The image this week is another of our new storage locations in eastern Zambia. As the harvest acquisition process nears completion for 2025, two situations have conspired to increase our monthly cost going forward...
First of all, one of the reasons the harvest acquisition process has fueled our growth to such a great degree is the efficiency we gain by purchasing directly from the growers and then storing at the churches versus buying retail from the dealers. When we are able to do this, our cost per family amounts to the wholesale cost of the harvest acquisition plus the monthly cost of grinding the corn so it can be turned into nshima and consumed. With this process, a huge portion of the total cost is recognized up front with the harvest acquisition, and then the monthly cost per family is just the very small grinding cost. This year we have been able to use this efficient process in 112 of our now 124 community partners. But that leaves TWELVE community partners - mainly in Livingstone and Lusaka - where we are still buying full price from the dealers monthly. In July, I expect to spend MORE for these TWELVE communities than for the other 112 combined. In the future, we continue to look for ways to find storage options for ALL of our community partners, recognizing the alternative will likely always be available and necessary for some communities without access to storage.
Secondly, have we mentioned that we are going from 73 communities to 124 communities? That is nearly a 70% increase in our coverage area. The good news is, that growth is mainly in the rural areas where there is typically an opportunity to store the 50kg bags of maize at the church, so most of the growth is occurring in areas we can use that most efficient process just discussed. But even with the super-efficient process, we have grown by 70%!! That's a LOT of growth!! We are hoping to provide assistance to around 3,400 families in July. That is up from an average of around 2,200 families for the last twelve months. That means in our expanded coverage area, we are hoping to impact around 54% more families monthly for the next twelve months than we did the last twelve months. That growth is spectacular!! And even with the efficient process in 90% of our communities, that growth means a higher monthly outlay.
The great news? We have added NINE monthly recurring donors so far this year to bring the total count to 29! 29 American households are sharing monthly with our Zambian brothers and sister in very meaningful ways. These donations range from $25 to $425. Here is the amazing part: if we assume our larger, harvest donors are already covering the bulk of the monthly cost, which they are because of all that maize stored at the churches, then the ongoing MONTHLY cost (at current exchange rates) being mostly covered by our monthly donors is around $1.25 per family. That means our lowest monthly donations coming in at $25 per month are providing a better life for TWENTY households in the areas where the maize is stored. That is AMAZING!! We can do SO much with SO little!!
In our four plus years in existence, we have worked hard not to set expectations in one month that we then struggle to meet going forward. We have tried to live at the intersection of FAITH and FINANCIAL WISDOM that stretches us... but not too far.
The reality is the GAP between COMMITTED MONTHLY RECURRING DONATIONS and EXPECTED MONTHLY COSTS is actually MUCH lower today than it was four years ago when we had very few monthly commitments. During our four years in existence, there have been very few months when we were overly stressed to do what was planned. That said, we have envisioned a day when the GAP narrows to ZERO - freeing us to use any one-time donations that come in for additional projects.
As we continue to live at that intersection of FAITH and FINANCIAL WISDOM, we say a HUGE thank you to all of the 130 American households that have been a part of this effort since it began at Christmas, 2020. Then we say another HUGE thank you to the 29 American households that are committed to partnering with us monthly as we continue to grow and move forward. What an amazing difference we are making in the lives of our Zambian brothers and sisters! What a difference they are making in our lives, as our FAITH grows in response to letting go of some of our surplus.
What is keeping us each individually from doing more? Are we afraid of giving away too much? Are we afraid of running out of funds before the end of the month? Or are we afraid of running out of funds before the end of our lives? I am working hard within my own heart to replace this focus on SCARCITY of resources with a focus on the PLENTY that is all around us. I don't know if that will get me over the hump and allow me to share more, but I think it will be an important start.
I am also working to stay focused on both the prescription and the promise of this next text that has been a guide for our work since the start:
I Timothy 6:17-19 (The MESSAGE)
Tell those rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves and so obsessed with money, which is here today and gone tomorrow. Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.
That phrase "extravagantly generous" jumped off the page at me the first time I saw it, and it continues to be a focal point for my own spirit. And the FAITH gained as we have tried to make just slight changes in our own efforts towards "extravagant generosity" has brought some "true life" to me in the midst of what has, otherwise, been an incredibly difficult season of life clouded by loss. I believe that text is worth considering as we consider just how much potential our surplus funds have if we are willing to be generous with them, rather than looking for readily available options to spend them on ourselves or save them for an uncertain future.
Besides inviting you into the funding effort, we are always looking for brothers and sisters interesting in WRESTLING with these concepts with us. I hope you will consider BOTH.
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