“My whole life, I've always had that desire to help people, you know? Knowing within myself that I was a blessing to somebody, that is a blessing to me.”

In 2014, Esteban Ocasio’s wife was unfaithful and ended their marriage of twenty-six years. Esteban was left with $25,000 in credit card debt his wife had racked up, in addition to paying court costs and spousal support.  

"I had a $15,000 lump sum payment that I had to make to her. I wound up losing what I felt was like everything. It was a very, very challenging time for me, not just emotionally. It just hit me from every angle you can think of. It was like, 'Lord where are You in all of this?”’

It wasn’t the first time he’d been in financial trouble. Twice before, Esteban lost his job when the companies he worked for folded. Each time, Esteban’s reaction wasn’t panic but peace, a peace he attributed to his faith. “I knew God was going to see me through this. I just did whatever I could. So, I was, you know, sometimes working three or four jobs, part time jobs just to make ends meet. Tithing through everything; that is one thing I’ve never stopped doing.”

So, when his divorce left him struggling to pay his bills, Esteban was frustrated. Then, as he dove into God’s word for comfort, he noticed something, “Tithing to me was out of a sense of obligation. It was almost like I was living off of a checklist, you know, I’m going to church, check; I’m tithing, check. As I started getting into His Word and trying to draw near to God, I came to realize that Christ isn't looking for us to follow Him out of obligation. He wants us to love Him, to appreciate what He did for us on the cross.”

As Esteban continued giving with a changed heart, God gave him favor with the credit card lenders. They agreed to eliminate the interest charges, cutting his debt in half so that Esteban was able to pay it all off in two years! Since that time, Esteban has doubled his tithe to twenty percent for the sheer joy of it.

“I think I'm kind of selfish because I love that feeling of being able to help somebody else. So, when I give, I get that joy knowing that I was able to help somebody in need.”

Today, Esteban lives comfortably as a semi-retired subcontractor and enjoys the freedom to do what he loves, like spending time with his grandson and sharing the financial lessons he’s learned with others.

“I like to encourage people to give, to tithe, so they can experience the true freedom that Christ has for them. If you just rely on Christ, rely on God, He will supply.”
 

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Ask Josh Wildman how a simple family laundry business in Indiana started turning 100 million dollars a year in revenue, and he’ll tell you, “We are very intentional that we are, as a family, we're Christians. As a business, we are running our business based on biblical values.”

That includes tithing. As a third generation CEO of Wildman Business Group, Josh and his wife, Leslie, have seen how tithing and giving, personally and from the business, pays off. Leslie explains, “It was a no brainer for us. We always gave. I think both of us felt like we wanted to serve the Lord and we wanted God to bless our marriage and our family.”

Josh remembers when his father first modeled giving sacrificially from the business. Josh’s dad committed to giving $250,000 to a church building fund. “We didn't have it. The math didn't work,” Josh admitted. “But from there, we just saw that God says, ‘You know, it's all mine anyways. You just, you just have the opportunity to steward it for me.’ I think before that I understood tithing and that this is what the Bible says, this is what the Lord commands and asks. But it became, you know, from the understanding in the head to an understanding in the heart.”

After that, the business took off, expanding into five divisions, and Josh took over as CEO. He shared, “That’s just, God said it. We were faithful in it, and He's just showed up like He said He would. You know, it's so obvious, God's hand is on it.”

Today, the couple wants to make more so they can help more people. “We give off the gross 10% to tithe, and if we feel convicted or called that this is something we need to get behind that is going be a little more sacrificial in the family budget, we give above and beyond that,” Josh said. “It is a lot of fun when somebody has a need, and they ask, to be able to say, ‘You know what, we can help you with that.’”

They give over 20% from the business and support over 50 organizations. Leslie said, “It's human nature to think, ‘Oh my gosh, are we going to run out of money if we give too much?’ You know? But it's amazing how God just blesses you exceedingly abundantly above and beyond every time.”

Meanwhile, Josh and Leslie regularly take mission trips to the Dominican Republic. They invite their employees to go with them. Josh explained, “God really worked on my heart, broke my heart for what breaks His, which is the poor, and the sick, and the widowed, and the orphaned.” Leslie added, “To come face to face with true, true poverty is life changing. And then just given the opportunity to do something about it is so life giving.”

As the business’s revenue continues to grow, the couple gives all the credit to God. “God's faithfulness in this, He says it in Malachi 3:10, ‘Test me in this and see if I don't pour out more blessing. And so much so that your storehouses won't be able to contain it.’”

“Just try it out,” Leslie concluded. “See what happens. He is a miracle working God.”
 

The Chens cherished every moment they had with Mingrui because they were told he might not make it past his 18th birthday. “He had a hole in his heart. And his arteries were narrow,” his father reports. “Doctors said as he got older, the hole would get bigger, and his heart could fail.”

His mother shares, “Mingrui wouldn’t eat much and stopped growing. He had a weak immune system, so he always caught colds. He gasped for breath and sweat beads as big as soybeans.”

“When he was sick, he’d be at the hospital for at least two weeks,” Mr. Chen adds.  “Doctors didn’t want to over-treat him because of his heart. If I could take his heart disease, I would.”
 
Meanwhile, Mingrui just wanted friends. He says, “I wanted to run and play with other kids, but when I tried, my heart ached. It was like a monster biting me.”
 
Mrs. Chen recalls, “I remember him at the school bus crying, 'I want to go to school!’ But the school wouldn’t accept children with heart problems. It broke my heart.”
 
So, Mingrui stayed home, playing for hours with his favorite action figure. He shares, “My little Superhero toy was my only friend. I cried and told him my heart ached and that I wish he were real because then maybe he could help and heal me.”
 
Twice, he fell into a coma. “His whole body twitched,” Mrs. Chen recalls. “Then, his heart stopped. It scared me to death. I was afraid he was going to die right then. When he came-to, he covered his chest and said, 'Mom, I feel pain here.' I hugged him and said, 'We will get you surgery.’ But really, we couldn’t afford it. If you don't have money upfront, you can't have surgery!”
 
Then a doctor told the Chens about Operation Blessing. “Operation Blessing was willing to help pay for my son's surgical expenses,” Mrs. Chen explains. "So now he’s very healthy! He’s strong and can run and jump and go to school.”
 
Mr. Chen adds, “I’m very thankful for the second chance on life the kindhearted people at Operation Blessing gave my son. You also told us the story of Jesus. Now, we know Jesus is the true God.  He helped Mingrui get surgery.”

“Operation Blessing defeated the monster and cured my heart disease,” concludes Mingrui. “I think you’re the true Superhero.”