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Last week I sat at the graveyard here in Juquila, holding one of our students Hugo as he cried, watching his grandfather be lowered into his grave. At that moment, really nothing else mattered. All of the choices Brett and I had made to end up here led up to this very moment. These minutes, sitting, being the one to comfort this child. The one to teach him every day and be a real part of his life. That is why we’re here. To walk through life with these kids through the joy of learning in the classroom as well as walking through the really hard things of life.

I experienced pain with Hugo mixed with a deep peace that I was exactly where I was supposed to be. On this day, I almost didn’t go to the funeral because our day was so filled with things to do and get done. So often I am so selfish with my time and I lose sight of what is most important. I am so thankful for God’s grace that brought me to this moment, completely surrendered and in awe of what He has for us. In moments like these, all the doubts, the struggles, the really hard days are made worth it. The struggles that have at times consumed my days didn’t come to mind other than to remind me that if it wasn’t for the struggle, I wouldn’t know the strength and love God has for me as I do now.

I know the doubts will come and the hard days also but this moment in the graveyard really refreshed my heart and reminded me of the very essence of life. We are made to connect. That is our purpose. With God first and then with others. We have a choice to walk idly through the motions of life, striving after productivity or to open our heart and eyes to the numerous, precious, holy moments that make up our days as we connect with our Heavenly Father and His beloved people here on earth.

My sister in law shared a quote with me that says, “There will never be a time in eternity, when standing before Jesus and worshipping Him that you will regret giving up everything to follow Him.”
My prayer is that my eyes will be open to all of the moments God has for me to be a part of and aware of. I don’t want to just get things done and be productive, I want to experience all He has for me, slowing down and taking part of whatever He has.

-Annie Balsley, GEM Missionary

If you’d like to support Brett and Annie as they serve with GEM in Juquila to share the gospel with this unreached town, you can do so HERE. You can also contact them directly to talk further about what it means to be on their support team and find out how you can be praying for them!

The last few days I’ve been reflecting on God’s faithfulness to me over the course of the past several years. Unfortunately, this isn’t something that I do regularly. This is usually because I pack my days full of things to do, people to spend time with, goals to achieve, etc. (I’m trying to get better at living within the margins.) But recently, God has been calling to my mind all the ways He has fulfilled requests that I laid before Him years ago that I never imagined He would fulfill in the ways he has.

I don’t know if you’re at all like me, but I tend to doubt the Lord’s goodness. Many times, when he calls me to do something, I, like Moses, come up with every excuse in the book not to do it. It could be because I’m rebellious by nature but it’s also very probable that it comes from a root of fear. I fear that He’s calling me to do something I won’t like because like James says, suffering produces perseverance. I fear that I’ll crumble under the weight of whatever He’s called me to do because I’m not equipped to do it. I fear that in the moment I need Him most, He won’t be there and I’ll be forced to figure things out myself.

Of course, in my heart of hearts, I know these things to be false.

I know that God promises to be with us always and forever. I know that He is not only the Author but the Perfecter of our faith which means that even if we aren’t initially equipped, He will equip us. I know that He has experienced every temptation and is intimately acquainted with every type of struggle in this life to the point that He will give me the strength I need for what He’s called me to do because He knows exactly what it requires. But sometimes my mind plays tricks on me. It’s only when God reminds me of His past faithfulness that I see beyond the doubts that cloud my thinking to the truth of who He says He is and what He says He’ll do.

One of the biggest ways that God has reminded me of His faithfulness has to do with a prayer I prayed 7 years ago. At a summer camp I felt the Lord putting missions on my heart, specifically living abroad in a different country and working with children. It’s not like the clouds parted and I heard a voice from heaven say, “Maggie, I want you to live in a different country and work with kids.” But the sense that I was being called to something of the sort came after watching a video about a Child Sponsorship organization. It was then that I felt so strongly that God wanted me to do that, but I had no idea how it would play out or where I would get the opportunity to leave the country. Before then I had never left the United States and I had only been on a plane a handful of times. So that night at camp I prayed for the opportunity to go and I left it in God’s hands.

It was exactly 1 year later that I left for my first mission trip to Ethiopia where I would teach youth an overview of the Old Testament. Now, of course, at that moment I thought “Wow! God! This is the answer to that prayer!” But, now I see that that was just the beginning of what God had for me! Not only would I go to Ethiopia a second time, I would end up graduating from college and moving to a completely different country to work at a school with… guess what… kids!

Now I will be the first one to tell you, living in Puerto Escondido, Mexico has not been a walk in the park. There are daily challenges with the language, the culture, and the ways of doing things that can make day to day living a struggle.

But I will tell you, I have never in my life felt more content doing what God has called me to do because I know that I am exactly where He has called me to be. Through the struggles and the many joys over the past year, God has made Puerto my home and has fulfilled some of the deepest desires of my heart that, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t sure would ever be fulfilled.

But it’s not in these things that I find my security. I find it in knowing that my God knows me better than I know myself. He knows exactly what I need before I can even breathe a word of it. Not only that, but as my good Father, He delights in giving me the desires of my heart, because if I remain in Him my desires will mirror His desires for me.

I never imagined feeling so at home in a place that is so different from Durham, North Carolina, but my Father knew and has led me here so that I would fall even more in love with Him and His people in this incredible place.

Thank you, Jesus, for this beautiful gift of Puerto and the many, many friends who have become just as close as family. I owe everything to you. Forgive me for the times I have doubted and will doubt you. I know that with you this is just the beginning of a lifetime of reckless love and limitless adventures.

-Maggie Addison, GEM Missionary

If you’d like to support Maggie as she serves with GEM in Mexico, you can do so HERE. You can also contact her directly to talk further about what it means to be on her support team and find out how you can be praying for her!

The word temple today comes with a lot of cultural baggage. When we hear this word we might think of a pagan temple where people worship an idol or image. Or maybe we will just think of a large building where people worship, a church or synagogue. Well, the temple I want to talk about today is this: the place where the One God dwells.

It all started long ago in a place called the Garden of Eden. There was no need for a temple building, God made his creation and he made Adam and Eve, they dwelt together. God was with man in the Garden. The whole earth was God’s temple. It was beautiful. And then something happened, most of us know the story, the man sinned, he wanted to become like God and because of this God and man could no longer dwell together in unity. Thankfully this is not the end of the story.

Later in the story, God calls a man named Abraham to be the Father of a great nation, the people of God. These people eventually become known as the Israelites. Many years after Abraham, a man named Moses has something called a Tabernacle built, it’s like a mini Temple where God can dwell amongst his people. So God’s presence is now closer to his people.

Later in the story, one of the Kings of Israel named Solomon builds a temple for God. Now we have a large place where people can come and be closer to God. We know that God isn’t contained in man-made buildings, but he chooses to dwell in them and be close to his people.

Many years later, Israel gets invaded, the temple is destroyed, and the Israelites go into captivity. With time they rebuild their temple.

Finally, years pass and there is news that a messiah is coming into the world he will be named Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” This man is Jesus. He walks the earth showing us the love of God, claiming that he is the temple. He makes a bold statement in John 2:19, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up again.” The people were outraged thinking he was talking about the actual temple building, but he was talking about himself. How he would die and rise again three days later.

Sure enough, this is what happens, Jesus is killed, but three days later he resurrects back to life. He appears to his disciples and tells them to spread the good news to all the nations, no longer are the Israelites the only people of God, but all nations are invited into this family.

When Jesus ascends into heaven he sends his believers a gift, the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will come and live inside of his believers. God is literally with us! It says in 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” And again in 1 Peter 2:5 “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” We are the temple of God! How awesome is that!?

Since the garden God has been working to get closer and closer to his people, to restore them back to the Garden of Eden. Right now those who have put their faith in Christ are like mini temples of God. We are meant to go into the world and offer this reconciliation and peace to the world, to be the temple of God, to invite the nations into the people of God by sharing with them the good news of Christ.

In the end of the story we see that Jesus will come back to make all things new, to make a new heaven and new earth, and we will dwell with God on this new earth and this is what Revelation 21:22 says “I did not see a temple in the new city, because the Lord Almighty and the Lamb are it’s temple.” In the end those who are in Christ will dwell in perfect unity with God once again, just like in the garden of Eden.

But in the meantime, we are the temple of God! Go tell the world the good news of Jesus that he has died and resurrected from the dead and that he is Lord of all! Come, Lord Jesus!

–Brett Balsley, GEM Missionary

If you’d like to support Brett and Annie as they serve with GEM in Juquila to share the gospel with this unreached town, you can do so HERE. You can also contact them directly to talk further about what it means to be on their support team and find out how you can be praying for them!

As we’re preparing for a new school year it is easy to be overwhelmed by all the things we have to do as teachers. From setting up your classroom to getting your lesson plans ready, in addition to staff meetings and regular life it can be easy to feel busy. However, something I’ve been trying to remember to make time for in the middle of all the busyness is praying for my students. 

I want my kids to have an amazing school year, but not because of anything I will do. I want them to have an amazing year growing to know Christ more or for some of them learning about Christ and possibly accepting His love into their lives for the first time. So with that in mind, I’ve been praying for my students and for their families. I also have a list of things I’ve prayed for that have Bible verses backing them up and helping serve as a reminder of what I want for my students. 

I did get the foundation for this off of Pinterest because what don’t teachers get from Pinterest? However, I changed a lot of the scripture to be verses that I felt worked better for my students or added on to the scripture they suggested. When I pray for my students I pray that they will have:

• a good attitude in everything that they do (Psalm 19:14.)
• Boldness, to do things they’ve never done before or things that might scare them because they know that with Christ we can do all things (Psalm 27:1.)
• Courage, to do what is right and to do anything they set their mind to (Psalm 31:24.)
• Discernment, to know what is good for them and what is not, to understand the truth and tell it from a lie (Philippians 1:9-10.)
• Enthusiasm, for school, for their work, and for anything they do (Colossians 3:23.)
• Friendliness, to share with others and to protect one another. To stand up for someone when they need it and to be there when they need a friend (Proverbs 18:24.)
• Generosity, toward their fellow students and people in the community who need help (2 Corinthians 9:7.)
• Humility, to know that none of us know everything and everyone has rough days so we need to be understanding because we don’t all come from the same background (Micah 6:8)
• Knowledge, so that they can learn and use what they have learned in my class and in the future (Proverbs 18:15.)
• Listening, that they would learn that we listen to understand and have the ability to focus on doing so (Proverbs 12:15.)
• Maturity, in all matters. Especially in how we behave and treat others (1 Corinthians 14:20.)
• That they would be good neighbors, treating all of their classmates how they would want to be treated and learning to work well with those in their group to be more of a family rather than just a grade level (Mark 12:31.)
• That they would overflow, with hope, joy, wisdom, and blessings (Romans 15:13.)
• That they would have the courage and wisdom to have perseverance to get through any trial thrown at them (Galatians 6:9.)
• That they would know when is the time for action and when is the time to remain quiet and still (Proverbs 29:11.)
• Respect, for the teachers and for each other (Romans 12:10.)
• That they would have self control in all matters and take a moment to think before they act (2 Timothy 1:7.)
• That they would always be thankful for what they have and the opportunities they’ve been given (1 Chronicles 16:34.)
• That they would desire to have an understanding of how things work and why we do the things we do (Psalm 119:130.)
• That they would have many victories throughout the year and that we could celebrate them together (Psalm 18:28-29.)
• Wisdom, in all of their choices and things that they do (James 3:17.)
• That they would strive for excellence just as their teachers are (Proverbs 3:7-10.)
• That they would use their youthfulness to their advantage (1 Timothy 4:12.)
• Finally, that they would have a zeal for life, for learning and for God (Romans 12:11.) 

I pray for these things for every student at our schools this year and for their families, and for our staff. Sometimes we get so caught up in all the first few weeks of school activities that we can forget the most important activity our students need, covering them in prayer and the Gospel before they even enter the building for the year. I can’t wait to see how this year unfolds.

Soon, my wife and I will begin our fourth school year with Manantial. To say that these 3 years have been a blessing would be an understatement. We have been encouraged and have grown in so many ways since we followed God’s leading to Puerto Escondido, Mexico.  God is truly at work in all of our everyday lives and is constantly pouring out His grace to us in innumerable ways. Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability ti produce wealth.” Everything we have is the generous love and grace of God who gives and provides for all things. God has truly been good to us, but this past year came a gift unexpected in our lives.

Not even a year ago, we met a family in our church and invited them to dinner the next night. Come to find out, this family lived just a few blocks from us. That one dinner turned into dinners at their house at least once a week where they opened their home and generously served and cared for us as their own.  We began going to their house just to hang out for a little bit, but that would turn into spending the entire afternoon and evening with them. As Kristen and I celebrated 3 years of marriage last November, they invited us over to their house and they celebrated our marriage with us. In a little less than a year, these strangers have become our family. They are some of our deepest friends in Mexico and we haven’t even known them for a year. God’s gifts comes in various ways. My prayer is that this simple story reminds you of God’s grace in your life. What gifts has He given you that you are taking for granted? Who are some people around you that you can show the generous love and grace of God to?

-Daniel McDonald, GEM Missionary