Ecuador

In June, I will be taking a medical mission to Ecuador with a group of around twenty five heath professionals and volunteers. My group will be ministering to people in remote villages who do not have access to medical care. Hundreds of people come, some walking for hours to get to the clinics. We will also be taking approximately 1000 pairs of socks and shoes for the children and elderly, washing their feet, and fitting them with new socks and shoes. By providing some of the required uniform basics (socks and shoes), we are giving these children the ability to attend school. The mission of this trip is simple: we are there to offer hope! We will do this by serving these needy people both physically and spiritually. We will be teaming up with many local people, including Ecuadorian doctors and church ministers, in order to accomplish a great deal in a very short amount of time.

In a day and age where these is so much uncertainty in our lives, we often experience a sense of hopelessness and insignificance. There are so many needs in the world that are being brought to our attention. But, it is important to remember the impoverished and hurting that are not in the headlines. These people are the poorest of the poor. For some, this may be their first time ever receiving any medical care. They survive every day on a minimal (or even less) existence. Men, women, and children who work in the field, working by hand, carrying hundred pound bags on their backs. They are elderly people who are crippled with arthritis, aged beyond their years due to the hard manual labor they are forced by necessity to perform day in and day out just to survive. They are children who cannot go to school because they do not have food, clean water, or shoes. These are the poorest of the poor.

This summer, I will have an opportunity to “love the least of these.” My team will be working with the Ecuadorian people from June 9 to June 21. We are traveling as a part of” Ecuador Medical Missions” group and will be working with “One Heart Global Ministries”(OHGM.org). Every day we will travel to remote mountain villages and set up medical, shoe, and spiritual clinics. God has blessed me with another amazing opportunity to serve for the second time this year. Last month, I traveled to Kenya to help a local village, Kiria, build roads and develop their spiritual health. It was an amazing experience! I hope that my time in Ecuador will be as blessed and as fruitful.

I know there are so many needs in the world today, so many worthy ventures to support. This is an incredible opportunity to learn and grow; to minister and serve those less fortunate than I. I am excited for the opportunity to contribute to this effort and help change lives.