Dear Friends & Family,
At the end of last year, I was wrapping up Perspectives Class – a discipleship class on the world Christian movement – and I committed to going on a short-term missions trip sometime in 2025. And God has opened a door and I’ll be going to Ecuador on August 3-9! As part of my new role as assistant pastor for missions and college at Harvest Church in Orlando, FL, I have the privilege of being part of our group that’s going to visit the church planting ministry that Harvest has partnered with for almost 15 years.
Who will be there
Pastor Samuel & Santiago Church in Quito, Ecuador
Pastor Gonzalo & church leaders from “El Oriente” – the Amazon region of Ecuador
Harvest & Vision Church – there are 10 of us (see picture below!)
Ola Johansson & Yonchu Song – former missionaries to Ecuador and our interpreters
What we’ll be doing
We will be participating in a retreat for the church leaders and members. Our team members will be sharing testimonies, leading workshops on leadership & missions, and enjoying times of fellowship and fun with our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters.
Why we are going
The goal of this trip is to encourage the church and to strengthen relationships between the groups represented. Harvest has partnered with Pastor Gonzalo for almost 15 years and has supported his church planting ministry. As we were preparing for this trip, our friends in Ecuador shared with us that they often feel isolated and lonely, and that they are looking forward to time together. In the past few months of getting to know Harvest and being part of the community, I’ve been reminded all over again of the rich blessing we have in church family and sharing life together. Even as we try to catch our breath from the fullness of summer ministry with VBS, retreats and conferences, it’s easy to take for granted that we have such an abundance of opportunity for connection and learning. And so, I am extra thankful that we get to share in this time with fellow believers in Ecuador!
How you can pray!
- Please pray for the church leaders and members in Ecuador to be encouraged and renewed during our time together. Pray that they would return to their communities feeling refreshed and energized for continued ministry.
- Pray for unity and love to cover our time. Pray for protection against anything that would divide us – cultural miscommunications, differing expectations, etc. Pray that God would give us his heart for one another and the ministry.
- Pray for wisdom and discernment regarding future ministry partnerships.
- Pray for safe travel for all the groups – we were originally supposed to hold the retreat in a different city but heavy rains washed out the roads! Please pray for protection and provision over all trip logistics.
How you can support!
Each person needs to raise $1600 to cover flights and in country costs (much of this includes covering costs for the retreat for the church members from the churches in Ecuador). If you are able and willing to support us financially, you can give via the link in this email.
Thank you for praying and for sharing life with me! I am so thankful for the many moments of shared life and ministry with you. I look forward to catching up with you soon and sharing about how the trip goes!
Thankful,
Michelle
Our Ecuador group from Harvest & Vision Church: (l-r) KJ Kim, Miran Kim, Minsun Kim, Michelle Oh, John Lee, Sam Kim, Joseph Kim, Stephen Lee, Pastor DL Kim (Elder Chris Lee not pictured)
