This is Good News! A Story from the McCreas: Global Workers in Colombia
What can you do with a dime? By itself it can do nothing, but with God blessing it, it can become a meal for a family, a plane ticket to another land, a Sunday school built, or dozens of pastors giving thanks for the provision God has given them.
For our family, a dime is God’s promise that He will always take care of us, love us and work through us.
Several years ago, we were struggling. Our income was down—way down—and our time in missions was going to be over unless God showed up in a big way. We were in Ontario at the time, and I spent countless hours travelling, visiting pastors and sharing our vision for Colombia.
We had already served in Colombia for 16 years (now 27!), both our boys were born there, and we had shared Jesus with hundreds of thousands. We had seen God open doors and provide funds to build orphanages, children’s centres and churches. He had provided our every meal and clothed our children… and then, like a desert stream, things seemed to be drying up.
I was ready to give up, but God took me to a pastors’ conference and that afternoon I was to hear a story that changed our family’s life.
In the early 1940s, Gladys Hinson decided to build an orphanage in the United States. She started to share her vision, only to be asked time and time again, “And how are you going to pay for all of this?” Finally, frustrated with the question, Gladys reached into her pocket and dug out the only coin she had and answered, “I have God and one thin dime!”
I walked out of that service inspired.
Within a few weeks, God started doing miracles. Suddenly people and churches started to open their hearts—and wallets—to us. Something else started happening: we started finding dimes everywhere!
It was and is the most unbelievable thing. We would be walking down the street, and there was a dime. We would be eating in Burger King, and there on our table we would find a dime. When we emptied the washing machine, we would find a dime. It was never a quarter, never a nickel—never a hundred dollar bill! It was always a dime.
Even when we returned to Colombia in 2014, despite having left all our Canadian money behind, we continued to find dimes on the street, on the kitchen table—we have a collection! And then we started to find Colombian 50-Pesos coins, a tiny coin that is the same size, shape and colour as a Canadian dime.
God was teaching us a lesson in faith and His miraculous provision. It is a lesson that we have needed over the last few years as we have taken on projects that have required hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The story of the dimes continues. It is not something we see every day, but God reminds us from time to time. When I was speaking at Living Waters Church in Edmonton, I was given the place of honour at the front of the church; I looked down at the table beside me and there, next to the envelopes, was a dime. That church would prove to be a huge blessing to us.
Another time, when we desperately needed a vacation, God moved a dear friend to give us tickets to the United States and touched another friend to provide us with their guest house for a month—free! Arriving at the airport, we picked up our rental car and what did we find? A dime. Setting up my temporary office in the guest house, there was a dime on the desk. God was sending a message: “I have provided for you, I am still a God of miracles, and I still have your back.”
The dime itself has no power, magic or special qualities, but it has been a symbol of God’s promise and provision for years in our family.
For you, God’s promise may look very different. It might be expressed or shown in a very different way, but it will be shown in a way that speaks to you. So, you need to put your feet to your prayers and believe that He will guide your steps.
#ThisIsGoodNews #GoodNews
Darren and Patty McCrea, along with their sons James and Darien, are PAOC global workers in Colombia. You can learn more about the McCreas’ ministry at https://ourlovingfather.com/. The full version of this story can be found in the article “I Have God and One Thin Dime,” published in the Winter 2022 issue of Missions and Kids. Photo courtesy of the McCreas.
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To view or download posted “This is Good News” videos, visit www.paoc.org/theloop.