This is a true life story shared by Allen Harrelson. I couldn’t resist sharing because it sounded like one of my very own stories. It emphasizes that ordinary folks who go out of their ways for others end up with the extraordinary. It is enough for us to berate the rich for not helping the poor, we must of necessity contribute our widow’s mite to make a difference. May this story spur you to reach beyond your needs and be an agent of change in the life of another: thank you Allen for permission to share this.

Back in the middle of March 2016, Tatenda, a Facebook friend of mine who lives in Zimbabwe asked me an odd favor: if I could get him a trumpet. I told him that I am poor, but if possible, I would do it. He said that he wanted it so he could play in his local Salvation Army band. Finding out that they share one trumpet between five people, I knew I was on a mission.

God sends me out to do these funny little things, sometimes. I don’t ask why, I just get it done as best as I can. I started by asking another dear friend, Wendy if she knew of anyone who might have one that wasn’t being used (her son Landon is in band at school and I thought that they might know.) Wendy volunteered to have Landon inquire with his music teacher.

I also asked other friends but got no results. I checked back with Wendy only to learn that the music teacher gave all her extra instruments out just before I asked. Around this time, I got to speak to a youth group at a Church in Ashland 15 miles away. They graciously gave me 25 dollars for speaking but I knew that this money wasn’t for me. It had to go toward sending the trumpet. God was just starting to teach me patience at this point so I waited. I didn’t know what else to do but I knew that if God wanted this done, nothing would stand in the way. It would come in His timing, not mine. March ended, April went by and then it happened.

Wendy sent me a picture of a cornet (a slightly different kind) that the music teacher had missed because it was tucked away in a corner. I was blown away. It looked so beautiful I could hardly believe it. When I held it in my hands, I knew that God was behind this whole thing and I could not fail to see it through. The next part was hard, though –  money for postage. I tried asking several friends that were rich and got crickets. Dead silence. Nothing. Two more weeks of lessons in patience.

Then it happened again. Mark, a friend that lives in a van and comes to the park where we get food to survive on gave me 5 dollars. He told me a friend of his had given him money when he needed it and he was just paying it back by giving it to me. He had no idea whatsoever that I was trying to do this project at all. It positively had God’s fingerprints all over it. After that, the money came in pretty quickly. Within two more weeks, it was complete. I had checked with Zimbabwe Customs, because it was a gift, it was duty-free. This was a big concern at first because it could possibly have doubled the cost of shipment. Monday, May 14, 2016 we shipped it.

More lessons in patience as weeks went by and we waited for feedback. God taught me another lesson: The Doubting Thomas lesson. It seemed that in the 8,000 miles between The United States and Africa, the cornet vanished. I told Wendy to go to the Post Office and get her insurance refund because the cornet was lost. This woman had more faith in God than I did. Instead, she offered to send the package number to Tatenda so he could track it. The next morning, first thing that showed up on my Facebook page was a photo of Tatenda opening the package.

You could have knocked me over with a feather. I cried my heart out, and then I cried some more. I was speechless with joy and there it sat, under Zimbabwean sun.

The very next Sunday Tatenda had the cornet dedicated to God. It will be used to praise Him until it is more worn out than I am. May it bring more people to praise His name. I learned one more lesson: miracles still happen.