I am excited about traveling to Ecuador this summer to help give people clean drinking water! I have participated in four mission trips to Ecuador in the past five years to help provide people with clean drinking water. Our church in El Paso, Paseo Christian (http://paseochurch.net/), has partnered with Iglesia de Christo Iberoamericana (ICI) (http://www.iamweb.org/recreo.html), a local church in El Recreo (https://www.google.com/maps/@-2.1702248,-79.8046585,3261m/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en), which is about half an hour east of Guayaquil, Ecuador (http://goo.gl/59oIPj).
Our previous teams (https://www.facebook.com/PaseoEcuador) have distributed microfiltration systems (http://sawyer.com/international/products/sawyer-pointone-filter-with-bucket-adapter-kit-3-ft-hose/) house by house to nearly 400 families. These filters are designed to provide bacteria-free water for 5-10 years, which will save these families about ten percent of their monthly income typically spent on purchasing purified water (in addition to the cost of medical treatment and lost work due to waterborne diseases). By partnering with ICI, we are able to bless the local community and provide long-term relational connections between people of the community and the local church. Following up from our previous trips, the local church has hosted children's soccer tournaments, provided marriage seminars, and started Bible studies in many homes. Over time, these Bible studies grow into house churches, and they begin multiplying throughout the local community. Our prayer is that this partnership will help us all be salt and light in our local communities and around the world.
We have planned an upcoming trip July 9-16, 2016, and our goal is to distribute filters to another 75-100 families. Thirsty People (http://www.thirstypeople.org/) has already agreed to sponsor the purchase of the filters, but our team still needs support in several ways. First, our goal is for each person on our team to have seven prayer partners praying for the preparation for our trip and praying for us daily during our trip. If you would like to commit to pray for me and our team, please reply to this email and let me know. Second, each team member needs to raise funds for airfare (~$1300) and room and board (~$500). If you would like to support me financially, you can give online with a credit card or electronic check (http://paseochurch.net/give/), and please choose the "Missions Fund" option), or you can mail a check to:
PASEO CHURCH
PO Box 960218
EL PASO, TX-79996
Please include "Ecuador" in the Memo field, and no gift is too small. (Paseo is a registered non-profit, so financial gifts to Paseo are tax-deductible.)
I am also very excited about this trip because four UTEP Engineering students are going with me. I believe that this is an opportunity to inspire them to devote their lives to showing people the love of Christ by helping people get clean water.
Thank you for reading this email and for prayerfully considering how God may lead you to support our trip. Please don't hesitate to call or email me if you want to find out more details about this ministry.