GCA Annual Report 17

ad for these people to eat?’ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.
ach one to have a bite!’ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,
all fish, but how far will they go among so many?’
that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).
ere seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them
ves left over by those who had eaten.” – John 6:5-13 NIV
fish, do you sometimes wonder how far
have to give is not enough to make
ke you responsible for the
d’s blessings on your gifts
of the gift, but on the
giver.
In March of 2017, Dylan Waters was part of the GCA Kenya mission trip group. This was made
possible by the large number of people who donated toward his trip. Dylan, and his grandmother,
sent letters to friends, family and church members. Dylan’s father is a pastor, and both sets
of Dylan’s grandparents are evangelists. Their letters reached many old friends. In total, 45
people contributed (between $10 and $750 each) and Dylan met his goal, making a significant
difference in his life.
Only a freshman at the time, it was a big jump for Dylan’s first mission trip experience to take
place in Africa. Asked why he wanted to go, Dylan says “I love to help people.” He not only
was able to help others, but his trip to Kenya influenced his own life. “I was able to see how
other people live, and learn what their world view is, and how they see God.”
Dylan comes from a mission-minded family. His great-grandfather was a missionary in China. Dylan’s
mother served in Yap, and her father served in the Phillipines. This strong model of service in his ancestry
has helped to feed Dylan’s passion to go into mission work as well. “I’ve thought about it as a career. I’ve
also thought about getting a medical degree so that I can go on short-term mission trips with schools like GCA
that need medical workers to be part of their team.”
Dylan just returned from the mission trip to Ft. Myers, FL, for hurricane relief, and plans to go to Peru in the spring.
Gifts that may seem small significantly impacted Dylan, and Dylan is impacting the world!
families were enough to purchase a brand new sound system appropriate for outdoor events.
Since then there have been many outdoor concerts that have blessed GCA students. Hearts
and lives have been moved to unknown measures. It is moments like those in the
atmosphere of a Friday night vespers, raising your voice in song up to the stars while
you hold on to a friend’s hand, that stay with you and live in your heart forever.
The donations of these families were not enormous -- except in impact. For
every life touched during these concerts there is a ripple effect. Only
in heaven will God reveal how he multiplied the gifts they gave.
Annual Report 12