01 March 2022 | Bracknell, UK [Douglas Gausi with tedNEWS]
Blogger Douglas Gausi, from Nottingham, is a man on a mission to make the Word of God more appealing to non-Christians and young people. Gausi joined the One Year in Mission and Service (OYIMS) programme, at Newbold College of Higher Education, after receiving a text message from a friend.
“My friend Ethan sent a text message, while I was at work… and I thought, ‘that sounds good!’ I called pastor Dejan, the Trans-European Division’s Youth director, and asked a few questions. The things he told me sounded amazing, so I applied for the course, but then I forgot about it after relapsing into my work routine,” Gausi reminisced. “One day, I was looking at my journal and I saw something I had written, ‘I am doing OYIMS next year!’ Soon after, I received an email saying I had been accepted.
Gausi was in two minds at this point, not sure if he should carry on working or not. Finally, he decided to attend the programme because he realised, “I had more to lose by not coming to Newbold.”
“I believe God has called me to full-time ministry, and I want to serve Him and enjoy serving Him,” Gausi remarked. He believes that much of his learning and growth has come from serving other people. “God is getting me to think about what I will do next. The OYIMS course makes me think about that, each class I attend is challenging me to consider going into ministry.”
Gausi has never been on a mission trip, but he is enthusiastic about the next stage of the course, about serving with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) or the Adventist Volunteer Service (AVS) at a country yet to be decided. “I want to be out of my comfort zone because I think that’s the perfect place to learn and grow,” Gausi concluded.
The original version of this article was published on Newbold website.
