Your Faithfulness is Greater

Reflecting back on 2020 is like looking into a hall of mirrors. There’s so much to reflect upon, yet so much you cannot overlook.

Personally, 2020 will go down as the year of greater faithfulness. First is Godʼs faithfulness to us, and then our faithfulness to Him. From the COVID-19 virus, to racial tensions, to a polarizing election, and even the seemingly endless formation of hurricanes and tropical storms…we’ve had quite a year! Our emotions and well-being were stretched beyond normal levels. Where we put our faith and trust truly became the test of 2020.

March 12, 2020, was a day I won’t forget. A pastor from Orlando invited me to meet for lunch at the Red Lobster near our office. Following lunch, news began to arrive about stay-at-home orders and the immediate need to take steps to go virtual at our New Missions office. I gathered our small team together in Orlando and shared with them what I felt God had placed on my heart: “Please, be proactive and protective personally. Together, we will make our physical health and spiritual health our priorities.” Our team was already a praying group of people, but starting the next week, daily prayer calls began to come into the office. God was drawing us closer to Him in the midst of a storm, and we had no idea how long it would last. Maybe for you, too, this past year was a season of God grabbing your attention at a greater level.

As a mission, our calling to preach the Gospel and care for children through our Christian schools was still paramount even in the midst of an ever-changing season. Domestically, events were being cancelled and churches were forced to go exclusively online. Overseas, our campuses began to practice social distancing and we made it an urgent priority to feed families by sending food home with our school children. However, from a clarity and communications standpoint, I did not want to derail the message of our mission which is: Hope in God. Across both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, construction continued in the midst of a crisis—even when it was harder to source construction supplies—we persisted. Schools became flexible with schedules and we celebrated graduations this fall instead of in the spring. From a funding standpoint, we saw donors step up and role model generosity. I remember our office manger, Holly Manna, telling me about a lady who signed up online to sponsor five children for Christmas on behalf of her five nieces and nephews. I asked, “How did she hear about us?” Holly stated the woman told her how she did a Google search and found New Missions. God provides and His faithfulness is greater!

Together, we can keep going—not because we have strength—but because when we are weak He is strong. “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christʼs power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

This Christmas may be different for many as loved ones are no longer here. Some have lost employment or started new jobs. And too many struggled through illness and still face uncertainty. Today, may you stand firm in God’s faithfulness. ~Tim DeTellis