My partnership with GEM came about as most life-changing things with the Lord do: quietly and unexpectedly; with the details unfolding in time and the only way to notice them was through prayer.
I have worked in full-time ministry before but I had a few years where I took a step back. Those years were spent in a lot of prayer; prayer unlike I had ever done before.
At the time, I lived just an hour from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I spent several weekends driving up and down it, stopping at specific overlooks, and praying. Praying for guidance, praying for understanding, praying for what is next for me. Additionally, I started praying about what I loved to do: writing and photography. After all, what better way to learn how to pray than to pray about what tugs at the heartstrings the most?
My life had taken an unexpected turn and I was really unsure of where to go next– both literally and figuratively. But, as I prayed I began to learn so much. I learned about prayer– our selfish desires even in prayer– I learned about my expectations, I learned about how truthful Scripture is, and I learned more about myself. Mainly, I learned how grounding it is when we take Him at His Word; when we decide to trust that not only does He know best but He also knows what we’re going through, and that just being present with Him really does change everything.
I have nothing to offer that Christ has not already given to me. I learned that whatever gift / talent I possess was given by the Giver, Himself, and that anything worth doing was something that I could give back to Him.
So, I started asking Him about my love for writing. For the first time, I started praying about how to use it.
I started thinking about Wilmington, North Carolina. The town has some old history in the creative arts and I was drawn to it because of that. I figured that I could get involved in that scene somehow and, at the very least, live a fulfilling life in the town simply because I was around creativity. I started really praying about it and began to watch how the Lord directed my steps to where I am now.
After a visit to Wilmington at the start of the new year, I ended up connecting with GEM via LinkedIn and the process of our partnership began.
The process took several weeks and I was so encouraged and blessed to talk with the team so many times. It was healing for me to be able to talk with them about where I had been and where I felt the LORD was calling me into.
Not only was I able to experience such an answer to prayer but the team at GEM expressed how they were experiencing such huge answers to prayer as well.
I’ll be working with GEM to build the Missionary Care Department as their Transitional Care Coordinator. In this role, I will write devotionals for our missionaries as well as meeting with them to encourage spiritual growth as their year progresses.
I am humbled to be in this position and eager to see how the Spirit works within it.
It is a joy to be able to offer my gifts and talents back to the Lord to uplift and edify His Church.
– Ashleigh Gyatt, GEM Missionary