Lah Thao

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