Prayer Calendar: December 13-19, 2015

PRAY for someone in your life who has responded to God’s call to take a step of faith.

God know just what they need for the next steps of their faith journey. You may have several names that come to mind with this request and that's great. Take as much time as you need to pray for those in your sphere of influence.

It’s Not about Me

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Lessons from a Ministry Team
Susan Knapp, Volunteer, with Rachel Elwood, Support Staff
October-December 2015

It took our medical team four days of solid traveling to get to the clinic in Papua New Guinea where we were volunteering. We were so excited to serve! But once we got there, the clinic staff didn’t seem very welcoming and we found ourselves with nothing to do.

That’s a hard blow to face after long plane rides, long layovers, months of planning and fundraising, and being away from family. After a day of just basically standing around and not doing much, I’ll admit it: I was angry.

I went to bed that night thinking to myself, “What will I tell everyone who helped me get here?” I prayed and told God that this was not what I had signed up for. (I know, it’s never a good idea to give God a talking-to!) I knew God had cleared the way for me to come; I knew I was supposed to be there. But in that moment, I felt cheated and I needed to clearly hear from Him.

The next morning, the first thing that came to mind was to open the Bible and read. My Bible fell to Ecclesiastes: “Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless.” Basically, Solomon is saying that you can have everything in the world—all the work, all the power, all the importance—but unless you’re following God and doing what He has called you to do, everything is meaningless. And it hit me: even though I hadn’t done much in the clinic the day before, God was working.

And then, before I knew it, that week at the clinic ended up being a great week. We became friends with the clinicians, and the barriers started to come down. Our group did some teaching on Thursday, and I taught about infant resuscitation and infant assessment. Several staff shared that they really appreciated this information, which they had not gotten much training in before. This feedback seemed to be confirmation that I was supposed to be there.

I learned that my job is to be a servant, and servants do what they are told to do. We are called to do what God would have us to do, even if we don’t understand it. It solidified my purpose here on this earth. I don’t know all that my role was or what difference it made or didn’t make, but I learned a very big lesson that has stayed with me. It’s not about me, my expectations, or the money the trip cost; it’s about listening, trusting, and then doing what God has called me to do.

GO: Short-term medical teams, work teams, and prayer teams are available year round. Is God calling you to serve outside your comfort zone? Learn how you can go at www.wgm.org/teams.

Prayer Calendar: December 6-12, 2015

Short-term medical teams, work teams, and prayer teams are available year round through World Gospel Mission. Partner with WGM by praying for those who are currently serving in this capacity.

ASK God to give work team participants grace and strength as they serve cross-culturally.

Directing Our Paths

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Sharon Garrett, Ministry Partner, with Kacey Ginn, Volunteer
October-December 2015

If my husband, Mike, and I have learned anything from our ministries in four different countries, it’s to be content where we are. God has taken us on a lot of detours.

We first went into an aviation ministry with WGM in 1994: Wings of Peace in Bolivia. Mike is a licensed Air Frame and Power Plant (A&P) mechanic, so he helped maintain the fleet of planes. I was a substitute teacher for preschool and taught home economics for a semester at Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center. But one year later, God closed that door. We resigned from WGM, but stayed involved in missions with our home church in Ohio.

In 2010, Mike and I felt the Lord calling us to be active in missionary work again, so we joined Christian Services International. We spent two months overseeing a medical clinic in Haiti and then traveled around the U.S., encouraging churches to organize work teams. However, due to a necessary downsizing within that organization, that ministry ended as well. Once again, God directed us to WGM.

We agreed to serve in Choluteca, Honduras, in what we thought was going to be a vocational teaching ministry. This time, God didn’t change the location, but the plan: we found there was a huge interest in learning English. We wound up teaching two different English classes. I’m still amazed how God used those classes to build precious relationships between us and our students.

In 2014, my mom was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Recognizing the need for me to be with my mom during her chemotherapy treatments, WGM asked if we would be interested in working at Missionary Maintenance Services in Coshocton, Ohio, which is near my mom. MMS is the facility where Mike received his training for his A&P license. Now he trains apprentices in airplane mechanics in this place where he first learned those skills. And now that my mom has made a full recovery, I’m looking for ways to plug into the ministry here as well.

When we originally started with Wings of Peace, we thought that was where we were going to be career missionaries. When we went to Choluteca, again, we thought that was where we would be until retirement. Now, we know that the Lord will be faithful to direct our paths (Proverbs 3:6)—it’s just not always the direction we think He’s going to take us.

MORE: Learn more about MMS Aviation or invite a representative to share about the ministry with your church or small group at www.mmsaviation.org. The facility is also always interviewing for new apprentices.

Luis’s House

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Ben Kempf, Volunteer
October-December 2015

Luis had dreamed of providing a good home for his wife and three kids in Choluteca, Honduras. In a city where many of its 150,000 residents live without privacy, adequate shelter, or protection from unwanted visitors, it seemed too good to be true when Luis was finally given the chance to own a well-made home.

Known as the Honduras Sustainable Housing Project, The Ohio State University students from various disciplines had been working with Luis and missionaries Larry and Angie Overholt to create his dream home. This two-bedroom house would act as a model in creating additional homes in the community, providing residents with affordable housing and amenities such as a stove and a functioning sanitation system.

Students from OSU had been figuring out costs and designs. World Gospel Mission had been raising funds for construction. A local Choluteca credit union had even agreed to provide Luis with a loan for some of the costs. Things were falling into place for the dream house, and construction was scheduled to begin in May 2015.

But on the morning of March 12, 2015, while riding his motorcycle to work, Luis was struck by another vehicle. He died from his injuries on the way to the hospital.

As missionaries in Honduras since 1982, Larry and Angie have seen communities affected by common everyday difficulties and also by unexpected ones like the death of Luis. Through church planting, community development, teaching, and leading children’s programs, their work within Choluteca brought them close to those affected by this tragedy.

Through programs such as the Honduras Sustainable Housing Project, hope can still be provided despite times of sorrow. Throughout the years, the Overholts have been working with OSU students to find solutions to the city’s many needs, with the hope of reaching their hearts. As a result of this partnership, students of various disciplines, from nursing to agriculture, have been traveling to Choluteca to provide help and expertise. In 2015, OSU sent six student teams, including a nursing team with 45 students!

Although a tragedy occurred, OSU’s team of engineering students returned to Choluteca as planned, and they built the home that Luis dreamed of for his family. Together, the Overholts, the students, and the members of the community will continue to build up Choluteca in more ways than one.

GIVE: Help build a home for others in Luis’s family’s neighborhood through a financial gift. Give online at www.wgm.org/community-development.

PRAY: Pray for Luis’s family and community as they adjust to daily life without him. Pray also that God will bless the housing project in Choluteca.