Message from Jonathan Medina, First Grade West Valley Campus

One summer my wife and I and our mission team were building a chapel factory in Guatemala. This was a factory that would produce materials to build pre-fab chapels throughout the country. Needless to say, it was quite a task and our team worked really hard trudging through the mud of this cleared acre of rainforest. We had finally erected the frame of the factory when disaster struck!

A locally hired man was helping by cutting down the tall trees towering over the site. When one tree was cut, it came crashing down on the frame, bringing much of the structure down with it. We were stunned to watch all of our hard work wiped out by one tree. The team’s moral was crushed and many began to question why God would let such a terrible event happen. After all, we were covered by prayer and doing an awesome work for the Kingdom of God in Guatemala!

It turned out that the man who cut down the tree thought for sure we would fire him. There were many Guatemalans looking for work so the workers we had hired could have easily been replaced. Although we were discouraged, we didn’t fire him, but reassured him that we all make mistakes and it really wasn’t his fault.

We eventually finished the factory and had moved our team on to other work in the country. Several days later we heard that those hired men were not Christians and they talked for days about how kind and loving we were during the disaster. This opened a door for the local ministry to share the gospel with these men who became very interested in our Jesus Christ!

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After hearing that I thought, if God told us that the tree was going to fall before hand, would we have worked so hard? Would we have tried to avoid the fall? If we had avoided the fall, those men would never have experienced the love of Christ in us in the middle of a tragedy. Sometimes we have to go through stuff, even if we don’t understand why, because God has predestined all things for His glory. Even if it is to show others how we respond to difficult situations.

Gen. 50:20

The New Living Translation

[Joseph saying] You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.

James 1:2-4

The Message

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Proverbs 16:33

The Amplified Bible

The lot is cast into the lap, but the decision is wholly of the Lord [even the events that seem accidental are really ordered by Him].