Radical Service

An excerpt from Radical Service
Life Lessons from the Howell Boys
By Daniel Galat, Kenya
January–March 2011

In the summer of 2010, World Gospel Mission welcomed Daniel and Heather Galat and their family into the Missionary Discipleship Program. The Galats will serve as orthopedic medical missionaries to Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, East Africa.

Before a WGM missionary can follow his call and leave for his field of service, he must enlist people who will commit to supporting his ministry through prayer and regular financial gifts. The following story is a lesson learned while the Galats shared their missions call with believers.

As the week wore on, the Howell boys continued their relentless service. I could tell they were getting tired and the trays were heavy. Moreover, there were many other fun activities around the camp for young boys to occupy themselves with besides carrying people’s dirty trays with melted ice cream, half-eaten sandwiches, and stray dollops of mayonnaise greasing fingers and staining clothes. But they persevered in a way that puts me to shame and reminded me of the truth that our walk with Christ is sometimes hard, sometimes discouraging, and, in a word, paradoxical. But the joyful treasure that is gained (that is, Christ Himself) is so worth it in the end.

At the last service on Sunday morning, the results were in—the Howell boys had collected, after an entire week of carrying trays at every meal, over $1,000. Additionally, five other anonymous donors had agreed to match the amount given by 20 percent (for a total of 120 percent), making the grand total raised for Tenwek Hospital over $2,300! More than the funds (although the generosity of all the camp attendees was incredible, and we are thankful for the money to help the poor at Tenwek), were the lessons that I (and others) learned from two boys, ages 11 and 8, about perseverance, radical service, finishing well, and ultimately loving Christ and others. I look forward to what God does through these boys in the future.

ACT: Can you match another 20 percent of the Howell boys’ efforts? A financial gift of $200 to the Galat ministry will support these medical missionaries in service at Tenwek Hospital. Write Account 03814-CALL on the memo line of your check and send it to: WGM, P.O. Box 948, Marion, IN 46952-0948.