IT IS IMPORTANT TO GOD
by Erwin Bourne—March 28, 2002
God keeps His prerogatives straight. If something is
important to you it is important to God. See how very
much our heavenly Father loves us, for he allows us to
be called his children, and we really are! (I John 3:1
NLT). Jean and I, as missionaries in Amazonas,
Colombia, South America, draw our support money from a
stateside bank via VISA ATM card. Listen to our most
intriguing story .
Back about four months our VISA debit cards quit
working. We did all in our power to locate the
problem. There was no problem with the Bank of
Bogota, our stateside bank could not identify the
difficulty. It was suggested our cards were worn
out—but four cards would not have worn out at the same
time. Fortunately, we could go inside the bank and
draw money using our debit cards and passports. But
then, our Colorado bank cancelled out all debit cards.
They weren’t safe! But the bank issued us new cards
to replace our “worn-out” cards. Other missionaries
coming down from the states carried our new cards.
They didn’t work either! As a temporary measure, we
transferred our funds to the account of another
missionary here in Leticia, and he could draw out our
funds. Awkward—to say the least!
Then we learned that our Colorado bank had ordered a
different type of credit card for us. It was being
sent by UPS, the pin number by fax. This was risky
but we were getting urgent. So we waited! After a
few days, this UPS package was traced to Bogota and
they were searching for a carrier. It was Easter week
when many establishments were closed. But on Monday
the package was delivered to our gate. Praise God!
Jean balanced our books, then went uptown to the bank.
She returned without any money. The machine issued
a slip of paper which Jean interpreted as saying,
Before withdrawing, money must be deposited in the
bank.
In what bank? We questioned. We have money in our
account. Iván Porras studied the paper. “No, “ he
said. “It is the bank here in Leticia that is out of
money! They must deposit more in the ATM machine.”
So early the next morning Jean tried the card again.
Money came sliding out of the slot! “What is
important to us, is important to God! Now we can
withdraw fnds!
—Erwin and Jean Bourne