Baking a Difference: How a Tesla Mishap Became a Miracle

Our people must learn to get involved when a need arises, particularly when the need is urgent. Teach them to do what is good so they won’t become unproductive members of the community.

Titus 3:14 Voice

When we experience the love of God personally, we become members of the community who get involved and make a difference when needs arise. This is why we are devoted to building a church in the Bay Area that is known for doing good, regardless of whether or not the people we serve are part of our congregation. 

Voahangy Rasetarinera is a shining example of someone who infuses good into her community. Her bakery, “The Giving Pies,” was founded on a desire to do good in the community. Her business recently went through a series of difficult obstacles, but her faith in God and commitment to doing good brought victories into her life she never could have imagined.

Pie-oneering kindness – Voahangy started The Giving Pies because she simply loves to bake and wants to make a difference in the world. Every year, she gives part of her profits to programs like E-Sports to support inclusion for people of all abilities. 

God rolls obstacles into opportunities –  In recent months, Voahangy and her husband Patrick faced a series of discouraging setbacks. They went through three rounds of COVID in the span of six months, multiple power outages that affected their business, and a sudden water outage.

As a Black small business owner, Voahangy was looking forward to a boom in business during Black History Month. When a large order came in from automotive giant Tesla, she thought things were finally looking up. 

But when Tesla canceled the order at the last minute without paying, Voahangy realized she would lose thousands of dollars. She cried out to God, not understanding why he would keep letting these things happen to her. 

Little did she know, God had greater plans in motion.

The media gets the scoop: Voahangy shared her story on Instagram, and it quickly went viral. ABC, NBC, CBS, and many other platforms reached out to her. She interviewed with Morning in America about her experience, and even Elon Musk tweeted about making things right. But that wasn’t even the best part of it all. 

A slice of solidarity: Over the past few days, lines have been out the door, and Voahangy is getting orders from around the world to show their support. Even the mayor of San Jose dropped by for a visit. 

“It turns out that it was God’s best marketing plan for me,” Voahangy said. “It felt like he had abandoned me, but in fact, he was masterminding a great plan to bring me more exposure and business.”

As one news reporter stated, “Giving back was always part of her business plan, and now that her story has gone viral…the community is giving back to her.” 

Spreading the sweet smell of gratitude: Tesla made good on their payment, and Voahangy is moving forward with gratitude and no hard feelings. “I think that we’re all humans, we all make mistakes, and they’re trying to do good on their mistakes,” she explained. More than anything, she is grateful for the community’s overwhelming support. “It’s so heartwarming, I’m so super grateful. I don’t think I have any words to use to say how grateful I am.”

How God empowers us to do good

Voahangy’s story inspires us about the impact we can make on the culture around us as we choose to do good. Every time we choose to trust God and follow Jesus’s footsteps of doing good, we make the world that much more loving, serving, and inclusive.

And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work.

2 Corinthians 9:8 ERV

A church that does good: God empowers each of us with everything we need to do good. When we have a desire to make a difference, God can work through us to change the culture of our community. That’s why we are a church with a simple focus of “God and Good”: making God known and following Jesus’s example of doing good everywhere we go. 

What has God put on your heart to do for your community? How can you take action this week?