Mission Accomplished

The Puembo mission team has completed their mission work and declares it a mission accomplished. It was our mission to come to Puembo, first, to share Christ through a dental ministry. The dental ministry saw over 90 people come primarily for fillings, checkups, and extractions. We were able to hand out over 200 packages of toothbrushes and tubes of toohtpaste. Futhermore, the gospel was presented each day to those who were waiting to see the dentist. We can count four people who came to faith in Christ through the dental ministry. Second, the team came with the mission of laying the foundation for a church plant. This appears to be on the horizon because the people who came to faith in Christ through the dental ministry are willing to start a Bible study in their home. Moreover, God brought before us a marvelous, humble man of God who has a desire and passion to assist in planting a church in the area of Puembo. The vision he has in starting a church that will in turn start other churches is precisely the same vision we had as we made preparations to come to Puembo. Although the work is not done here it has only begun, we believe the first part of the mission has been accomplished.

Today the team finished up the dental ministry, a few traveled to a Children's hospital, and to conclude the day the movie "Fireproof" was shown in the colisieum. We have meet some beautiful and wonderful people. The people of Ecuador are some of the most warm-hearted people you will ever meet. It has been a great joy and pleasure to come and minister to them in the name of Christ. The team has had a wondeful time together this week and will be making their way through Quito tomorrow and onto Atlanta later in the evening. Thank you to everyone who has lifted up the team in prayer each day. We are so thankful for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for the people of Puembo, Ecuador and the work that will be beginning through the Bible studies.

I have attached the photos above in order for you to get a glimpse of the people who were involved and the people of Puembo, Ecuador. From left to right the photos are: a young Ecuadorian boy and girl who came to our VBS time during the week, the dental team who worked tirelessly all week (Kayla Harrison, Marjorie Hawkins, Kelly Benning, Dr. Brian Benning, Destiny Washington, Lisandro, Maryann Tepley,Tracy Dakil, Santiago, and Carolina), our dentist and dental hygienist Dr. Brian Benning and Maryann Tepley, our mission team (Brad and Marjorie Hawkins, Dr. Brian and Kelli Benning, Rick and Kayla Harrison, Tracy Dakil, Maryann Tepley, and Destiny Washington) sharing a lunch together with our translators and IMB missionaries.