In my last blog, I wrote about a new opportunity I had this semester, to plan and carry out a mission trip. I can't believe that two weeks from tomorrow, we will be on a plane to Ecuador. God has been so good to the team throughout the process. Last weekend, we held our two biggest fundraisers, a yard sale and parking for FSU's spring football game. The yard sale was a lot of work: organizing, gathering items, transporting and setting them up at the location, and being there most of Fri and Sat. Parking was a little easier, but God really blessed both our events and we raised a total of almost $900 to be divided among the team members.
The yard sale also was a great time of bonding for our team. A lot of team jokes and laughs came out of that event and in addition to raising money, it served to bring our team closer together as a team unit and family. I was so impressed by every member who helped out with the yard sale, whether it was by separating clothes and making signs beforehand, or helping set up and sell the items the day of. Everyone on the team pitched in and did a great job to make sure this event happened.
We are now working on making sure we are prepared for the Vacation Bible School we will be teaching while in Misahualli. We are learning songs in Spanish and preparing lessons, crafts, and games for the kids. The students have been divided up into teams and have been working on their area of ministry for a few weeks. I'm very excited to see what they have prepared and how God is going to use them to reach the kids and community of Misahualli.
As we are nearing our time of departure, please continue to pray for our team. Here are some ways you can pray specifically for us:
*Pray that the final finances will be provided for all team members (and I know they will; God has been so faithful in providing for us).
*VBS prep, that everything will come together and that we will be able to learn the songs in Spanish
* Safe travels to the airport, smooth check-in process, and smooth flight.
*Health of team- the road from Quito (the capital, where we will be landing) to Misahualli is a very windy mountain road and causes motion sickness for a lot of people. Also, that our transition to the food there will be a smooth one; their food is a lot less processed and sometimes causes slight digestive issues.
* For the community, especially the children we will be working with. Pray that their hearts will be softened to the gospel. From the information the missionary sent us, the area is "over-evangelized," meaning they all have heard about the gospel, but don't have a lot of knowledge about the history of our faith.
Thank you all for your prayers. I'll be sure to post pictures when we return! :)
