Dear reader. Thank you for staying glued to this series. I really do hope the stories in this series helps you in your walk with God.
If you’re new, you can catch up here.
In the last story, I told you how I finally obeyed and applied to IE. I received my letter of admission in October 2018 and I had to pay a reservation fee of about 5,200 Euros within four weeks. I didn’t have the money.
I kept asking for an extension until December. Before 2018 ended, I had started to think seriously about how to raise the school fees (28,000 Euros) and enough money to cover my living expenses in Madrid. In total, I needed to raise about 20 million Naira. The figure made me dizzy because really, where was I supposed to get that amount?
After thinking about it with little progress, I decided to have a conversation with a mentor. I felt so gingered after that conversation. We created a plan of how to raise all the funds by the end of the first quarter of 2019. She also provided me contacts to pitch for business and told me how much to charge for the services.
With that energy, I hit the ground running in the new year. I sent out proposals, attended meetings, did pitches and follow up conversations. There was a lot of activity but no money came in. Somehow, nothing clicked. It was so frustrating. I’d go to my mentor’s house and feel ashamed when she’d ask how much I had raised. It felt like I was faffing when I was really trying my best.
One day in February, after weeks of radio silence and getting negative feedback, I decided to have a serious conversation with God. “What’s really happening? Why isn’t anything working? I’m putting my best and going over and beyond here. Why haven’t I gotten just one client?”
Abba’s answer was simple – “How I am going to do this, no man will be able to take the glory for it. Not even you.”
After this conversation with God, I knew I had to stop trying. The money wasn’t going to come by my effort. I also decided to avoid my mentor. I felt I’d look crazy if I said, “God told me to stop trying to raise the money through my efforts.”
So, there I was minding my business when I received an email from the IE Nigeria office a week after the conversation with God. They were announcing a new competition called the Communicating Africa Challenge in partnership with Africa Communications Week. The winner of the challenge would get a 50% scholarship to IE to study the exact program I had applied for.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was nothing anyone could have told me; I was absolutely convinced that the competition was created just for me. I sent it to my friends with the words, “This is for me.” Even though I was so sure I was going to get it, I made sure I put in an excellent entry. And I did get it!
In June 2019, I was announced as the winner and I received the 50% scholarship. That meant half the tuition had been shaved off. Remember the reservation fee? I still hadn’t paid it but somehow, God sent people to bless me with monetary gifts that allowed me to finally pay it in August.
From 20 million Naira, I now needed to raise about N9 million. With everything that had happened, it was a no-brainer that I’d get the money before school started in September. But was it really a no-brainer? Watch out for the next story!
A note for you
Letting go and doing things God’s way can be a little difficult. The roadblock I have faced in my walk with God is my mind…rational thinking. It makes sense to do all you can to raise money but when God asks you to trust him and relax, it may seem just a bit crazy.
But God knows exactly what He is doing. I have been there, done that and my testimony is that through all the crazy instructions and things that do not make sense, God really does have a plan. A mind-blowing one.
So I pray that you will receive the grace to trust Him even when you do not fully understand. I pray you will receive courage to push past your rational mind and follow God with reckless abandon. It’s not easy but it is such a beautiful journey when you finally yield to God in the place of surrender.
