mission team dynamics

So as usual I am really looking forward to getting my team to Quito, Ecuador this Saturday. It's the first mission trip for all but one and most have never been out of the country. We're a part of ChildReach Ministries (www.childreachministrie.org) and will spend time painting at Nuevos Amigos Christian School, visiting Compassion Internationals child survival and leadership development programs, meeting the kids we sponsor, attending a cross cultural worship service, putting on a VBS/Carnival and seeing poverty on a level that is hard to compare with anything in the United States.

And my team doesn't realize it yet, but we will become fast friends. I am always amazed at how this takes years to accomplish when we are all wrapped up in jobs and school and parenthood and whatever but takes about 4 days on the mission field. Why is that? I believe it's because of what we experience together: incredible joy, deep sorrow, a God who comes on strong and is way bigger than we ever imagined.

So are you ready Tom, Christy, Shawn, Krista, Kim, Jeff, Marty, Lisa, Jonathan, Rachel and Karissa? Ready to meet people who live in extreme poverty but have incredible joy?
Ready to have your heart broken by the beautiful brown haired, brown eyed children of Ecuador? And ready to make some friends and have an experience you will remember for the rest of your life? Here we go............