46 cents.

An amount so miniscule that it can’t even buy a Coke any more.

Yet so big it can change the world.

That’s what was given toward a missionary home complex in Nasir, South Sudan this week. All courtesy of two kids overhearing their parent’s conversation…

I had come home Monday evening, updating Shauna on the state of funding for Every Village’s missionary complex. It has been going well and God has been providing powerfully. He’s so passionate about getting His gospel to those who don’t yet know Him.

But all this is intensely personal to us, especially with all the missionaries going out from Hope. This is going to be their home, and we are so fired up about this. So, there was no little passion in my voice while giving Shauna the update.

The next thing I knew, Allison was asking how much remained. I responded by explaining it was over $36,000. She responded by explaining that she couldn’t think that big.

I turned back to Shauna as the kids scurried off, returning a couple minutes later with great urgency in their steps. They ran up to me, opening their hands and revealing a collection of coins… 46 cents worth.

This, they explained, was their contribution. It was what they had to give, and they did so joyfully.

I immediately got tears in my eyes, telling them they were going to make me cry. They didn’t get that, but they got the intensity of my hugs. That whole encounter did something to my soul.

All week, I’ve been thinking about that. I expect the missionary home complex to get funded – that’s the Lord’s business. But this encounter was about so much more than that.

It was about giving eagerly… with passion, with commitment, with sacrifice, and with absolute joy. It was also about our kids never minimizing their gift. They were doing their part, and doing it with all they had.

This week, our kids discipled their dad. I saw something profound in them. I saw that my resources or abilities may feel paltry to me at times, but my Father doesn’t think of them that way. I saw that the key isn’t in the gift itself. The key is in the state of my heart.

So, this week, may God find me faithful – living with passion, surrender, and joy. May He find me at home in giving all I have. Even if it’s just 46 cents.