Trusting

Author © Scott D. Zachary

       We all hear voices. Quiet little voices that nudge us in one direction or another. Some call it our conscience. Others refer to it as intuition. And yet many pretend it doesn’t even exist. I have personified this inner voice, naming him Dr. Wizzle. Furthermore, it is sometimes clear to me that this quiet whisper is God prompting me to follow the right path. After returning from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in November 2019, Bobbie and I shipped 185 Bibles, Adventure Bibles, and Bible storybooks to Rossana’s brother, Pastor Basilio.

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       I had been training for the Triple Crown for ten days when I shared my goal with Jeremiah. Twelve–year–old Jeremiah was fascinated by the prospect of run/walking the Triple Crown (5K, 10K, and 15K races held in Louisville from late February through March). After eight weeks of training together, he and I did the 5K in Louisville along with Bobbie and Jeremiah’s sisters, Adrianna and Alyssia.

       The pandemic struck after that, so Jeremiah and I run/walked the 10K and 15K races virtually, the 10K along River Road out of Lewisport and the 15K around our church, Owensboro Christian Church. Fifteen kilometers equates to 9.3 miles, and it is half a mile around our church. And so, we did 18 laps around Owensboro Christian Church plus a third of a mile around the parking lot to fulfill the 15K requirement. That nearly three–hour run/walk would have been a long, tedious trudge, except that I infinitely enjoyed philosophizing with Jeremiah about everything as we trekked along. Thus, it seemed as though it was over in an instant!

       Jeremiah’s family moved away after that, and I genuinely miss his company. Without question, Jeremiah is at the top of a short list of my best friends.

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       To complement the Bibles we had shipped to Pastor Basilio, Bobbie and I sent 245 assorted reader eyeglasses to Buctzotz in January 2020. We had no inkling that those were the beginning of our most fulfilling philanthropic endeavor. Yet, this magical adventure might never have happened if we had not followed our hearts and listened to God’s whisper.

       We shipped Pastor Basilio two dozen expandable aluminum walking canes in February. We tried to send him six pairs of crutches, but Amazon wouldn’t ship them outside the United States. Instead, we sent him six walkers. Pastor Basilio sent many pictures showing smiling faces with their Bibles, readers, canes, and walkers.

       The COVID pandemic became center stage in the news during the first week of April 2020. Bobbie and I were concerned for Pastor Basilio and his community in Buctzotz, Yucatan, Mexico. I asked him via email if the grocery stores were open. He replied, “Yes, but because of the lockdown, nobody can go anywhere to work, so no one is making any money to buy groceries.” I asked Pastor Basilio if he had a PayPal account. He said he didn’t; I asked him to start one. I sent him a donation every week to buy food for the neediest. Bobbie helped by raiding her retirement funds to make it possible. Pastor Basilio sent us pictures weekly of him, his daughter, his adopted son, and others handing out food boxes from the back of a pickup truck. The recipients’ smiles beamed their gratefulness.

       For seven weeks, we had been sending Pastor Basilio weekly funding for food distribution when he asked if it was okay to spend some of this money for the church. I said, “Sure!” I didn’t ask for what.

       After about three and a half months, the pandemic lockdown ended, and we stopped sending gifts to Pastor Basilio. A week later, we received pictures from him showing what he had done with the money he asked to spend on the church. He wasn’t just spending money on the church––he had started building a church!

       We didn’t give his church much thought over the next few weeks because I was busy run/walking two back–to–back half marathons and trying to land a software contract. I eventually wrote to Pastor Basilio and asked how the building of his church was coming along. He said, “Well, we’ve been praying about how we can go forward.”

       It was clear that it would be many years before they would finish their church. Fortunately, I landed not one but two software contracts. Those two, plus a third contract that I’d been working for 26 years, would explode my potential.

       Dr. Wizzle spurred, Batter up!

       I looked at Bobbie and asked, “We don’t have any choice, do we?”

       She agreed wholeheartedly, “Nope!”

       Isn’t it amazing how God sometimes places consequential levers within our grasp and lets us decide whether we care enough to positively alter a stranger’s supposable fate?

       I worked 90 to 100 hours every week for the next eight months while sending Pastor Basilio weekly donations to build his church. There is no way I could have worked that many hours effectively without being super fit physically. Thanks to my run/walking partner, Jeremiah, the Triple Crown, and two back–to–back half marathons, I morphed into a super–energized software stormtrooper! Okay, “software stormtrooper” is a bit much. But it’s not far off the mark.

       I moved every speck out of my office into a huge pile in the living room. Bobbie and I went on a shopping spree at Office Depot and Walmart, streamlining my office for maximum efficiency with two glass and chrome L–unit desks, two ergonomic gaming chairs, four 6–foot bookcases, two high–speed printers, lighting galore, and anything/everything else to optimize my productivity. During all the moving, my back muscles gave out, and my wonderful wife assembled all four bookcases and both desks.

       From September till May, I worked. When Bobbie woke up, I was working, and when she went to bed, I was working. God bless her understanding and her encouragement. What a gal!

       Working 14–hour days, seven days a week, I finally geared down and handed off one of the software contracts. However, I did pile up a nice 401K that helped to fund the Buctzotz church construction to completion. Throughout the building process, Pastor Basilio sent us pictures and videos showing the men and women of his congregation building their magnificent church. Even the children pitched in!

       On May 16, 2021, we received a fantastic surprise. Pastor Basilio sent us a video. He narrated, “God bless you this beautiful morning, brother and sister. We are getting ready to work this morning. All my brothers are prepared here. Altogether, we want to say something to you.” All twelve men cheered, “Thank you, Scott and Bobbie!” with thumbs up.

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       Nearly two years had elapsed since Pastor Basilio informed us that we were helping him and his congregation build a church in Buctzotz, Mexico. The church is almost completed now, and we have booked our trip to participate in the church’s consecration ceremony.

       Seven weeks before our trip, I realized they still needed to build the kitchen. Pastor Basilio had told us early on that he dreamed of building a kitchen where they could prepare food for the poor and homebound in the Buctzotz community. I asked him how much he thought it would cost to build the kitchen, and he sent us a detailed list of the materials they needed to complete it. My funds were exhausted. Bobbie tapped into her retirement fund again, this time for the cost of their kitchen.

       Three weeks before our departure, it occurred to me that a kitchen needs appliances and utensils to be a kitchen. Discussing this fact as we were driving to Owensboro, Bobbie and I decided it was time to call Pastor Basilio. So, we pulled off the road. Now, keep in mind that we had never met Pastor Basilio at this point––nor even talked with him. Having funded the construction of a gorgeous church in a town where we had never been, Bobbie dialed Pastor Basilio’s number. Introducing ourselves, we told Pastor Basilio what an honor it was to help him build the “House of God,” as he often called it.

       Pastor Basilio said, “I never imagined there would be anyone so generous.”

       “I never imagined anyone so honest as you,” I replied.

       Bobbie gladly volunteered another chunk of her retirement to outfit Pastor Basilio’s church kitchen with an industrial stove, refrigerator, freezer, stainless steel table, and various appliances and utensils.

       He cried.