Sometimes God uses some great people to really encourage you in your journey through life. This is exactly what has happened to me recently. Mr. Riffle, a friend of mine for years got a burden to help me with a need for Togo. The need was finding steel to fabricate a trailer for a Massey Ferguson 451 tractor that we brought to Togo in 2006 for ministry construction projects. We desperately need it in order to transport the tractor all over the country which is 400 miles long and 60 miles wide.
He contacted me back in February and asked me what steel we would need. I gave him a list of the main support beams (12" I-beams) as well as all the other minor supports and deck gurters. He came back to me and told me that the market price would be nearly 2,500 dollars plus shipping of nearly 500 more. So, I told him that I couldn't afford that at the time and he said, "Let me see what I can do." He began to pray and God began to open doors and work in peoples hearts. One day while traveling back into Jacksonville, FL. he got a flat, repaired it then hand another go low so he was forced to drive slowly down the road limping back home. En route, he saw a steel company and God began to work on his heart. He ended up returning and speaking to the president, which was very out of his character, but as he stated to me, when you know it's what God wants you to do, you do it. So, we walked into the office and graciously asked to speak to someone in charge. He was let into the presidents office and there laid a Bible on the man's desk. They began to talk and the president was so impressed by his vision that he told him whatever he had on Mr. Riffle's list he could take with him. In fact, he later even gave a very expensive box of welding rods to help fabricate up the trailer.
The blessing doesn't conclude there! We still needed four 18-20' I-beams which the Christian president of the steel company didn't have at his yard. So, a local Iron working union donated the nearly 1,000 dollars worth of steel. When all the steel was collected the final cost was only 400 dollars for the nearly 2,500 dollars worth of steel.
God has used Mr. Riffle to remind me how great He really is. He can accomplish anything and faith is all that he requires of us to see that come to pass!
Since then, the steel was packed into a container and this past week just arrived and was unloaded in Togo. After my wedding and our return, I look forward to starting to weld up the trailer that God has provided for us in West Africa!
