This past week we conducted our first business budgeting class with the three families we have been working with. Some of the answers we received blew me away! I would like to share those with you.

 

We had a few baseline questions, then we read Psalm 89:11.

“The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.”

-Psalm 89:11

This verse tells us that God owns everything – He allows us to use and enjoy things, but nothing truly belongs to us. We are stewards of God’s creation.

 

How do you feel about the idea we are managers of God’s creation and do not own anything?

Helen: We don’t need to worry because all items belong to God.

 

How might you spend your money differently if you always remembered that everything belongs to God?

Dennis: When someone helps someone else in the community, they go praising that person’s name. They should be praising God instead.

 

We then decided on chicken-rearing to work through the budgeting process. It turns out the current method used actually loses money over the six-month period from chick to sale. This is a common practice to try and raise money. It was an eye-opening example of why some people are stuck in poverty. This also gave us motivation to continue working with families to identify work that generates income.

 

In previous conversations, we discussed local market gaps that have the potential to make a steady income. Fabric was identified because it is only offered once a week at high costs. Purchasing fabric in the capital city, Kampala, is less than half the cost. Helen has now received 60 yards of fabric to begin selling in the local market. We are excited to see her progress and share an update in a few weeks!