Hello GEM friends and family! Our names are Bailey and Derrick and we could not be more excited to become a part of the GEM mission and community. We have quite a unique story of how God called us to go and serve in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, Mexico but before we share our story we wanted to share our own individual journeys.
Hello everyone! My name is Bailey Bartlett and I recently graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Elementary Education and Christian Leadership. I come from a strong Christian family and felt the calling to go into ministry when I was a teenager. My parents have been big advocates for ministry and missions and I never thought my story would turn out the way that it did. When the Lord called me into ministry at a young age, I had no idea what the outcome would be. The one thing I was certain of was my desire to attend the Largest Evangelical Christian School in the world, Liberty University. It was at my time at Liberty that God began prepping and preparing me for the calling that I surrendered too, but was still unaware of. You see, I had already planned out my life on my own terms and in my own way. My prayer of being a “blank check” in the hands of the Lord was quickly being filled in by my own will and agenda. For years, I wrestled with the calling of vocational ministry and wanted nothing to do with pursuing a career in Education. I wanted a career in ministry with built-in discipleship and a platform. In reality, I thought the calling of being a missionary could not have been a lower calling. I had no idea that I had idolized ministry and how I was so undeserving of the calling placed on my life. Truthfully we are called to missions and to go and make disciples. The mission has always been the same but the method may look different. I only wish I would have realized this and obeyed sooner.
Hello, my name is Derrick Wood! At the age of 17, I decided to study to be a teaching pastor of a local church. That is what led me to go to Liberty University to study and graduate with a degree in Pastoral Leadership and a minor in both Biblical Studies and Expositional Preaching. I always told God in my prayers that I would serve Him in ministry, but He could never move me outside the United States. God would use my time at Liberty to show me missionaries and other ministries that were doing great things for the gospel, but that would never be me, I told myself. I had a deep love for the local church and a large heart to see people grow in discipleship. Looking back now at freshman year of college, God had bigger plans for my life than I ever thought to be possible. God would use those passions to partner me with a local church in Puerto Escondido and use me to teach Middle and High School Bible.
Bailey and I met two years ago at Liberty University while we were both in student leadership. At the time we both were not quite sure where God was leading but we were faithful to follow. The two of us both had a strong calling to go into ministry in whatever form God was calling. Little did we realize at the time what this would mean for us to follow where God wanted us. In the fast-paced rush of life as college students, we both quickly saw the real world starting to become more real as we prepared to graduate. Little did we know that God was already working in the details for we had our wedding date set, honeymoon booked, and everything else accounted for.
One afternoon we sat down and talked about what we might do for work after graduating, I had no church leads and Bailey was still working hard to finish her degree. Our best option was comfort, which meant moving to Roanoke, VA near Bailey’s family, to avoid being pushed too far. Even for a while, we discussed both teaching in a private Christian school where Bailey’s mother taught. Really things seemed to be going smoothly for us to start our marriage together.
One day, Bailey’s “blank check” prayer would be answered when she encouraged me to go to a Ministry Fair that Liberty University was hosting. With little to no hope, I walked into the large and buzzing room to find countless ministries that were offering positions for everything from worship leaders, camp counselors, unpaid interns, and teachers, really anything but being a pastor. After a few painful conversations with people that were not even interested in talking to me, I awkwardly made eye contact and a half-smile with Rachel Hill from GEM. She was gracious to give me the rundown of information even after I told her I was wanting to be a pastor. After Rachel finished, as a joke, I threw out that my fiance was an Elementary Education Major. God was working his plan all along right into the details of this conversation, and Bailey’s “blank check” was about to be written.
In the month of April, we both committed and signed a two-year contract to go and serve with GEM. We both will be teaching at Manantial School in Puerto Escondido. Bailey will be teaching third grade and I will be teaching Bible while interning at Camino de la Cruz. Our wedding date is set for July 30, and we have booked a one-way ticket to Mexico. Only three days after our wedding, Bailey and I will spend our honeymoon making our way down to our new home in Mexico.
We hope our story has encouraged you in some way and that you will be praying for Derrick and I as we step out in faith and into our calling as missionaries. In reality, all believers should live the life of being a blank check in the hands of God. There is no greater joy than experiencing the calling placed on your life, and seeing the Lord fill in the details in greater ways than you could ever imagine. 1 Corinthians 6:20 reminds us that we have been bought for a price and our bodies and lives are no longer our own. We are all called to ministry and to put away with the self-filled life. This is our testimony of what God can do with two nobodies who were willing to surrender their lives and agendas for the glory and kingdom of God.
– Bailey and Derrick, GEM Missionaries