I’d like to share a testimony of cheerful giving. My name is Kelli. I am married to Charles and have three wonderful children: Hannah, Eli, and Owen.

The first time Southland’s building search was announced, my husband and I wasted no time in participating by giving an offering. The following Sunday, we wrote out a check and placed it into the offering basket. Little did we know that there would be a fundraising campaign. We didn’t really take time to pray and discuss with each other about how much we could give as a family.

During the Financial Stewardship sermon series, we were challenged in regards to giving faithfully and cheerfully. For both Charles and myself, the sermons hit home. So Charles and I decided to pray more in depth and see how much more we would give for the building fund. Interestingly, after prayer, we both came up with the same amount to give. Initially, this seemed to us a confirmation of how much to give. The following Sunday, we wrote out a second check and placed it into the offering basket.

Now here’s the interesting part. During cell group at our home, the discussion was around financial blessings and cheerful giving. I received a phone call (and though I cannot go into the specifics of the phone conversation), it turned out that Charles and I were recipients of some unexpected funds from the caller. The amount we were to receive equaled the amount that we had given to the building fund. Coincidence? Maybe…maybe not. We like to think of it as a blessing from our Father teaching us in the area of cheerful giving.

As a Southland member, I can’t wait to have our own building. It’s funny when we drive by the Holiday Inn, La Mirada on the FWY, our children look out the window and say, “There’s Southland!”. I want to look out and see an actual church building. A building where the little babies can crawl around without mothers having to worry about how dirty the floor is. I want the older children to attend Sunday School in a room decorated with artwork that glorifies God. As we participate in the building campaign, we will continue to pray and be faithful as God’s stewards.

Kelli Chon