Global 100 | An Update From Liberia

Jacob Holm, 21, and Silas Motyka, 22, have experienced the goodness of God more potently than ever over the last seven months. Why? Because they have surrendered to and depended on the Lord.

From late January to the beginning of August, the two young men from Woodside’s Global 100 ministry have been doing a global internship in Liberia, West Africa, with one of Woodside’s global missionary partners, Kim Smith, and his ministry, Wordsower Africa.

Woodside’s Global 100 is a ministry designed to provide development and direction to young adults who feel called by God to global missions. The global internship is an instrumental part of this process.

In Liberia, the physical needs are evident, as it is the seventh poorest country in the world. Even more important are the spiritual needs. Many Liberians identify with Jesus, but only for the physical and monetary benefits that false teachers have promised them; the transformative power of the true Gospel has yet to be experienced by most. There are also 14 unreached groups that have never heard the name of Jesus.

To go and address the spiritual needs, Jacob and Silas had to experience the physical needs. The two sacrificed their physical comfort and security to participate in the will of God, and it paid off immensely. They chose to store up their treasures in heaven, rather than on earth (Matthew 6: 19-20).

Progress against the spiritual depravity was often held back by the physical depravity.

“One of the biggest challenges was that many Liberians weren’t afraid to swindle us, use us, or lie to us for their own gain– usually financially,” Silas said, “it was extremely challenging at times, especially when it was someone we had developed a relationship with.”

“Even in these trials God delivered– when it felt like everyone was untrustworthy, there was always a remnant of God-fearing Liberians with integrity who never tried to take advantage of us,” Silas said of the Lord’s provision. “He also gave us the grace, forgiveness, and humility required to prevent bitterness from growing and ruining relationships with the people,” he added.

The Lord delivered in many more ways than that, for everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened (Luke 11:10). Jacob and Silas each mentioned a specific prayer that they saw answered. Jacob prayed fervently for the experience to deepen his faith even more. In turn, the Lord put him in difficult circumstances that required him to truly depend on and turn to the Lord for deliverance– and He delivered.

Silas told of meeting a man named Sean, who at the time was an addict in bondage to heroin. When he met Sean, Silas was convicted to pray for physical health issues that were evident in Sean’s life. However, he ignored this conviction at first and went on to minister to more addicts. The conviction continued to burn, so Silas turned around to find Sean and pray for him. Sean was gone. So, Silas prayed for him regularly until seeing Sean about a month later. This time, Silas was alongside a small short-term team Woodside sent through the Global 100. Silas and two of the short-term team members were able to talk to Sean and share the Gospel with him again. Sean believed, repented, and was baptized. Praise God. They were then able to pray for Sean, as Silas had been convicted to, and admit him into a hospital where the Lord used the doctors to address Sean’s health issues that had been on Silas’ heart. The Lord answered prayers, and Sean was healed– physically and spiritually.

This is just a snippet of the ways that the Lord used these two willing men for His glory. In their time in Liberia, they shared the Gospel passionately, discipling those who were willing, and celebrating the ushering of 19 souls into the Kingdom of Heaven through baptism: Sean, Yassah, Faith, James, Frankie, Leeroy, Hezekiah, Jacee, Junior Cooper, Elijah, Omaru, Shadrack, Prince Young, Emmanuel, and four others. Pray that these individuals will be sanctified and carry on the work of the Kingdom.

The work is not done. Certainly not in Liberia, and certainly not in Metro Detroit.

For both Americans and Liberians, Jacob’s hope and prayer is that believers would “see God for who He is, fall in love with Him, and want more and more of Him.” Whether it’s the beauty and intricacy of creation, the inspired Word of God, or the witness of faithful Christ followers, the more that a Christian sees God, the more that Christian should desire to know him intimately.

Jacob and Silas both expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to know the Lord by abiding in Him (John 15 1-11). Every follower of Christ has been gifted the opportunity to dwell in the Lord’s presence, and it can’t be taken for granted.

“Pray that believers would truly abide in the vine,” Silas requests, “When there is greed in the church, it’s because we aren’t abiding fully. When there are moral shortcomings, it’s because we aren’t abiding fully. When there is habitual sin, it’s because we aren’t abiding fully.”

Abiding can also lead to complete trust in and obedience to the Lord, something that the American church can stand to learn from the Christians in Liberia.

“We saw many Liberians who were willing to suffer and sacrifice so that others might know Christ,” Silas said, “I was certainly challenged by the example of these Liberians to ask the Lord to give me more willingness to do whatever it takes for others to come to know Him.”

That is a prayer that should be universal to the global church. Pray that prayer.

These two young men are not cut from a special cloth that makes them fruitful in the mission field. They simply have the Holy Spirit and the willingness to submit everything to the Lord and abide in Him. Both things are readily available to everyone who claims Jesus as their savior.

There is no limit to what the Lord can do through any number of people in any amount of time, yet we often underestimate it. Seeing the work He has done through Global 100 interns Jacob Holm and Silas Motyka over the last seven months should encourage us to broaden our expectations of what the Lord can do through us, and to hand ourselves over to Him so that those expectations can be exceeded.

“Try to think of something– anything– that will satisfy your human soul more than walking with God and completing His mission. If I could give you an eternity to do so, you would find nothing,” Silas pleads.