Hard Hats Required

Hey everyone and greetings from Oklahoma!

I know it has been a while and I’ve been meaning to get to the “good stuff” that God has done in my life. But there’s so much to study. No one told me the part about how much the Theology department, ORU, my family & friends (mainly you guys, lol) and God expects from a little person like me! I just hope by the end of the semester I will be able to still smile and say I ran the good race and still have energy left to make it back home, if not I’m in heaven (where I’d rather be). My work is not done yet as I still have to write this blog. So let’s get with the story right?

Let me start by saying, “THANK YOU” to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I also want to thank each and every person for keeping me in their prayers. It has definitely come in handy. I came here expecting very little but gained so much and, honestly, I’m so humbled to be a student in Oral Roberts University and in my Lord’s army. I would like to share about a small experience for starters of what a wonderful God He is!

The total cost of 1, just one, semester is around $14,000. Now here, most kids are either supported by their wealthy parents, scholarships, grants, and some have the privilege of just being a Pastor’s Kid.  Most  of you know my story and where I came from and you know for a fact that my family and me are not billionaires. I was so frustrated when I left New York as I didn’t know how I would be able to pay for my tuition and board. But during this whole time I kept hearing promises and prophecies that God will provide if I just have trust and have faith in him. So I kept doing that in New York even though there were times I doubted that and I fell behind. Each time I fell, He made me get up and receive that promise through someone in our church or even when I pray and read the Bible. As days were nearing I was getting really scared where I thought I should just end my life because I just didn’t want to be a burden for anyone, especially my parents. I just could not bear the thought of making them cry even more or even having to look at their face each day. During the last weeks of December I kept hearing Jesus say that He would not send me if He didn’t want me to be there. So I made my choice that night to keep going on; whether I was able to stay or not stay in ORU.

Thus the journey started. My papa, my uncle, and I left New York and came to Oklahoma. As the weekend approached, I was getting really scared because I was here and there was no more time left. I knew that I might have a scholarship here and there but God’s so great for keeping things hidden until the last minute. That is when we see His Glory for real! So come Monday for registration I still don’t have the money and they wanted me to pay, but they also said that registration is continued until Tuesday so I told my family to go back home and said I’m gonna step out in faith and stay in Oklahoma. I had already put the down payment on the dorm so I was able to stay there that day itself. I went to my dorm and met some people on my wing and walked around the campus for a bit. I still didn’t pray because I had it in my heart that I’m leaving the next day and I had no idea how I was going to come back to New York and explain this to everyone. My mummy had called me by then and she said,”Molay, pray, just pray!” I couldn’t pray because I felt like my heart was so heavy that I didn’t know what to do. I went back to my dorm and stayed there after. I thought I was better off dead… I had all these crazy thoughts and finally around midnight I broke down and cried. I  just simply cried because I didn’t have the words to tell Jesus how I felt but I knew that He knew how I felt that night. I fell asleep and then woke up and cried. My whole night was spent in torture and desperation and I still didn’t have a clue about what would happen. Then next morning I prayed and went to the financial aid office. Stood there for 2 hrs. Finally they said that I got around $11,000 in scholarship and grant money for this semester and I only needed to pay about $3,000. So I was able to take a loan out for that amount for now and when I have the money, I can just pay it back. When they said that, I just smiled a little bit at the advisor and tears started falling. My advisor got everything setup and I was free to go. It was so amazing because I never expected God to pay for my finances. I was all ready to leave but He had another plan for me. I went back to my dorm and got down on my knees to thank my God for my miracle on 7777 S. Lewis Avenue. I had some money left over so i gave $100 to God in a church close by my school. It was more weird when I found out the church’s name was Grace Church. I gave that amount of money to God because  I told him in NY that I’ll give him $100 when I get to a church in Oklahoma; and He provided me with more than $10,000 and I only said that in my heart but God heard it and did a miracle just for me!

This is my shortest miracle to tell yet. I got lots more and I will keep everyone updated when I can with my cheerful and much-loving stories. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I’m struggling a lot with my studies and there’s really no one except my God who has been and is being a true friend. It becomes a lot more overwhelming when there’s a lot to do and so little time.

I miss all of you and hope to see and hear from y’all soon.

All Glory & Honor Forever,

Yours truly in Lord Jesus Christ,

Elizabeth Mathew