God then proved His faithfulness to us in another area—that of provision for our family. This was our first “George Müller experience.” As soon as we arrived, the value of the dollar against the then German mark (now the euro) started falling. At the end of the first six months, some promised support never materialized from those “sure” that it would come about, the value of the dollar bottomed out, and the exchange rates ate up what we were receiving. When I reviewed the faith promise funds given to us for December, I told Glenda to stop buying Christmas presents. We had no extra money. We prayed and knew that just as God had cared for us throughout the four long years of deputation, our faithful God would somehow carry us through.
January 1995 arrived, and we had enough to pay for all normal monthly expenses and bills. We had no car until late 1996–we rode bicycles, buses and trains. The rest of our funds for weekly expenses (food) lasted only three weeks. We still had more than a week of January to go until our February support check came, and our refrigerator and cupboards were empty except for a few spices.
When evening came, Glenda and I with our five children and their teacher sat down to eat what looked like would be our last meal for at least a week. Only Glenda and I knew about the shortage in the kitchen and pantry. The eight members of our household thanked God for the meal that was before us while I wondered how He was going to get us through the next 56 servings. I was not exactly worried but rather somewhat excited and trusting to see what He had prepared for us.