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Expectations, Challenges, and the Character of God

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Daniel McDonald, Director of Global Engagement

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Living Outside of Comfort

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

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

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

– Kaitlyn Summitt, GEM Missionary

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FAITH: Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

– Mattie Napoletano, GEM Missionary

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Abundantly Clear

When I look back on my journey to Global Education Ministries it is quick in time but very detailed in how. Each step you will hear about may not mean much when you read it, but at that moment for me or my family, or even someone around me, that was a clear message from God that this is what I was supposed to do next.

I was saved at a very young age but my mom and pastor at the time wanted to make sure that I truly understood what I was doing. After a little while and many questions, everyone decided that I was ready and there was no reason to stop me from inviting Jesus into my heart if it was what I really wanted to do. From then on I have always been very strong in my faith and knew that I loved God and even helped others around me to love God too. I came to notice this not because of all the VBS events or camps I had volunteered at but after leading my high school Fellowship of Christian Athletes club. Here I was able to see many people who were not too sure about God or what it meant to really live out your faith. I knew when I was president of our FCA club that I needed to be living out my faith as an example to others.

In my senior year of high school, I applied for a scholarship program to teach in Wake County for three years after my graduation. I planned to return to my hometown after I graduated to teach locally. Although, now I am excited to tell you how God has shown me he has a different and much bigger plan for me than I could have even planned for myself.

Within just a short month, starting in mid-March God began to set pieces into motion for His plan to take place. In mid-March, I attended a career fair through UNCW and this is where I first interacted with Global Education Ministries. This led to a more in detail meeting the next day to discuss what the organization is, and it was supposed to be about an hour, but we sat talking for over two hours. As these meetings took place, I felt comfortable and excited and continued down the path I felt was right. Nearly a week later after this meeting, I was asked to interview with the founder of this organization. This meeting was supposed to be in person at the GEM offices in Wilmington, NC. The weather in Wilmington on this day was unsafe, so we met through Zoom for two and a half hours and somehow the weather did not interrupt. After that interview just four short days later I was extended a contract to teach with Global Education Ministries for two years at their Manantial School in Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca.

This contract came with lots of excitement but also many nerves as this made this opportunity real and something I needed to seriously consider. In the same week, I received my contract from GEM I also submitted my edTPA (internship assessment for graduation requirements), started teaching all subjects in my internship classroom, took my final licensure test, had my second formal observation, and then substituted for my partnership teacher for the first time. To say that week was a busy week would be an understatement. I had briefly discussed this opportunity to work with GEM with my family but not at all as much as I would have liked to. My family is very important to me so I really wanted their opinions and support with this new opportunity.

Thankfully, Spring Break for me was right around the corner, so I was able to come home and discuss the contract and opportunity with my family then. This is when I saw even more that this is what God wanted me to do. As each step of the way, God continued to open doors but not just for me but my family as well. On Easter Sunday I was at home in Raleigh for spring break and at church, our pastor’s message felt like it was directly for myself and my family to hear. He said that we need to not hold onto this message inside the four walls of the church but to go and tell, and do not be afraid for God will roll the rock away. Then as I thought through more questions there was little to no push back in each situation. Things like my healthcare coverage or phone plan that I thought may have been an issue were both already covered in Mexico. God has taken care of everything along the way and made it so clear at the same time so that I know that I am truly supposed to combine my passion for teaching and love for God to work with GEM.

Now I am so thankful for this opportunity and have loved sharing how God has been working in so many ways throughout this new journey. Also, I am thankful that God knows our needs and has a specific plan for each of us because as I look back, I see how many other things have been tied to me being able to do this now. I am so thankful that God will turn our mess into our message and that he loves us no matter what.

– Sydni Williams, GEM Missionary

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FIESTA

F I E S T A .

If you were to ask me to describe Mexico in one word, it would be “fiesta”. Mexicans love to have an excuse to throw a party, and everyone is always invited.

I remember the first time we moved into our house in Puerto, our neighbors had a “fiesta” for their dad, who turned 93 at the time. This party had a full band, tons of food (good authentic Mexican food), drinks, and dancing. This party must have started around 7 and lasted until about midnight. Parties like this happened over and over as our neighbors celebrated their families lives.

On the other end of the spectrum, our other neighbor celebrated the birthday of their two-year-old daughter. This party started around 6 pm and lasted well past midnight. Again, there was music, food, and plenty of dancing to celebrate the birthday of their two-year-old (who most definitely didn’t stay up for the whole thing).

I mention both of these things because I think it is amazing. I believe that this shows the heart of God. As Christians, we should be the most celebratory people in the world celebrating all that God has done. We should take the time to slow down and celebrate those around us.

In his book called “A Meal with Jesus”, Tim Chester said, “Jesus spent his time eating and drinking—a lot of his time. He was a party animal. His mission strategy was a long meal, stretching into the evening. He did evangelism and discipleship around a table with some grilled fish, a loaf of bread, and a pitcher of wine.”

Jesus spent much of his ministry around a meal. He spent so much of his time eating and drinking that he was called a glutton and a drunk.  He used the meal as to build relationships with others (sinners and tax collectors). How much more should we, the body of Christ, get to know others around a meal at a party?

May we learn from our Mexican brothers and sisters and learn to throw good parties celebrating all that God is doing in those around us. Let us use this as an example for us while looking to Jesus who is our greatest example.

-Daniel McDonald, GEM Missionary 
If you’d like to support Daniel and his wife, Kristen as they serve with GEM in Mexico, you can do so HERE. You can also contact them directly to talk further about what it means to be on their support team and find out how you can be praying for them!
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Oaxaca Teacher Strikes: The Simple Truth

Oh, Oaxaca…an amazing state, with amazing people…but also with so many problems. Oaxacans are known for their fighting spirit and passion. Some of Mexico’s greatest heroes have come from Oaxaca….most notable being the revered President Benito Juarez. Right now, the only news coming from this incredible place is about the militant teachers marching on the streets instead of teaching in their classrooms. Teachers are on strike in Oaxaca, Mexico….again.

It’s happened at some point every year, for the last 30 years. The radical teachers union, named CNTE, has mobilized itself this year in protest of educational reforms that were passed 3 years ago. It seems the teachers are most interested in having performance evaluations repealed. To pressure the government, the CNTE has set up dozens of blockades around the southern states, shutting down commercial traffic on major highways. As a result, businesses are losing money, tourism has essentially stopped, and everyone is running out of basic supplies. In Puerto Escondido, the local gas stations were closed for two weeks. The teachers have also taken over the main square, named the Zocalo, in Oaxaca City.

The government has been in talks with the CNTE, but no progress has been made on the main sticking points.  Sadly the protests have turned violent. Two weeks ago 8 protesters were killed and dozens of police and protesters were injured when the police tried to break up a blockade.

As the violence has started to make international news, we’ve been flooded with emails and calls. Are you safe? Do you have gas? Is it safe to travel there? Are the roads closed? All very good questions.

When you talk to people here, most diplomatically claim, “It’s a complex” issue.” In some ways, that’s true. It is complex. There is a lot of history, a lot of stories and lots of different components to the issue. But at the same time, it’s also very simple. At its core, the violence, closed schools and roads aren’t really about teacher tests or abuses by the government. It’s about sin. It’s about pride that pollutes our minds and hearts and convinces us we deserve better than what we got.

It is Satan, the great deceiver and liar, who wants this to be a complicated messy issue. But when the violence stops, the accusations and threats cease, and the teachers go home, what is left is the core simplicity of the issue. It will all be repeated…as it has every year for the last 30 years…if the rebel heart isn’t surrendered to Jesus.

From the outside, for those getting their info from news reports, it probably looks really dark here. Violence, unrest, danger, and darkness – but the truth is that the Son is still shining! The teacher protests and unrest have opened new doors for the gospel and God will use this to glorify Himself. GEM moved into Puerto Escondido and opened a school with the hope of serving the community and building bridges for the gospel. When we came here 3 years ago, the teachers were protesting. Our office was flooded with people, mostly non-Christians, who were desperate for their children to receive an education. Many of those kids have become a part of our school ministry and have heard the gospel taught each day in our classrooms. Now, 3 years later, we are again flooded by parents desperate for help. From the outside, it may look like sin and evil has won the day, but the reality is different. God is pulling people to our ministry and ultimately to himself, and he’s allowing the sin of others to be the driving force. No matter how out of control it may appear to be or how dark the situation, God is always in control and the gospel is always advancing!

Pray for our state and the people here who are impacted by the strikes. Pray that blind eyes will be opened to where the true rebellion occurs and that many will surrender their lives to Jesus. Pray also for GEM as we serve those around us and try to shine the love of Jesus in everything we do.

– Casey Herring, Founder of GEM