This is just so good, I couldn’t possibly keep from sharing this.  Let me start by saying finances for a new start-up church like ours are always tight, but particularly as we near the end of the three-year period for which we tried to raise funds for before coming to Springfield.  I knew going in that the possibility of not getting full paychecks were there, though I prayed that wouldn’t happen.  This past Monday I knew that I was not going to get a paycheck for September until sometime late in October and not a full one at that.  So I prayed that God might put a desire in one of our many supporter’s hearts to give a $1,000 gift to the church…nothing really special about that number as it wouldn’t have alleviated that burden but it would definitely reduce it.  To my disappointment, no checks came.  Return trips on Tuesday and Wednesday to the mailbox yielded similar results.  I wasn’t at the church on Thursday or Friday and so I wasn’t able to check the mail until this morning.  I saw an envelope addressed to Grace Hill with handwriting that was very familiar to me.  I got excited.  As I opened it I wondered if God had answered my prayer after all.  I’m overjoyed to tell you that there was in fact a check for $1,000 and what’s more, the envelope was postmarked…wait for it…Monday!  Turns out I had forgotten about a conversation that I had recently with a dear friend and former co-worker a couple weeks back.  One of the things he had asked was, “if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know.”  I simply responded that we did have some financial needs coming up.  With that, I didn’t hear anything else from him and had forgotten about that conversation…but he didn’t.  God used him to answer our prayers in a profound way.  Isn’t it great to know that God uses us and sends us to be answers to other people’s prayers!  Whether it’s being a friend to someone who had been praying for a friend, or counseling someone who had been praying for counsel, it is thrilling to know that everything we do is ordained by God and is somehow accomplishing His will for your life and the lives of those around you.