Mentoring Matters: Merla's Story

When I was at Bible college, I was mentored by a lady who was a retired missionary. She loved the Lord and cared deeply about me and the other lady she was mentoring. The thing I remember about her was her prayer life, she was a woman who spent time with God in prayer.

There was one other person who mentored me, not formally but what I would call informal mentoring -I was challenged and changed just by observing his life. He was the youth pastor at my church during my last year of high school. I noticed many things about him - his love for God, his humility and just his servant heart. Anyone who was watching him would have been touch by how he lived. He also modelled what it meant to be in ministry, and it was because of this one year of working with and observing him that impacted my life and opened my heart to consider going into ministry.

Additional Posts

From Siberian winters and language barriers to pandemic isolation and regional conflicts, our missio

Can you describe a time when you felt stretched or questioned your calling?

By Emily Westcott • April 23, 2025
From Siberian winters and language barriers to pandemic isolation and regional conflicts, our missionaries share deeply personal moments of doubt, spiritual stretching, and questioning their calling.
Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it in less than a week? On March 1, 1.8 bil

Fasting for Favor

By Diaspora North America • March 7, 2025
Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it in less than a week? On March 1, 1.8 billion Muslims began their annual fasting month called Ramadan. They are supposed to fast completely—no water or food—during daylight hours from March 1–Mar 29. It begins with much fanfare, promises, and declarations, as fasting during Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims believe that faithfully keeping the fast ensures one’s place of favor with God.

Flexibility in Ministry

By Diaspora North America • February 10, 2025
Have you ever had your plans unexpectedly rearranged? That’s exactly what happened during my visit to a refugee family.
Show More