An Unexpected Gift (Day 699)

On Sunday, I was given a gift.  Its value was equal to a month of rent on the house where I now live.  It came with no directions as to how it should be used; just my name on the outside of the envelope.  To me, this is a large amount of money; it's nowhere near what we need to equip the health center in Los Encuentros nor enough to buy a 4x4 vehicle to transport injured people, but it was significant enough that I couldn't just think, "Wow!  Thanks! I think I'll go get an ice cream cone with this!"  So, I contacted the giver and asked what it was for.  This person told me, "It is a personal donation for whatever you need."  Wow.  I mean...what do I do with that?

With the way I was brought up, there are very few things that I need in life. Food on the table, yes, but it doesn't have to be meat (expensive), and it certainly isn't going to be McDonalds (expensive and bad for the health). Clothes, yes, but it doesn't have to be the newest or most stylish clothing; hand-me-downs and Salvation Army have always been good enough for me. Water, okay, but that's Q9 which will last me a whole month. I have most everything I need. Sure, there are things I'd like, but I don't need them.

So, I thought about it a good while, and for now I'm saving most of it.  However, each month I pay Q145 for internet access.  It lasts me about a week at good speed (tops 10 days), and then it reverts to a slower speed.  This slower speed does not allow me to upload pictures or videos; nor does it allow me to study Spanish at Duolingo.  Now, I haven't yet decided if I'm happy enough with Duolingo to give it an endorsement or not, but the fact of the matter is that although I've picked up a lot of my fluency in the street, there are a few finer points that because of my years of formal education I'm probably not going to pick up in the street.  That's why I've shifted to try a program.  So, yesterday I bought my new month of internet service, but instead of picking out the Q145 plan, I picked the Q199 plan.  It allows for 3 times the amount of upload/download and it's 4G instead of 3G.  It's not a need, but it's something that I can use for the ministry that actually affects me.  I spent the gift for me on me, but it will benefit them as well hopefully.

Thanks. :)  You know who you are.