An Unexpected Partner

A couple of days ago, we got our reports from CBF of folks who have contributed in the last month. All the names we recognized… except one, a Mrs. Keatts from a nearby city here in Virginia, who had given us a gift. We searched our contact records to see if we might know her by another name. No luck – we didn’t know Mrs. Keatts, but we wanted to get to know her.

So on Monday, I looked up her phone number and called her. I didn’t know what to expect, but certainly didn’t expect the blessing I received in the next 20 minutes!

Mrs. Keatts is a member of a Baptist church in her city, and each week someone reads the names and assignments of CBF missionaries during the prayer time. Our names caught her attention when some names were being a couple of weeks ago, and she decided she would send a check to us.

In our conversation I learned a lot about Mrs. Keatts. She just turned 80 years old, but she said she preferred to call it “seventy-nine-plus-one… that sounds so much better than eighty, doesn’t it??” I caught her just as she’d come in from working in the yard all morning. She has been a prayer warrior and giver to God’s mission work for decades, and she was particularly glad to hear about our work and the trip we will be taking this coming week. I offered to send our newsletter and she told me not to waste the stamp because she’s having problems with her eyes right now and can’t read very well. I told her I’d send the newsletter anyway, and would pray that God would restore her sight. It was a wonderful, funny and encouraging conversation – an unexpected blessing!

I won’t say how much she gave – suffice to say that it was likely a sizable gift for an 80 year-old to make. She didn’t know why our names caught her ear, but we’re certainly glad she heard God’s voice and answered!