Was it worth it?

James Vernot
Feb 8, 2022
6 min read

Dear friends,

I wanted to write a very special thank you to those of you who have prayed, supported, encouraged, and worked alongside us this past year. About a year ago, I was laid off from a lucrative engineering job. While this was discouraging, we knew it was time to step out in faith. We decided to put our work for the Lord first and our jobs second. I did not apply for more engineering work and declined my previous employer when he offered my job back. While the year has been a difficult one, it has also been a year of seeing God work in amazing ways. You have been a part of God’s special care and provision for our family. We have been blown away by God ordained help at just the right time during the year. I will admit that often we have become discouraged, only to have a special blessing come at a special time. We have been forced to rely much more on our Savior and His provision.

The question has been asked… Was it worth it? I believe I understand clearly what is meant when this question surfaces. I think about it every day. It has been challenging to see our security drip away day by day. The level of risk on every front has continued to rise. With Monica’s recent health issues, the realities of life are no longer abstract. Has it been worth risking so much? Should we continue down this road? Before I answer that, I would like to talk about what God has done this year.

Our home AWANA program served and shared the Gospel with over 50 different children in the spring and another batch of 40 kids in the fall. We hosted a summer VBS and Halloween outreach. Monica sang and spoke at a number of events, while serving at our church with her gifts. I was able to speak at a number of churches representing the Gideons International. I also became the regional coordinator for a ministry called Christian Resources International. I deliver used Christian materials that are shipped overseas to pastors in need. We were able to give the Gospel to over 12,000 households in the area with the Saturate USA program. We also continued to support the Colombian churches remotely as we were able. Our website and prayer hotline also kept us busy. God has opened unlimited opportunities to serve and share the Gospel.

Our wonderful children have been with us every step of the way, chipping in with their skills and talents.

Along with Gideon’s baptism this year, he had an article published in Focus on the Family’s Clubhouse magazine! The kids performed in multiple plays and services this year. They also colored pictures for nursing home patients, distributed countless Gospel tracts and Saturate packets, and helped to setup and tear down our home for AWANA. It has truly been a family effort. The sacrifices have been felt by all, but the kids especially have taken things in stride.

As I look back on the year, I am immediately reminded of the faces of many who we interacted with this year. I think of Jon, a blind man who allowed me to share the Gospel with him on his front porch. I pray that his physical and spiritual blindness will be turned to sight. I think of Daniel. A teenager from Colombia that I have corresponded with on a weekly basis for the last few years. I cried in my van when I saw that he had been baptized and is now regularly sharing his faith. I think of many of the AWANA children whose churches have cut their midweek clubs. We had to choke back the emotion as one boy from a tough background perfectly quoted the verses he had worked on during the week. I think of two men I witnessed to in a driveway in a rough part of Toledo. One felt he deserved to get into heaven, and the other drooped his head and said soberly that he did not deserve heaven. They both eagerly listened to the message of the Gospel. I think of a woman who called the prayer hotline to praise God even though she had not had heat for three years due to her admittedly poor decisions. I could go on and on.

Finally, I think of God’s mercies that are new every morning. God has not written us a blank check for a year’s expenses as I would have liked. However, He has shown us over and over that He is with us. From mysterious drops of food and money to a free coffee at just the right time. I think of one particular event. The boys told me of their desires: a ten-speed bike for Gideon and a bike with hand brakes for Matthew. Inwardly, I lamented that that would not be in the budget for some time. Their current bikes will fit for several more years. On a rainy night not many days later, I saw two bikes with a free sign as I was delivering. I threw them in the back, thinking they were a possible flip. I was shocked when I got them home to find they were top of the line bikes of the exact sizes and description for the boys' requests. Why do we so often doubt God’s love and provision?

I know that many believe that the answer is a resounding no. The loss of financial stability, reputation, emotional stability, and personal safety are not justified by what was achieved, especially without the umbrella of a church or established Christian organization. I must strongly disagree.

I know that many may see the achievements of the last year as small in proportion to the risk and cost. I cannot reconcile that view with Scripture. I see that we are to go, give, sacrifice, risk, and die if necessary for our King. That is what I am resolved to do by God’s grace. I believe Jesus is returning soon. I hope to be found waiting and working on that glorious day. The harvest fields are ripe, and the opportunities are endless. As the end draws near, many ministries are faltering. I am convinced that others must rise up and carry the torch to the finish line. We have not a moment to spare. The difficulties have been more than I could have imagined, but I have seen a Big God on our side. Without Him, I will fail inevitably. With him, how can I fail. Woodrow Wilson was quoted as saying, “I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately triumph, than succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail.” The things of this world will pass away, but our service and sacrifice for the King will endure into eternity. So, I plan to forge on, working and serving by any means that I can. We serve with two main focuses: To share the Gospel with the world and to encourage and strengthen other believers.

Thank you again for your prayers, encouragement, and support. Whether you realize or not, you have been used by God to help our family on this interesting path. May God Bless you all!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds .” (Hebrews 10:24)

“For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (Romans 10:13-14)

“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)