Cease Striving

"Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Psalm 46:10



2011 Zaruma Ecuador Medical Team

We had the second annual Ecuador Medical Mission trip in March 2011.  Our team was made up of approximately 40 people.  We had 8 different nationalities and a mix of different Ecuadorian cultures.  To be honest, the event seemed impossible to pull off.   Starting weeks and months in advance we began to work on the logistics.  Then the week before the trip was to start things started to go wrong.  One of the team members had to have an unexpected eye surgery and could not travel.  Two more were stopped before getting on the plane to Ecuador because of passport issues.  In the office in Ecuador, all the electronics began to quit working.  The phone and the internet only worked sporadically, my computer (the trip coordinator..) and the computer that was being used for the finances for the trip died completely.  The lights started going out randomly and the cell phone of the pastor in Zaruma quit working.  Many people got sick right before the trip and Gynecologist fell down a flight of stairs three days before we left.  With so many reasons to get discouraged and frustrated, it was an act of God that not only was everyone excited for what was to come but we were also filled with a supernatural peace.  I have the tendency to get stressed out when I am in charge of something big.  However, this trip was different.  We continually placed every part of the medical clinic in the hands of God, as Psalm 46:10 says, we ceased striving in ourselves and let God be God.  Things went very smoothly until Wednesday of the trip.  Everything started to feel a little off, plus I fell down a flight of stairs.  We began to pray over the area of the clinic as the spiritual struggle was strong.  By the end of the week we had seen about 1000 people for medicine and eyes glasses.  Over 150 people made personal commitment to Christ, for His glory.  Our faith grew as we also saw people crippled from arthritis, walking out with spring in their step after being prayed for.  One man who had a ringing in his ears for over 4 months was immediately healed when a woman placed her hands on his ears to pray.  There were so many things that happened like this.  We saw families reunited, marriages restored and a work began in each of us that continues to this day.  If you want to hear more about what happened just send me an email.

I am still in awe of the way that I was permitted to see the hand of God at work.  A hunger began in me during that week that I am still not able to quench.  Not a desire to see miracles but to put it as my friend explained: When Jesus turned the water into wine, it was a miracle.  The people closest to Jesus saw the water being changed, and the guests tasted the miracle.  They all participated in the miracle though many didn't even realize the incredible thing that happened.  I have too often been one of those in the crowd, just tasting God's miracles without seeing them.  I want to be so close to Jesus that it is only natural that I would see the miracles instead of just unknowingly experiencing them.  Each time I see and realized the amazing ways that He is working, my faith grows and I get closer to Him.  I want this to continue I want to know Him more.

Gabby, Kristen, Guillermo, and me