LAST LESSONS #89 – RAFIKI MOVES TO FLORIDA

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

Rafiki had started in Texas but when I retired from BSF in 1999, I knew that in 2009 we would need to leave the beautiful buildings that BSF had so generously provided for us for ten years. Therefore in 2007 we began to pray that God would reveal his will for a new home for Rafiki. I really wanted to stay in San Antonio where Rafiki had started and where we had a good support base. So first, we asked BSF if they would sell us the five acres on which our buildings were located. They did not want to sell. Then we asked if they would rent but they did not want to rent. It would have been nice if they had given us that plot with buildings, but that was not to be. We had almost no money because we had no equity in buildings, and all Rafiki’s work depends on donations. Rafiki missionaries raise their own support—which they spend! We knew we had a problem when we had only two years to vacate BSF property. Nobody on the staff wanted to move from Texas. My husband and I did not want to leave Texas. I have learned that God does not always give us our “wants” but he does answer prayers so our Rafiki board began to pray that God would show us where he wanted us to be. I remembered that God had given BSF land in Texas where BSF should move, so I prayed that God would give Rafiki land where he wanted Rafiki to move. And he did!

An anonymous donor said that he would give Rafiki property in Florida and we should come see two properties that might be suitable. I couldn’t believe my ears! Florida?! Florida is where I was born and raised! Florida was where my daughters lived!

We chose the beautiful 57-acre property in Eustis where Rafiki now has its Home Office. The property was totally unimproved—no water, no electricity—only trees, birds, deer, bears, and gopher tortoises!

There was so much that needed to be done to build a new headquarters for Rafiki. We decided to call it “Home Office” since we had Rafiki Villages in Africa. Another thing we decided was to make the Home Office have the same look and feel as a Rafiki Village. It would be the place we trained short- and long-term missionaries and we believed that having a “village” look would let missionaries know that they would not have to live in tents when they go out with Rafiki!

We had our own architect in Chris Moyer who had drawn all the plans for every Rafiki building in Africa. We asked Chris (who lived in Illinois and had been the head of the Fine Arts Department of the University of Illinois for many years) to draw up preliminary plans. We were going to move Rafiki from Texas to Florida!

I will tell more of the details of the move in next week’s blog. In the meantime, I want to tell you that what I have learned again and again, is that when God says “no” to something that I have prayed for, it is because he has something much better to give me. I wanted Rafiki to stay in Texas, but God had a thousand-times better plan for Rafiki and for me too!

If we had not come to Florida, Rafiki could not have grown to what it is today. We would not have close contact with some of the most effective ministries in the world. We would not have been able to attract excellent staff and accommodations for them. Being in a small town instead of a large city, has had huge advantages economically, politically, and for security. I can’t count the blessings God prepared for Rafiki in Florida.

I’m so glad God said “no” to our staying in Texas. He had a much better plan.

Is God saying “no” to something you are praying for today? Maybe he wants you to keep on praying and be patient. Maybe there is something that you need to learn before he answers your prayer. But maybe he has something that is far better to give you than you even imagined.