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For the Sake of the Gospel

When thinking about my journey to GEM it’s hard to find the best starting point. While there was a momentary decision to step into partnership with GEM, the Lord has so intentionally and intricately worked in my life to lead me to this point. I find it hard to discern what to say because I couldn’t simply state what I’m stepping into without sharing a testament of the goodness and faithfulness of God, and for that, I could write a book.

The past couple of years of my life has been nothing short of amazing. Throughout my time in college, the Lord has used so much to draw me near to Him, grow my faith, and sanctify me. Never have I understood the Gospel more, nor have I known the love and grace of God in such a real way. Time and time again He has revealed to me His faithfulness (2 Corinthians 1:20) and steadfast love (1 John 4:7-21). Time and time again I’ve been reminded of my own brokenness and need for forgiveness, and I’ve been brought to my knees in awe of how He has delivered and redeemed me (Isaiah 53, Romans 5). And time and time again I’ve been reminded of the gift it is to share such a great truth with others, as well as the blessing it is to have received this mission from the Lord (Isaiah 52:7, Acts 1:8)! Through homeless ministry, church outreach, youth groups, and classroom teaching, the Lord has broken my heart for the lost and grown in me a deep love for the Gospel. I have been blessed to see His beauty and wonder through knowing His sons and daughters, and I have had the opportunity to know His character and love more by doing life with them. It was through this time of growth that the Lord introduced me to and called me to serve with GEM after graduating college and to teach in one of their gospel-saturated schools. In all the uncertainty of life and the constant discovery and discerning that takes place in all seasons, the Lord has made one thing abundantly clear:  all my days will be spent building the Kingdom and sharing the truth of His love (Acts 20:24). Of course, this is the call of all Christ-followers, but sometimes it takes time for this truth to really penetrate the heart. Overall I have learned more and more that we are to live our lives on mission to love others as Christ has loved us. Every day we wake up we are stepping onto the mission field, that’s 365 opportunities a year to be a light and share the Gospel. My heart has been heavy with the burden to reach the unreached and follow His will to any and every nation He leads me to. And for the next two years, He has led me to Puerto Escondido. I couldn’t be more excited and expectant for all He will do!! He has never let me down, and in everything He has far exceeded and totally crumbled my expectations, so I know He’ll be faithful to do it again!!

The overall mission of the GEM is to share the gospel around the world through education that is quality, affordable, and accessible. My role within this, most straightforwardly, is to be one of those missionaries providing education. The Lord had equipped me through my time at school to step into this role of educator. However, I believe my role goes beyond that of the classroom because I believe the ministry and mission the Lord calls us into is an all-encompassing one. One thing He has really taught me is that effective evangelism is rooted in relationships and consistency. Yes, the Gospel can be shared in a moment with words and a seed is planted (which is great because His word never returns void), but growth and roots are seen in longevity, in discipleship. The Gospel we share is one of love, yet we live in a world where love is a lost concept, an unknown idea, or a twisted mutation of what it should be. Therefore, it takes relationship and consistency to display the love that we are speaking of. And relationship and consistency will often go beyond the classroom walls. So my role with GEM, in Mexico, and everywhere the Lord has called me is to continue to let Him saturate every area of my life with His love, so that in every season and all moments His love can be found. Whether in the school building, on the beach, or at the market, my job is to share the Gospel.

To share our God.

To be His light.

And while I know I have much growing and sanctifying to do, this is my prayer for how He may work in me and through me, as well as all my fellow missionaries!

This is an INCREDIBLY condensed summary of how the Lord led me to and prepared my heart to serve with GEM, there’s plenty more to be said of His goodness through that journey. I hope you can join us in prayer as we move to our new homes and begin to live and serve here all for the sake of the Gospel!

– Hunter Benson, GEM Missionary–Kindergarten Teacher

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Ms. Kaitlyn’s Class Update

Since being here in Puerto, I have seen many of my students change in behavior–spiritually and academically. When I first started teaching my class of 6th graders in January, I had one student that was very closed-off and unwilling to listen at times. Over time, I really had it on my heart to start a relationship with her and show her Christ’s love in simple ways. I did not know exactly how this was going to work based on her not wanting to be around me all that much as well as not being able to get her to say anything to me even when asking her questions. Later on however,  I learned there were really big things going on in her home that would make anyone seem closed-off or sad at times. After praying many days over the situation myself and with other teachers, I knew that I needed to keep pursuing a relationship to share the Lord with her. I know I needed to simply check in on her everyday, no matter if I received a response or not.
After many months of asking simple questions like, “How are you today?How are you feeling? What did you do this weekend?”, I was able to finally get her to open up little by little. She has now started speaking up in class, coming to speak to us teachers at lunch, and even has started to let me just sit and talk to her about everyday life. Sometimes the things the Lord is working on in your classroom seem small and unnoticeable at times, but when it is something you have seen people pray over for months and you began to see the fruit of those prayers, it is absolutely amazing.

-GEM Missionary, Kaitlyn Summitt

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From Heartbreak to Hope

Our school in Juquila, La Luz, is seeing the hand of the Lord work through many of their students’ lives. In the midst of neglect and suffering that many children in this town face, our La Luz school shines as a light on a stand for all to see (Matthew 5:14-16). This school has served as a safe haven for students – a place where they get to learn about the Lord, sing praises to Him, and be discipled by the staff members who work there. 

Not long ago, a mother approached Ms. Betty, wife of La Luz Director, Tito, pleading for the school to accept her son, Eliezr, into their fourth grade class. Ms. Betty told the mother that she and the other staff would need to observe him for a week but would then let her know whether or not her son would be accepted.

The day came for the mother to drop her son off at the school. When she came, without any prompting from Ms. Betty, she began to pour her heart out about what had just recently happened to her son.  With sadness in her voice, she shared that Eliezer had recently been taken to Oaxaca city by the mother’s half sister for what she thought would be an opportunity for a better education for her son. However, after months of Eliezr being gone, she would find out that the half sister had very different plans for Eliezr than what she had shared with his mother. Through Eliezer’s later recounting of the story, she found out that her half sister had abused him the night they arrived in Oaxaca and the following day, sent him off to be with a family who would supposedly adopt him. Although Eliezr didn’t want to be given up to another family, he stayed, knowing that they would treat him far better than his aunt ever had. Months later, when Eliezer’s adoptive family realized that their new son had actually never been up for adoption they brought him back to Juquila to be with his real mom. As Eliezer’s mother finished recounting the story to Ms. Betty, she expressed how thankful she was to the family that Eliezer had lived with for those few months, not only for treating him with kindness, but more importantly for bringing him back to her. 

While observing Eliezr as a potential student at La Luz, one of the teachers mentioned to Ms. Betty that not only did he behave well in her class, but He was also excelling in reading, writing, and math! All the teachers were in agreement that Eliezr would be a wonderful addition to the school! When Ms. Betty shared with Eliezer and his mother that he was accepted as a student, she hugged her son ever so tightly. 

A few weeks later, Ms. Betty had to call a taxi driver to the school. The driver ended up being Eliezer’s uncle. The driver expressed to her his gratitude for the school and complemented how great it was. He shared that his nephew, Eliezr, is very happy and that he loves the school. His uncle also told her the wonderful news that Eliezer’s father was willing to pay his tuition and everything including his textbook has been provided. 

Eliezr has continued to be a respectful and dedicated student. He recently expressed his desire to learn how to play guitar. However, the school had no extra space for students to join in to play music. When Ms. Betty shared Eliezer’s story with one of the teachers without any hesitation, he offered to teach him how to play the guitar. Not only is this teacher now helping him learn how to play guitar, but he is also reading the Bible with Eliezr!

Eliezer and his mother are not believers, but our hope and prayer is that by the power of the Holy Spirit, through the vessel of La Luz, the Lord would open their hearts to receive the Gospel of our saving Lord Jesus Christ. La Luz as a school, and GEM as a ministry, are rejoicing for the work He has already begun in their lives. 

Through your prayers and partnership with GEM, lives like Eliezer’s and his family’s are transformed and impacted for eternity. Global Education Ministries thanks you for your faithful commitment to pray for and support our schools. We hold this ministry with open hands, knowing that all the work done through it is done by the Lord. May all things be done for His glory and His name alone.

*For the protection and privacy of the student, their name has been changed.

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Intentionality Aids Love

Therefore, my beloved as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me. -Philippians 2:12-18

Several years ago, Bob Goff wrote and released a book called Love Does. In it, he wrote story upon story that highlighted the power of what it means to do something because you love someone. He was writing on the belief that love forces someone to act rather than sit idle.

As Christians, we are familiar with the idea that love compelled Christ to die for us. Most of us would be able to explain several different moments in our lives when we “felt” His love, when we trusted in it, and when we chose to follow Christ because of His saving love.

When we look at the Gospels, we are able to see how the love of Christ compelled Him to continue to meet the needs of those around Him. Additionally, we can see how it affects us even now. As we look to the Epistles, we can see how the authors continued to encourage the Church to be attentive and intentional with the lives that they led. There seems to be an understanding that while Christ has done the saving work, we are encouraged to do–what I call–the responsive work.

It can be easy to lose sight of being intentional with our words let alone our actions. Life gets really busy and we get so caught up in what is “next” that we forget that the Lord wants us to enjoy whatever we find our hands to do (Eccles. 9:10). The Bible is full of expressions of that–I am thinking mainly of Ecclesiastes–and we should feel free to do what we want while being intentional in showing the love of Christ regardless of what it is (1 Thess. 4:11). Whether we find ourselves working in ministry or working in a retail shop, we are capable of working well enough to show the love and saving grace of Christ.

When we are able to understand the freedom that we have to do as we please (within reason, of course), we are able to live freer; we are able to love more freely, and, in turn, able to explain the love of Christ. We can bring people into the love of Christ, we can show them grace, and we can shine as lights in the world.

As a Christian growing up in America, it can be easy to compartmentalise our lives and think of our spiritual lives (or our ministry) as separate from everything else, but in reality, they are one in the same. We have a separation of Church and State in American but that shouldn’t be the way that we live our lives.

To be intentional is to be loving. To be loving is to be a vessel for Christ. Be encouraged. We have the means and we have the resources.

– Ashleigh Bender, Missionary Care

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Teacher Testimony – Bailey + Derrick

Bailey and Derrick are missionaries who serve with GEM in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. Right before they left their traditional lives to move to Mexico, they got married. They both serve at our Manantial school–Bailey serves as a 3rd grade teacher and Derrick teaches Bible at the secondary.

Bailey and Derrick saw serving with GEM as missionaries more as an opportunity to practice and live out the great commission rather than living back home. Not that they couldn’t have used teaching in the States as a mission field, but they saw the Lord calling them to something more and wanted them to surrender their comforts, their family, and to start a life living on mission together…that looked like Mexico. Bailey and Derrick knew that this was the calling that God had placed in front of them. They knew that either way, whether it was living and working as teachers in the States or in Mexico, they would have been obedient. However, because of the position they were in as a young couple with no kids, and no true ties that said they couldn’t move, they thought, “why shouldn’t we move to a different country for at least two years to experience what ministry is like outside of the United States?” They wanted an all encompassing view of the gospel.

Both Bailey and Derrick have a passion for discipleship and they longed to be a part of a school that not only wants to build relationships with the students in the classroom, but a school that also invested in them outside the classroom. Moving to Mexico and serving with GEM was more of an opportunity that their hearts wanted to be a part of rather than just teaching anywhere. They wanted to make an investment in the community and learn the culture of Mexico.

Picking up your lives and moving to teach in a foreign country doesn’t come without its struggles. Bailey shared that one of the biggest and most apparent challenges was the language barrier. Any school that they could’ve been a part of would have most likely had ELLs (English Language Learners), but now teaching ELLs is her full-time job. She has been navigating learning how to teach the students and communicate in a way where both her and the students can understand. Through the language barrier, the Lord has taught her patience and love. As she is learning Spanish and the students are learning English, they are able to empathize with each other and support each other through it. One of the most difficult things that Derrick say he has come to learn is the difference in gospel fluency in the culture. In the United States, people at least know some of the books of the Bible. You can reference a story and they have some familiarity with it. In Mexico, it’s different. There are kids who have never heard the commonly known Bible studies before, nor do most of them know where the books of the Bible are. Derrick came in with much higher assumptions with how much of the Gospel they actually knew. He has even had students ask him what the Gospel is and what that word even means. This has restructured the way he has had to teach and share the stories of the Bible. He has to go into class teaching from the ground up, knowing that some of them have no knowledge of God and the Bible whatsoever. It has trained Derrick to slow down, break down the timeline, and dig into the context of each part of the Bible that he is teaching. This helps paint a much broader picture for the students who have never once heard the stories of the Bible.

In the midst of struggles and adapting to a new culture, the Lord does not hesitate to bestow His blessing upon those who step out in faith to serve Him. Bailey and Derrick share that they have been blessed in some of the most unexpected ways. One of the biggest blessings for the both of them has been the life change in each of their hearts. GEM gave them an opportunity to work and serve with the Lord in a way that they otherwise would not have had if they were just teaching in the States. The main thing that they have taken away from GEM is the fruit of their labor that they have seen and getting to see the impact that the Lord has on these kids through the work that the Lord has given Global Education Ministries to do. God has done a work in both of their hearts, and they feel like they have been challenged and pushed in new ways that they wouldn’t have apart from GEM. It has helped them grow a heart of gratitude and thankfulness in a whole new way as they have been living in a new culture. They express that they have realized all of the blessings that they have, even just in comparison to teaching in the States versus in Mexico. Bailey and Derrick also say they have benefited from all of the practical things they have learned through working within a ministry. They have learned how to steward God’s money well and how to function well with others who also serve within the ministry. They have had so many different life experiences that they never would have gotten without being a part of GEM. Getting to learn a different culture and at the same time growing significantly with the Lord has been one of the biggest blessings.

If you are inspired by this story and want to know how you might be able to serve with GEM, click the link below:

JOIN GEM

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Stopping to Seek the Lord

The end of the year is always a busy time! With the holidays approaching and end of the year campaigns in full swing, it is easy to feel like things needs to get done, decisions need to be made, and that there isn’t enough time to stop doing.

That’s at least how I’ve been tempted to feel these last few weeks.
But one thing I’ve learned over my few years of working with GEM is that when you’re moving into uncharted territory, taking breaks from doing to make time for thinking, praying, planning, and preparing is just as, if not, even more important.

One of the passages in the Bible God has called repeatedly to mind through my devotions and others, is in Joshua 9 when several members of the nation of Gibeon dress themselves up in rags and lie to the Israelites about where they come from.

In the book of Joshua, Joshua is the brave leader that leads Israel into battle after battle against the pagan people groups living in the Promised Land. Previously, in the book of Deuteronomy, God told the Israelites through Moses that when fighting against their enemies they should first offer peace offerings. However, he makes a clear distinction between general enemies and the nations they would fight against in the land God has promised them.
“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes… Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 20:16,18 NIV)
When the Gibeonites hear that Israel has defeated several of the neighboring nations, they fear for their lives and decide that instead of trying to go up against Israel and their God, they would be better off deceiving the Israelites in order to become their servants. So, they dress themselves in old clothes, worn sandals and cracked wineskins. They even go so far as to carry moldy bread with them so that they can convince the Israelites that they come from far away and aren’t inhabitants of the Promised Land.

When they approach the Israelites at their camp and ask them to make at treaty with them, the leaders of Israel sample their provisions and use their own reasoning skills to decide whether or not they should make the treaty. But they forget one important thing – to inquire of the Lord. Because of this, they believe the Gibeonites and swear an oath by the God of Israel that they will not harm them.

The Gibeonites then leave to go back to their city and three days later, Israel, as they are conquering more nations, arrive at what they find out to be Gibeon. To their surprise, it is indeed in the Promised Land! They can’t believe that they were deceived, but they keep the oath they had sworn to Gibeonites and do not harm them. However, in Joshua chapter 10 they are forced to go into war to protect themselves and the Gibeonites from other nations.
This story is full lessons, but one lesson in particular caught my attention.
“The Israelites sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” (Joshua 9:14 NIV)

The Israelites used their own reasoning skills and senses to see whether or not the Gibeonites were telling them the truth instead of stopping to see what the Lord had to say. This might sound logical and completely normal to us, but we can see in this story that the Israelites senses failed them. They weren’t a reliable tool to navigate through deception and truth. And, fortunately for the Gibeonites, the Israelites didn’t take time to stop and inquire of the Lord. They made a judgment based on what they thought would be best, while the Lord would have opened their eyes to see the truth.

As I’ve been applying this to my own life, I’ve been asking myself – How many times have I made decisions based on my own judgment instead of quieting myself and going first to the Lord.

The Gibeonites would play a significant role in Israel’s future history, even causing God to bring famine on Israel because Saul forsake the oath that Joshua had made with them.

How many times have we made decisions based on our own judgment whose consequences won’t just affect us in the present, but also in the future. Consequences that could and probably will affect our children and our children’s children.

But there’s also another side to this story.

Although the Israelites disobeyed God’s original command to destroy everything and everyone in the land that they would inherit, God eventually raises up the Gibeonites to take care of the temple and at least one to be a prophet – God’s own mouthpiece – for the nation. Even one of King David’s most honored and respected strong men was a Gibeonite!

Just as God does, He uses even the disobedience of Israel to bring about good for the nation and glory for Himself.

So, for those of us who have disobeyed Him and feel without hope, let this be a reminder. Yes, our God expects obedience. Our disobedience will always bring about consequences, whether exterior or interior.

But where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more.

“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.” (Romans 5:20 NLT)

– Maggie Addison, GEM Mexico Field Office Director

 

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Are You a Missionary?

Are you a missionary? If you follow Jesus, the answer is yes! Jesus lived His life on a mission to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus reads a prophecy from Isaiah and declares it fulfilled. He says, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” God the Father anointed Jesus with the Holy Spirit, to announce the coming of God’s Kingdom. In God’s Kingdom, all people can know God and enter His presence, where they find freedom and healing. However, this is only possible through Jesus. Because of Jesus’s sacrifice, we are made holy and able to enter God’s presence, and because of His resurrection, we are set free and no longer live as slaves of sin and evil! All we have to do is come to Him. Have you been set free from sin and evil in your life? What do you need to bring to the Lord today?  

Right before Jesus ascended into Heaven, His disciples asked Him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight” (Acts 1:6b-8). The disciples were thinking as we humans do. They wanted to see the physical Kingdom of Israel restored. They wanted Jesus to stay on earth and live as the King of Israel. But the Father had much bigger plans for Jesus. Jesus is the King of all and His reign will last forever. And yet, God called Jesus back to be with Him and chose to use His human disciples to submit to His rule and share the Good News of the Kingdom with people of all nations! And that’s where we come in. Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to live within us— leading us and empowering us to be effective witnesses! We are all called “to proclaim good news to the poor…, to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, and to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18).

God has a purpose for each of us while we are here on Earth. Do you know your purpose? What is God calling you to do now? How can you share the Gospel of salvation, healing, and freedom with your family, friends, neighbors, and enemies? The Holy Spirit led me to teach as a missionary in Mexico. I am so blessed to be a part of the team at “La Luz,” where the teachers live out the Gospel daily through prayer, service, study, and worship together as One Body. We pray together for God’s will to be done in our school and the lives of our students before and after school and in the evenings. We share the Gospel with students in classes, visit with their families, and share with other people we meet as God leads us. You can be a missionary too! Even if you are not called to move overseas, God has still given you His Holy Spirit to lead you and empower you to serve those around you. If you follow Jesus, you are a missionary. Let’s pray that God will give us His eyes to see those who are in need and give us wisdom, discernment, and power to share the Gospel effectively and to usher in God’s healing and freedom into this broken world.

– Heather Hall, GEM Missionary

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What Makes a Missionary

When most people think of a missionary, they immediately think of a certain type of person. 

Maybe someone who lives in a third-world country, in a little hut with a dirt floor and thatched roof, whose days are spent caring for the sick or homeless, or building homes and churches, someone who does all of these radical and moral works in Jesus’ name. Someone like Amy Carmichael, Adoniram Judson, or Elisabeth and Jim Elliot. We set aside these types of people in a certain group and label them as, “missionaries.”

I moved to Mexico almost two months ago to serve with GEM and be a missionary. 

Most missionaries here are teachers who are in their classrooms with their students all day, pouring into their lives and speaking the truth of the Gospel to them.

My job? It looks a little different. 

I work in the GEM Mexico field office where the majority of my job is done in front of a computer all day, capturing and creating content, and sharing what is happening at GEM schools with the world. 

It doesn’t fit the typical missionary stereotype.

…but not many things do. 

We are trained to make whatever our job title is our identity. 

I think as Christians it is important to realize that whatever we do, wherever we go, whatever we say, should all be done for the glory of the Lord. We should not save a select group of people to earn the title or responsibility of a missionary. If you associate yourself with Christ and serve Him with your life, you are an ambassador of Him (2 Corin. 5:20), therefore a missionary. This is a position to be taken seriously. 

It is so easy and natural for us to get so stuck in our routines that we forget the most important reason why we are doing all of it… why we are living this life, why we are put on this earth. The purpose and priority should always be Christ, bringing glory to His name, and making every effort to make His name known among all people, no matter what your title or position might be. 

“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” – Jim Elliot

The Lord has divinely placed each one of us right where He wants us to be. We need to trust that our Father can use our five loaves and our two fish to feed a multitude. Whether you are a college student going from class to class, a stay-at-home mom feeding and entertaining kids all day, the CEO of a major corporation, or anything in between…you are a missionary. Christ has called you to be His hands and feet right where you are.

There is no prerequisite to being a missionary other than a heart that longs to serve the Lord as well as simple and faithful obedience in all things unto Him.

– Sarah Beth Moore, GEM Missionary

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Simple Truths

Every morning, I teach Kinder 1, 2 and 3 Bible class and it is often a highlight of my day. For some of my kids, it is the first time that they have ever heard about Jesus or heard the Bible read to them so it is a really unique opportunity for me. For others, it is a time for them to connect what the Bible teaches and understand how the stories are real and true in our lives today.  I love teaching these kids Bible because they look at the world with wonder, curiosity and often have a zest for life. They tell me stories about what is happening in their lives and their adventures in Spanish, even if I don’t fully understand them. They often ask questions about little details in the stories because they are so curious. They have their minds open to believing in God, most of them have not experienced doubt or the lies of the devil yet. They want to believe in Jesus and want to know more about Him and pray to Him. It is so encouraging to my heart to witness them growing in faith. 

It has also been a blessing to me to teach these stories again, as I am learning so many simple but profound truths about God and the gospel in each one. In the last quarter, we talked about the Creation story, Adam and Eve in the garden, Cain and Abel, Noah’s ark and the Tower of Babel. I grew up hearing these stories so they are very familiar to me, but teaching them in a simple way that the kids will understand has been challenging and so encouraging. For example, when we talked about Noah’s ark, we weren’t only talking about how God had a plan to save Noah in the flood, but we also talked about Noah’s obedience to God when others were unfaithful and doubted. We talked about why God flooded the earth – because he needed to wash the sin. I related that truth to the previous lesson when we talked about confessing our sin with Adam and Eve in the garden. We did an exercise where we drew a heart on a whiteboard, and then wrote down sins in the heart. I asked the kids if there is enough room for Jesus in this heart with all the bad words in it and the answer was no. I told them that the solution was to go to God and say, “I am sorry. Please forgive me” and that God wipes away the sin, as we wiped away the words of sin in the heart. The kids understood the concept of asking for forgiveness and being forgiven and then we saw a clean fresh heart again. The following week, we talked about Cain and Abel and how we need to obey God with a joyful heart. After that, we learned about Noah’s ark and how Noah obeyed God with a joyful and trusting heart, even when others did not. We talked about why God needed to flood the earth – to wash away all the sin in the world. And we finished talking about how God always keeps his promises – He promised to keep Noah and his family safe in the ark, and he promised to never flood the earth again with the rainbow. God promised that instead of flooding the earth to wash away sin, he would send a Saviour to earth to wash away sin once and for all. The following week we talked about the Tower of Babel, and how the people could not get to heaven by their own work. The people didn’t need a tower to get to Heaven, they needed a Saviour – Jesus. 

All of these lessons are so profound but also simple enough that a child can understand them. Praise God for the magnificence of his Word! Teaching these gospel truths has been a blessing to me and to the kids and I am so grateful for these opportunities. I pray that God will use these lessons as they grow older, that they will treasure these simple truths in their hearts and continue to yearn for Christ.

– Lorissa Van Gurp, GEM Missionary

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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