Coincidence? Hmmmm...

My daughter-in-law loves "friend in common" coincidences.  Its where you randomly meet someone that happens to know someone you already know etc.  She blogged about it recently and shared the idea that if you are a good person that likes to have good people around you then you will find your way to others like you.

Well, I am pretty sure I am not that good of a person but I did just have an amazing "friend in common" experience and it left me thinking about a larger force at work beyond mere coincidence.  This is kind of long so hang in there:

- I was in Orlando, Florida, for a Global Church Ministries board meeting.  I sat next to a guy at a breakfast that was just beginning some work in the African country of Burundi.  He shared with me about his work and I made some comments that apparently he found helpful.

- Over the next few months we corresponded several times about his project, resulting in an invitation for me to join him in Burundi this coming December.

- About the same time, I was invited to have coffee with the author of the book, "When Helping Hurts".  During our conversation this author, who is from Georgia, "randomly" mentions some friends from North Carolina who just returned from a trip to Burundi.  With my newfound interest in that country, I ask him to help make introductions, which he does.

- Soon I am in contact with Drew Harding, founder of Senai Global, a non-profit community development organization working in several African countries.  Drew in turn recommends that I meet his friend, Michael Spraggins, who is about to launch a community health project in Burundi that may be of interest to the sponsor of my trip.  Michael lives in Orlando, Florida (you can see where this is going...)

- So I get in contact with Michael, read his very impressive materials, and forward them on to my friend who, as it turns out, HAS JUST RECENTLY MET Michael and his partner.

So because of my association with a guy from Orlando I went through the author of a book I was reading who lives in Georgia to meet a guy from Tanzania living in North Carolina who introduces me to his friend living in Orlando who has already met the guy who invited me to Burundi in the first place and who may be able to partner with us to provide services to the poor.

I guess that could be a coincidence.  But it could also be something else if I am understanding Proverbs 16:9 correctly...