Summer in Review - Perspectives from Team Leaders

What mission trips look like from the vantage point of the leader...Romania - Reuben Hawks It was the people -- well, it was experiencing the people, especially the children, as we worked with local missionaries that made such an impact on me. It's apparent that the western culture has had its influence on this Eastern European country, but the pliable minds and hearts of these little ones are still so curious and open to the Gospel. My eyes were opened to the supernatural way that the Body of Christ transcends international lines, and our Romanian brothers and sisters are busy at work to make make an impact on the next generation.Many of these children are living out stories; stories, that if they were told, all who heard would be heartbroken at the manner in which children are treated. But many of these are little saints, fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who have no earthly refuge to which they can cling, but are grasping tightly to their precious God each and every day. What a reminder for me to put aside my conveniences that distract me from my true Refuge and to be open and attentive to those who are hurting around me.See the Romania photo album on FacebookEcuador - Daniel CavanaughI am so excited with the work that has been taking place in Ecuador the last four years. As a Global Encounters leader, it has been a privilege to take part in the work of the Gospel in this county. We have not just visited, done a bunch of "good works," and pulled out. Rather, we have planted seed, year after year, with the local churches and we are now seeing incredible fruit as the result of God's work through these efforts.This year we returned with not only a team of young people to work with the kids, but also my parents [Vision4Living Ministries] came and taught over 300 adults from 10 different churches. My heart praises the Lord for the glorious work of the gospel that is taking place in Ecuador. The pastors are excited to see equipping that is giving parents the tools they need and a lasting impact that is affecting the next generation. The Gospel is being preached and discipled, and we know that God's Word will not return void!See the Ecuador photo album on FacebookChiapas Jungle + Medical Team - Amy CookOne of my favorite parts of a mission trip is the connection with team members. I love how a team starts off primarily as strangers, with maybe one or two exceptions, and ends up as good friends. We're all unique in our own way, we each bring something "just us" to the team, and yet God takes all that variety of personality and strength and builds it into a functional team for His glory. Like a symphony comprised of different instruments, the Chiapas team worked together for a common purpose - giving Jesus' love to others. For some that was through kids' programs and water filters, for others it was through the medical clinics, for all it was through offering oneself with all their unique personality and gifting for whatever opportunities arose.I also enjoyed reconnecting with some of our jungle host families, now my friends because of multiple visits I've had to Chiapas. Even though we struggle at times to communicate through the language barrier, there's still a deeper connection of being part of the same spiritual family in the Lord. "So in Christ we who are many form one body..." (Rom 12:5) I walk away with a treasury of memories - everything from late night talks with roommates (we pretty much solved all the world's problems and then some), to a ridiculously early morning photo shoot to catch a jungle sunrise with another team member (it's hard to get up that early after solving world problems late at night), to team devotions and a cappella singing. Best of all though were those private "me and Jesus" conversations along the way, sometimes in the quiet beauty of nature, sometimes in midst of the hustle and bustle of downtown San Cristobal or a noisy airport. Earthly friendships only whet the appetite for that conversational relationship Jesus offers if we will only quiet our souls to listen and commune with Him.Find more team adventures and pictures on the team blogChiapas Jungle + Medical Team - Chris SchweickertI find it hard to convey the full sense of what a jungle team is. An excellent picture, worth a thousand or more words, still reaches only one of your five senses (sight). How do you describe a moment of cross-cultural fellowship with subsistence farmers who don't know what an iPad is but are happy to kill a chicken to feed you? Or a dawn run through coffee-bean plants in a cool rainforest as butterflies float into the sun's morning rays and water drips from the high canopy of trees above? "How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?" How do you begin to tell how a person touched your heart?Perhaps the difficulty of description tells something of why we go. There is no substitute for presence. It is what Jesus brought us, and bought for us. Presence on the 2012 Chiapas Med+Jungle team meant, among other things, the following:

• Holding medical consult clinics in most of the villages we visited
• Starting a children's program outside as fools singing to no audience, and ending with over a hundred curious onlookers
• Becoming the first responders to a hit-and-run accident
• Getting pounded by afternoon storms in the rainforest
• Watching otherworldly sunrises at Maria Morelos, Ch'ol jungle
• Talking with the occasional re-deported immigrant who spoke a little English with an unexpected accent. Where did you work? "Ma-SUR-rah." (Missouri)
• Kicking back with the Doctor and his son Gerardo and communicating (sort of) via the nifty Jibbigo-ES app
• Singing with the best pickup a cappella group I've been a part of
• Running miles all alone in the early morning to a ridge on the horizon (there is absolutely nothing like dawn in the rainforest)
• Ribbing the good-natured Ron Mouser (our faithful driver)
• Enjoying the delightful company of our hosts Steven & Grace Curry and Gaby Ozuna
• Ending with a team of seasoned veterans I didn't want to part ways with.

These experiences may give some sense of our little trip. Many you couldn't replicate - and shouldn't try to. They are rather the reward for being present: for gearing up, showing up, and letting God write the adventure, and entering into that indescribable Fellowship of the Jungle.Find more team adventures and pictures on the team blog