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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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From Frustration to Empathy

Thank you God for the gentle breeze just when I’m starting to sweat.

Thank you God for the rhythmic loom above where I’m working. Though it is loud, it gives me a rhythm to work to and it tells me that the women upstairs have the work they so desperately need.

Thank you God for the crowded coffee shop, even if I have to sit outside and not in the coolness of the air conditioner inside. It means that they have customers and my friends who work here are happy to have them.

Thank you God for the sun that wakes me in the morning, even if it annoys me on the weekend.

Thank you God for the students who ask me a million questions, that text me at 1 am to tell me they liked the video I posted, or that they finished their homework, or that they have an urgent question that isn’t quite so urgent as they made it out to be.

Thank you God for when I am trying to work and am distracted by the happy squeals of the neighbor kids playing.

Thank you God for allowing me to have the luxury of getting annoyed when someone cleans up after me at home and puts things in the “wrong” place.

Thank you God for all the blessings you give me that I forget are blessings. For all the little things I get annoyed by but then a few hours later realize are so beautiful and wonderful to you and are the things you are using for your will.

I feel like so often we forget that God is working things out for our good, always. I know I’m personally guilty of getting really upset about things I shouldn’t even be bothered by. I’ve found myself frustrated to the point of tears or shouting more than once this past month. I’m learning though that God is using those things to teach me. He doesn’t want me to be annoyed; He doesn’t allow these things to happen purely to test my patience. He wants to see if I will use them as a chance to grow and to make myself a better person each and every day. I used to
think that God let frustrating things happen to teach us to be patient and how to wait.

Now however I’m starting to see that God wants to make us more empathetic towards each other. He wants me to be working with my students and realize that they’re having problems for specific reasons and for me to be able to identify their individual problems and be able to help them. He allows me to have days where I have no internet and I get nothing done and I’m so frustrated and tired and upset so that when one of my students sends me a message that says “Hi miss! I’m so so sorry that I no do my homework of last week! Our internet was not functional
and so I have to do it this week! I am so sorry!” I would be able to say that it is okay because I totally understand her problem. He allows me to have frustration, confusion and headache so I will be more sympathetic to others. When a coworker tells me about something breaking or not
working, I will be ready to offer help. When someone is sick, I’ll be happy to jump in to cover for them because they would and have done it for me.

I believe that God allows things to happen and allows us to experience things to teach us something important that He wants us to learn. God wants my heart to break for other people and for me to be able to know how I wish people had responded for me when something happens so that I will be a better friend and a better person to them. God allows my heart to be broken so that I will be quick to try and mend the hearts of others. So that I will be empathetic to the struggles of those around me and so that I will realize my own mistakes and struggles to help me help others.

Ephesians 5 tells us: “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. And walk in love, as the Messiah also loved us and gave Himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.” Lately I’ve been asking myself if I’m imitating God or if I’m acting in my own selfish nature, I’m ashamed to say most of the time it is my own nature that is winning out. But in recognizing it I’m able to know how to better imitate Christ and to walk with Him better. So I encourage all of us to take a moment to stop and ask ourselves, who are we imitating?

-Heather Wrench, GEM Missionary

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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

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Jesus, Our Example

With all that is happening in the world, all the sin, sickness and chaos ripping through the globe, I’ve actually felt more tempted to shut my brain off and pretend that it all doesn’t exist instead of being called to action… I feel much more comfortable just putting myself on auto-pilot and sticking to my little bubble where I am shielded from all the evil out there.

Maybe I’m not the only one who has been tempted like this. All I want to do is seek my personal comfort and ignore the reality of our broken world. It just so happens that this is exactly what the devil wants. He wants us to coast and shut off, to stop clinging to Christ, stop pursuing him, and to stop feeling urgency for the advancement of the Kingdom. He wants us to become complacent, selfish, and lulled to sleep by the pleasures of this world instead of being set on fire for the things of Jesus.

After talking to a good friend here in Puerto about Jesus’ return, I was woken up to the reality that Jesus’ presence is as real as ever and He is indeed coming back. There is a very real spiritual war going on and the evil one is constantly trying to hinder anyone from coming to Christ. After remembering this I began to ask myself, if I know what happens to those who do not choose Christ, why am I not urgently seeking to share the saving hope of Jesus with them, especially as our world continues to spiral downwards?

We must remind ourselves of the realities of Scripture. Jesus is alive, He wants our whole hearts, and he WILL return to rescue his faithful servants. I think of my own life and how I have been drifting asleep for quite some time. God has just suddenly opened my eyes (in His overwhelming grace) to allow me to realize that my purpose on this Earth is to know Him, to love Him, and to bring others to Him. I don’t want to find myself seeking my own comforts and worldly pleasures, not making disciples and on the path to destruction. Christ has saved us for our eternal good and has entrusted us with a life-changing mission.

I think of Jesus in Philippians 2, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8). Jesus gave everything for me. He loves me with an unfathomable love. How could I put him second? How can I trade this forgiveness, redemption, and eternal hope for a self-serving, wasted life filled with selfish pleasure? How could I turn a blind eye to the brokenness of this world in order to seek my own comfort?

Of course we are human and fall easily into sin, but Jesus is the one who protects and frees us. The Lord alone is our hope. Jesus calls us to fight the good fight of faith and to help bring this eternal salvation to others. He also lovingly warns us in Matthew 16, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 16:24-25).

All of this has been extremely convicting for me, but oh is it ever good! I am so grateful the Lord chose to reveal these things to be in order to make me more like Him and to be re-motivated to fulfill His will on Earth.

I encourage you as I look in the mirror, my brothers and sisters, do not allow comfort or complacency to cloud your priorities. Do not let the evil one get a foothold. Cling to the Lord and He will keep you safe. You are loved and made by our amazing Father for a grand purpose. Jesus wants you to arrive at the end to receive your crown of glory, and he wants to use you to bring your friends & enemies there too. We must not fall asleep. Keep the faith, keep fighting, look to our great example and friend, Jesus!

– Natalia Saint Clair, GEM Missionary

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A Faithful God

In the midst of quarantine and a Global Pandemic, I feel like I’ve been in a season of apathy, and slothfulness. Life seemed to hit pause, and I felt like my hunger for God was put on pause too. It was so easy to give into laziness with the hours of free time I have. However that all came to an abrupt stop once it came time to teach again. I felt like I was thrown into the chaos of busyness once again.

The season of busyness brought with it so many challenges; online teaching, getting adjusted back to life in Mexico after a long absence, and even having all of my teaching supplies fly off my moto and get stuck under a car and dragged across the highway (Who does that even happen to?) Despite the craziness, God has remained faithful and has reminded me of his glory and his power over our circumstances day in and day out.

This year more than ever I think that God has proved himself to be a provider for me; filling in my needs as they come, and quite unexpectedly I might add. I can’t help but be reminded of God providing for the 5,000, with just five loaves of bread and two fish. Even when it seems like there was no other way, Jesus still provided, and abundantly so. 

Recently in one of our staff devotions, a teacher shared a song called “Promises” by The Mavericks. The line that really got my attention was this:

“You’re the God of covenant and of faithful promises Time and time again You have proven You’ll do just what You said though the storms may come and the winds may blow I’ll remain steadfast.”

Although my trials may seem trivial, and nothing compared to the stories depicted throughout the Bible, one thing remains true- God is faithful. The Lord was faithful to provide for the 5,000, He was faithful to provide Abraham with a son, and He was faithful to provide the world with a Son who took the wrath we deserved for our sin. And how sweet it is to be reminded that even when I have seasons of slothfulness, seasons of doubt, or seasons of apathy, God remains faithful. No matter what state the world is in, God is sovereign. He always provides a way. There is nothing that surprises Him or makes Him stop to rethink his steps.  

So be encouraged by this- God is faithful. May we pray to see God’s faithfulness, but may we also ask for things like we know we serve a faithful God who always keeps His promises. My pastor back home always encourages our church to pray more, and he asks us “If our prayers were answered this week, who would come to know the Lord and what countries would be impacted by our requests?” This question always convicts me. Even though in my head I know God is faithful and powerful, my prayers don’t always reflect that. So let us be encouraged to seek more of the Lord and ask more of Him according to His will. He is faithful, He is good, He is a provider, and we have so much hope in these truths. 

​John 6: 35-40

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

– Kayla Sumile, GEM Missionary

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Our Stronghold & Song

This summer has been full of waiting and learning through such a sweet time of preparation. In this time, there have been many highs and lows that come along with the change and adjustment of walking in new territory. It is comforting to know that in every step of the process, God has been there to cling to. 

I have been studying Genesis recently and reading about God’s love and care for His people from the very beginning. He is always faithful to make a way where there seems to be none all while affirming that His promises are true. I can’t help but think of Jacob making his way back to Canaan after working for Laban for 20 years of hard labor. Jacob’s desire was to make it home to his family and continue to live in the covenant that God had made with Abraham a couple of generations before. Jacob had faith in God and trusted that even if he encountered Esau and his wrath that God would keep His word. It was remarkable to me that while Jacob was sure that Esau was going to react in anger, he prayed to God and reminded Him of the covenant made years before with Abraham and the blessing that he had received. After Esau and Jacob were reunited with a loving embrace, Jacob built an altar to God as an act of worship and remembrance of what God had done. God was Jacob’s stronghold in the difficulties and his song in the victories.

We see time and time again in scripture that the life of a follower of Christ is not always easy. How much would we lose if we determined for ourselves that we are only going where God calls us if everything falls together the way we imagine? He is a Good Father but He is also meant to be our Help in times of need.

We learn about God when He is our dependence and our only hope just as we learn about Him through answered prayers and miracles. 

As James and I met with some church friends to talk about Global Education Ministries, they prayed over us before we left. These people had served in missions for many years and are excited for us as we go, but they also have a knowledge of the ways that missions work is not easy. The husband prayed that in the moments of difficulty, God would be our stronghold and in the moments of great joy, God would be our song. These words resonated with me and reminded me so gently of the Truth of why we are going.

One of my favorite things about God is that His character cannot be pinned down into one attribute or one good and perfect thing. He is an all-encompassing God who meets us in our highs and our lows. He is our stronghold and our song.

– Hannah Shank, GEM Missionary

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A New Chapter

2020 will be a memorable year for the Herring family.  Of course we’ve had the pandemic and closing of on campus schooling and everything else that has come with this Covid 19 pandemic year.  But 2020 is also the year that God has moved our family out of Mexico and back to Wilmington, NC. 

When we first moved to Puerto Escondido in 2013 to run GEM and start the Manantial School we knew our commitment was a lot like a blank check to God.  We didn’t know how long we were going to be living in Mexico…or what would really happen with the mission we were founding. We just went with a clear calling and no plans or timetable for returning.  7 years later God made it clear it was our time to return to the US and serve with GEM from Wilmington.

We have been back in Wilmington for 3 weeks.  Our resettling has been easy and filled with blessing after blessing, largely because of our family and church.  We moved into the same house we left behind in 2013 and have restarted our lives here.  As Meg and I have been reflecting, we’ve notices that so much has changed…but many things are also the same. We have the same neighbors, same house, and of course our family and church are the same.  Meg and I have joked several times as we sit at our kitchen table (same table as before the move) how it feels like we’ve just picked up the life we left behind in 2013.  

But there are some significant and obvious changes too. Our family has grown from 2 children to 5, Manantial has grown from 0 students to over 220. And 1 school has grown into 4. There has also been change in our hearts.  God has taught us and shown us so much during our time in Mexico.  There’s too much to share in this blog post, but I can summarize it this way. God has repeatedly proven Himself faithful and convinced us, even in our moments of weak faith, that we can truly trust Him and praise Him no matter what is happening around us.  We believed this before we left for Mexico…it’s the reason we obeyed and started GEM. But we know this truth at a deeper level now.  

So many times between 2011 (when GEM was officially founded) and 2020 it looked like GEM was in serious trouble. We’ve faced financial shortfalls, recruiting/staffing shortfalls, immigration issues, local church challenges, governmental pressure, threats from other schools in Mexico, and on and on.  On top of that, I have struggled through the normal challenges of learning how to start and run a gospel saturated school in another country.  Countless times over the last 9 years I wanted to “throw in the towel” because of my professional shortcomings and failures.  

But I am convinced God has allowed these struggles to be a part of my journey for my good. I have been forced, through the constant challenges, to pray more and call out to Him as my only hope. This is right where He’s always wanted me, and I love Him more because I can see how He truly never left me.  

With all that said…don’t assume I have it all together! I certainly don’t! I have not arrived at some super spiritual place and all is right in life. I’m in process and all that God has done in my heart is going to be used to give me just enough courage to press on and continue to overcome in this next chapter of life and ministry.  

So what’s ahead? It looks like God desires to use GEM to reach more people and grow in our ability to impact those we serve.  We have 3 schools in Mexico, 1 in Uganda, and another opening in Colombia.  We also have several other potential school projects around the corner. God is growing GEM and its exciting!  Our move back to Wilmington is part of a big transition and step for our ministry. We believe opening an office in Wilmington will allow us to develop better partnerships, recruit and train more missionaries, and better serve all of our schools.  We have repeatedly talked about this being the start of a new chapter for GEM.  

We’re excited and can’t wait to see what God will do. We know it will be challenging and at times really hard, but that’s okay.  God has always done his best work in my heart in those times. 

Please pray for GEM as we start this new chapter. Pray for our leaders as we open our office and work to develop new roles. Pray that our ministry would grow in impact and that those who are served in our schools would truly know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

– Casey Herring, GEM Co-Founder