I am glad to have been a tutor in GEMs. It has been such a great gift to me. I really enjoyed spending time with the kids and building a friendship with them. Without GEMs, I would not have had the great privilege of meeting some of the best kids I have ever known, both within our own congregation and outside of it. Although it is good whenever my students are able to fly through their homework, it has also been a good for me to learn how to join them when they struggle with particular homework problems. And when I discovered that I didn’t have the knowledge to be able to help the kids with their homework, it was great to have partners that do. And even when they didn’t, it was great to have partners to be confused with. I’ve been extremely grateful for my fellow tutors, who’ve been with me when the kids were being extra rowdy or distracting that day, and when I did not have the energy to deal with them. Just having partners there encouraged me to not worry about getting it right with a homework question or getting impatient with kids that had trouble focusing on their work that day. There was a Spirit working in GEMs that focused on building a more substantial thing than simply achieving better grades. God is about growing friendships, and not only with those we serve, but with our fellow partners as well. Through this ministry, God has deeply blessed us with the “G” in GEMs, that is...grace!
