I love to hear stories of how God teaches His people to prosper. Here is a true story from my friend Harold Eberle as he tells it:

“About 20 years ago I traveled to a remote region of the Phillipines where I met a native pastor named Eddie. He was training 16 young people. Most of the lived in his home which was a bamboo hut supported on stilts, surrounded by huts and rice fields. It was beautiful but they seemed to own almost nothing by the standards of my own country.

Through the following years of working with pastor Eddie, we wanted to help him be successful. At first we just provided financial support, but it soon became apparent that his ministry should be self supporting and not forever dependent on gifts. 

One of the first things Pastor Eddie did was purchase a refrigerator. This may sound simple, but being the only refrigerator in the area it soon became a central feature of the village. The pastor divided the inside of the refrigerator into several compartments and rented out the compartments to people living in the area. Hence that refrigerator became a source of income and it was a blessing to families throughout the region. 

Our industrious Filipino pastor experimented with several other businesses, having varying amounts of success. He tried to rent out power tools which he provided but the tools did not last long in these difficult conditions. The pastor and his students were more successful in operating bicycles and motorcycles as taxis serving the locals. Also the ownership and operation of a rice mill provided finances for the pastor and his ministry; plus it provided a necessary service to the people throughout the region.

Other ministries joined us in helping the work in the Philippines but most of the credit belongs to Pastor Eddie. Today he oversees a two story Bible Training Center and owns rice fields, a banana orchard, a shrimp farm, a motorcycle, a pick up type vehicle, and many more things which have helped him helped plant and establish dozens of churches through out the villages. In that region the Christians are the head, and not the tail.” 

God wants to make His Children successful.