Anthony Schmoldt

Well, I would say that the experiences that I had in Ecuador made me speechless, but that would not make a very interesting blog post.  I will try to put together some of my thoughts, but the main theme is: if you have the opportunity and the prompting from Christ to participate in a mission trip, do it.  God will be exalted from the work that you do. 

When I first heard that our church would be making a trip to Ecuador, I was extremely excited and felt that God was convicting me to go on such a trip.  After going through the process of preparing, I began to question my decision, wondering: Why should I be going? How am I going to help? Is it really worth it, or am I wasting money to go on a glorified vacation?  These thoughts extended up to the day we left. 

All I can say now is "to God be the Glory."  From the first day that we met our brothers and sisters in Christ in Puerto Bolivar and Machala, I could see God confirming that our being in Ecuador was not for "me" or for "us" but for Him.  Looking back, I have recognized that my questions and concerns as to the trip all revolved around "me."  That was my issue.

Seeing the growth of the children's ministry (by 400%) within four days was amazing, thanks to the work done by several members of our team who invested a lot of time and effort into essentially a VBS for the church.  Seeing the growth of the children's ministry while we were there encouraged us to work even harder to build a home for the pastor and an addition to the church for children's ministry. 

I think of the phrase, "a picture is worth a thousand words."  We have a lot of pictures from our trip, especially thanks to Nathaneal and Miriam at almost 1500 themselves; however, actually being on the ground making relationships and being a witness for Christ far exceeds the thousands of words that we can show you.  All of my doubts of why I was to be on this trip were eliminated while working in Ecuador.  My heart has been changed.  Missions is not just something we do once and speak about, but something that we should be consistently doing.  Although I do not know all of the details at this time, I will definately be seeking out how God can use my family and I in greater ways on the mission field. 

Matt. 28:18-20 

Anthony Schmoldt