![]() In my experience God is the
best financial Manager there is. He owns the world and all that is in
it...including the gold, silver, oil, land and anything else that
earthly investors claim has value. For this reason He is worth consulting on a daily basis for all our financial needs. In
reading the Bible over the years I have found that Gods wisdom includes
financial principals like…tithing, offering, giving, saving, sharing,
working hard, investing, growing and celebrating. The
testimony that Tony and I have is that God has taken us on a financial
journey of personal growth. It has been just like what a real plant
would experience. We have endured times of drought and hardship, times
of plenty and rain, times of fear and faith in the storms of unexpected
trials and times of sowing new beginnings financially and personally. Gods word says, Weary not in well doing, for if you faint not you shall reap a harvest. In my opinion keep pressing forward and don’t give up… but do take time out to rest so as to prevent burn out. ![]() But
Tony in his childlike mind tried not to let his situation dictate his
desires to achieve in something. He became a Champion Athlete at High
School even when his diet was not enough and nutritionally poor. He has
always tried to set high goals for himself, that have seemed unrealistic
at times to others but I think Father God has liked that about Tony,
because He himself calls the impossible into being. God loves a
challenge! I Troy Rika, grew up mostly in
Awakeri Bay of Plenty on a 79 acre dairy farm. I was the eldest of 10
children and was responsible for lots of domestic chores and outdoor
farmwork like milking cows before school and digging out ragwort in the
holidays. In my child-like mind I felt very poor, because I wore second
hand undies and used a plastic bread bag for my lunch box. I desired new
clothes and matching bedroom furnishings and nicely packed food. We had
heaps of kids and did heaps of work all for the love of it! At
20 I married in 1986 and over the next 7 years had 5 beautiful children
before I became a single mother due to betrayal and a deteriorating
marriage relationship. But praise the Lord God did not abandon me. God,
with my co operation and obedience, grew me in faith. I leaned on
God-my-husband for everything and He in turn provided all my needs,
financially, emotionally, educationally and spiritually. It
was hard but good years. I raised my 5 beautiful children faithfully
and also completed my Diploma in Teaching. It was during this time that
God instructed me to continue tithing on my benefit and also to
contribute to the Liberty Trust in preparation to one day purchasing my
own home. It was a scary decision at the time as I was living in a 3 x1
state house and I was not sure if I could afford it but I am very
thankful that I sowed into my future way back then. Tony
had also started his account with Liberty Trust but his goal was
initially for a family home for him and his brothers and sisters in
Whakatane as he had grown up without a stable family base. After
5 years on my own my friendship with Tony began to escalate to a more
personal level. But by surprise Tony was invited by his older brother to
move to Australia and get a job. After an
18-month long distance relationship via phone we decided to marry and
relocate our family to Bunbury Western Australia. We arrived to Perth
with just our sleeping bags and our clothes on Nov 20 1999. We slept on
the floor and our new adventure began. It was here that God told me to ‘expect the unexpected.’ It
was a wonderful experience. I felt I was being rewarded by God for
being faithful during a big test in my life and I believed Tony was
blessed with a beautiful family like ours. And for the children it was a
freaky surprise to live in another country. After
enjoying six months time out I got a job Tutoring Aboriginal Adults and
then taught Primary School at an Indigenous school. It was very
exciting. Our life was very fresh but at the
end of Tony’s six month contract we had to make a choice. Either we had
to follow the Construction Industry and move the family to every new job
or stay put to raise our family. We chose to secure the family in one
spot but the sacrifice was to take significantly lower paying jobs. We
had a gorgeous wee daughter together whom we all loved. Our house was
cramped and the 3 monthly inspections became hard work so we desired to
buy a house of our own. It was a huge decision. We
now had an interest-free loan available through Liberty Trust but at
that time we could only use it in New Zealand. But God assured me we
would have a home in July of 2001. Come June
we casually drove around the district and discovered some blocks of land
on special and offering a $10,000 cashback on purchase. We put a
deposit on the land and applied for a loan. Amazingly the Government
increased the first home owners grant from $7,000 to $14,000 just prior
to our application. It was a critical period in
our lives as we had 5 teenagers, a toddler and then another baby due.
We were on one income and struggling to keep the same job. In one year
Tony had 5 different jobs! There was also a period when I worked for a
year while Tony stayed home to be house Dad. We
learned a lot over that time about endurance, Gods faithfulness,
obedience, sacrifice, team work, and a sense of achievement. We also
learned that family harmony and enjoyment is just as important as
managing finances. We
were unexpectedly blessed with our 8th child in 2009 but by then we had
managed to repay our mortgage completely. Praise God that we stuck to
the goal despite adversity and stress and challenge. God was faithful,
dependable and He heard our many cries of distress. He answered all our
prayers. In 2010 Tony and I decided we would like to use our Liberty Trust offer to buy a second property. At
first it looked like it was not going to be possible as new laws
protecting the investor from overseas lenders appeared to be a blockage.
But after patient and persistent investigation we discovered it was
possible. Praise God for that! We were the
first Australian Permanent Residents to be approved an interest free
loan from Ark Resources Ltd. Then just after our loan was approved
Tony’s job ended! But Praise God Tony gained employment with a local
company just before Christmas and we received the loan on 7 January! We now have all 8 children back home living with us! I
praise God for the initiative of Liberty Trust in offering interest
free loans and I praise God that we have finally been able to be a
recipient of one of their loans. I also praise
God that He weans us off our dependencies and leads us into areas that
are new and that He likes to build us up and move us on. Yours Sincerely Troy and Tony Voller 4 April 2011 |
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