Guayaquil, Ecuador 08

Faith of a Mustard Seed

2008-06-07T04:38:00.001-07:00

The following is the story about the man with Parkinson's that we saw outside the hotel:

Sunday night I went down to the hotel restaurant to get a Coke. As I was passing by the front door on the way back to my room, the bellhop stopped me and asked if I spoke Spanish. I gave him my standard response of "un poquito." He tried to explain to me that there was a gentleman outside having some medical issues. He kept pointing into his mouth and saying "epilepsia." I went outside the hotel and saw a man sitting against the building. His arms, legs, head and torso were convulsing violently. I ran back inside and went up to the meeting room where the medical team was having worship. I pulled Jeff Davis out of the room and asked him to come with me. I explained the situation the best I could. Jeff attempted to assess the man's condition, but was not making any progress giving the language barrier. I ran back up to the meeting room to find a translator, but they had all gone to their hotel for the night. I asked Amber Peek to come with me, as she is fairly fluent in Spanish. Shanna Smith, Melissa Martin and Neal Blackwelder followed.

At some point after we were back outside, we discovered that a taxi driver had dropped the man off at the hotel. Since Jeff, Shanna and Melissa were not sure what to do to treat the man, a decision was made to take him to a hospital. Shanna suggested that we pray over him before we left. We all gathered around the man and laid hands on him. Individually, we prayed. I recall asking God for healing for the man, but also for the faith to believe the healing would take place. We all closed our prayers and I remember hearing Neal continue to pray "set him free...in Jesus name" over and over and over again. Each time he verbalized the name of Jesus, the man's body began to calm down. After a few minutes, his body went completely still and he slumped against the building, with most of his body laying on the sidewalk. I lost it...to say the least.

At some point during these events, the taxi driver came back. Apparently, he dropped the man at the hotel because he thought it was safe and then he went to the pharmacy to get the man some medicine. All we knew at this point was that the man needed some medicine and his supply was used up. The taxi driver witnessed the prayer and the man's calmness. We stood him up and the taxi driver gave the man some medicine he had purchased. Jeff, Amber and I put the man in the taxi and the taxi driver took us to the nearest hospital. He had begun convulsing again as we put him in the taxi. Upon arrival at the hospital, it was apparent that we were not in the best of circumstances. I felt very uncomfortable even though there was a policeman in the area. The man would not go into the hospital. He said that since he was poor, the hospital would let him die and then steal his organs and sell them. Apparently, this is a common fear among the poor in the area.

He kept telling Amber and the taxi driver that he needed food. We found a street vendor near the hospital and Jeff bought him some dinner. The taxi driver tried to feed the man, but he refused to take the food. We found out why...he wanted to pray and thank God first... He subsequently let the driver feed him and then after a while took the spoon and fed himself.

As it turns out, everyone in the area knew the man. We subsequently found out that he had Parkinson's Disease. The remainder of the evening was spent getting the man to a pharmacy so he could be comfortable that the was taking the correct medicine. He kept trying to look at the medicine through a single lens from a pair of glasses. The lens was smudged and the the man was still shaking enough to make it difficult for him to read the dosage. As it turned out, he knew he hadn't had enough.

We got him back to the hotel so Shanna could get him a new pair of glasses. He hugged and kissed us before getting into another taxi to take him home. He said that Amber was an angel from God. (I saw the other taxi driver the next night and he said the man had come by the hotel looking for the doctors to thank them for helping him.)

After he left, we gathered in the lobby and had a group hug. We all broke out into tears. This story on the blog cannot possibly relay the overwhelming presence of the Holy Spirit that night.

A short while later that evening, my roommate Jack Roberts relayed the story of the deaf and paralyzed boy that had been healed earlier that day. I got into the shower and the Holy Spirit hammered me with some sin that I had been living with for the last two years. I almost fell to my knees in spiritual agony. The Lord opened my eyes to the fact that I had let my prayer life die off after my friend Troy passed away. It wasn't a conscience decision to stop praying for healing of others, but Troy's death made me feel like my prayers were not heard. In God's beautiful sense of timing and purpose, the local pastor we were working with asked me to preach at their revival the next night. He said I was to preach on healing. The Lord gave me the scripture about the mustard seed. It was difficult to verbalize what God had laid on my heart, but I managed to say what I thought God wanted me to say. Several people were prayed over and healed at that service. It was an amazing turn of events. God is so good! And his timing is perfect!

story by Robert Plummer

Guayaquil Trip Photos Available

2008-06-02T19:24:00.000-07:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then how many words are 5000 pictures worth? You can now check out the mission trip photos online - all 5000 of them. We don't have everything upload as yet (10 GB is a lot of data) so keep checking back throughout the week for more pics. Check out the gallery at SMUG MUG

Praise The Lord - 1122 Professions of faith!!!!!

2008-05-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

We praise God today that 1122 people gave their hearts to Jesus Christ this week. We are also thankful that in cell groups and in home discipleship visits we were able to minister to 1857 people. This year we added a children's ministry. God truly blessed this as we had an opportunity to minister to 1206 children.
The main purpose of an E3 trip to help nationals in existing churches start NEW churches in communities where there are is no presence of an evangelical church. This week God allowed us to see 10 new churches start.
Please pray for our brothers and sisters in and around Guayaquil as they continue to disciple these new believers.

Update Through Wednesday - 374 saved at medical clinic

2008-05-28T21:02:00.000-07:00

I am sorry that we have not been able to blog as we wanted because the internet connection at our hotel is not reliable.
Today is Wednesday - I had the privilege to work with the medical team today. We had a very interesting day to say the least. Our bus took a wrong turn and we thought we had arrived at our clinic site. There was one problem, no one was there. Diego our national co-ordinator quickly noticed that this place did not look right and we moved just a few blocks away. When we turned the corner there were people standing in front of a school. The line was a long as you could see. A politician was outside telling the crowds that he has lined all this up. That we were there at his invitation. He made promises to the people on our behalf for things we could not possibly do. The team leader for this city became very upset as the people were becoming angry waiting in long lines in the sun and heat.
God gave me some boldness to go out and say in a loud voice that the politician did not bring us, but that God sent us and all that we did was in the name of Jesus Christ. At each point where we preached this message, the people would applaud and shout for joy. They knew the truth.
At the end of the day, I helped Carrie Davis, the team leader at St. Lucia count the decision cards for Christ. There were 374 today. Praise God!

Dental clinic Spiritual Warfare

2008-05-28T20:31:00.000-07:00

I had several answered prayers on this trip. First for safety and protection, second for strength. Today I am humbled beyond belief. God provided to overflowing supplies for the dental clinic. Yesterday we had another local dentist join us. So we had 3 dentists and 2 hygenists. Yesterday the third dentist (Mercedes) cleaned teeth because Sheila was on an evangelism team. Today I set up for three to extract since Sheila was back to clean teeth. Only God provided our supplies. I was only prepared for two doctors to extract.
About midday I was involved in a very difficult extraction. I started praying and crying, Lord I cannot do this, You have to release this tooth. I was also becoming frustrated with myself. The patient was becoming frustrated also. Dr. Mercedes came up and was trying to help. Finally with tears I asked her to take over. She continued to try to get the tooth out. Finally, she asked the lady to take her ring off her hand. The ring had some type of emblem on it. I could not see or tell what it was. Only 20 seconds after she removed the ring, the tooth came out.
Later that afternoon on the bus I asked a translator to have Dr. Mercedes tell me about the ring. She said she saw me working on the patient and she started to pray for me. She said "Lord I cannot do this but You can be my hands". She saw the ring and it was a witchcraft symbol. Mercedes asked her to take it off. She said she got a new forcep and the tooth came right out.
This is not Mercedes first medical mission trip. She always prays, "Let my hands be your hands Lord." I responded and told her I was praying and crying. I was praying for the Lord to release the tooth. I was praying for God to overcome the spiritual warfare. I told Mercedes that she was God's hands today.
It is easy to approach dentistry on missions as a task only job. The patients come in, get them numb, pull the tooth, give pain meds and a toothbrush and let them go. We pray all the time that they were somehow blessed by something that is usually associated with pain and bad memories.
How easy I forget I cannot do this without God. He chose not to use MY hands in this case. My prayer is that I recognize I need to humble myself before Him and offer my hands to His work always. Whether He choses to allow me to take the tooth out or recognize that I need to step aside. Only God gets the glory. He will overcome. Our battle is not with flesh and blood. Our battle is spiritual even when extracting teeth.

story by Lauri Williams

UPDATE through Monday

2008-05-27T21:10:00.001-07:00

Here is a quick update through Monday. So far we have had a great week. There are 12 evangelism teams going pretty much into all the areas of Guayaquil. We have seen 350 people come to Christ so far.
Please continue to check this blog for future updates.

From Rejection to Acceptance

2008-05-27T20:33:00.000-07:00

On Monday Katie Grooms and I experienced something unique. First we had no translator in the afternoon so we simply walked around with our nationals watching them work. We were just the bait. Katie would stand there looking pretty, I stood back looking tired.
Our sweet nationals Luse and Carlotta approached a man watering his flowers. He allowed them to talk but when it came to "the question" he started watering his flowers again and sent us on our way.
After 45 minutes of so, he sent a security guard for us. When we arrived back at his home, we were not only given a warm greeting, we were invited into the home (patio area).
His wife was there and served us refreshments and wanted to know what this was all about. After just a few minutes of visiting with them and presenting the gospel message, both husband and wife were saved.
This day we saw total rejection turn into total acceptance. Praise God!!
The picture above has NOTHING to do with this story... I just wanted you to see how cute Katie is.

story by Katie Grooms and Sam Neugent

Pray for Milago

2008-05-27T20:31:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Milago area outside of Guayaquil where there are numerous witch doctors who "treat" the sick and disabled by the busloads. Pray that the power and truth of Jesus Christ will go out into this area and tead down every stronghold so the people will be free in Christ.

story by Debbie Blackwelder

Salvation at Burger King

2008-05-27T20:22:00.000-07:00

My translator Noris had gone to the restroom with Sherry Thompson and her translator. A lady came up to Sherry when the translators were busy and began talking to her in broken English about the US. About this time Noris walks up and recognizes her. Noris is an English teacher in Quito.
The lady asked Noris what she was doing with the Americans. Noris told her that she was a translator for a mission team. She then asked if she was paid for this and Noris said yes. She proceeded to ask how she could have such a job. Noris explained that she was a Christian and that helped. The lady explained that she was not a Christian and wanted to know how to become one.
I was waiting for Noris in the Burger King. Noris walks up with her friend and explains that her friends wants to know how to be a Christian.
I asked everyone around me for a cube and no one had one. Noris had a tract so we used that. After explaining the tract and the plan of salvation, the lady asked us to pray with her for her salvation, right there at Burger King!

story by Jennifer Adams

Out Of My Comfort Zone

2008-05-27T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today was very overwhelming. God took me out of my comfort zone and humbled me. The months leading up to this trip I thought I would be able to be in schools teaching about dental hygeine. The Lord had other plans for me..... especially today. I was able to lead 3 people to Christ. Tears are in my eyes again just thinking about it. God knew what He was doing; it just took me a while to realize it. Glory to God...
My theme song today is "Come With Me" by 33 Miles.
Come with me and i will show you Jesus. he will give you more than you could ask or imagine. Comewith me if you're looking for a Savior, if you're looking for a friend. I know someone you should meet... so come with me.

story by Christa Glenn

Bathroom stop = Evangelism???

2008-05-27T19:41:00.000-07:00

After lunch the women decided to go to go find a bathroom. Since there were none at our site, Los Angeles, we traveled 20 minutes to a Kentucky Fried Chicken in a small mall. Because our ride had to go the pastor was called to come and pick up the ladies and take them back to the mission site. After 30 minutes of waiting, one of the nationals decided it was best for us to get on the bus.
After playing "frogger" across 4 lanes of Ecuadorian traffic, we stood on the side of the street and NO buses came. After several minutes had passed a "taxi trooper" pulled over to pick us up. Our nationals negotiated a price and we all smushed into a 1980's Bronco. The national named Humberto began telling the taxi driver Geovanny about the salvation bracelet he received at KFC from Emily Berry. Huberto explained the colors to Geovanny about the plan of salvation. As we approched our site Geovanny said he wanted to receive Christ. Huberto lead him in the sinner's prayer while we were still in the taxi. When we got out of the taxi, Beth (Blackwelder) Fulton showed him the evangecube and he said he understood that Jesus died for him and now he had accepted the gift.
This experience is an example of how God is in everything. We thought we were making a simple bathroom stop, but God was using us to bring another one of his children home.
story by Beth Fulton and Emily Berry

Moms In Touch in Guayaquil, Ecuador

2008-05-27T19:16:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to share Moms In Touch Prayer Ministry with 200 plus Ecuadorian Moms. With the help of a wonderful translator, Barb and I shared the hope and promise of praying for our children and schools with Moms whose hearts love their children as you and I do. It was a blessing to worship in song with these women and then to have their interest in learning how to pray scripturally and in one accord to a Faithful and Perfect Father. As I struggled with feelings of fear and inadequacy, I had a picture of all of you praying for me and for these women. I sensed that all of you were sending this message to the women to have the hope of answered prayer. Thank you. Please pray for us to be vessels empty of self and filled with His Spirit, as we bring the message of eternal life.

Getting it straight

2008-05-25T21:43:00.001-07:00

This trip marks a special occasion in one of the team members spiritual life. Watch the video to find out.

Sunday Afternoon Training

2008-05-25T13:28:00.001-07:00

Standing to my left (your right) is pastor Freddy Lord. He is the pastor that Judy White's team is assigned to. Today I went with Judy's team for worship and training. Pastor Freddy was so eager that he asked me to train his entire congregation - OVER 300 strong! So, at the conclusion of their worship service we stationed people around the worship center with cubes as I taught them how to use it. He then instructed the church members to divide into teams of 6. Of course many people did not participate but a WHOLE BUNCH DID!!!! After a little more training with those who stayed, we went out for one hour to practice what we had learned. 14 people came to Christ who lived right around the church!!!
I wonder... How many lost people live within the shadow of our steeple?

Prayer Walking In Catarama

2008-05-25T04:26:00.000-07:00

When Brother Paul pulled me to the side this morning and said our pastor wanted to plant a church some two hours away, I knew this was either of God or it would be a very tiring week. Well, I believe it’s both. Kelsey, Anna (her cute translator from Quito), Diana and I climbed in the small bus along with Luis, Linda, Rosa, Anna and Priscilla. It was a long ride but gave us a chance to get to know the team. As we pulled up in front of the place where we were to plant a new church, it appeared as if there was already a church meeting here. I then found out that Maria had opened her home to help distribute food and clothing to the victims of the last flood. There were some forty people inside waiting for a word from us but really wanting to find out why this 56 year old American along with his 14 year old side kick, Kelsey, were in their town.
We were introduced and God laid it on my heart to share what e3 Partners was all about. I went through the 6 steps to planting a church and finished it with a synopsis of how to do a prayer walk. We headed out the door and began praying for Catarama. We prayed for God to open the heavens, their hearts, their homes, the highways and most of all their hands. I knew if God wanted this work to happen, He would show us by an outpouring of His Spirit and/or a huge miracle. We walked about two miles praying along the way. Several people joined our team as we walked. As we neared the home on the river front, I sensed God telling me to share Jesus with this group of prayer-walkers. I pulled out an Evangecube and told them my testimony as God prepared their hearts through the Gospel presentation. We had them pray a sinner’s prayer and when I asked them if this was the very first time they had actually prayed it and repented, just raise their hands. WOW! Twelve of the prayer-walkers received Christ!
While we began to gather information from each one, a lady came inside and grabbed her sister’s hand. She saw her sister come to faith in Christ and wanted the same. As we announced Sunday’s schedule, it was evident we had 13 folks to disciple already. We were saying good-bye when one of them came up to Diana and hugged her and began to weep. She was supposed to have gone to the clinic today to find out why her hearing had left her, but instead was lead to come to us. She bore witness to Diana that as we were half way around the town, God restored her hearing! She had experienced a 21st century miracle! What a testimony! Do you think God wants us to plant a church in Catarama? Duh!

story by Jack Roberts

Preparing the Team

2008-05-24T22:55:00.002-07:00

Today, the medical team had the opportunity to go the neighborhood where it will hold its first medical clinic. The experience left many in the team overwhelmed by the task ahead. The team assembled later that night for a short time of praise and fellowship. Listen to the words of preparation and encouragement given to everyone by Jeff Davis, the medical team leader.

Click here to download MP3

Breathe

2008-05-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

Trust in the Lord

2008-05-24T22:12:00.000-07:00

The day we started this trip was our first chance to meet our newest team member, Jo Ann Case. Jo Ann joining our team is a really an amazing story of God's plan and provision.

When I first made an announcement about this trip in my Sunday School class last winter, the first person who came and enthusiastically said she wanted to go was Liz Allison. Not only was Liz committed to going, she also recruited her mom, Suzy Corey, to join her. Liz and Suzy were very excited about the opportunity to not only serve, but to do it together.

Just last week, everything was set for Liz and Suzy. They had completed their training, had their stuff together for the trip, and were ready to do. Then, on Saturday, Suzy came down with pneumonia. Although Suzy was determined not to let this keep her from going on the trip, by Tuesday, it was evident that she was not getting better and would not be able to go. So now what?

On Tuesday night, our brothers and sisters in Pelham were finishing 72 hours of prayer and fasting. One of the things they focused upon in their meditations was healing for Suzy and God's provision for our time. At that same time, Liz, who is a pharmaceutical representative, was out having dinner with a group of doctors. She had been telling her doctors for months about the trip and how excited she was about going with her mother. On this visit, she told them about what happened to her mother. As the night concluded, Liz asked the doctors if anyone was interested in going on the trip with her.

A nurse in the group spoke up and said she knew someone very active in missions, who just may be able to go. Even though it was 10pm, she insisted that Liz call her. So she did. Liz called Jo Ann and found out that not only was she interested in going, but that she had been on several trips with E3 before and was fully trained in the evangelism and discipleship tools. Jo Ann told Liz that she just needed to check in the morning if she could get the time off.

The very next morning Jo Ann confirmed that she was able to go. She got in touch with Sam Neugent, and within a matter of hours, all of her documents were in order and the airline ticket was changed to her name. But that's not all. Because Jo Ann was so experience, she was made a team leader for a church planting group.

Have you ever felt unprepared for what God has put in your path - an unexpected bend, that you couldn't quite see around? The bible tells us:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and He will make your (bent) paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-7

First Fruits

2008-05-24T16:59:00.001-07:00

Above are some children who I believe thought I was Santa Claus! We had an awesome experience doing some prayer walking in all of the areas where church planting will take place. I went with the medical team to their area for the first clinic which will take place in the morning (Sunday). We had the privilege while praying in the streets to lead two ladies to the Lord.
Please continue to pray for us as we minister in Guayaquil.

We are off to Guayaquil

2008-05-24T16:56:00.001-07:00

This is the Alabama team on their way to Guayaquil on Friday, May 23. We made safe and sound but with a few hiccups. Our flight out of Miami was delayed for 4 hours. We were all good missionaries and were not only flexible but fluid.

Safe Arrival

2008-05-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

By God´s grace we all made it safely to Guayquil Ecuador. The Greenville team had an uneventful trips. All of the flights were on time and the travel was pleasant. The Alabama team had a little bit more of an ¨interesting¨ time of it. They were delayed in Miami for 4 hours for various reasons. But, they finally made it to Guayquil at 3 am. Everyone was exhausted but in good spirits. Most of us got out of bed at a decent time and enjoyed a nice breafast and fellowship this morning. We will have our first team ¨debriefing¨ at noon today. The WiFi in the hotel rooms is not working so it may be a little dificult getting posts to the blog. Let´s hope this gets fixed quickly. Please be in prayer today that we would have an awesome time of worship together at noon. We also desire for an encouraging fellowship with the nationals at our kickoff rally tonight.

Layover in ATL

2008-05-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

FSN

Crossword frenzy

2008-05-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

FSN

God will always hold you together

2008-05-01T07:18:00.000-07:00

I watched a video today on God Tube. You really should watch this. As we get closer and closer to our take off date, certain things will come into our lives to get us down, shake our world and put doubt in our minds. I know, because it happens almost every trip. We need to fill our minds and our hearts with things that are real, truths from God’s Word, spiritual things that will build us up not tear us down. This video is only 8 minutes long. Please, take the time to click this link and watch this video. Turn on your sound.

Greenville Team Training

2008-04-28T20:15:00.000-07:00

On Friday, April 25th and Saturday, April 26th, the 12 members of the team from Greenville, SC went through a thorough on-site traning session. The general session on Friday was led by Sam Neugent and Paul Colburn, the E3 Staff. On Saturday, the group was split up into Evangelism and Medical components. Sam and Paul led the Evangelism training and Jeff Davis and Melissa Martin trained the medical team. We are very thankful for the effort these four put into this training session, in taking time off from their "day jobs, " and traveling to Greenville from Birmingham, AL. Click here for the podcasts (~10 min each) of Friday's training session.

The Race

2008-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

My wife Elizabeth received this email and shared it with me today. It moved me and I hope it does the same for you. (FSN)

The Race

"Quit!” “Give up, you’re beaten,” they shout and plead
there’s just too much against you now, this time you can’t succeed.
And as I start to hang my head in front of failure’s face,
my downward fall is broken by the memory of a race.

And hope refills my weakened will as I recall that scene,
for just the thought of that short race rejuvenates my being.
A children’s race, young boys, young men; how I remember well,
excitement sure, but also fear, it wasn’t hard to tell.

They all lined up so full of hope, each thought to win that race
or tie for first, or if not that, at least take second place.
Their fathers watched from off the side, each cheering for his son,
and each boy hoped to show his dad that he would be the one.

The whistle blew and off they went, young hearts and hopes of fire,
to win, to be the hero there, was each young boy’s desire.
One boy in particular, his dad was in the crowd,
was running near the lead and thought “My dad will be so proud.”

But as he speeded down the field across a shallow dip,
the little boy who thought to win, lost his step and slipped.
Trying hard to catch himself, his hands, flew out to brace,
and mid the laughter of the crowd he fell flat on his face.

So, down he fell and with him hope, he couldn’t win it now.
Embarrassed, sad, he only wished to disappear somehow.
But as he fell his dad stood up and showed his anxious face,
which to the boy so clearly said, “Get up and win that race!”

He quickly rose, no damage done, behind a bit that’s all,
and ran with all his mind and might to make up for his fall.
So anxious to restore himself, to catch up and to win,
his mind went faster than his legs, he slipped and fell again.

He wished that he had quit before with one disgrace.
“I’m hopeless as a runner now, I shouldn’t try to race.”
But, in the laughing crowd he searched and found his father’s face,
that steady look that said again, “Get up and win that race!”

So he jumped up to try again, ten yards behind the last,
if I’m going to gain those yards, he thought, I’ve got to run real fast.
Exceeding everything he had, he regained eight or ten,
but trying so hard to catch the lead, he slipped and fell again.

Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye,
there’s no sense running anymore—three strikes I’m out—why try'
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away,
so far behind, so error prone, a loser all the way.

“I’ve lost, so what’s the use,” he thought, “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad, who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low. “Get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here, get up and win that race.”

With borrowed will, “Get up,” it said, “you haven’t lost at all,
for winning is not more than this; to rise each time you fall.”
So, up he rose to run once more, and with a new commit,
he resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.

So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
still he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again.
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.

They cheered the winning runner as he crossed, first place;
head high and proud and happy—no falling, no disgrace.
but, when the fallen youngster crossed the line, last place,
the crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.

And even though he came in last with head bowed low, unproud,
you would have thought he’d won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”

And now when things seem dark and hard and difficult to face,
the memory of that little boy helps me in my own race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all.
And all you have to do to win is rise each time you fall.

“Quit!” “Give up, you’re beaten,” they still shout in my face,
but another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race.”

I hope you overcome today...

(author unknown)

Golf Tournament - Great Success!

2008-04-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, April 10 we held a golf tournament at Timberline Golf Course to help raise funds to purchase medicine for the medical team to go to Guayaquil, Ecuador. 67 golfers came, the weather cooperated with beautiful skies and a cool breeze. After all expenses we raised well over $9,000!! Praise the Lord. Below are a few pictures...
Here everyone is waiting patiently for the "shotgun" start.
Above is the winning team. Way to go guys!

E3 Training Lesson Number 2 – Discipleship

2008-04-08T17:24:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the second conference call training session for our team members from South Carolina and areas other than Birmingham, AL. We now have 60 people committed to this trip. Topics covered during this training session included:

Welcome and brief trip overview
Practice testimony
Working with a translator
Prayer Walking (download MS Word file)
How to use the evangelism tract (download PDF)
Evange ball - Evange bracelet
Discipleship material - Lesson 1 (download MS Word file)
Cell group recipe (download MS Word file)
Kids' ministry
Team leaders
Medical Team
7 things to accomplish on the second visit
Q & A
Closing prayer

If you missed the call, you can download an MP3 podcast.

Hola from Guayquil

2008-03-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

(The following post was emailed by Sam Neugent on 03/29/2008)

Today is Saturday around 5:20 PM. The LDC is now complete. We had 87 people present. God did some amazing things. We will be working with 7 different churches planting 12 new churches. All of the pastors are on board!!! Diego and I had lunch with them on Friday. They had so many questions and showed so much excitement.

Today after teaching them how to use the evangecube, they were asked to go out for 30 minutes and share with people who lived just around the church. I told them they must share with at least one person to be able to eat lunch. I think they believed me!!

After about 40 minutes (Ecuadorian time) they started to drift back in, and they were very EXCITED! One team talked to a group of people and all 8 persons were saved. Two ladies were sharing with a man, he didn’t seem interested, his wife was listening in the other room. She came out with tears in her eyes saying she was just waiting for someone to come to her home and tell her how to go to heaven. She was saved. In all 41 people were saved today right beside the church!!! Gloria Dios!!!

Our hotel is beautiful, you will love it. We have air conditioning and you WILL need it. The temperature is only 85 but the humidity is very high. The food at the hotel is very good. Fresh made to order omelets, fresh fruit, even red beans for breakfast, yum, yum. Pack your swim suit for a late night swim. We have a beautiful swimming pool. For those who like to get up early and exercise, they have a fitness room.

You can see more on their website: www.grandhotelquayaquil.com . I will send you a few pictures when I get home. Forgot the card reader, sorry. Well, I am off to find an Ice Cream shop. I haven’t seen one so far but I know you guys will want one.

Please keep Diego in your prayers. He left the LDC early because his pastor called him this morning asking him to come home. The president of Ecuador made a statement in the countries newspaper yesterday that he did not want the name of God to be placed in their new constitution that is being drafted right now. This has caused concern among the Christian population. Pastors are rising up and making plans to tell their President that this is not right. Diego had made plans for a Presidential prayer breakfast in June. Now they are wanting to move this up sooner. We don’t have anything to be worried about. The people here are loving, accepting and have a great desire for us to come and help them evangelize their nation for God.

Pray for Ecuador - Flooding

2008-02-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

I received an email from our national coordinator in Ecuador, Diego Trujillo. He asked us to pray for the people of Ecuador. They are experiencing the worst rains they have seen in over 25 years. Here is a link from CNN.

Please stop what you are doing right now and lift a prayer for these precious people. The area mentioned in the report is one of the areas where we will be ministering in May.

- Bro. Sam

Medical Formulary Finalized

2008-02-19T18:05:00.000-08:00

One of the most challenging aspects of planning a medical mission trip is developing the medical formulary. We not only have to anticipate what diseases we will be seeing but also the frequency with which they will occur. In addition, within a particular country, disease prevalence can vary greatly dependent upon the geography and degree of industrialization.

That being said, we are happy to announce that we just finalized our formulary for this year's trip. We found some great resources from 2 websites:

We used these resources to modify the basic formulary that we used for our 2006 trip to Tarapoto, Peru. If you are interested in seeing the formulary, you can view it here. Our pharmacists, Lisa Lewis and Roger Blackwell, will now begin locating the best options for purchasing all of these needs.

If you or someone you know would like to donate medicines for use on this trip, please review our formulary first to see if you can meet any of those needs. If you want to donate something not on our formulary, please contact Sam Neugent first. Thank you for your ongoing prayer and support.

Training has begun

2008-02-12T19:44:00.000-08:00

Training for this mission trip is now officially underway. We currently have 57 people committed to this trip. The largest group, coming from Pelham, AL had its first training session last night. Tonight, groups from South Carolina, south Alabama, and southern California joined together for a training session, via conference call. Topics covered during this training session included:

What is E3 Partners
How to give your testimony
How to use the Evangecube (download PowerPoint file)
Five things to do on a first visit
Ecuadorian culture, weather, money, electricity, communicating, translators, shots
Prayer warriors and letters of encouragement
Passport – we need scanned images
How to use the evangeballs
Things to take to Ecuador

If you missed the call, you can download an MP3 podcast.

Please join us

2007-10-09T07:30:00.001-07:00

This mission trip is being hosted by First Baptist Church of Pelham, AL. Dates are May 23-31, 2008. If you are a Great Commission Christian then come and go with us as we take medicine and the gospel to unreached people in Guayaquil, Ecuador.