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Humble Faith

In a world where circumstances constantly shift and life is fragile, there is an everlasting hope that will never waver. God has been teaching me that in order to experience this hope, we cannot allow pride to gain a foothold in our heart. 

The other day I was reading a devotional based on the story of the bleeding woman and Jairus’ daughter who both were healed by Jesus. At the end of the devotion, it asked the question, “What was it that the bleeding woman and Jairus had that allowed them to be a testimony of the power of God?”… Then it asked, “in what situation do I need to have more patience and wait in faith?” 

These questions hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been walking through a season in which I felt like my prayers were not being answered in the way I wanted. In my pride, I began hesitating to trust in God’s faithfulness and goodness. I began living as though Christ wasn’t enough simply because I wasn’t content with His plans or timing. This kept me from experiencing the transformative work of God in my life. Not only that, but my heart became filled with ungratefulness, selfishness, fear, and lack of joy.

In contrast, the bleeding woman in Matthew 9 displayed genuine humility and faith in Jesus. She waited 12 years without answers for her suffering, and even after enduring for so long, she chose to trust in the capability of Jesus, “for she said to herself, ‘if I only touch his garment, I will be made well’” (Matthew 9:21). Because of her humble faith, the suffering woman was changed forever by God’s miracle-working power, and she was used as a living testimony to show God’s great power to others.

When we humble ourselves before the Lord, He promises to pour out His grace: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:8). As we submit ourselves to Him, He can use us in powerful ways to demonstrate His glory to those around us. It all comes down to remembering who God is: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD” (Isaiah 55:8). “The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:13). Whether we want to believe it or not, God is trustworthy and He promises us that He works for our good. He isn’t just in control, he also loves us more than anyone else can.

Even through painful circumstances or seasons when we don’t see our prayers answered the way we expect, we must lay aside our pride and trust in God’s all-sufficient, loving goodness. Abiding in Jesus produces gratitude in us, thankfulness, and contentment because His way is truly better. “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

Unlike humility, pride leads us away from Jesus and puts us at odds with our Heavenly Father. It distances us from the source of life and only fills our lives with destruction.

Although pride is something that we will inevitably wrestle with, we have the ability to reject it. Be encouraged that even in the worst of circumstances, making the decision to humbly trust in Jesus like the bleeding woman will always lead to experiencing His blessing. Instead of running from Him in doubt, draw near and reach for His robe. Remember that He promises us life in abundance, He will never let you down. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” John 10:10-11.

– Natalia Saint Clair, GEM Missionary

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But God Meant it For Good

It has almost been a year since the global pandemic closed everything down. What a year it has been. Every part of our world has been impacted in some way to this and it has continued to this day.There have been many challenges, difficulties, and struggles all over the world. Many families have lost loved ones and have experienced loss. It can be easy to look at 2020 as a waste and be ready to move on to normality as we know it. Yet, as Christians we must remember that God uses all things to grow us in character. He was not, has not, and will never be surprised by what is going on in our world.

During this time, God has been teaching me about difficulty, struggle, and challenges through the story of Joseph in Genesis. You know this story well, but just let me recap a couple of significant challenges that occurred in his life. Joseph was loved by his father deeply and his brothers hated him because of that (Genesis 37:3-4). His brothers plotted to kill Joseph, but instead threw him into a pit and later sold him to a group of people that took him into Egypt (37:20,28). Joseph was falsely accused of attempted rape of an officer’s wife (39:11-19) and he was placed in prison (37:20). He helped the chief cupbearer be restored to the king, yet the cupbearer did not remember Joseph and he was left in prison for two more years (40:23-41:1). Joseph was 17 when he was sold to Egypt and had only 17 more years with his father once he was in Egypt.

Now Joseph was also blessed abundantly by God throughout these difficulties and challenges. He was put in charge of the household of Potiphar before he was accused of attempted rape (39:4). After he was put in prison, The Lord gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison and he was put in charge of all the prisoners who were in prison (39:21-22). Joseph interpreted the Pharaoh’s dreams and was put in charge of everything right under Pharaoh. Now what we don’t see in this story is in between. What was Joseph’s character during the challenges when he was a slave in Potiphar’s house? What about when He was sent to prison? He was in prison for 12 years. What is most significant in this story is not all that Joseph did that we can see, but what day to day life was like.

Over and over we can see that the Lord was with him (Genesis 39:2, 21, 23; 41:38). During all of his difficulties, he didn’t try to get out of where he was at. The Lord was with him and he was with the Lord. Potiphar, the prison keeper, and Pharaoh all noticed that the Lord was with Joseph. God used all of these challenges and difficulties in the life of Joseph to show how great and magnificent God is. Joseph had come to know God in a deeper way and God used all these things in his life to be a blessing to Egypt and all the nations around them (Genesis 12:1-3).

In the midst of the many difficulties and challenges that all of us are facing right now, I want to share three takeaways from the story of Joseph for us. First, be where you are. Joseph was enslaved and imprisoned. Instead of doing whatever it took to get out, he served the Lord faithfully and many saw that God was with him. Where you are right now may be difficult, however, it is exactly where God has you. Be there and serve faithfully. You are exactly where God has placed you.

Secondly, Be with Jesus.  In every challenge and difficulty, the scripture says that God was with Joseph and was teaching him (39:21). In this story, it never talked about how great Joseph was; rather, the scriptures show that God was with Joseph. It was because of the Lord that Joseph was able to do all that he did. God reveals his greatness through our challenges as we depend and trust in Him completely. This is very difficult for us and the American culture. Everything that we seek is to be faster or better. God’s way for Joseph and for us is to trust Him completely. He is our source of life. He is the way, the truth and the life and He alone is where our soul belongs.

Lastly, His plans are perfect and bring about His Glory. In Genesis 12, God made a covenant with Abraham and promised that through him and his descendants, all the nations would be blessed. In a situation that seemed like a tragedy, God used all of this for his glory and the blessing of many nations. As the end of Genesis says, “As for you, you meant evil against me, God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today (Genesis 50:20).” Joseph was part of that promise from God’s covenant to Abraham and we are too. We have been blessed with the richness of the grace of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in order that we can bless others.

In light of all that is happening in our world and in our lives, embrace the difficulties and challenges and cling to Jesus, our only hope and true joy in this life!

-Daniel McDonald, GEM Director of Global Engagement

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All Followers of Jesus are Teachers

Many of us can talk about one teacher that changed our life. For me, it was a High School teacher that lived out the Great Commission in his job by sharing the truths of Jesus in his class. It changed my life as I saw a picture of someone carrying out the Great Commission in a secular environment. Teaching is life-changing.

Over the past six months, my entire view of teaching has been transformed. While my only teaching experience has come amid COVID, I can say without a doubt that teaching is difficult but it is also life-changing. There is a weight that all teachers feel, as one thinks about the future impact that the students before them could have. Despite not feeling particularly gifted in school teaching, I am encouraged by Jesus’ call to make disciples or to make students of Jesus.

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples [students of Jesus] of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ”
Matthew 28:18-20

As followers of Jesus, whether a professional educator or not, we are all teachers and we are all students. The Great Commission is primarily spoken of in the context of missions and ministry, I believe that it also carries the message to be a student of Jesus and a teacher for Jesus. It doesn’t matter your profession or your giftings, as a follower of Jesus, this is our mission.

Before one can be a teacher of any area, they must first be a student. In the same way, one must be a disciple or student of Jesus before they can teach others about Jesus. As students, we are spending time in His word and His presence. We desire to learn from Jesus our teacher.

The Great Commission is a call for all disciples or students of Jesus to make students of Jesus of all nations. Jesus is our teacher. He taught his students/disciples during His ministry and He was preparing them for when they would carry forth His ministry and teach others. We are all carrying forth His ministry of discipleship and teaching.

Jesus cared about teaching the truth and teaching it in a way His listeners would understand. He didn’t just teach to pass along more information. Many of His listeners had lots of knowledge but they had not truly meditated on it. Rather, Jesus sought for his listeners to discover. He did so by asking really good questions that prompted His listeners to reflect. Someone doesn’t become a follower of Jesus just by head knowledge. Someone becomes a follower of Jesus through discovery and through the work of the Holy Spirit in opening one’s eyes to their need for a savior. It is through the life-changing work of teaching that God is using followers of Jesus to transform the lives of others for eternity.

All Followers of Jesus are Teachers.

– James Shank, GEM Missionary

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The Better Choice

One of my favorite short stories in the Bible is when Jesus and His disciples are going from town to town and they arrive at the house of Mary and Martha. Martha, in her hospitable way, opens the door to Jesus and invites Him and His friends in. But soon, worries of tidying up for her guests, preparing food, and  other obligations of hosting a crowd get in the way of her actually spending time with Jesus. It’s Mary, her sister, we see that sits at Jesus’s feet listening and soaking up the words of a man she doesn’t realize will one day be her Savior. Only when Martha cries out for Mary to help her, do we get the chance to hear Jesus’ perspective of the situation. “Mary has chosen what is better,” He says.

How easily I can relate to Martha but how earnestly I desire to be Mary. Thanks to Martha’s hospitality, Jesus came into her home. But that was only the beginning of a deep, loving relationship that Jesus desired to have with these women that from birth both bore His image. Mary might have understood it but Martha had it all backwards. Before spending time with Jesus, she wanted to plan, prepare, fix, etc. But in doing so, she was easily worried and upset. Mary chose what was better. Instead of worrying about things that in a few hours would have no eternal significance, Mary went straight to a Man she would later call Lord, and sat at His feet as she listened to His heart. We don’t know if Mary was worried like Martha was when Jesus stepped in the house and began to teach. She was probably tempted to rush around like Martha, but after sitting at His feet and hearing His first few words, it seems like even if Mary had been preoccupied with other things, the words of Jesus drew her in enough to forget them and rest at His feet.

How often do we let the cares of today and tomorrow take away from our time with the Lord today? How often does our time in God’s Word and in prayer – listening to His heart and really getting to know His character – come second to our daily worries and obligations? In the past few years of working in ministry, I have noticed that it can tend to happen even more frequently in this area of work than anywhere else – the constant need to be serving, evangelizing, spending time with people, hosting, teaching, etc. These are all great things, but before I even have a chance to realize it, my time is so focused on doing that I barely have time for what my heart truly needs, to sit at the feet of my Savior and listen to His heart. If I’m going to truly live out the Great Commission, I have to stay plugged into my Source and daily choose what is better.

Like Paul says in Philippians 3:10, I want to know Christ. I want to be in awe of His beauty. I want His Word to penetrate to the depths of my heart. I want to say no to the secondary things and yes to the one and only thing that my heart truly needs. No, it won’t be easy and yes, it requires a daily sacrifice of time. But it stops becoming a sacrifice when we realize that knowing Christ is exactly what we were made for and gives our souls the rest that we can’t find in anything else. So I invite you just as I invite myself, let’s know Jesus. Let’s really seek Him out in His Word and in prayer because our souls will quickly find out that Jesus has been right all along – it will always be the better choice.

-Maggie Addison, GEM Missionary

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Make Us Worshippers

Why is our enjoyment of something beautiful magnified when the experience of that beauty is shared? Why do we gasp at stunning views, point out rainbows, and hold our breath as the sun slips below the horizon?

I believe we respond to beauty in these ways because we are made to wonder and to worship, and made to do so collectively. When we wonder at something, we are exalting it as beyond our comprehension, acknowledging that we cannot fully grasp it. Looking more closely at the word ‘wonder’, the definition according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is as follows: “rapt attention or astonishment at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience.” Sharing the experience of wonder in the company of others magnifies our delight and enjoyment of beheld glory because it is confirmed in a joint response. Wonder leads to worship. 

Throughout the Psalms, we see David, a man after God’s own heart, beckoning the people, beckoning the reader, to join with him in wonder and worship of the Most High God. “Oh magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.” -Psalm 34:3  and “Let all the earth fear the Lord;

Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.”- Psalm 33:8-9 

When Jesus spoke to the woman at the well in Samaria he said, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” -John 4:23-24.

God seeks worshipers, He desires for us to wonder, to marvel at who He is. This is His grand design! In worship, we take our eyes off of the world of our experience and center our souls around the truest reality, around the One who is worthy of all praise. In worship, we, for once, take the focus off ourselves and we remember: “…For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.” -Ecclesiastes 5:2

Wonder and worship go hand in hand. “In short, wonder is captured in one word—worship. When we have learned what worship is, we have experienced what wonder is. Worship is a personal thing before it goes public. It is an individual thing before it is part of a community. It is a disciplined thing before it is natural.” -Ravi Zacharias

We are made to wonder, made to worship. The prayer that has been weighing on me is that God would make me ‘one who worships’. That He would craft in me such a posture of worship that if all else in life fell away, worship would remain; worship would be my occupation and saturate my identity. May God open our eyes to see Him as He is, that our hearts may be captivated by His glory and we would ever and always worship Him alone. 

Like Moses returning from Mount Sinai, may our faces be radiant, markedly different to sight because of the time spent gazing fixedly at the glory of God. May we bask in and reflect the light of His countenance to the world. Like David, may we call out for fellow-worshipers and may our petition be “Come, wonder with me.”

– Mallory Knight, GEM Sponsorship Coordinator

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A New Way to Look Back

Having the opportunity to serve with GEM has been an amazing experience of faith in my personal walk with God. I saw God moving and acting supernaturally in every area that I needed support before moving. As I started working in the school, His Spirit kept giving the help and encouragement I needed to best serve my students.

But as the weeks passed by, I started to focus more on the to-do’s and eventually I found myself frustrated and tired. I felt this way because I was not meeting my personal expectations as a teacher. When we finished the first quarter, I was tired and disappointed at myself for not achieving the professional goals I set. And disappointment is an exhausting feeling.

One day, the Spirit guided me through the scriptures and spoke to my heart through this piece of Solomon’s prayer once they had finished the Temple:

“Praise be to the Lord, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the Lord our God be with us as he was with our ancestors; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in obedience to him and keep the commands, decrees and laws he gave our ancestors. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day’s need” (1 Kings 8:56-59).

We know that the path in the desert to the promised land was filled with challenges, idolatry, murmuring, and even doubting God’s provision. The thing that the Spirit made me realize is that even with all these hard events, Solomon looked at the path of the Israelites in the desert and prayed to God, thanking his faithfulness. Even with all the difficulties and the sinful nature of his people, God kept his promise. He sustained them even in their rebellion. Solomon looked to God and remembered how good He is. I realized that I have an unconscious tendency to look at the challenges, the failures, and the wrongs. The Spirit showed me that I needed to change my perspective from the fallen human and imperfect nature to the unchanging, all-powerful, and faithful God we have. God sustained me even in my failures.

It’s important to look back and see how we can improve and make things better. But the real improvement does not come from our independent desire and effort to fix mistakes. As Christians, the only way to improve ourselves is to walk the path of dependence on the Lord – through prayer, listening to His voice in the scriptures, and taking the leaps of faith that He guides us to. Leaving Brazil to come to Mexico was a huge leap of faith for me, depending completely on His grace and support. Now He’s asking me to trust Him in a way that’s not as visual or tactile as it was in the beginning. He didn’t stop sustaining me when I arrived in Puerto Escondido; He is still interested in sustaining me in all areas of my life. 

My goal for this next semester is to fully understand and practice Paul’s testimony about depending on God: 

But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness”. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (2 Corinthians 12:9-11).

– Jady Vaneli, GEM Missionary Teacher

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Changes

Challenges change us. This year has displayed that to the world. 2020 has brought great uncertainty and many changes. Every person’s life on earth is vastly different than it was before the global pandemic. 

I remember exactly where I was, about 10 months ago, when I first heard about an epidemic in China over the radio. Driving an ambulance to Virginia Beach, Virginia, I would have never imagined that in a few weeks we would be in quarantine, and in a few months I would be moving to Mexico. 

When I was an undergraduate student, I met a GEM representative in passing through a career fair. I knew I wanted to teach, and I had spent enough time in Mexico to know that this was where God was calling me. 

After I graduated I began working as an EMT, but I knew that God had called me to education. At the right time, God reminded me of GEM and I connected with them over the summer. 

Making the decision to serve with GEM was challenging for me. Just as I was planning to leave, I had concerns about my health, concerns about traveling and living abroad, and was offered a high-paying job. Even the day of my departure, flight trouble delayed me by several more days. Despite these concerns, it was clear to me that God wanted me to serve with GEM. I initially thought that everything telling me not to go could be ‘a sign’. I realized instead as I later reflected, that they were a test. 

As I arrived in Puerto to work with the middle school as a science teacher, I moved into a spare bedroom with a family that is heavily involved with the school. They welcomed me into their house and family. They have been teaching me about life in Mexico, teaching me Spanish, and have also been discipling me. 

In meeting all of the teachers and school staff, I was quickly included in the community of this impactful school. We began the school year combatting typical issues with online education, but despite these challenges we have been able to continue flourishing as a school. 

In the science classes I am privileged with teaching, we have been learning about the awe-inspiring creation and how it functions. We have studied the beautiful design of biology and the incomprehensible complexity of our planet. Outside of school, I have become involved with a local church and have been spending a lot of time at beaches.

In only three months, the relationships I have made have changed my life forever. God has been teaching me, inspiring me, and reminding me of his unchanging goodness and faithfulness. Even when the world is shaken, our lives are changed, and our faith is challenged, we can rest in knowing that our God is always good and our God is faithful. Living a life inspired by this reminder serves as a witness to the world around us. 

The inclusion and incredible hospitality I have been shown by everyone at this school, this ministry, and especially with this family have displayed to me the prayer that Christ exhorted in  John 17 over all believers. 

“I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me”. John 17: 20-21


– Tanner Whetzel, GEM Volunteer

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An Invitation In

It is a sanctifying and humbling thing to step back and recognize the love that we have received so freely. How often do we think of the depth of the Father’s love for us and the ripple effect that it has on our lives? How often do I overlook it in my day to day walk- the answer is far too often.

Andrew Murray writes in his book The True Vine about the parable that Jesus shares in John 15. He explains that the picture that Jesus was trying to paint was one in which God is the Husbandman or Caretaker of the Vine, Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches. He goes on to share about how Jesus fills us, sustains us, and is our life source as we surrender all to Him and rely on Him for those things. Writing about John 15:13, he says, “ Christ does indeed long to have us know that the secret root and strength of all He is and does for us as the Vine is love.” 

What a powerful truth. 

Jesus’s sole motivation was not to appease God by dying on the cross.

He was not forced to against His will.

He did not do it so that we would owe Him something. 

He died for us because He was motivated by the love of His Father for us, moving Him to a love in which He is our sole advocate. A sacrificial love that leads to action.

I have been studying Exodus recently and reading about the vision in which Moses receives instructions from God about the Tabernacle. While reading about the design, I was struck by a couple of things:

God was separated from His people for the sake of His holiness, but in the same way they were transient and living in tents, so was He. His tabernacle was portable and was built so that the people could visibly see His presence traveling with them as they wandered in the wilderness. He did that out of love.

The tabernacle was built in a way that the majority of activities took place in the courts. That was where fellowship took place between all people who were not priests. This was the body. As David states in Psalm 84:10 “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked.”

The Israelites longed to be in the courts because that was where they could meet with God. How much more full of joy and hope should we feel knowing that we are able to be directly in His presence with a love full of deep intimacy! God longs for us & made a way directly into His presence out of love. A sacrificial love. Hebrews 10: 19-20 says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place.”

As I pray for my students and their families to know this deep love, I am also praying over my life that I do not take it lightly. That I will dwell in the House of the Lord forever in the fullness of His love.

– Hannah Shank, GEM Missionary

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He Dwells With Us

Recently, I have been rereading the book of John. As I study it, I continue being drawn back to John 1. Verse 14 says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth”. This is a well-known verse, but I have found myself here over and over again over the last week or two stuck in this beautiful truth.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” That is astounding to me. God became flesh in the person of Christ, but He does not stop there. He also dwelt among us. This word “dwelt” is translated from the Greek word skenoo which means to pitch one’s tent or tabernacle. If you look back at the Old Testament, we see the tabernacle where the presence of God used to dwell in the midst of His people. When Jesus came, He dwelt among His people, making God known (John 1:18). But then, after Jesus ascended into heaven, He sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within His people. 

“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?…”

1 Corinthians 3:16

At one time, God could only dwell with His people in the tabernacle because of the law. Sin separates us from God, and no one could perfectly fulfill this law. Therefore, God gave His people specific instructions for the tabernacle and the camp so that He could dwell amongst them in His holiness (Exodus 26-29 and Numbers 2:3:39). “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Jesus came to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17), and He did so perfectly. In this, God is able to dwell with us through His Spirit, not because of anything we could do on our own, but because of who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. 

“…For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

2 Corinthians 6:16

As I continue to meditate on this, I am amazed at how God has so perfectly woven His good and perfect plan throughout the fabric of time. “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” (Ezekiel 36:26-37). God knew His plan for redemption, and as Jesus came, He made it possible for us to have access to God through Himself. He is not a distant God. He is close to His people. As you go about your day, I hope you remember that even now, in Christ, God dwells with us. 

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

-Rachel Hill, GEM’s Director of Mission Advancement

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The Sufficiency of Christ in the Middle of a Global Pandemic

Since the middle of March, we have been doing online schooling with the goal of still providing quality, Gospel-saturated education in the middle of COVID-19.  If you are reading this, you probably know much about our school and the purpose of it. For the past four years, my wife and I have been serving at the Manantial School in different capacities and have seen the incredible impact that the school ministry has had on this community. God has been at work and is still working in our community and the communities of the other schools around the world (3 in Mexico and 1 in Uganda).

When COVID-19 hit in March, we went online. We thought that we would only be doing this for a couple of months. Seven months later and here we are. I have had many feelings of inadequacy and thinking that I am wasting my time posting assignments online. I have had thoughts wondering how God can work with our students without us actually being around them. And then I remembered John 6:63 which says, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.”  For a while, I had forgotten that the work and impact of this ministry was God’s work.  This scripture has reminded me that my flesh does not count for anything at all. There is nothing that I can do that gives life, but the Spirit alone that gives life. In all of my inadequacies, His grace is sufficient to work in and through me.

Even though I know this truth in my head, it is difficult to believe it constantly. I still try to work my way of seeing lives changed. I still try to make my online classes more effective and think that if I don’t do it well enough, my students won’t be impacted. However, over the past month, I have seen the sufficiency of Christ become a reality in one of my students. In the middle of my feeling of inadequacy, one of my students talked to me and shared how God has been giving him a desire for His word. He told me that he has been waking up early every morning to read the scriptures and spend time writing down what God has been teaching him. He also told me that he has been sharing what God has been teaching him to others and encouraging others with the Gospel. What an incredible reminder that God is in control. He is still working and is sufficient to do all things regardless of my involvement.  The student’s desire for God and His word had nothing to do with me, but had everything to do with the work of the Spirit in his life. In the middle of our inadequacy, God is sufficient to continue His work in and around us.

-Daniel McDonald, GEM Missionary