THRIVE Spring Summer 2023
UPGRADE: Train, coach, mentor
UPGRADE: Train, coach, mentor
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10 / thrive <strong>Spring</strong>/<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
FELLOWSHIP MISSIONARIES:<br />
MENTORING<br />
GLOBALLY<br />
by Valerie Heaton<br />
Those called to global missions with the Fellowship not only have the opportunity to proclaim the Gospel, they<br />
have the responsibility and privilege of training, coaching, and mentoring nationals to becoming disciple-making<br />
followers of Christ. Here are some of the ways our Fellowship International missionaries are doing just that.<br />
Rita Anayssi, Cedar Home, Lebanon<br />
When I begin mentoring a new girl at Cedar Home, I always<br />
emphasize that we are in this together. Since we are Canadian,<br />
we can leave while they can’t. I make sure they know that we<br />
(Karim, Rita, Neomi, Naya) have chosen to stay. The trust that<br />
comes from this makes our words credible and helps to establish<br />
a relationship.<br />
I always make sure to stick to the basics: education, living with<br />
Jesus, and serving one another. The turmoil can easily distract<br />
us, leaving us focused on survival and meeting the fundamental<br />
needs for food, shelter, and safety that are the centre of everyone’s<br />
life given the level of poverty here.<br />
Finally, I make sure they know that through Jesus we have<br />
hope. No matter the circumstances, we can surrender to our<br />
loving God who will never fail us. We talk about sponsorship,<br />
projects, teams that visit, and other ways that God is working<br />
here. When the girls heard of the proposed boys home addition,<br />
they were so happy and encouraged!<br />
Mark Hymus, Coordinator<br />
of EPIC and Onside<br />
(Canada)<br />
EPIC and Onside were<br />
started by two pastors<br />
with a deep desire to train<br />
young leaders and engage<br />
their community with the<br />
Gospel through their local<br />
church. Our hope for summer <strong>2023</strong> is to hire over 350 college,<br />
university, and high school students. We hope that by training<br />
them to help churches run their summer programs, we will be<br />
engaging families with the Gospel while building up the next<br />
generation of leaders.<br />
The months of May and June are devoted to working with our<br />
college students — coaching them in sharing the Gospel, leading<br />
a team, and deepening their faith and walk with Christ. As<br />
they serve the church and community throughout the summer,<br />
these college students will also have the opportunity to mentor<br />
their younger staff, with their own growth and learning over<br />
the past few months influencing their teaching.<br />
What a privilege it is to journey with these students through<br />
the highs and lows of this experience, helping them solidify<br />
their faith, and nurture good character, work-ethic, and leadership<br />
skills as they continue the cycle of disciples making<br />
disciples.<br />
Jesh and Julie Thiessen, Madagascar<br />
When I started my training to become a general surgeon, I didn’t<br />
give much thought to the idea of mentoring. I was caught up<br />
in the rush of helping to save someone on the brink of death,<br />
or the deep satisfaction of alleviating disability or pain. But, as<br />
I have come to experience at the Good News Hospital in rural<br />
Madagascar, an even greater rush is mentoring the next generation<br />
of Malagasy surgeons in a place that desperately needs them.<br />
In the first Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons<br />
(PAACS) training program in Madagascar, mentorship is key to
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