My excellent supporters, following is a copy of the support letter that my students sent out. I include this copy so that you can have all the updated information and know how to give if you choose.
Making a difference, learning to serve, following a call to worship, loving people, and giving of myself. Not your normal description of a college student. Yet for the month of January, I believe I will be challenged in all these ways!
Every January Interterm Taylor’s Lighthouse program sends student groups around the world to perform service-learning projects alongside carefully chosen host ministry partners. This year’s teams will share the love of Christ through service and witness in Ethiopia, Paraguay, Guatemala, India, Ecuador, and the Czech Republic. I am excited to tell you that I have been selected to serve on the Ecuador mission team!
The 14 million Ecuadorians have seen seven presidents in the past nine years, which has rocked the economy leaving 41% below the poverty line. I am grateful for the privilege to continue Taylor’s long-term partnership with the Verbo Church based in Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city. This vibrant church has grown from 12 new believers in 1988 to a thriving congregation of more than 1,800 with many effective ministries impacting Cuenca, and several daughter churches in the surrounding region. We will serve with the church’s ministries that address the spiritual and physical needs of children and teens in crisis. We will also minister in a small village alongside one of the Verbo daughter churches through work projects and evangelism. In both places we are eager to stay in the homes of church families. We have much on the agenda, and it excites my team to serve in so many ways!
Lighthouse projects are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for students like me to apply classroom preparation in real-life situations of need, challenging us in many ways. I know that through working with my peers, faculty, and this wonderful partner ministry I will be stretched to develop my gifts and abilities. I pray that when this is done, my life will show a biblical view of caring and justice toward others. This mission trip is academically challenging as we will merge the study of our host nation and culture in the fall with the service experience in January – a great and necessary combination.
First, may I ask that you please pray for us as we strive to move beyond ourselves, increase our understanding of the global church, and love the people of Ecuador as Jesus loves them? Please pray for:
- Our host ministry staff, that God will empower their work, and that we will be a help and encouragement to them.
- The people we will serve, that God will bring open hearts and minds to Christ’s message of grace, meet their needs, and work in and through us to build relationships and bring blessing.
- Our team, that we will rely on God in unity, have our eyes opened to the needs of others, communicate the Gospel clearly, and serve effectively in the Ecuadorian culture.
- Our financial needs, that God will provide the support we need for this mission project. Our team of 13 must raise $33,475 for airfare, ground transportation, lodging, meals, and ministry supplies.
Next, would you please prayerfully consider contributing to our mission project? Your assistance, no matter the amount, will help impact the lives of the Ecuadorians with the reality of Christ! Our team is also contributing to the trip to cover about 10% of the cost. If you choose to give, select “Give” at Taylor's Lighthouse webpage. If you prefer to give by check, please make your check payable to Taylor World Outreach and please do not list my name anywhere on the check. Include a note that it is for me and my trip and send it to Taylor World Outreach, Taylor University, 236 W Reade Ave, Upland, IN 46989-1001. Contributions are tax-deductible and will be used to fund this project. If there are surplus funds, they will go to other Lighthouse projects or the host ministry. All funds need to be received by December 9, 2011.
Thank you for your prayers and support. I am eager to discover more of God’s love for the nations and see what He will do as we humbly serve in Ecuador. You may go to tulighthouse.wordpress.com during January to receive specific prayer requests and trip updates.
