Yes, we do value foreign giving.  We spend approximately $90,000 a year in running this program in just one country.  That money all comes from abroad and we are extremely grateful for it.

As people with resources, we are definitely instructed by God to give. However, we also need to be extremely wise in the way we give.  Currently, there is a high percentage of giving to tangible things—wells, schools, goats, and micro enterprise funds.  All of these aspects are important, but the reality is that they don’t cover all that a community needs. Training to overcome lies and skills development is often far more important than any tangible goods.

As we give, we need to apply the same rules and ask the same questions as we do in this program: Is our giving reinforcing a poverty lie? Do the people see what is being given as coming from God and not from man?  Who are we leaving them dependent on—God or us?  We need to avoid the temptation to be a hero and to solve problems that God has not called us to address.

While we would love there to be simple answers in how best to give, God doesn’t seem to have provided simple answers.  Rather, like those we help, we as donors need to listen to God and walk in careful obedience to Him.