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Lap Lesson

At some point every day, without fail, I’ll sit down to take a breather. Between the busyness and activity, how refreshing it feels to stop and be still for a few minutes. Sometimes it’s on the couch, other times in a bedroom, and with this beautiful spring weather lately, it’s on the grass outside. And every time, without fail, my toddlers quickly find me.

It starts off cute with one climbing into my lap. Yet as soon as the other finds me, the cuteness quickly disappears. They both want the lap, but definitely NOT with the other in it. Each comes wanting ALL of my attention and affection. I try to let them both sit with me, but neither one is content. With a gentle encouragement, I’ll say “Ava you sit here and Hudson, you sit here. There’s plenty of room for the both of you.”

But no matter how I present it, the result is always unhappy kiddos. They do not want to share, they want ALL of Mama, and are not at rest until they get their hearts desire.

God’s been showing me lately how similar our lap is to our heart.

How quickly we allow God PLUS something (whatever that may be) to consume the center of our hearts. Could be comfort, worry, people pleasing, satisfying the flesh. Could be family, activities, ministry, even church. Anything that creeps in to pull our attention and gaze from Him. Anything that becomes of greater importance than He Himself.

Just as my toddlers are jealous of my attention, God is jealous for not only our attentions and affections, but our very lives. He deserves the seat of sole importance in our hearts. We were “created BY Him and FOR Him” (Colossians 1:16) and “in Him is fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11)

Many times, my kids will shove each other out of the way to get my entire lap. It isn’t pretty and often ends in tears. Although God won’t smack us or give us a physical punch, He will strip us of the things that pull our attention away from Him. He isn’t content until He has ALL of our heart.

Why? Is he a mean God? No, but He knows what will bring our hearts the greatest joy. A life surrendered fully and completely to Him. A heart that is singular focused with one pure and holy passion. A heart that knows ONE thing is necessary. “One thing I have desired, one thing I seek. To dwell in the house of the Lord, to behold the beauty of the Lord.” (Psalm 27:4).  Nothing else can truly satisfy.

So let’s be people who push aside the things that vie for our hearts affections. Lets continually examine ourselves to make sure that He is on the throne. And let’s desire to make our Father’s heart soar with joy as we center our lives on Him and Him alone.

– Meg Herring, Co-Founder of GEM

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Remember God’s Faithfulness

GEM is 10 years old!!! Last month, we celebrated our 10 year anniversary as a ministry, and I just completed my 7th year serving with GEM. Our staff all around the world had a blast celebrating all that God has done over the past 10 years, and we specifically spent some time here in our office in Wilmington remembering the highs and the lows of ministry over the past decade. I can’t speak much of the first three years of GEM, but since I joined in 2014… you cannot even begin to count all the ways the Lord has worked.

I don’t know how your brain operates, but personally, I am really good at remembering the hard times and the difficult seasons. While it is good to remember these times and recall how God faithfully came through as He always does… What about the good things… the tiny blessings that He gave us time and time again? Even the times when we didn’t even ask for them?!

It is so important to remember and record all the Lord does. Through the storm, when we are asking for Him to deliver us, and also when we aren’t. God shows His steadfast love through countless blessings, even in ways we least expect it. It is good to remember at all times, but it is especially helpful to remember in the midst of uncertainty or when we are lacking faith. When I am doubting, I can remember how God has worked in the past, remembering His promises in scripture and never forgetting the faithfulness of His character.

I think back to 2014 when I was fresh out of college, a brand new Kindergarten teacher. I had so many days when it felt impossible to accomplish everything on my plate. Some days I would feel so nervous and overwhelmed. God was faithful to equip me in the work He had called me to do. By His grace, we had an incredible school year. I learned more and more every day how to be the best teacher I could be, and how to serve and love the families of my students in ways I could never do on my own. I remember after that year in Mexico, I truly felt like I could do anything (with God, of course).

Going back to that mindset, remembering how I felt each day… lost and unsure…then remembering how God came through and led the way– these are moments I should remember regularly when the same feelings of inadequacy and faithlessness come creeping back in. I watched God work in miraculous ways in 2014, but you better believe that in 2021, I still struggle with the same things.

This year, now I live back in the US and serve with GEM in a completely different capacity. I am the Director of Communications, in charge of donor relations, marketing, and a handful of other things as well. Some days, new problems arise and I feel the same way I did as a kid fresh out of college. I wonder how I will make it through a given problem, and I even sometimes wonder if God picked the right person to serve in this capacity.

But then I remember. God is faithful. It is impossible for Him to be anything other than faithful. He has come through again and again – not always how I thought He would. And many times He does let me wrestle with certain situations, but it is always for my good and His glory. I’d like us all to walk into today’s problems and uncertainties and REMEMBER who God is and what He has done for us. Remember He has chosen you for a specific purpose. He is the one who selected you to be at the job you’re at, or to be the friend to a specific person, or the parent of a specific family. By clinging to Him and remembering His faithfulness, we can walk in faith, knowing that God will equip us to the work He has called us to!

2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

– Rachel Ellezy, Director of Communications

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Science and the Bible

A question I like to present each class with at the beginning of the year is, “What is science?” I then have students copy our class definition which says that science “is a way for us to observe, study, and understand our world, the living things on Earth, space, and the matter and energy that make up our incredible universe.” While our class definition for science includes some helpful terms, I explain that it doesn’t really explain the whole picture.

Science, simply put, is one way to truth. It is an investigative and methodological way to. We discuss in class that there are other ways to truth as well. Using an example by UC Davis Chemistry professor, Bryan Enderle, I explain that there are at least two ways to explain liquid water turning into gas when heated up. One involves the mechanism of molecular thermal energy. Liquid molecules, when heated up, continue gaining energy until they stop increasing in temperature and the properties change. It is also true to say that the water boils because I want coffee and am boiling the water for that purpose.

Science helps us understand the mechanisms of nature (the how). But science cannot answer questions about purpose or “why” something happens. The way to truth that does not compete with science is the Holy Bible.

As Christians, we take scripture as more than just another way to truth. It is God’s infallible word. Professor Adrian, the other science teacher at Manantial reminded us in devotionals this week that science is a fallible discipline. It is subject to change and constantly includes errors. In the scientific method, we even negate the concept of something as proven true. We either prove our hypothesis wrong or we fail to prove our hypotheses wrong. Scripture, on the other hand, is not subject to change or error. As Christians who love to study science, Adrian and I both affirm that God created the world, designed our complex genetic code, expanded the universe beyond comprehension, and ordered all matter and energy. God also gave us the scripture narrative that is the gospel. Science invokes wonder and curiosity in students, but the scriptures tell them the true story of God’s work in humanity and the name of the author of both creation and the gospel: God our creator and savior.

Psalm 19 Reclaims the idea that the creation points to our creator God:

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.

– Tanner Whetzel, GEM Missionary

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A Call to Remember

Recently, I have been reading through the book of Exodus. In Exodus, I have seen over and over the Lord providing for the Israelites and then the Israelites complaining and growing discontent. This happens many times throughout their time since leaving Egypt as they wandered in the wilderness. 

In chapter 15, Moses and the people of Israel were singing a song to the Lord, praising Him after crossing the Red Sea.

“I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him….“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?…” 

Exodus 15:1-2; 11

They are praising God for how He triumphed over the Egyptians. They praise the Lord for His steadfast love for those He redeemed (the Israelites). Then we see just a few verses later, the people begin complaining again. 

“And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?””

Exodus 15:24

Despite the Israelites seeing the Lord provide over and over again for His people, they are still doubting that He will meet all their needs, and this leads them to complaining. They doubt the character of God and His heart for them. As people, we are so quick to forget God’s faithfulness in the midst of the wilderness. We allow ourselves to believe lies about God and His character. 

Oftentimes, I have to examine my heart to see where I am doubting or not believing that the Lord will meet my needs or the needs of others. However, as I look back over the course of my life, I can see time after time where the Lord met my needs and often didn’t just meet my needs but provided abundantly more than I could imagine. It did not always look like what I wanted it to or like I thought it would, but He has always provided. 

In the midst of many uncertainties in our world right now, it is easy to forget who God is or His heart for His people. However, I am reminded that the Lord is good. He cares for those who take refuge in Him (Nahum 1:7). He is the same today as He was yesterday, and He will be the same forevermore. I need only to remember the character and heart of my God is for His people. As we remember, it allows us to trust and rest in our Heavenly Father who cares for us.

 

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?​​ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Matthew 6:25-34

– Rachel Hill, GEM Missionary

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God’s Great Love

Before coming to Mexico to serve at Manantial, I had never left Brazil. And even though I had seen different places and cultures in my home country, nothing can compare to the experience of knowing and being part of a community here in Puerto Escondido.

There’s so much beauty and richness in recognizing God’s great creation and how He manifests his glory through his creation. And even more than that, building relationships with other brothers and sisters in faith to impact the community we’re in is also so powerful and invigorating to our faith.

On my friend’s daughter birthday I was invited to make tamales, a special Mexican dish that requires many hours of work to prepare. And in this unique experience of watching her mixing the corn dough for hours while I separated the best parts of the cooked chicken I couldn’t stop thinking of how much effort it is to prepare this dish… Wouldn’t it be easier to buy it ready or make something else? Probably, but this whole process of preparing the dough, selecting the meat, cooking the sauce, spreading the dough with the meat and folding it with banana leaves made it so valuable and appreciated by the birthday girl. I feel convicted that the effort this family put into this activity just shows a part of the love they have for this 10 year old. How much more would God also love her?

In a comparison, God also pursued us and made a great effort to show his great love. He gave his only son to die on a cross for our sins, and not only this, he resurrected to be the first of many in this new and  holy life God has for his children. He still pursues us to show his great love while correcting us and turning our ways away from sin and death. And just like this family considered all that work worth for the love for their daughters, God shows me once again that all the sacrifice was worth for having us as his children.

In unique experiences like this, I feel so grateful for God’s grace in showing me over again that the manifestations of his love are found in every heart that is opened, in every culture and every family that welcomes him. And going further than that, I’m grateful because just like this family invited me to be a part of this celebration, God has me here in this community to manifest his love for those who live here.

“In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11)”

– Jady Vaneli, GEM Missionary

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Expectations, Challenges, and the Character of God

It has been five years this month since we uprooted our lives and moved to Puerto Escondido to serve with GEM. Those five years, we saw God do many things. We had many expectations of what we believed God could do. We saw lives changed by the Gospel. We saw some of our school parent’s marriages restored. In those five years, we saw God do many things and He will continue to do them through His people. As well as all the things we saw God do, there were many challenges. Conflicts that arose between staff members at the school, covid shutting the school down for two years, and many more challenges that arose. In light of all these things, God didn’t change who He was and what He does.

God is faithful to keep his promises. He is loving, kind, gracious, compassionate, and forgiving. These aspects of his character are the foundation for all the things He does. It is out of these things that He forgives, cares, loves, and pursues the lost and broken.

Recently, I have been reading through the book of Numbers. It is a continuation of the story of the people of Israel whom God had rescued from slavery in Egypt. God rescues them from slavery in Egypt and desires to guide them into a new land, the promise land. In Numbers 13:1-2, God tells Moses to send spies into the land of Canaan in which He is going to give them. God is promising in these first two verses that He will give Israel this land.

Somewhere along the line, the people of Israel missed this. Israel sent twelve spies into the land and they came back to report all that they had seen. The report revealed that the land was exceedingly great, a land full of milk and honey, and the produce was rich. However, ten of these men stated that the land was occupied by people who were very strong and the cities too strong as well.

Caleb and Joshua were two men who believed in the promises and character of God. Yes, there was the challenge of this land and all the people that had occupied it, but they had an expectation in their God and his character that proves true over and over. When the people heard Joshua and Caleb’s encouragement to go into the land, they almost were stoned by some of the people of Israel before God intervened. The story goes on, but because of the people complaining, God led them into the desert for 40 years. Those that complained against God and doubted his promises did not see the promise land.

There is a major difference between Joshua and Caleb and the ten other spies. We could say that for Joshua and Caleb that they had expectations of God’s promises to come true and embraced the many challenges that Israel faced because they knew they could trust the character of God. The other ten spies had expectations of what life should be like. They complained because life was not as they had expected which led to the challenges moving them into fear and doubt because they did not trust in God’s character.

May we all remember that “The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression (Numbers 14:18). It is through our hope in the never changing character of God that we can embrace challenges and difficulties knowing that Christ is with us all the way through. Because of this, we can hope in the promises of our faithful God.

– Daniel McDonald, Director of Global Engagement

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Prayerfully Guided

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

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Living Outside of Comfort

This past year was spent in a lot of prayer, specifically about where the Lord was going to lead me to teach after I graduated college, and in what ways He was going to lead me to share the Gospel in the years to come. I figured my mission field was going to be teaching middle school and serving with youth in a town I was familiar with. Well, that wasn’t exactly what the Lord had in store for me. Throughout high school, I was able to go on many short term mission trips to Nicaragua and the Lord began to give me a heart for sharing the Gospel in places that were out of my comfort zone and normal context. I left from those trips always thinking that short term missions were all that I would ever do and the Lord wasn’t calling me to do that full time. The more I prayed where the Lord wanted me, He began to surround me with people that were very mission minded like my sweet friend Sarah Beth Moore who also works for GEM. I watched her go through the process with GEM when she signed her contract and then she mentioned to me that they were looking for teachers. I was very interested, yet was also believing the lies that I wasn’t cut out to be a missionary. Sarah Beth then mentioned just talking to someone from the ministry before I gave up on the whole thing and so she connected me to someone who helped me realize how at home these people made me feel. After that first conversation I was still very nervous about committing the next two year of my life to living in a foreign country, so I backed away and prayed about decisions involving GEM. I still was worried about whether I was worthy and capable of this kinda thing.

In May of this year, God gave me complete peace and reconnected me with GEM after talking to my parents about it more. He was able to recultivate my heart for missions and gave me a passion for teaching students through the Gospel woven curriculum – which was one of the biggest things that drew me into this ministry as a whole. Once I met some of the other staff, I realized that these were people the Lord was placing in my life to be able to have a support system in Mexico while adjusting to the culture and being away from family and friends.

       The Lord has shown me so much through this process and has taught me to depend more upon Him. He has shown me that He has been leading me to this place and ministry all along and will equip me with His word and grace as I go and be obedient to His calling.  I’ve always heard that you grow when you are outside of your comfort zone and remain complacent in places that you feel comfortable. I strive to stay in a place where the Lord is challenging and growing me for the glory of His kingdom in ways that would never happen if I lived in the bounds of my own comfort.

– Kaitlyn Summitt, GEM Missionary

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FAITH: Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him

My decision to join Global Education Ministries was made in one night. When I first met the recruiters for GEM, I told them I was planning on staying in Arizona and teaching at a school here. That had always been the plan. I wasn’t even going to attend their informational meeting later that night, but I ended up getting off work at eight, the exact time their meeting started. I wasn’t allowed to eat at work and they had food at the meeting. For a college student accepting free food is a no-brainer.

Once I got to the meeting, it was like God was talking directly to me with everything the GEM recruiters said. GEM’s teaching philosophy aligned directly with my own, and I suddenly wanted to be a part of this ministry. I think I ended up staying and talking for nearly three hours. By the end of the night, my decision was made. Though I still had to apply, interview, and be accepted for the job, in my heart I was committed. But what could have possibly convinced me to move 1,000 miles to a place I’d never been, where they speak a language I don’t know, and try to fit into a culture I didn’t understand in one night? Simple: It was God leading me to do so.

That is the short story of how I decided to join GEM. The longer story is really more about me learning to trust God. If I didn’t trust God, I wouldn’t have even considered GEM,  so this really is a big part of my story:

I was raised in an amazing Christian family and came to know Christ when I was just three years old. As a young child, I felt like my faith was strong but as I got older, it grew weak. I never fell away from the faith in any visible way. In fact, I tried desperately to grow closer to God by doing good works and being as perfect as possible, but He just felt so distant. So I settled for relying on God for salvation and relying on myself for every other part of my life. Yes, I need God and Jesus for salvation, but the rest of my life? I thought I had it figured out and there was no need for them. I believed I didn’t need God’s help or anyone else’s. I had it all under control.  However, anyone watching me would have thought I was a sold-out follower of Christ, but everything I did was for show; I was trying to prove I didn’t need God to control my life.  I lived this way all the way from high school to my junior year of college. Then God got my attention in a big and very painful way.

Junior year, I went through a very difficult breakup. It was my first ever relationship and I made a lot of mistakes. I was consumed with shame because of those mistakes and went into a shame spiral. 2 Corinthians 7:10 states, “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.” Godly sorrow is guilt, which I had felt, but after I repented, I had not embraced God’s forgiveness, so I lived in worldly sorrow and shame and it completely destroyed me emotionally and spiritually. I felt like I couldn’t even come to God with all the sin separating us. A few weeks after the break-up, I ended up in the emergency room with intense pain. There in my helplessness, I was wrecked by shame, was spiritually dead, and was in the most pain of my life.

Finally, I gave up and gave everything to God. I had five hours to think and pray in the emergency room. I gave God control over every part of my life, not just my salvation. At this point in the story, people expect to hear that my pain was miraculously healed, I was freed from shame, and mentally and spiritually perfect again. None of that happened. I was still in pain, still grappling with the fall-out of my relationship; basically a complete and total mess in every sense of the word. But, I felt God’s presence in a way I never had before. I suddenly knew that God was there in that room with me and would continue to be there for me wherever I needed Him. Nothing changed, yet at the same time everything changed. God’s presence is the most powerful thing I’ve ever experienced.

Throughout the rest of that year and the beginning of the next, I was forced to live in that power every day. I had ongoing health issues that resulted in constant pain and emotional issues. Between student teaching and the library at my school I was working 50 hours a week, which usually wouldn’t be an issue, but in pain, it was exhausting. I needed to rely on God and use his strength every hour, of every minute, of every day. And you know what? He provided every hour, of every minute, of every day. Never once did he fail me. He always gave me enough strength for that day. Not for the month or the week, but for that day. So every day I had to keep coming back to him.  I’m notoriously stubborn so it took 4 months of total reliance on God to cement my trust in Him. At the end of that 4 months was when I committed to GEM. I have no idea what will happen in Mexico. The only thing I do know is God will be there with me and for me no matter where I go, so my faith is in Him and only Him. I am so excited for this Fantastic Adventure In Trusting God.

– Mattie Napoletano, GEM Missionary

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Complete Trust

Growing up I had always had a heart and passion for missions. This passion first started in middle school when I went on a mission trip to Guatemala. After that I began to go to Guatemala every year and eventually I went by myself. Once I got to college and found a church of my own, I decided to go on a mission trip through my church to Honduras. Little did I know, the Lord was preparing my heart for missions and ministry work in the future. 

At the beginning of my Sophomore year I moved to Wilmington, North Carolina for college and I immediately knew this was where I was supposed to be. As college was coming to an end, I started thinking about what I wanted to do after and praying for the Lord to guide my steps to where I was supposed to end up. I began googling global nonprofits in Wilmington for potential job opportunities. Only one came up in Wilmington and that was Global Education Ministries. Going out on a limb and not very hopeful, I sent an email asking if they were hiring for a position in the states. Within the next few days I received an email asking to meet and talk more, and from there things fell into place. To say God played a part in all of this is an understatement. Looking back, I can clearly and boldly say that God’s hand was in every moment leading up to me accepting a position at GEM. 

As I begin this new chapter in life, I am filled with a wave of emotions. It brings me joy and hope to know that the Lord has led me to GEM all in His timing and will continue to guide me and help me build His kingdom here in Wilmington and around the world. 

Unlike most of the new hires I will be working at the local office in Wilmington. My role will be the Mission Advancement Coordinator, working to recruit missionaries to go and teach at our gospel-saturated schools. As I am preparing to take on this role, I am reminded of Jeremiah 17:7-8 “ But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” 

Trust. 

This is one word that the Lord has placed on my heart. As I step into a new chapter in life, into a new job role, and as missionaries are being brought in, it all comes back to trust. Trust can seem like an easy thing but when we are called to put trust into action we can quickly find out how difficult it can be. I am so excited to put my trust in the Lord and continue to grow in trust as I work for Global Education Ministries. It will be difficult and challenging at times but oh how it will be worth it. So today I challenge you to truly trust the Lord with whatever is happening in your life.

– Taylor Johnson , GEM Missionary