Back in February, we had our âBags of Goldâ Sunday, where we passed out envelopes with $100 to people in the congregation, giving them one simple challengeâto pray about one way they felt led to invest that money in Godâs kingdom work. We encouraged people to be creative and open to the ways that God might be moving them to respond. Weâve heard all sorts of encouraging responses, people who have bought gift cards or created snack bags to give out to homeless people, others who have donated the money to organizations that are helping people in need, and kids who had a bake sale to raise enough money to sponsor a child in Haiti.
We wanted to share a few more stories, so that you could see the ripple effect of these investments. God has used these small, creative acts of giving to bless people in our local community and all the way across the globe in Kenya and Haiti.
Matt Simondsâ story:
Since I was only in town for about a total of 9 days since receiving my bag of gold, I opted/begged to partner with Brad Brizendine (hope that’s allowed in the official Kairos BoG Rules!).
We really felt led by the Spirit to connect with the Latino community in Sandy Springs as we see great need there with underemployed adults and hungry children. Brad met with Felix who runs the Sandy Springs Mission in my absence and we’ve selected them as the recipient based on the fact that they’re helping families and kids in our backyards (they serve meals, tutor, etc. High Point, Heards Ferry, Ridgeview and Riverwood students) as well as the fact that they’re actively working to introduce these kids to Jesus.
I can’t speak for Brad on this, but I for one feel that maybe I’ve concentrated my efforts of my first couple of years of membership at Kairos a little too heavily with A) those already in the community and B) those most similar in age, race, socioeconomic status as me. The ultimate prayer would be that the gaps that exist between our community and their community, be it money, language, or geography (albeit only about 1.5 miles up and down Roswell Road) would shrink as we begin to reach out. While our $200 could be more AND it could probably be a lot more personally or relationally interactive, I do see how this challenge/exercise will serve God’s purposes:
- Helping fund an organization that is actively pursuing hearts for Jesus, while also helping people who need support, resources and programs
- Start a pathway for relationships of Kairos folks to connect with those living in the neighborhood who may not be like them
- Deepen and leverage the Bethesda Church connection beyond sharing space
Lee Brooksâ story:
Justin and I thought a lot about how to allocate our bag of gold. We probably thought too hard, because we wanted it to be perfect and meaningful, yet that meant a couple weeks went by and we hadnât taken action yet!
God is patient, but also, I believe that we can see signs when we are being pushed to move. A sign came last week when my friend and neighbor Robin English (who fosters children) let us know that two little girls were showing up on her doorstep to stay with her family. She wasnât sure how long but was in immediate need of some things to help care for them, because they had nothing. No clothes, no belongings. Not even underwear.
So, my 3-year-old son and I ran to Target the next day, and got them each a backpack and filled them with essentials like toothbrushes, clothes, blankets, socks, etc.
We donât know how their journey will continue (with my friend or if they will be placed with another foster family) but providing them with their own bags filled with their individual personal belongings seemed like something they really needed, and could possibly even provide them with some sense of security and love down the road.
It was the perfect way to use our money in a meaningful way. The experience itself has already provided me and my family with a âreality checkâ in terms of reflecting on our own blessings, as well as how we can impact others in need through giving and service.
The Pinkstonâs story:
We were thrilled last year when Grant had the opportunity through his school to participate in an exchange program with a boarding school in Kenya. Grant spent an intensive week learning about Kenya and then spent an amazing two weeks in Kenya. A few months later what surprised us was the huge blessing that came our way when we had the honor of hosting a Kenyan exchange student last spring named Dennis Wambugu. Dennis is on scholarship at a school called Mt Kenya Academy and is student body president. From what we can tell, Dennisâs family has very limited resources, but education is extremely important to them. There is great political unrest in Kenya, and Dennisâ dream is to one day be a leader in Kenya and lead with integrity and honesty. Dennisâ family was struggling to buy books for Dennis, so we were thrilled to send him a âbag of gold.” I told Dennis that after he bought his books if he had any leftover money to give it to someone else in need.  Our family loves Dennis. He visited Kairos a year ago and helped Grant with his Eagle Scout project on the Kairos playground.