Thank you for your support! You prayed, you gave, we went and God moved!

We had a great trip to Ecuador. Through this campaign more than 500 people heard the gospel, there were hundreds of professions of faith, over a hundred discipleship lessons completed and 4 new churches started! God is great!

You can check out the Trip Summary post for a synopsis of the week.

Or, if you like the nitty gritty details I’ve loaded up my journal entries from the week so you can get a feel for how the campaign went day to day.

You can also see all my photos from the week here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=asteinbock4&target=ALBUM&id=5392824659072354033&authkey=Gv1sRgCMjLiqCmp_PbkwE&feat=email

Or find out more about e3 and short-term mission trips here:
http://www.e3partners.org/

Trip Summary

As we started the trip I was both nervous and excited. I was nervous because I am inadequate and don’t know what I’m doing and excited because I believed God was going to do a work through us. Turns out I was right on both counts.

The first few days I was a bit anxious as we arrived in Ecuador and met our team. We flew into Guayaquil and spent the night. Then we had a half-day bus ride to Bahia de Caraquez up on the Pacific Ocean. It’s a lot different than the U.S. But at the same time, people are people wherever you go. We all struggle with the same fears and insecurities. We all have the same desires and dreams and we’re all desperately lost without Jesus.

We had a great team of people from the U.S., half from California and half from Wisconsin. Many of them have been on short-term mission trips before and they all have a heart to be used by God and make a difference in the world. Our large team of about 18 split up into four teams when we reached Bahia. Each team worked with a different local pastor and church to help reach a new area by launching a new church plant.

They put me on a great team with three godly women, Mary, Gail and Noreen, from California and they sent us to a city called Calceta, about an hour and a half inland from Bahia. I figure there are around 25,000 people there with one old church downtown. Clearly there was a lot of work to do.

I was a bit nervous to get out there and share with people. You never know if you’re going to say the right thing. But part of sharing the gospel and your testimony is just getting out there and doing it. And by the end of the week I was a lot more comfortable.

At first we didn’t have a clear plan for what we should do in Calceta since our pastor had to work during the day and couldn’t be with us to direct us. So our first big ministry day was tough and a bit discouraging for me. I didn’t feel like I knew what I was doing trying to lead out there and I had people responding to the gospel but it was hard to tell if they really got it.

But by Tuesday things had turned a corner. I settled down and left the results up to God. And it was clear that God was doing a real work in people’s hearts. We had a great response and people were interested in growing in their faith. By Wednesday night we had a service to gather the people who had responded and introduce them to the pastor, Jose Cevallos. It was awesome.

Over the course of a few days we saw people genuinely respond to the gospel and turn to God. We saw them learning to get into the Bible and grow in their faith and we saw them come together as the first step towards becoming a church- a community of believers.

By the time we had to leave God had laid the foundation for a new work in Calceta. It was sad to go, knowing I will probably never see those people again, but we got to be a part of the work God is doing. He wants all nations to know him and we got to be a small part of it.

It will probably be a while before I start to understand how God has changed me through this trip but there are a few things I know I’ve come away with:
An increased faith in the power of the gospel to change people’s lives,
A clearer picture of our universal need for a relationship with Jesus,
and a deeper conviction of the need to come alongside brand new believers and disciple them.

Thank you for all your prayers, they were desperately needed. It was an amazing week and I hope God sends me again. Let me encourage you to pray and ask God how he might want to use you as well!

So what exactly is the “mission” on this mission trip?

Jesus spelled it out for us in the Great Commission when he told us to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus wants every person to know him and become a mature, whole-hearted follower. But how do we do that?

God gave us a great model in the book of Acts. Starting in Acts 13, Luke records the missionary activities of Paul and Barnabas and there is a recurring pattern.

· They prayed and God sent them out.
· When they arrived in a city they would share the gospel,
· Then they would gather the new believers together to teach, strengthen and encourage them.
· And before they moved on they would appoint leaders to watch over the young church.

We believe the best way to carry out the Great Commission is to plant healthy, growing churches that will multiply and carry on the work long after we’re gone. Making mature followers takes time and it happens in the context of the fellowship of believers who are on mission with God in the world.

A short-term mission trip can be the catalyst to help start a healthy, growing church that will make disciples and multiply to carry on the mission of fulfilling the Great Commission.

God wants all of us to be a part of reaching our neighborhoods, our regions and the world (Acts 1:8). How might God want to use you to help change the world?

October 9th 2009
We had a nice tourist day today in Guayaquil. It is their Independence Day so the city is packed with people. I miss my family and it will be nice to get home. But it is sad because the trip has been so great. I will miss the people of Ecuador. I think I’ve grown a lot and God has been doing a work in me. I think it will be a while before I have an idea what the full impact has been. But I am very glad I got the chance to go. I’ve had the opportunity to be obedient to the Great Commission and take the gospel to the world. It’s a good feeling. I hope I get to go again.


Here's a photo from the celebration service yesterday in Fanca, a suburb of Bahia.

October 8th 2009
Because today was a half day so we would have time to get back to Guayaquil and because our group had so far to go we didn’t go out to our mission point. Instead pastor Jose brought us into the prison to share the gospel with the prisoners. It was really cool. Don shared his testimony and Derek went up and presented the gospel to them using the evangecube. He did a great job. Then he invited me to come up and lead those who wanted to respond in a prayer to receive Christ. It was great. Many of them accepted the gospel message. It was a great experience and now I have the added bonus of being able to say I’ve spent time in an Ecuadorian prison!

October 7th 2009
Well our trip leader Don Buege came out with our team today to see how things are going out in Calceta. We thought we were going to have some discipleship lessons with some people this morning but it didn’t work for them. You just never know where the Holy Spirit is going to send you. Since our appointments didn’t work out we went back to some of the houses that didn’t want to talk to us yesterday. Well God wanted us there today. Don and his translator Fanni met a young woman who was really seeking for God. They talked with her for a while and she accepted Christ. God sent us to another house where we talked with a man, Francisco, and his mother-in-law. They accepted Christ too and we went back for a discipleship lesson this afternoon. It was great. We also got to go back and visit Johana again and go through the next discipleship lesson with her. She is probably my favorite. There is a definite work of God going on there. She’s not sure about how her husband feels about all this but we shared with her out of 1 Corinthians 7. It’s sad I won’t be there to follow up with her but our nationals will be.
We had our first service in Calceta tonight! It was nice. A decent number of community members came including Johana, Francisco, and Sandro. Pastor Jose came out after work and led the service. He gave a really nice message where he explained the story of the evangecube in great detail. It is sad to go. This is a special place and it’s been fun to see how God has used us. I was scared and didn’t know what to expect. Of course I was nervous about going door to door and sharing my testimony and presenting the gospel. But I feel a lot better about it now. God is using it in many people’s lives.
Derek got baptized this morning in the Pacific, on the beach, by his pastor that he is working with here. That was cool to see. Derek is a great guy from Fond du Lac. God has a plan for him and I bet he has grown quite a bit this week.
Well last night we had dinner with the mayor of Bahia up on the hill by a giant cross that overlooks the city. It was nice.

October 6th 2009
Tuesday was a good day. I think after yesterday I started today with the results completely surrendered to God. Things went a lot better out there. At first we had a couple houses we tried to go to and they didn’t want to talk to us. Then we stopped by at a young mother’s house and she invited us right in. This would never happen in the U.S.! This young woman with two young daughters invited three strange men into her home when no one was around. But it was a God appointment.
Her name is Johana. She has a two year old and a six month old. I shared a bit of my testimony and why I was there and then I handed off the evangecube to Gustavo to share the gospel message. He did a great job and she wanted to receive Christ. She told us she had been feeling far from God and wanted to get closer to him.
She is a very honest and open person. This was cool because it was definitely a work of God going on in her heart. As we talked with her, both Andrew my translator and Gustavo my national agreed that she was getting it. We went back this afternoon and did the first discipleship lesson with her and she is really understanding the gospel. Part of me had been wondering why we were spending an hour and a half in the back of a pick-up truck to get here when we pass thousands of perfectly lost people along the way that need Jesus too. But I’m starting to see, God has a plan out here in Calceta.
We shared with a woman named Ana right before lunch. It was one of those cases where we decided to visit just one more house. She got it too and wanted to receive Christ! You just never know what’s going to happen next out here.
Gail had an exciting afternoon. She shared at a house and the whole family got saved. They were excited and told her she had to go over here and tell her neighbors about this. And that kept happening. We had a lot of professions of faith today and some discipleship starting too.
Actually our mission point out in Calceta is pretty cool. It’s a pain to get out there (literally a pain in the butt bouncing in the back of a pick-up truck for an hour and a half) but it’s really beautiful once we’re there. It’s very tropical with some highland hills nearby. And lunch has been very good. They are very good cooks at the restaurant where they feed us. The joke is we don’t want the other teams to find out how good we have it.
Tuesday was a really good day. We got to see God doing some cool things. The work is bearing fruit already. Noreen went back and did a discipleship lesson with Tito our driver. He’s going through a tough time with his wife because he cheated on her. He asked them to pray for them. He wants her to become a Christian too. It’s fun to see God working on him.
Our nationals Gustavo and Shirley are awesome. We sent them home with an evangecube and some discipleship lessons to look over for tomorrow. Their daughters loved the cube and wanted to take it to school to share with their classes. They are really a cool family. It’s a bit sad because tomorrow is our last day on site in Calceta. I will probably never see any of these people again.

October 5th 2009
Well our first day out there went reasonably well. It was hard and part of me feels a little discouraged but God did some cool stuff too. We met the nationals we’ll be working with on the ride out there today. There are two guys, Edison and Jose Vicente and a couple, Gustavo and Shirley. Edison and Jose have both spent time in prison where they got saved. Pastor Jose is the prison warden. He used to work over in Portoviejo but he got transferred to Bahia.
Gustavo and Shirley are a great couple who are on fire for God. They go out and share the gospel and they take their two daughters who are 8 and 9. Gustavo is going to be my national and we will work together all week.
Well the first day was interesting but tough too. We don’t have any strong local leadership in place and there isn’t a clear plan and I am supposed to lead our team and I’ve never done this before. It was a tough spot for me because I’m not a jump in there, go get ‘em type leader.
I have a great team though. I’m working with three godly women, Gail, Mary and Noreen. They have mature Christian walks and have been on e3 campaigns before. They are always laughing and having fun. They don’t really need me to do any leading. I feel like they are the ones training me.
Because I’m new I got paired with the best translator on our team. Most of the translators are young students from Quito. They are maybe 15-16 years old. But my translator in Andrew. He’s probably in his twenties and has done e3 campaigns before. He likes to joke around too and he fits right in on the team.
Well the first house we went to I was nervous and didn’t quite know what to say. We talked with a family who was marginally interested. They stood up on their porch while we stood below and tried to share with them. The husband was listening and tracking with me but the wife was rather stand-offish. He prayed to receive Christ but I have no idea if he really has saving faith.
Then we talked with a young guy named Gregorio. He was running a small corner store in front of his family’s house. He listened to my story and I could see that he identified with some of what I was saying. He prayed to receive Christ but I don’t know if he got it either. In Gregorio’s case though I believe he is experiencing some Holy Spirit conviction. He looked scared but he wanted to hear about what we were saying. I think God is working on his heart but I don’t know if he is there yet.
Well Monday afternoon the team went out again after lunch. It is really hot here. The sun is pounding down pretty good. I got in a discussion at lunch with Teresa and her family about what we are doing. They are great people- very nice. She is feeding us lunch and letting us use the restaurant. I wanted to make sure we know where she was at. We had a very good conversation, probably a couple hours long. She is staunchly Catholic but understands that going to church and giving money is not real faith. I asked her if she died and was standing before God and had to give a reason why she should get into heaven, what would she say. She wasn’t real clear about it but she also didn’t say she would go because she is a good person. I don’t know where she is at but it was a great discussion. While we were talking with her her little boy asked about the evangecube. It was great because then I was able to use the cube to share the gospel with the whole family. But because of our discussion it didn’t feel right yet to ask if they wanted to pray to receive Christ.

Part of me felt guilty talking with them so long while the rest of my team was out sharing. I felt I should be out there too but I also felt like someone needed to invest in Teresa and her family. I briefly got out to share again with one more person, I guy named Sandro. He said he had talked with a missionary before and had prayed so I wasn’t sure what to do. We had shared my testimony with him and the evangecube but then I wasn’t sure how to proceed. My teammate Mary helped me out and asked if he wanted to make sure he was going to heaven. He wanted to and prayed to receive Christ.

My other teammates had similar days with a number of people making professions of faith. It was kind of a tough day and I’m feeling a little discouraged. A number of people prayed to receive Christ but it’s hard to know if they really got it. The leading was hard too and I’m not sure what to do out there. I’m lacking much motivation to get back out there tomorrow. Obviously I’ll go but this has been hard for me. I think my key verse now is Hebrews 12:3. “Consider him(Jesus) who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” I just need to remember what Jesus went through and not get weary and lose heart.
There was one really cool thing that happened Monday. At lunch our driver Tito started asking Noreen about the evangecube. All our translators were resting so Noreen tried to explain it to him as best she could. Then Noreen realized that Tito wasn’t a Christian. We all thought because he knew pastor Jose and worked with him at the jail and was helping us this week that he was a believer. Noreen shared as best as she could and then Tito indicated he wanted to pray to receive Christ! Shirley, one of our national workers, realized what was going on and she came over and helped lead him in a prayer to receive Christ. It was awesome! Even without knowing Spanish, Noreen was able to share the gospel with Tito using the pictures on the evangecube and he gave his life to Christ. God is awesome! Talk about using us despite our limitations!
Randy finally got in today. He’s in rough shape. He’s really sick and he’s been stuck in airports after his flight got cancelled. First he missed the first couple days of the campaign and then he has to deal with feeling rotten. It must be tough for him because he lives for this stuff.

Did I mention where we are staying? The week before we were supposed to arrive the government shut down the hotel we were supposed to stay at in Bahia. So they had to move us and we ended up at this awesome hotel right on the Pacific. Apparently it’s about the same cost. My room overlooks the pool with the Pacific in the background. All day long we hear the waves crashing on the beach right in front of the hotel. They serve us breakfast at a large table set up on the patio. Today we saw dolphins or porpoises swimming around out there while we ate. It’s pretty nice. Penny Peterson said this is the nicest place she’s stayed at in South America. We’ll take it. Thank you God!

October 4th 2009
So here I am. I’m excited, I’m scared. Again I woke up at 4:00 and couldn’t get back to sleep. I’m scared that I won’t be equal to the task but God reminded me that even as I sit here looking out at the roaring waves of the Pacific and listening to the sound of the crashing waves and worshipping God for his greatness and power, even as I do that God reminded me that he loves me. He has already accepted me even if I fail. I’m not here to earn any standing with him. It makes me want to run to him and cry out, “Abba, Father!”

I am nervous/scared but I also want to see God use me. I believe he will use me, but over and over I have to remind myself that it’s not about me. Yes I am inadequate but that doesn’t matter because it’s about God’s power not mine.
We’re going off to visit a church this morning before we tour our mission points. I’m excited for Aaron. He will be working with a different pastor at a different church and he already knows he will be giving the morning and evening messages. He’s probably a little anxious but God has laid a message on his heart and he’ll do great. It’s sad that Randy isn’t here right now. His flight got delayed, hopefully he should arrive tomorrow.

Well Sunday was a nice day. Our pastor took us to visit a church here in Bahia. In a way it reminded me of Crossroads. They meet in an open building with large speakers set up in front and upbeat praise and worship music. It was a large church, probably 150-200 people. It was funny, before the offering one of the leaders gave a short message about giving. She talked about Malachi 3:10 and 2 Corinthians 9:8. It’s definitely a little different tactic than we would use in the U.S. After church the people went down to the beach where they had some baptisms. It was fun to watch.
We got to go out and visit our ministry points today. The other group working with pastor Jose Cevallos will be in a suburb of Bahia called Fanca. The living conditions are a lot different than in the U.S.
The houses typically have concrete pillars in the corners with narrow brick walls in between and a concrete or steel roof. The windows are wide open with bars over them. Typically there is no glass. Many of the houses are made all out of wood. Some are up on stilts, some have thatched roofs. There is a lot of garbage around and stray dogs wandering everywhere.
We also traveled out to my teams mission point which will be about an hour and a half inland in a city called Calceta. It will be a long ride there and back everyday in the back of a pick-up truck. We go past quite a few towns and a larger city called Tosagua to get there. It’s odd that we have to go so far each day but God must have a plan. Pastor Jose grew up in Calceta and has a heart to reach this city. I’m guessing there are around 25,000 people here. We will focus on one neighborhood outside of town. There is a restaurant on a corner that will be our base of operations (the restaurant is a thatched roof over a concrete pad next to a house). The lady who runs the restaurant is named Teresa. She grew up with pastor Jose and is going to help us and feed us lunch every day.
We met the nationals who will be helping us. A guy named Tito is our driver. It will be tricky because Pastor Jose won’t be able to work with us out at the mission point since he has to work as the warden of the prison in Bahia. I’m anxious and nervous to see how it goes when we get out here to do evangelism, but it was nice to see where we will be working first.

October 3rd 2009
After a lousy nights sleep in Guayaquil and a long bus ride we are here in Bahia de Caraquez. We had a very exciting afternoon seeing the city, meeting our teams and translators, and the pastors we will work with. Our team has a very exciting assignment. We will be working in a new area to evangelize and start a church there. We have no idea if this church has any members or leaders yet. Pastor Jose Cevallos will work with us to establish the church and watch over it when we are gone.

I’ve got a great team to work with, two sisters Mary and Gail and their friend Noreen. They are experienced campaigners who know each other out in California. It is scary and exciting to see how tomorrow will go. If I focus on me then I feel nervous and woefully inadequate, especially to break new ground to take the gospel to a new area. But it’s not about me. Being worried if God will work because I’m inadequate gives me too much credit. All the power is His. Lord increase my faith.

I am excited, I believe he is going to use us to do something cool. It is interesting that God sent me here, and our team, instead of encouraging, strengthening and training an existing church, will be focused on planting a new church… I’m not sure what His purpose is there but let’s find out.

October 2nd 2009
Well we are on our way. It has been a smooth trip so far. I have an awesome seat on our flight from Miami to Guayaquil. It is a beautiful view out the window of a full moon out over the ocean with some scattered clouds and the occasional flash of lightning. God made an amazing world.

I am excited and scared for Ecuador. We have a good team of 18 people. Many of them have been on several trips before. It is the first time for Derek and his dad Howie from Fond du Lac so it is fun talking to them because none of us know what to expect. I hope I do a good job and God uses me. It will be interesting to see who is on my team. I am anxious to meet our pastor and church as well. I hope we make a good connection.