AHA Moments with Kendra

In this episode of the Rise & Build Podcast, host Kendra Morgan shares another one of her powerful AHA moments—those unexpected, unmistakable times when God shows up and makes His presence known. With her signature honesty and grace, Kendra invites us into a personal story that inspires, encourages, and reminds us that God is always at work, even in the smallest details.

For more Aha Moments visit https://buildingallchildren.org/podcast

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome. My name is Kendra Morgan, and I'm the host of the Rise and Build Podcast, where we hope to empower you to rise up and build a strong family, knowing you have to strengthen your hands to do the good work. Come with us as we rise and build. Hey you guys, welcome to the Rise and Build Podcast. We are back to the aha moments of just how God has shown up and how he has provided for building all children. So last time at the AHAL Moments, I talked about first the aha stands for Abide, Hear, and Act. That's where that came from. And then I also just talked about the beginning of Building All Children, receiving the vision, what that looked like, and how Ryan encouraged me to step forward and kind of start this nonprofit and what is a 501c3. And so I talked about that whole process last time. And so at the end, I was saying that we met with the attorneys, we got the bylaws and the logo and the name. We did like all the legal work. And I am going to go into that a little bit more in depth today because it's another aha moment of how just the Lord provides and just shows up. So we met with the attorneys, we got all that paperwork done. And that's kind of what I explained last time. And so we printed it all off. And it was, I mean, it was a stack of papers. And so I'll never forget Ryan said, let's do it. Let's go. Let's let's mail that off. Um, and and the pr attorneys prepared us that it's a process, like to mail all that off, it just can take a while to actually be approved and become a 501c3. And so Ryan wanted to mail it um really just to get the process started. And there was just something in me that I just felt like I it was about the Lord. And if he wanted us to mail that off, then he would provide that. And so it was $750 to mail the packet off. And we had already paid for all the attorney fees. And I don't know, there's something in me. So I remember setting that down and just saying, nope, if it is meant to be, then the Lord will provide. And so I didn't think much of it kind of went on. Well, last time in my story, um, I kind of told you how the process started and who we kind of met with. And I ended up meeting with the pastor of our church. And when I met with him at the very end, he said, Kendra, I think there's a gentleman that you need to meet with. And I think it was really more for the business side. Remember, I got the service side of the vision and the business side, and then that big building. And the business side, I mean, I don't have a business degree. And so I think he really wanted me to meet with this gentleman kind of to discuss the business side of building old children. And um at that time, I had I was open. I told the Lord that I will take anyone and everyone that can give me a little bit of wisdom and guide me through this process. And that is really what I was praying. So when Pastor Alex wrote down that name, I was like, absolutely, I'll meet with him. So I left that office and I called Brian Wilkes. And I um told him that I had met with um Pastor Alex and he had given me his number. Would he be willing to meet with me? I'm in the process of starting a nonprofit. And he was, of course. So ended up going um and meeting with Brian, and I don't know, he worked out of a house. It wasn't his house, but it was a house, and we met in the garage. It didn't look like a garage, it was super cute, decorated. And anyways, I met with him and kind of told him about what I was thinking of doing, what this nonprofit is about, what the vision was. Um, and he listened, gave some great advice. We talked a lot about the business side because that was in the vision, it was super clear of kind of what the Lord wanted. Um, didn't make a lot of sense to me, but I wanted to stick with what I knew I saw. Um, mentioned some of the business side to Brian, and he actually was like, Yeah, I think it will work. I mean, I think it'll be good. And so I felt good with that. Well, I had a yellow tablet, and on that tablet, I had Nehemiah 218, which is what our ministry is founded on. And then underneath that, I had $750. And so I'll never forget Brian looked at my tablet and he said, Okay, Kendra, I know what Nehemiah 218 is, but what is 750? Um, and I was nervous. I was nervous at the meeting. Um Brian asked me during the meeting, he's like, Are you nervous? And I was nervous because I didn't know him, I didn't know what to expect. Here I am talking about business, and I just kind of giggled and said, Well, I'm really, really good with three and four year olds, but this business stuff is kind of new to me. And he's like, There's no reason to be nervous. So when I when he saw the 750 and he asked me, I I kind of took a deep breath and I was like, Oh, it's nothing. And he said, No, I mean, I know the Nehemiah. I know that that is what you're founded on, but what is a 750? And I said, Well, we're waiting. And he's like, You're waiting for what? And I said, Well, we're waiting to receive $750 so that we could we can mail our nonprofit off. Um, but we're just, we're just waiting. And I just kind of looked down and, you know, didn't think much of it. And he said, Okay, just a minute, let me go grab my checkbook. And I was like, What? Like, you guys, I couldn't, I just could not believe it. And so um he did. He went and got his checkbook and he started writing this checkout to Building All Children, 750, signed his name and handed it to me. And I don't know, I just was like, I don't know you. Like, you don't know me. Why would you do this? And he's like, Because this is totally from the Lord, and I want to be a part of what the Lord is doing. And I just couldn't believe it. So, anyways, I ended up leaving um and I called Ryan, my husband. Y'all, I was, I was so excited. I think Ryan thought I was in a car accident because one, it was just a little glimpse of this big, big God cares about little Okendra and cares about this big stack of paper that I set on the shelf. He cares and he wants this to happen. And he took a random person that I had never met and provided that money. And so, anyways, I called Ryan. I was screaming from the top of my lungs. Um, and Ryan is like, okay, wait, what where are you? And I was like, no, remember that man that Pastor Alex went to meet, when I met with him, he gave me the money. I mean, I was so excited. And I was like, I'm going to cash it right now. I'm just gonna go put it in the checking account. And Brian and I have talked about this because I think it's so funny because I didn't know him. I was like, he's gonna talk to his wife and she's gonna be mad. I'm just gonna go do it before he doesn't want me to have the money, um, which is kind of funny because his wife, Courtney, is an angel. Um, but I didn't know, I mean, I had never met her. I had no idea. So I ended up going um and putting it in the Building All Children Bank account, which is a whole nother story that I will share with you guys about that. And um, and then we we ended up checking our kids out of school because Ryan is like, this is I mean, this is something specifically that we prayed for as a family. And so we went and got the kids out of school, and we went and we wrote the check to who it needed to go to, and we ended up putting it all together. And as a family, I remember we dropped it in that mailbox, and um, we were told that it is a long process to be patient. Um, and so we just asked the Lord to be mighty and to let it happen quick so that we would have the right information and we could really um start doing doing the work. And so we sent it off, didn't think much of it. Um, and so months went by. I kept creating and kept designing and kept working um on building all children and what we wanted it to be, and um, it came faster than we ever thought it would. And so we got notice that we were approved and we were a 501c3 um in 2014, and we were already doing the work, we were already creating the process, um, but it didn't take as long as we expected. And so I love the story of how God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. And along the way, he has just put these people in my life. Um, one now, Brian Courtney, Ryan and I were all great friends, um, but I did not know him. And it took me taking a deep breath and sharing with our pastor and the pastor connecting me to him and me being bold enough to call this random person and meet with them. Um, and he heard the story and he knew it was from the Lord, and then he gave so that we could continue and meld in that nonprofit. And so that is why I want these stories to be told, because the God that we serve doesn't just do this for us, he does it for you, and he does it for everyone um in this world because he loves everyone so deeply that he is just our provider. And so I wanted um to share that little story with you. Okay, so back to the bank account story. Remember, I mentioned a little bit earlier. So when we knew that we were gonna become a 501c3 and we knew that we were incorporated as a business, as a nonprofit, um, naturally you have to have a bank account. And so Ryan and I felt like we wanted to keep it super like away from ours. So we went to a completely different bank, different name, just so that it was all very separate and easy for me to see what was what. And so um we went and we opened up a checking account. And so, I mean, we had no money, like zero zilch, none. And so I remember I was like, How much does it cost to open a bank account? And um the lady was like, Well, usually we ask for at least a hundred. And so I turned around and I was like, uh, could we could I could you spot me a hundred dollars? Kind of kidding around. And he's like, Yes, of course. Because I mean, he knew we were going in with nothing. And so um, we opened up a checking account and we still giggle about this. So then she was like, Do you want checks? And I was like, Yeah, of course. We need checks. And she goes, Okay, she goes, so to order checks, it'll be about $25. And I was like, Does that come out of that hundred? And she was like, Yeah. And so Ryan and I still giggle about this. So I looked at Ryan and I was like, Well, could you still bought me $25? And he was like, No, Kendra, no, you've got the hundred. Let's just let the Lord see what that hundred happens. So the the cool thing with that story is again, we give a little bit, you know, hoping that we would get more in return. And so I really do think one of the very first deposits was Brian's check. Um, and so when we deposited that, then we could write the check to send off the nonprofit. Um, but it's so healthy for me to remember where we started, right? And we started with nothing. And we started where we had the vision, we knew the purpose, we knew that the services needed to happen because there's a lot of children that need building all children. Um, but we really and truly started with Ryan Morgan donating $100 to open a checking account. And so I love it. I love that that is part of this story and part of Building All Children. So, next time, I can't wait to share with you a little bit more about the business side. And once we determined we were gonna go with what we felt like the Lord really told us what happened.