equipper and advocate for the men to receive traditional financing for their businesses.
One challenge I have faced this week was expected, but it has been even more intense than I anticipated. Africans assume all Americans are rich and have unlimited funds to provide if only we will. I realized I have done a poor job of managing expectations in the program so far. Even though we have emphasized to the men in our training program that they have no guaranty of getting a loan and that the loan amounts are limited, it seems many expect their participation means whatever they ask will be forthcoming.
On Wednesday this issue came to a head as the pastor and I were speaking with a banker. I told the banker some of the proposals we have seen so far from the men will not be funded. The reason is that at present we are not funding start up businesses. We want to build on existing businesses to provide a positive track record in the initial stages of the program. Some of the men who have existing businesses are asking for funds to start an entirely new business in which they have no experience.
The pastor expressed his strong concern after the bank meeting that I had said not all men he had chosen for the program would qualify for loans. I was encouraged because it is unusual for an African to address issues even when they feel strongly about something. After a heart-to-heart talk, we came to an understanding that each man who completes the training would have to show a good likelihood of making a profit in their business plan to be considered for a loan. I explained to the pastor the worst thing for a man would not be to fail to get a loan, but rather to get a loan and then fail in his business.
I also burst the bubble that we have unlimited funds to provide. I said we are entirely dependent upon God to touch the hearts of people in the US to give and to open doors at banks in Africa where we can help facilitate credit for the men. And I told him that our program is like a start up business in that it is very difficult to raise capital (donations) until we can show positive financial as well as discipleship results. I told him I was broke and running a negative cash flow personally.
When the pastor understood, he said he would call the men into regular prayer and fasting and depend on God to meet our needs. He said after the meeting with the banker, he was thinking of abandoning the program, but now sees that God is putting us all through a process to make us totally dependent on Him and give Him all the glory for what He will accomplish.
Please pray that as I begin to teach the men on Monday that they will have the same understanding as their pastor.
posted by News From the Frontlines at 3:42 AM
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