2011 Harvest Summer Missions - Ecuador

Thank you so much for your prayers for out mission trip. We were witnesses to God renewing churches and bringing salvation to individuals. We were blessed to see God moving in what previous teams had done for the past two years but this year was different because for Ecuadorians who are traditionally extremely introverted, private, and protective, this year was the first time that the Ecuador prepared and provided our meals while we were away from the hotel. For the Ecuadorians, for us to be invited in their homes means that they are calling us family. This was huge for us as we had been praying and working to build up these relationships for the past three years. God is definitely answering prayers and providing fruit with our ministry. At the same time, it is with a sad and heavy heart that I inform you that my mission trip did not go exactly as planned. Our schedule was planned to be,

• Sunday: Arrive to Quito
• Monday: Drive out to Lumbaqui
• Tuesday - Thursday: Do ministry in Lumbaqui, Cabeno, and Sinangue; along with other surrounding villages
• Friday: Head back to Quito, eat dinner as a team, go shopping, etc.
• Saturday: Return to Orlando

Thursday, as we were finishing up our ministry and time in Cabeno, the villagers invited us to go swimming at a tourist destination in the Aguarico River. This was a huge step for us because for the past two years (2009 and 2010), that Harvest has sent mission teams to the Amazonian region in Ecuador, we have worked to build up a relationship with the Amazonian villagers, hoping to gain a sense of accountability and trust. Since we've been working to build up a relationship with the people of Lumbaqui, Cabeno, Sinangue, and other surrounding villages, it was a huge step for us to be invited to go swimming in a near by swimming spot with the village members. 

On Thursday, as we were swimming, one of our team members, Joshua Tico Kim, was dragged into a bad current/rip tide and went missing. We were deeply troubled by this and were forced to find ourselves in a place of complete reliance upon Christ. We spent the night praying and hoping that Tico would be found and brought back to us. We then spent Friday morning walking up and down the river bank, searching for any sign of our dear brother Tico.

God's timing is INCREDIBLE! Despite the fact that our brother Tico went missing and is now celebrating with the Jesus Christ our Lord, we completely trusted in God and knew he would be sovereign over everything. To show God's sovereignty over this "tragedy," let me break it down in ways that we, the mission team, saw it.

• Thursday: Tico goes missing, military personnel begin the search for Tico.
• Friday: P. Inki, Tico's brother and father Joseph and Dr. Kim arrive in Quito.
• Saturday: The mission team returns to Orlando, P. Inki, Dr. Kim, and Joseph head out to Lumbaqui to meet up with Chris, Pastor DL, Pastor Henry, Pastor Mejia, and others.
• Saturday - Thursday: Dr. Kim, Joseph, Pastor DL, Henry, Mejia, Chris, and other Amazonian villagers continue to search for Tico.
• Thursday: Pastor DL, Pastor Inki Kim, Dr. Kim, and Joseph return to Orlando
• Friday: Word that Tico has been found, by the very villagers that he loved and ministered to, reaches the parents, pastors, and members of Harvest.

Now, one can question, if God's timing is just and sovereign, why would God have Dr. Kim, Joseph, and P. Inki spend a whole week in Lumbaqui without finding anything? Throughout the week that they were in Lumbaqui, Christ really grew a heart within Dr. Kim, Joseph, and P. Inki for the people of Lumbaqui. As Dr. Kim read the book of Joshua 1: 1-9, Dr. Kim was reminded of why he chose the name Joshua. Joshua 1: 1-9 states,

¹ After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ² “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. ³ I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. ⁴ Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. ⁵ No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. ⁶ Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them. ⁷ “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. ⁸ Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

A crucial verse from the passage comes from Joshua 1: 3. Dr. Kim realized that God wanted him there for that week so that Dr. Kim could search for his son while, "setting foot" all around Lumbaqui. Christ wanted Dr. Kim to set foot in the Amazonian regions of Sucumbios, Ecuador so that Chris could give him every place Dr. Kim set foot. Christ wanted Dr. Kim to see the people of Ecuador that his son loved so much and once he was able to see that, less that 16 hours after their arrival back home, Christ remained faithful and guided the Amazonian villagers to our dear brother Tico. God is good!

As I would love to talk more about Tico, the point of this post is to recap how our mission trip went as a whole. I promise you that there is a post dedicated to our dear brother Tico coming shortly!

From day 1, our mission trip was filled with fruit and blessings. We arrived in Quito and were reunited with some fellow missionaries that we had worked with in the past. The next day, we drove to Lumbaqui and as soon as we arrived their, I just felt this sense of God moving in Lumbaqui and the leaders of Lumbaqui. It was not until Tuesday, August 2, that we were able to start our ministry out there.

Our ministry began in Cabeno where we would begin setting the foundation for a more permanent, stable church building. From cutting down trees with machetes to making wooden stakes with machetes, it was awesome to see how much we were able to connect and build up a relationship with the people of Cabeno. Come Tuesday evening, I had gotten sick and unfortunately, while I was sick, the team was able to continue their ministry to one little boy in the park nearby the hotel with nothing but a guitar and a small flashlight. In the midst of my sickness and the lack of light and other necessities, Christ moved through our team to bring a friend of ours, David, into the family of God. Praise God!

Amongst all of this, we continued our time in Cabeno and Sinangue as we continued to work on our construction projects and God moved in mighty ways, giving us crazy opportunities to minister in ways we never imagines. While I would love to talk more about our trip, this post is long enough and I feel like many of you are really wanting to see pictures. With that in mind, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, and concerns. Enjoy!