Inspirational Volunteers Needed

An excerpt from Inspirational Volunteers Needed

By Grace Yates, Volunteer
January-March 2013

Light University, the second-largest university in Burundi, opened in 2000. Over 3,000 students attend the evangelical university’s three campuses in the capital city of Bujumbura. The university is bilingual, with classes taught in both French and English. Light University offers degrees in theology, computer science, finance and accounting, marketing and management, law, communication and development, and audio visual communication.

Light University needs Christian professors or volunteers who can teach communications, computer science, law, and theology. It also needs a vice rector, who is the assistant to the dean. Professors would teach classes in their field, and the vice rector would assist the dean in managing the teaching schedule and contacting potential professors.

ACT: Learn more about the ministry positions available at Light University at www.wgm.org/go.

Paper Beads for Missions

An excerpt from Paper Beads for Missions

By Kayla Spencer, Volunteers In Action Participant
January-March 2013

I had the opportunity to visit Kenya as a Volunteers In Action participant in the summer of 2009. During my six weeks there, I worked with World Gospel Mission missionary Robyn Moore and the ministry the Least of These, as we cared for vulnerable children in Nairobi.

On one visit with Robyn to a children’s home, I met a tiny little boy named Samuel. He looked to be about 1 year old. As Robyn administered health checkups for the children, I had the opportunity to hold Samuel. He was wearing a thick sweater that covered his frail body. When I held him under his arms, I thought they might break off. He had looked decently healthy in appearance until that moment, but I realized then that this precious little boy was malnourished. That was my first experience with this kind of suffering.

As I held that precious child, God broke my heart. It was not one of those experiences like at a conference or camp where you have a “Jesus high” that lasts a couple weeks and then fades away. This is one of those experiences that completely changed my life.

After arriving home, God gave me an incredible idea as I looked down at the paper bead necklace I was wearing. It was a beautiful necklace with beads made of recycled magazine paper. I had purchased it from a street vendor in Kenya. I could use my money to buy paper bead necklaces that I could give as gifts for donations. I’ve now been selling necklaces for a few years. With each necklace, I ask for a $10 donation. The necklaces cost me $3, which leaves $7 per necklace to give to the ministry.

It has been incredible to see how God used my time in Kenya to have even greater impact on the ministry after I returned home. I love knowing that the money I am raising is helping such a good cause—helping little children like Samuel.

ACT: Partnering with a ministry is as easy as selling paper beads like Kayla has discovered. If God is calling you to raise funds for a missions need bigger than your “$100,” then The Great Co-Mission Catalog may be a good resource for you. Find your project at www.wgm.org/catalog.

Follow. Trust. Worship. Trust.

Follow. Trust. Worship. Love.

By Jazmin Frank, Team Participant
January-March 2013

They say every story has two sides. Usually that involves two different perspectives of the same experience from two different people. But have you ever realized that as we experience things individually, there are also two sides to the story—the physical side, which is what we actually experience; and the emotional/spiritual side, which is the internal experience?

I want to share my internal experiences (the spiritual side) of my missions trip to Papua New Guinea. This side of the story revolves around four words: follow, trust, worship, love.

Follow. Every day, we are taken out of our comfort zone in some way; we are changed by our experiences and the people we meet. It doesn’t matter if God calls us around the world or across the street. Following Him simply means laying down our lives for Him daily and trusting in His good and perfect plan.

Trust. Throughout my preparation for this missions trip and the trip itself, God kept asking me one question: “Will you trust Me?” Again and again, He would ask me if I would trust Him, and again and again, though my answer was a bit delayed at times, my answer was always, “Yes, I trust You. I commit to follow You wherever You lead, doing whatever You ask of me.”

Worship. The first Sunday we were in Hagen, I have to say I had never experienced a worship service as joyful as that one. I wished I understood Pidgin, the main language of PNG, so I could sing along!

Love. On the last night of VBS, I received so many hugs and handshakes, but what touched me the most was their tears. We had been with these people only a week. We had only sung songs, played a few games, done some crafts, and shared a few Bible stories, yet in that short time we had poured out love on them, and the people of Papua New Guinea had loved us in return.

This is the stuff that matters. The activities are fun, but sometimes the lessons are what stick with us the longest.

ACT: Saying yes to a two-week missions trip is just part of the experience. What God will teach through your experience may be the most important part. Join a team or create one of your own by sending an e-mail to Noritta Carter atteams@wgm.org.

Children to the Mission Field?

Children to the Mission Field?

By Pastor Ryan Bash, Team Participant
January-March 2013

Someone asked me a great question regarding the purpose of churches sending a team to the mission field. He inquired about the benefit to the missionaries and the benefit to the team itself. Given that our church was sending 15 workers (including six children!) to McAllen, Texas, to help with the ministries of Taylor Christian School, I counted it a wonderful opportunity to share my heart for missions. He, in turn, encouraged me to share this answer with others. So why do we go? And in particular, what is the value in sending children?

For the Missionaries…

Most career missionaries have made tremendous sacrifices to serve where God has called them. One of the greatest gifts short-term teams can offer these missionaries is the reminder that they are not alone. When we come and serve alongside them, we communicate that they are not forgotten, that their ministry matters, and that the church back home is ready to do whatever it takes to help them succeed in spreading the gospel. In short, our mindset must not be one of a gracious benefactor, but that of a humble learner. We need to be people who want to help in any way we can—both while onsite and once we get home.

For the Team…

The team gets to enjoy a week immersed in a different culture. The greatest benefit to the members of a short-term team is that they return as missions-minded people. Our Lord has called His followers to go into all parts of the world to make disciples and to be His witnesses. Going to the mission field, as opposed to simply sending money, serves to instill in us a passion for God’s children all over the world. Ideally, such an experience will lead us to give even more, be emboldened to share our faith at home, and grow more sensitive to God’s specific invitations to Christian service in our own lives.

For the Children…

When they are at a young and impressionable age, we are teaching them the value of Christian service. We are teaching them how to work and serve in difficult conditions. We are introducing them to the varied faces of world Christianity. We are inspiring a whole new generation to care about what God is doing in neighborhoods all over the world. Thus, when they are grown and making decisions about their own time and resources, we will have established a foundation for selflessness and missions-mindedness. We are benefiting not only them, but also the church.

ACT: Want to help your church become more missions-minded? Take charge and invite others to take a short-term trip in the coming year. Explore the places you can go atwww.wgm.org/teams.

Seeds of Blessings

Estate Planning: Seeds of Blessings

By Melanie Miller, Honduras

January-March 2013

She raised her six young children alone, by no fault of her own. Her husband of 20 years had died from medical malpractice. Her shoulders were weighted with the insecurity of the unknown. But with humble, tenacious faith, she looked for, fiercely claimed, and stood on the promises of God’s care for the widowed and orphaned. Her faith was honored by a God who never fails. This woman is my grandmother, Lovina Miller.

The little girl was eight years old, and the day began as any other day...only to culminate with the first of many seizures in the years to come. Options for treatment were few. Lacking financial resources, the family could only place the young child in God’s care despite her continued seizures. “God gave me my daughter, and I have given her back to Him. He is the one who must provide,” said her mother, at peace but broken over the pain and suffering of her youngest child. This child is Heydi Selena Maldonado Estrada, a member of Shalom Church and a friend of our family.

A life of faith lived in the Midwest produced seeds of blessing. Upon Lovina’s death, she designated part of her estate to mission work. God took those seeds of blessing and blew them all the way to Choluteca, Honduras, where Mark and I plant, water, and pray they blossom into blessing.

Through the gift of Grandma’s faithful living, Heydi was offered the opportunity to seek specialized care in the capital city of Tegucigalpa. Upon her first visit, her medication was changed and she has been seizure free. The true test lies in the upcoming months. Will you pray with us for a miracle for Heydi?

What challenges me is the impact of Grandma’s life that continues on, long after her death. Imagine touching others far beyond your own ways, means, and even duration of life. Are you living in a way that provokes God’s blessing?

GIVE: Create your own seeds of blessings by creating an estate plan. For assistance, contact Mark Moore, WGM attorney, at 765.661.2803. All discussions will be held at no charge and in complete confidence.