Faithful Stewardship | May Newsletter
- makayla h
- Jun 3, 2024
- 6 min read
“What is the greatest thing (work) we can do for The Kingdom of God? For many years I often thought that the greatest potency to advance the kingdom of God meant preaching on a stage before thousands and that the essence of ministry success derived from large-scale events and seeing "numbers" (i.e. proclaimed salvations, number of distributed Bibles, etc.) We live in a growing Christian culture that admires the lights and the flashiness of this "ministry success," but the Lord has since shown me something different. It's the poor woman who gives nothing that gives the most, (Mark 12:41-44) and it's the old couple in their prayer room that best contributes to the kingdom of God. It's within the small, incalculable, and seemingly inconsequential acts of consistent obedience over time, that lead to the greatest of impacts.
For those who may not know, I (Erik) worked over 14 jobs in varying industries before God called me as a missionary. The first job I ever had was making delicious Subway sandwiches at a restaurant located in the busy Las Vegas Strip. Despite making only $6.25 an hour, I ambitiously worked with the expectation of saving up enough money to move to Oklahoma for College after my graduation. I’m extremely grateful for these times of putting together sandwiches because I believe it’s in these times that God was steadily putting together the man I would become. I remember a specific evening when I was scheduled to close alone at the restaurant. I was moving the furniture in order to sweep and mop underneath when a thought pierced my mind, “Erik, you don’t have to sweep and mop here. It's too much effort and besides, who will notice?” The reward of going home early would be gratifying and it would come with a low risk of discovery. I, unfortunately, entertained the idea longer than I should have when a different thought claimed my mind, “But Erik, you would know what you didn’t do today, and more importantly, I would know as well...”
11 years later I continue to find myself at this similar crossroads. I don’t think I’m alone here and I don’t think these times of testing will ever end. For in this life, the choice of right and wrong is ever before us, and the decision to give into temptation or the opportunity to glorify God is ours to make. Like Adam in the Garden of Eden, we will be challenged to decide at the crossroads of “to do or not to do.” And I have learned that inaction can also be just as sinful. Like in the story of the two sons from Matthew 21:28-31, Jesus shares that it takes action and not simply words to obey the Father's commands. It’s important to note that the goal here is not perfection, that is an impossibility, but the standard should be faithful stewardship. Our responsibilities like “talents,” (Matthew 25:14-30) are to be treated seriously and strategically. So let us not be found hiding (e.g. fear, anxiety, selfishness, etc.) that which God has given for us to multiply. The day will arrive when we look upon God face to face, and I'd rather present a lifetime of obedience than countable moments of "flashy ministry success." Not many of us will be preachers before thousands, but we can all be faithful stewards to the "talents" God has lent to us. So let us be found as good stewards…
Good stewards in our walk with God,
Good stewards in our thought/prayer life,
Good stewards in our marriage/singleness,
Good stewards in raising our children,
Good stewards in our relationships and friendships,
Good stewards of our finances,
Good stewards of our physical bodies,
Good stewards on our part in advancing the kingdom of God to the ends of the earth,
It's these accumulated, small, incalculable, and seemingly inconsequential acts of obedience over time that will add up to articulate the trueness of our heart to the Lord and the greatest of impacts on advancing the kingdom of God.
"Just as the tiny pieces of dirt and rock make up the mountains and the mountains together make up the mountain range, so the trivial actions of our lives make up the whole life and each of these must be pulled apart separately. You had an hour to spare the other day-what did you do with it? You had an opportunity to speak-how did you use it? You had a pen-you could use that— what did you write? Each opportunity and moment of our lives will be revealed, and there will be demanded an account for each one." ~ Charles H. Spurgeon
Updates
Hudson Wells is 7 months old!
Hudson is 7 months old today! (June 2) He is growing like crazy and has been such a joy to our lives. He currently has two teeth beginning to pop out and he’s just figured out this whole crawling thing (although he isn’t the most efficient at it just yet haha!)
Visiting our Neighbor
This month we went to visit our neighbor Ampone in the hospital. He had to have surgery but recovered amazingly well! We came by with gifts of milk and oranges (the Thai equivalent of flowers and chicken noodle soup for a sick person). But what really brightened his day was seeing Hudson, as we lovingly refer to Ampone as Hudson’s Thai grandpa. He and his wife were there for about 4 days before being released to go home.
Scouting Trip Wave 2
This month after the Parks and our family returned from Japan, the next round of families were sent out for their scouting trip. The Baldwins, Kwan and Thaksin, and Becca will be meeting with ministry hosts in Nepal and one other country. They will be gone for almost three weeks. Your prayers for safety, unity, and wisdom would be much appreciated during this time that they're away. For more information regarding "Scouting Trips" please click here.
Fridays at the Stadium
Once again we had an amazing time at the stadium playing sports and inviting any passing Thais to join us in volleyball. Since beginning this weekly event months ago, we now have a strong presence at the stadium and get regulars coming by each week to join us. This photo is from two weeks ago when Erik and I invited Warut and his family. This family is pictured above. We also happened to run into a young Thai boy named Billy who attends our church, although we’ve heard he’s beginning to walk away from the faith. We pray that these times spent together will make Billy feel comfortable enough to open up to us and share what he’s going through.
Baby Holloway is Coming Soon!
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Connor and Nicole Holloway, they serve as staff alongside us at YWAM Trang. These two are some of our closest friends and we love them so much. A few months ago they needed to return to the States because of Nicole's high-risk pregnancy. After many prayers, it was with tears that we said our farewells, but we look forward to being reunited (Lord willing this year) after Nicole has given birth and the baby is cleared to fly. If you could please be in prayer for our friends and a safe baby delivery, we would be very appreciative of that.
New Friendships
We're blessed to share that we continue to have beautiful opportunities to invite Thai people into our home. We're not quite there with our language yet, but together, Erik and I do a decent job of communicating. These moments remind us about the power of a family unit and how we get to minister to others by the way we raise Hudson. We look forward to hosting this couple again in the future and having our children play together.
Prayer Requests
Please click the photo to view and download our updated prayer request. Thank you as always for keeping us in your prayers.
Special Message For Our Friends and Family
Hello family! As always, we love and miss you all. Next month on the 14 will be 2 years since we left America! It’s crazy to think that for many of you, our last goodbye was at our wedding.
Since that time many things have changed and we look forward to putting something together that would share our overall experience thus far. Until then, we’d like to say thank you to all of you who have continued to pray and support us financially. Throughout this time together, you have been obedient to God in your part to advance the kingdom of God where it currently is not. Also, thank you for believing in us. We pray that we give all the glory to God and make you guys proud as our friends and family.
Lastly, this month Erik felt impressed to share something God has been teaching him. It’s with much prayer, consideration, and love that he puts these messages together and I hope that they are a blessing to you. Thank you all, we love you and look forward to next month. Please feel free to reach out to us for anything via the numbers below.
Blessings,
The Gonzalez Family
(If you have i-message, you could also text these numbers) Makayla's contact (Whatsapp): +66 98 226 6201 Erik's contact (Whatsapp): +66 98 226 6648 or reply directly to this email.
Reoccurring support: $2114.24
Monthly costs: $2,300
One-time donations: $829.71
Bibliography and Citations
The Parable of the Talents: The Importance of Cultivating God's ...geneva.eduhttps://www.geneva.edu › cultivating-gods-blessings
Romans 12:5-6
1 Peter 4:10
Matthew 25:14–30
James 5:16-18
Mark 12:41-44
Matthew 21:28-31
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