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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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Prayerfully Guided

My partnership with GEM came about as most life-changing things with the Lord do: quietly and unexpectedly; with the details unfolding in time and the only way to notice them was through prayer. 

I have worked in full-time ministry before but I had a few years where I took a step back. Those years were spent in a lot of prayer; prayer unlike I had ever done before. 

At the time, I lived just an hour from the Blue Ridge Parkway. I spent several weekends driving up and down it, stopping at specific overlooks, and praying. Praying for guidance, praying for understanding, praying for what is next for me. Additionally, I started praying about what I loved to do: writing and photography. After all, what better way to learn how to pray than to pray about what tugs at the heartstrings the most?

My life had taken an unexpected turn and I was really unsure of where to go next– both literally and figuratively. But, as I prayed I began to learn so much. I learned about prayer– our selfish desires even in prayer– I learned about my expectations, I learned about how truthful Scripture is, and I learned more about myself. Mainly, I learned how grounding it is when we take Him at His Word; when we decide to trust that not only does He know best but He also knows what we’re going through, and that just being present with Him really does change everything.

I have nothing to offer that Christ has not already given to me. I learned that whatever gift / talent I possess was given by the Giver, Himself, and that anything worth doing was something that I could give back to Him. 

So, I started asking Him about my love for writing. For the first time, I started praying about how to use it. 

I started thinking about Wilmington, North Carolina. The town has some old history in the creative arts and I was drawn to it because of that. I figured that I could get involved in that scene somehow and, at the very least, live a fulfilling life in the town simply because I was around creativity. I started really praying about it and began to watch how the Lord directed my steps to where I am now. 

After a visit to Wilmington at the start of the new year, I ended up connecting with GEM via LinkedIn and the process of our partnership began. 

The process took several weeks and I was so encouraged and blessed to talk with the team so many times. It was healing for me to be able to talk with them about where I had been and where I felt the LORD was calling me into. 

Not only was I able to experience such an answer to prayer but the team at GEM expressed how they were experiencing such huge answers to prayer as well. 

I’ll be working with GEM to build the Missionary Care Department as their Transitional Care Coordinator. In this role, I will write devotionals for our missionaries as well as meeting with them to encourage spiritual growth as their year progresses. 

I am humbled to be in this position and eager to see how the Spirit works within it. 

It is a joy to be able to offer my gifts and talents back to the Lord to uplift and edify His Church.

– Ashleigh Gyatt, GEM Missionary

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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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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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Three Reasons I Love Serving With GEM

It’s impossible to narrow my favorite things about GEM down to only three, but I will stick to just a few for the sake of this blog post. The first thing I absolutely love about working with Global Education Ministries is the incredible people who I work with each day. Jesus has faithfully brought together a group of genuine, selfless people who are really passionate about this ministry. Each morning we spend half an hour as a group in morning devotions. We pray for each other, encourage one another, and bless each other by digging into God’s word daily. Sometimes I have to stop myself in the middle of my day and remember how privileged I am to be serving with such an amazing family of believers who have the same motivation, which is Christ. It is all by God’s grace that this is my reality.

k1k2 Another aspect of GEM that I love is that I have the opportunity to pour into my student’s spiritual lives on a daily basis. Education is an extremely important asset in today’s world and is a major priority at our school, but Global Education Ministries is also a completely gospel-centered organization. Personally, I believe a child’s faith is much more valuable than anything else in the world. The fact that we have an entire class period devoted to learning about God’s word each day is an incredible gift. In fact, integrating biblical truth into our education doesn’t stop there! If a child has a spiritual question in the middle of science class, we are able to stop, debrief and have a discussion that could change a child’s faith forever. With GEM, it isn’t just about them getting good grades or finishing a math test on time, it’s all about Jesus.

Last but not least, Global Education Ministries hasn’t just given me the chance to meet awesome teachers, but serving at our school has given me the opportunity to meet so many different individuals with different backgrounds; some who love Jesus, and some who were put in my life for the purpose of coming to know Him. GEM makes an effort to accept middle to low-income families as students at our school. This has given us the chance to partner with people who are in physical need but also with those who have never heard of the gospel. GEM doesn’t just seek to educate the rich or Christian population, but the low and the lost. This is such a beautiful thing!

Overall, I can confidently say that Jesus is using Global Education Ministries to transform the hearts of many. That is why I love it so much! As we faithfully serve with GEM, my prayer is that the world would continue to be changed bit by bit, all for the glory of the King.

– Natalia (Miss Nati)

nataliaNatalia has served with GEM for almost 2 years now as the Kinder 1 & 2 teacher. She loves music, art and bringing laughter to any situation. At the end of this school year, she will move back to Toronto, Canada to serve with the Children’s Ministry at her home church.