God is Great!!!  From the beginning of the trip to the end, God was with us.  I am blessed to have been able to serve alongside Shirley, Aerial and the Wausau Alliance crew.  Ecuador had a tremendous impact on me and my perspective about life.  The people, culture and their faith taught me that God is everywhere and in every language.  We worship the same awesome God.  I would like to share a few pieces of what I walked away with on this short term mission trip.

It was amazing to see how happy and genuine many of the Ecuadorians were with the little that they had.  We were told about how impoverished the children were and how much they had to struggle.  I never once heard a child say they were bored or complained about the things they did not have.  They were content with the little they had.  I remember flicking ants off a malnourished boy’s head and smelling the odor of a body longing for a bath.  Yet, he and his sister still came to church.  All I can remember are the laughter and smiles that the children would give.  It reminded me of the verse in Matthew 19:24 and Matthew19:14, that talks about how hard it will be for a rich man to get to heaven and how the Kingdom belongs to those such as children.  Coming from America, we are easily blinded and get caught up in materialism and the bigger is better attitude.  However, none of that leads us closer to Christ.  I felt that the less I have, the more I can focus and keep Christ the center of my life.  My heart has also gone out to the children because of the challenges they will eventually face and how vitally important it is for them to have God on their side. 

Another big piece that stands out to me was how important of a role everyone played in making this mission trip possible.  God uses people in every which way.  From the entire Wausau Alliance Church to Paul Johnson the Missionary and the Ecuador Alliance Church.  God was through the entire process and He was very apparent at giving people gifts to use to glorify Himself.  From the financial givers to the translators to our musicians and volunteers, everyone worked hard and Christ was exalted. So I want to say a big THANKYOU to all those who supported the group through prayers and financial support and everyone who was involved.

It was a true blessing to serve alongside so many great people.  I enjoyed getting to know our own team as well as the church in Ecuador.  Both have impacted my life and I got to see how God uses people for His glory.  God is amazing and just visiting our touring would not have done it.  Being able to serve and bare one another’s burdens was what we are called to do.  I am grateful for what God has done and for what God will do in the future.  In the words of Jeremiah 17:7  “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.”

Lah Thao

I am so thankful to have gone on this trip to Ecuador with such an awesome group of people. Everyone was eager to serve, to be a blessing, to stop for prayer whenever prompted, and to be a representative of the body of Christ.  Before going and while on the trip, one thing that specifically stuck out to me was the power of being in the body of Christ.  In Corinthians 12:12-31 the apostle Paul talks about the great importance of each part of the body and how each part, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is indispensable to the body as a whole. He also talks about how each part of the body has concern for all the other parts. There is no selfishness within the body.  It will suffer if another part is suffering, it will rejoice if another part is honored. 

What a blessing it was to see those verses lived out throughout the week.  Each person made up a part of the body of Christ.  Upon joining this team, everyone came from a different background, with various skills and gifts and personalities. Unifying twenty-five people despite our differences and building a cohesive team with a common goal was a pretty big challenge.  I am reminded of my classes when I taught high school Spanish, some of which numbered 31 students, and the frequent challenge it was to get all students on the same page, both literally and metaphorically-it was next to impossible! There was always at least one student who was off in outer space, unaware of anything that was going on. As I compare those classes with our team however, the two are drastically different. It was amazing that with a team of twenty-five people, ranging from ages 6 to 40 something, we were able to unite in prayer, in work, despite language barriers, in lack of sleep, in confusion and lost luggage. 

Throughout our time in Ecuador, we had two specific ministries, both of which were equally important. One was to encourage our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ at the Alliance church through our presence and our work. We had the awesome opportunity to be a part of children's ministry, the construction project, as well as various church services.  Our other ministry was to all those we came into contact with along the way.  From the family next door to the church, to the woman at the front desk of our hotel who couldn't believe that we would come to Ecuador not to sightsee but to work every day at a church, to the individuals we sat next to on the plane, each interaction was an opportunity for us to represent the body of Christ to a world in need of a Savior.

Kristi Gerard

Throughout my personal reflections of our trip to Ecuador and reading through the team member’s thoughts, there has been a question of “how does this trip affect the rest of my life?”  Many people have asked since we have come home if we are getting settled in and back into the swing of things, and each time that question is proposed I am quick to remind myself that because of Ecuador, there has to be areas where my life is not settled and into the swing of things.

One of the battles with short-term mission trips is returning to our own regular lives.  Before leaving, it is easy to see a trip like this as an abnormal week where team members leave their comfort zones and put their normal priorities on the back burner in order to choose others for a time.  I, and each team member I spoke with, realized when the reality of leaving set in that we all struggled with how to accept getting back into the swing of things.   Questions flooded my mind on the bus rides and airplane flights.  What life changes will we make?  How will Ecuador affect our relationships with others?  Where can we be mission-minded at home?  How was I so selfish and concerned with things that had no eternal value?  Because of the people we met and the experiences we shared, Ecuador had to make a difference.  We would be discounting and forgetting the work God did in us if we went back to the way we lived before.

God often uses challenging trips and experiences to change us because our defenses are down and we highly desire God to make a change in us during that time.  In every trip I have been on, God is always faithful to show up and do a work in us that lasts.  As I reflect on desiring lasting change because of Ecuador, I realize that if God is faithful in answering our prayers to have him move in our lives during mission trips, why is that not our prayer everyday?  Why do we not expect to see God work in life-changing ways even in our so-called “normal” life?  The God who did amazing work in us and through us in Ecuador is the same God who wants and can do amazing work in us and through us in Wausau.  That is how I believe God shows us lasting change: by revealing He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and that in all things he works to bring glory to His name.  It is our calling to be faithful and obedient to do that end whether we are home or thousands of miles away.

Nathanael Miles