Montero, Bolivia

Making Disciples

2007-11-15T07:11:00.000-08:00

Many mission organizations emphasis evangelism, E3 Partners puts more emphasis on "making disciples". If you read the Great Commission carefully you will see that Jesus Christ gave us direction - to go and MAKE DISCIPLES. The picture above is a perfect example of what E3 Partners is all about. Here you see a pastor and a church leader discipling two new believers.
Would YOU consider going with us to fulfill the Great Commission to GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES?

story by Sam Neugent

God Even Uses Puppets

2007-11-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

It is amazing to see how God uses "things" to bring honor to Himself. Two teenage girls did a puppet show for 30+ kids while parents and other adults were in a discipleship class. I have done puppets and after just a few minutes my arm gets very tired. These young girls did a 30 minute puppet show NEVER taking their arms down. My hat is off to them for using their talent and sacrificing their arms to do this.
On this trip, the gospel was presented using our testimony, tracts, the evangecube, kids ee cube (this is brand new), the evangeball (soccer ball), puppets, drama, dance, music...... you name it. Thank you God for giving us the tools to use and talents to use them. To God Be The Glory!

story by Sam Neugent

Teenage Evangelists

2007-11-15T06:53:00.000-08:00

Our team, Cindy Odgers, Gary Hill and myself, Jason Jarvis were assigned a site next to a school. Many children were playing in a field next to the school each afternoon. These children began to gather around us after we started kicking a soccer ball in the field one afternoon. Four teenage girls from the mother church began sharing the gospel with the children as they gathered. Ten young people accepted Christ in the first 15 minutes.
These teenage girls had NEVER shared their faith before, but I believe they will be sharing LONG after we leave Bolivia.

story by Jason Jarvis

Wednesday in Pico de Monte

2007-11-15T06:48:00.000-08:00

The future of this church is in the hands of God, Pastor Javier and his exceptional church members. They worked tirelessly feeding the beautiful children and adults of the community the word of God. It is hard to believe we are about to head home in a couple of days. There is so much work to be done and we have just scratched the surface. These children are the hope of their church surviving.
It is impossible to tell you all of the emotions that have filled my heart and mind when I think of Pico de Monte and the people that we have grown to love so quickly.
I felt so inadequate to help our friends when we came, they were just so grateful we were here. They are so appreciative of anything you do.
I would like to change the subject to thank all our church family that prayed for us, gave us cards of inspiration, you have no idea the love felt from them, . They would be read at night when we were so tired and felt more like dropping in bed than eating dinner. To Jamie and Kerry who have watched Amber for us, Carolyn and Bob who watched the chickens and cats for us, there are not enough words to tell you how grateful Gary and I are.
To my family who loves us, thank you for your prayers, we love you Delores.

story by Delores Hill

Esperanza School - God Opened The Door

2007-11-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

We have been in the area of Nuevo Esperanza - New hope . This is a newer area of the city and appears to be better off than some of the areas other teams are in. Most of the homes are self built as materials are available; all are brick or block, many are one room with provisions for adding on to them; some are quite nice by local standards.

New Hope is just that for me. Today we were so blessed a second time as we shared the Gospel with four more classes in a school. What a blessing to share Gods Word and the Gospel of Jesus in a public school

Hope is here in the faces of the children. The schools are safe, the teacher respected and the classes were all eager for us to share the Gospel with them. Here the children know about Jesus, but they didn’t know you can have a personal relationship with Jesus. While one of us told our testimony and story, the rest of the team showed the EvangiCube close up. We had 139 professions of faith. We prayed in class. One teacher gave a temendous testimony of her niece who was killed just the day before in a car accident and the impact on her family, she told the children "you don't know when you might die", her story was very moving. We prayed for her and her family right there in the class.

When I asked if I could take their picture in one class, they almost instantly got into a group pose, what a joy to show them their picture right after taking it.

Yesterday my team witnessed to four 16-22 year old men hanging out on the street in front of a home. Shortly after starting to talk to them, the mother of one of them joined us. The oldest of the young men had a lot of questions, and I was glad I have been studying the Bible, as the answers were there and we were able to lead all five of them to the Lord.

W think of America as a country of freedoms, but we no longer have the freedom of speech or religion that our founding fathers brought forth to our New Nation. Why do missionaries go to other nations? Maybe because the people’s hearts in other nations are not hardened like those in America.

story by Gary Hill

God's Creation - The Earth, The Sky, Us.....

2007-11-14T09:36:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a time for catch-up and follow-up. The rains caused flooding in some areas and mud in others. We attended our pastor's church (each with their own pastor) and enjoyed fellowship with the parishioners. We prayed for our pastor. We went back to our mission area but the cold temperature kept people inside and since they have no place to share except outside, we revisited those who came to the Lord just to 'touch' and invite them to the discipleship meeting Monday evening. The team spent the evening working with the nationals on using the EvangiCube in sharing our testimony.

Today, Tuesday, we split up into smaller teams; myself, Meream my translator, Lucero and Alejandra. What a blessing to watch their love for the Lord. The other side of the school in our area is a little better off in that the homes have fences and gates, but no doorbells; but we were still blessed with being able to share the gospel. While most know about Jesus and have Bibles, they don't know Jesus and are hungry for that relationship. We brought 4 youths and 8 adults to the Lord, and I signed one bible (I didn’t know what to do when the woman asked for me to sign it, but she was pleased)

As Christians, we really don't think about the lost until you open your eyes and look for them, they are everywhere and need us to follow God's direction and tell others the good news about salvation through Jesus.

Story by Gary Hill

Changed Lives! - 4 Day Update

2007-11-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

Aren't these kids precious? There are many changed lives in Boliva, kids, youth and adults and not just Bolivians. Below is an update of what God is doing this week through the 4th day of ministry.

The Gospel has been presented 1115 times
872 precious souls have accepted Jesus
553 have been discipled in their homes
1328 have attended an evening cell group

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!

story by Sam Neugent

Kids Cube - New Evangelism Tool for E3 Partners

2007-11-14T07:47:00.001-08:00

Above is Ben, a 12 year old from Ohio sharing through his translator Pamela to an 11 year old boy named Luis in Montero, Bolivia. Ben is using a new product designed for kids to win kids. Every time Ben saw a child who was old enough to understand te gospel story, he would pull out the "Kids EE cube". On Ben's first day in the mission field WITHOUT his father beside him, he lead 16 kids AND adults to Christ. Way to go Ben.

story by Sam Neugent

Thank you God for our Translators!

2007-11-14T07:44:00.001-08:00

WOW! Today was another awesome day! We met this morning and our intentions were to go out and visit the people who received Christ on Monday. We wanted to invite them to the cell group meeting for discipleship and how to study the Bible.
The pastor’s home is just down the street from a school so we asked we asked the pastor if he thought we could speak to the children. I was so surprised when the principle said we could. He seemed happy and even eager for us share Jesus with the children.
We split up into three groups and went into five class rooms. 105 children prayed to receive Christ. The children were so happy and excited to hear from us.
Our translators are “out of this world”. We could never do this without them. Their dedication to Christ and their partnering with us is such a blessing.
As I came out of one of the classrooms, Cintia, one of our translators was sharing the gospel with a bunch of children around her. It was an amazing site, one that I will never forget. Merian and Gabriele our other translators are just as wonderful and don’t have a problem taking the ball and running with it when we falter which in my case is a lot. We could never do without them and God has truly blessed us in so many ways by sharing them with us.

story by Cindy Odgers

Evangelizing at a School

2007-11-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday, November 13, our team was working in the Pico de Monte mission point. We went to the neighborhood school. The entire school was on the soccer field because they were doing physical education exams.
We brought out our E3 soccer ball. Within a few minutes we were swarmed by 50 children. The gospel was presented using the different colors on the ball. That night at the cell group, 25 of those children came to hear more and confessed that they had prayed to receive Christ.

story by Lafero Ralph

Rosana

2007-11-14T07:35:00.000-08:00

Rosana is a wonderfully warm and strong woman who makes food to sell on the street in order to support her family. Her husband is ill and she had 7 sons, 3 of whom she had to give away because she could not afford to feed them. She said her other sons would work but spend their money on alcohol.
Although she is busy, she took the time to listen to us and she prayed to receive Christ. Rosana invited us to come back on Wednesday because it was wash day and she would have more time to visit.
I was struck with the reality of Rosana’s difficult life and yet she had warmth and love to share with total strangers. We left saying how good it was to be her brother and sister in Christ and she said that she would see us one day in Heaven!

story by Nan Braught

The WHOLE Family Serves God!

2007-11-14T07:33:00.000-08:00

After sharing God’s Word all day long we hold a cell group meeting with our new brothers and sisters in Christ. Pastor Abraham and his wife Patricia are strong Christians. They and their children are totally dedicated to their people.
The home where we hold the cell group is made of tree branches, mud and tile on the roof. The lights outside the house are hanging on wires that are just taped together and hanging from the roof. As the pastors son begins playing the guitar the new believers begin to arrive. You can tell that they are now Christians. There are big smiles on their faces. They have so little but yet so much. The children have few toys but you don’t hear them crying. I played with them for a long time just using a plastic ring about 18 inches in diameter that we try to ring each others arm with. This made them very happy.We sing songs in Spanish worshipping Jesus. It is so touching to feel God’s Spirit in this place. Please continue to pray for these beautiful Bolivian people.
story by Kathy Oakes

God's Timing - Perfecto!

2007-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

On Tuesday we went back to Kitty’s house to work with her on discipleship. We had a very good morning.
That afternoon as we were visiting other families we noticed Kitty’s husband sitting in front of their house. At this point Yenny, my translator, stated that Kitty had commented that her husband also needed some reading glasses. We prayed and then approached her husband. His name is Ebert.
Ebert was very receptive to our visit. He explained that he accepted Christ and even played in a Christian band with a well known evangelist in Bolivia at one time. However, as a musician, he was around a lot of drinking as he would sometimes play in bars. He too began to drink. Ebert drifted away for the Lord but today believed that God was drawing him back. He prayed a prayer of rededication. As we were leaving Ebert stated that his wife said we were coming and he had been waiting for us. I looked at Yenny and told her I was glad that she mentioned the glasses as we did not have plans on going back to Kitty’s house. God’s timing is always perfecto!!

story by Cathy McDaniel

Lider's Story - I CAN read the Bible!!!!

2007-11-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Lider age 14 professed faith in Christ on Sunday, November 11. He attended the Bible study that same night and received his Bible. That night he learned out to locate books, chapters and verses. On Monday night he returned to the Bible study and proudly announced to the leader and everyone else that he found the passages they were studying. He was so eager and so happy to hear what God had for him.
Oh, that the rest of Christ’s bride had that same eagerness and joy. GOD’S WORD CHANGES LIVES!!
Have we grown cold and forgotten? Lider’s example should revive us all.

story by Jeff Fortenberry

Evange Soccer Ball - A Witnessing Tool

2007-11-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Tito, my translator, and I were out by a playground with some kids. So we got out the evangeball, a soccer ball with different colors on it and began to play with the kids. When my team had 10 points we stopped and shared the gospel using the colors on the soccer ball. Eight children came to Christ. God can even use a soccer ball to bring people to Himself.

story by Aaron McDaniel

Thank You God!

2007-11-13T06:37:00.000-08:00

I came on this trip with no clue as to how God was going to use me. I felt so unworthy to be here. The God we serve is perfect in every aspect of His being. But He is also realistic. He knows how to work with our limitations. Why is that so hard for us to understand?
We become terribly impatient with our short comings and grow discouraged when victory is not at hand. We are all pieces of His perfect plan. In the body of Christ, some of us are meant to be the heart, or the liver or even the brain. While others are meant to be a toe or heel. But is if just one part of the body does not work, the whole body is in trouble. I say this because even though my part may seem small on this mission trip, it is needed in God's perfect plan.
We went out this morning not really sure of what was to come. My group consisted of Jason, the leader, Gary, Gabriel a translator, Mariam a translator and myself. God is an awesome God, we went into the streets going door to door. I asked Jason if I could share my testimony at the first house. Jason shared the cube. Two ladies received Christ and we were able to lay hands on a baby and prayed for her. The last house we went to, a man was sitting outside in a chair. I thought he would not be receptive. We stood by the road and he motioned for us to come forward. We gave him our testimony and looked around and more people were gathering around us. One team mate, Gary, started over and four of those gathered accepted Christ.
Every day we have gone out and God has shown me so much. The children that have been saved, that is awesome and then to see them come to life in discipleship lessons. They really get it!! They understand and have hope. I am so thankful that God is allowing me to be a part of this. he is with me, leading me, teaching me, humbling me, and the greatest is he is preparing me.

story by Cindy Odgers

Birthday Party and Spiritual Birthday

2007-11-13T06:34:00.000-08:00

I was sharing with a woman on the street; her family was in the process of having a birthday party. We shared our faith and three of them were saved. They invited us to join in the celebration. We enjoyed some fellowship, cake and empanadas and nasaco with them.

story by Jimmy Pitts

Answered Prayer

2007-11-13T06:31:00.000-08:00

The team visited a woman who was caring for her young children and grandchildren. We shared the gospel using the cube and she – “Kitty” explained that she had been in church but left because her husband is an alcoholic and is abusive.
She had prayed for God to change him but God did not so she left the church. We explained about God’s love and His sovereignty, but also about man’s right to chose. We also reassured her that we have a Savior who has suffered and understands our suffering and will not leave or forsake us.
We prayed for her and offered to begin discipleship. She explained that she could no longer read the Bible due to her failing eyesight. Members of our team from Tennessee had brought reading glasses so we were able to give her a pair.
God did answer that prayer so that she could read her Bible. Pray that God will use this example of his mercy, grace and sovereignty to make a difference in her life.

Story by Cathy McDaniel

Juan - New Evangelist

2007-11-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

This is Juan. He is a member of Ebenezer Church of God. We trained him on the evangecube Sunday morning. On Monday he presented the cube for the first time and a 30 year old woman accepted Christ.
Story by Ron Sumners

A Life That is Changed

2007-11-13T06:23:00.000-08:00

I am 49 years old and today was the most rewarding day of my life. God gave me the incredible privilege of leading 12 people to Christ! I shared my testimony and hte evangecube with a young man on his bicycle. Two of his friends walked up to see what was going on. All three prayed to receive Christ. We sat down in a grassy field and immediately began to disciple them. God's Spirit is moving in an incredible way here in Montero, Bolivia and I am humbled that he allowed me to be a part of it.

story by Renee Green

Marieta - Jehova Witness accepts Jesus Christ!

2007-11-13T06:15:00.000-08:00

Marieta was a student of Jehovah's Witness. While we were sharing with her mother at home, she didn't care to talk with us at that time. But we still invited her to come to the cell group that night. Glory to God she came. She wanted to accept Christ as her Savior. One thing tried to prevent her from "confessing with her mouth the Lord Jesus". Her voice was completely taken from her. She literally could not pronunciate or speak the prayer of salvation.
After praying for her and three attempts she finally overcame Satan's attack and was able to verbally profess Christ as Lord. She is very intelligent and enjoyed the discipleship class.

Story by April Oakes

Training the Nationals

2007-11-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

We held a training session for members of the mother church Sunday showing them how to give their testimonies and how to share Christ using the evangecube. Afterwards, we had the nationals give their testimonies and use the cube.
I have never been so moved as I was hearing the heartfelt and humble sharing of salvation experiences and then to see them share Christ using the cube and telling the salvation story from their hearts filled with gratitude and awe of our Lord who had delivered them.

Story by Nan Braught

Juan Pablo - A Divine Appointment

2007-11-13T05:53:00.000-08:00

Juan Pablo is a young man who wandered up to the gate and listened intently as I shared Christ with two women. The women prayed to receive Christ and as Andres', my translator, completed the paperwork, I went over to Juan Pablo and in my "best/poor" Spanish asked if he too wanted to accept Christ. He said yes!
When Andres' came to do his paperwork, Juan Pablo said he lived in Santa Cruz, about 40 miles away, Andres' explained that he too lived in Santa Cruz. Juan Pablo was fearful of the streets and being drawn into drugs, etc. Andres' was able to share that he had been there and done that and that Christ was the only answer. The two of them parted with a promise that they would get in touch in Santa Cruz. Andres' hopes to get Juan Pablo involved in Campus Crusade.

story by Nan Braught

Report from Montero!!

2007-11-12T06:56:00.000-08:00

Hola!,
Our team arrived safe but very tired. Most of the team started their journey to Bolivia at 2AM on Friday arriving at the hotel at midnight. That is a long and hard day.
On Saturday we got off to a FAST start. The pastors started to arrive to meet us at 9:30 AM, 4 hours early!
Each of the nine teams went to their mission points and did some prayer walking and many had an opportunity to share the gospel along the way.
On Sunday we had a very heavy rainfall. Some of the churches were flooded out however most of the churches meet anyway. After morning Sunday School and Worship we began training the nationals. In the evenings we held cell groups and some had worship services.
Here are the statistics for our first two days of ministry. Numbers are not important but they do represent souls!!!
Gospel presented to 219 persons
170 recieved the message and invited Jesus to be their Lord and Savior
117 have already begun their journey in discipleship.
In just two days - 417 have attended a cell group
To God be the Glory - Gloria Dios!!!

Maria - God's Trophy of Grace

2007-11-12T06:49:00.000-08:00

Maria is a single mom with 4 children. She needs help with food and medicine which we will provide later in the week. The greatest need she and her family had was salvation through Jesus Christ. The E3 team was able to share God's love and the salvation available to them. Maria, her 14 year old son, and her 11 year old daughter received God's gift of salvation - AMEN. What is even more encouraging is that Maria and her children attended the follow up Bible study. She has expressed her desire to continue being discipled. We have 4 more days to disciple her and her children and then the host church will continue after we go home. Gloria Dios!!!!

Story by Jeff Fortenberry

Great Translators and Team Leader

2007-11-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

Hola!
These are four people that without their help, we would not have been able to share the gospel with the wonderful people of Bolivia. The three young people are our translators, Irving, Ruth and Lily.
They are wonderful and I love them. Our town that we share Jesus in is called "Pico de Monte."
The Bolivians from our home church are very caring , warm and the ladies are incredible cooks. The fourth person in the picture is our "team leader" Renee. Her passion to share Jesus with the people is incredible. I feel so blessed that the Lord saw fit to put me on her team.
Story by Delores Hill

Prayer Walking and Sharing

2007-11-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

The day started out with the team taking a prayer walk through the neighborhood of Nuevo Esparanza “New Hope”. The morning we kept to ourselves praying but in the afternoon was full of sharing the gospel and what a blessing this was. We had eight people come to Lord and be saved. One father was so touched by the gospel that he brought his family so we could present the gospel to them. They too accepted the Lord. The power of God was experienced throughout the day and in the discipleship class at night. I know that we have already planted a new church. God is good all the time!!!

Story by Gary Hill

MEET THE TEAM MEMBERS

2007-06-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

Dawn Hunt...

Ron Sumners... I am delighted to be going with the group to Bolivia. I am the Pastor of Meadow Brook Baptist Church in North Shelby County. I was born and raised in Shelby County and came back to this area in 1993. I have been the pastor of Meadow Brook baptist for fourteen and a half years. I have been on only one other trip to South America; to Venezuela in 2005. I have been married to Prissy Elliott Sumners for 36 years and we have two children Katie, who is 30 and Sam who is 25. I look forward to serving with this wonderful team from Bethel.

Jason Jarvis... is the pastor of Sunrise Baptist Church

Wayne Butler... is the Minister of Education at Sunrise Baptist Church

Jeff Fortenberry... is the pastor of Bethel Baptist Church

Aaron McDaniel...

Renee Green... I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a lover of the One who knows me best and loves me most. My husband, Jimbo, and I are members of Bethel Baptist Church in Columbiana, AL. I currently serve with a group of gifted women on our church's hospitality team. I became a Believer at the age of 21, but unfortunately wasted the next 11 years until someone took me by the hand and discipled me. Now, God has given me the incredible privilege of going to Bolivia to "go and make disciples". I am humbled as well as challenged as I will totally be out of my comfort zone in many ways. I have never desired to go outside of the U.S., but when God's Spirit spoke to my heart and said "choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve", He gave me the courage to say yes. Pray for us that we will not be focused on what we can do for God, but what God wants to do through us.

Jimmy Pitts... I am 54 years old and I have lived in Wilsonville, Al my entire life. I have a wonderful daughter who is 29 and I have been married to my wife for 4 1/2 years and I have 2 beautiful grandsons. I have been going to Bethel Baptist Church since 2000. I have never had the opportunity to go on a mission trip and I am very excited and nervous about this trip. In the end I want God to tell me that I was a good and faithful servant.

Cathy McDaniel... This will be my fifth trip with E3. With each trip I have seen God glorify Himself as He draws all men to Himself. I have felt blessed that He has allowed me to be a small part of the work He is doing in the world. I feel especially blessed this year, as God has made a way for me to take my oldest nephew Aaron with me, on his first mission trip. To be there as Aaron experiences the Wonder’s of our Lord and Savior on the mission field is a true gift from God.
“Whoever serves me must follow me; where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.” John 12:26

Lafero Ralph... I was born and raised in a small town in north Alabama called Arab. I am now 42 years old. I made the decision to accept Christ and be baptized when I was 16 while attending First Baptist of Arab. I have been a federal employee since 1991, currently working as a loan officer for the Small Business Administration. I live in Alabaster with my wife Laura, whom I met while we were both attending the University of Montevallo. We have a son, Wesley, who is 10, and a daughter, Lindsey, who is 7. I have been blessed to see both my children accept Christ and do their baptism. My 75 year old father actually made a decision the same time as my son in October of 2005, and God honored me with the privelege of baptizing them at the same time in Oak Mountain Lake. My daughter was saved and baptized just this past August, 2007. My wife and I made the decision to begin home schooling them, which began in August of this year. My family and I are all members of The Church at Shelby Crossings in Calera, AL. I lead a Sunday morning Lifegroup, and my wife and I both help out in the kids' worship service called Spotlight.

Cindy Odgers... I live in Wilsonville, Alabama and attend Bethel Baptist Church. I am married to a wonderful man named Joe, and we have 5 amazing children. My oldest, Tim just graduated from the University of Montevallo and is working as a teacher. Matt will be graduating this year, and he's working with my husband. Jillian will graduate next year and major in PR, Jacob is working construction, and Blake is 12 years old. We live very active lives. I'm very excited about going on this mission trip, and seeing what God will do while we are in Montero. I know God is going to do some amazing things through us and I'm so glad to be a part of it. I am going to be way out of my comfort zone, but know we will experience God in our lives like never before. My favorite verse is Matthew 6:25-26. Therefore I say to you do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink. Your body or what you will put on. Is life not more than food and your body more that clothing? Look at the birds of the air, they neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Mike Fetters... I am 51 and have been a believer in Christ since I was 15. I went on my first e3 trip two years ago with my son, Ben, to Costa Rica. In March, this year, I went on a trip to Vietnam with e3 and shared the gospel with college students. This summer Ben asked if we could go on another trip, so we decided to go to Bolivia. We're looking forward to sharing the gospel in Bolivia and meeting the people on our team.
My favorite Bible verse is II Corinthians 12:9 "And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Ben Fetters... I am 12 years old and have been a believer in Christ since I was 5. I volunteered to go on a missions trip to Costa Rica with my Dad and Mr. and Mrs. Guida when I was 10 and I loved it. So, I asked if we could go on another trip, and we decided to go to Bolivia with Mr. Guida again. I am on the 7th grade soccer team at school, and am hoping to play in Bolivia. I would love to have an evangeball to share the gospel with. I used the Evangecube in Costa Rica many times. My favorite Bible verse is John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlastilng life."

Roger Fontaine... I live in Wilsonville, AL. I have been in Alabama since 1982 and I am originally from Jacksonville Fl. I met my wife of 24 years now and never moved backed to Fla. We have two children Tara 22 and Cody 20yrs. old. They both graduated from Cornerstone Christian School and have been continuing their education at the University of Montevello. I have been a member of Bethel Baptist church since 1996 and even though I accepted Christ as a young boy, I feel like my walk with him truly started then. I teach boy’s youth life group at Bethel and have been doing it now for a couple of years. I would have never imagined I would be doing this and I have been truly blessed since doing it. It makes you realize that the Lord will use you when you least expect it. I have wanted to go on a mission trip for a long time and I expected it would happen but I figured it would be one where we built or repaired something and then Sam came and told us about the Montero trip. I new the Lord was calling me on this trip you see because I do not do well witnessing to strangers. I know he will grow me in my walk with him from this trip.
Bible verse I try to live by:Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Delores Hill... I lived in California for most of my 63 years. The church we attended had a mission trip each year to the Phillipines. I always wanted to go on a mission, but never felt that God was calling me to go.
My husband (Gary) and I have been married for 25 years and moved to Pineview in Tn. where we met Nan and Charles Braught at the First Baptist Church in Lobelville, We became members of this church and it was there that we met Bro. Sam Neugent when he visited our church. We were doing a class called "Experiencing God" and when Bro. Sam ask if anyone was interested in going to Montero Bolivia, I could feel the tug of the Holy Spirit saying, GO,GO, and my hand went up. I can't wait to meet everyone and begin the mission. One of my favorite verses is, Philippians 4:6. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God".

Gary Hill... from Linden, TN actually Pineview, but that’s not on a map) Since retiring in 2004 and moving to Tennessee following 32 years in California, God has continued to be a growing and important part of my life. I was raised to believe in Christ and life everlasting, but since studying Experiencing God with the Braughts and others, I have come to realize that God is always around us; we just need to open our eyes. I had surgery for a cancerous melanoma last month and realized I was in good hands when the Doctors nurse was named Angel, the tech who prepped me for surgery had a t-shirt that read “I work for God” and the surgery nurse said her name was Faith and she would be with me during surgery. The Lord blesses us daily, and this mission trip is just one of many small ways that I can follow God and expand His kingdom.
I have always loved Ecclesiastes. The Byrds had a chart topping single in 1965, Turn! Turn! Turn! (To Everything There Is a Season) Eccl 3:1 “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under Heaven”. I know this is my time to go on this mission trip.

Kathy Oakes... and I am from Wilsonville, AL and attend Bethel Baptist Church. I am a mother of 4 boys who are all grown. I have 2 grandchildren-Wyatt who is 2 and Maeve who is 9 months old. I was involved in one previous mission trip to Romania and ever since then I have always looked forward to the next opportunity that would enable me to go and minister overseas. I didn't know how, when, or even how I would pay for the trip but God has generously provided and I am believing that everything else will fall into place. Looking forward to this new adventure and being able to share it with new sisters and brothers in Christ.
Life to live by: John 3:16

Charles Braught... Most of my life, I’ve declined opportunities for mission work because I was tied up working. Somehow, God has recently helped me re-evaluate my priorities and following Him in service is now more important than it used to be. Brother Sam appeared at our church and issued this invitation to join E3 at a really good time – we were just finishing up a Bible study where God was drawing us into deeper Christian service. I am looking forward to retiring from work soon and serving God from our little farm in Tennessee.
My favorite Bible verse is, John 14:21: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Nan Braught... from Linden, TN. Brother Sam's coming to our church to share about missions coincided with the ending of our Experiencing God study and after several of us had been discussing the possibility of going on a foreign mission trip. When Brother Sam was finished with his presentation and asked us to pray, my heart was broken by the call of God to go and while I wasn't sure how we would finance the trip, I knew I had only one option, "Yes, Lord". I wept on the stairs of the altar and my husband put his hand on my back and said, "You want to go?" I replied, "Yes". He said, "We're going." In faith we accepted God's invitation to join Him in the magnificent work He is doing in South America. I praise God for His call on our lives - and I pray that His Holy Spirit will guide us each step of the way and also that He will prepare the hearts of those with whom we will share. My favorite verse is Galations 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Sharon Stump... from Hurricane Mills, TN: The Lord has blessed me for the last 54 years. He gave me a good husband and nine wonderful children. Then He gave me 160 or more foster children and we had a children's homes in West Virginia and Minnesota. I have done store-front mission work in Chicago, Illinois. I praise God and thank Him for all the work He allowed me to be able to do. He also allowed me to help with building our new church and to work with Carpenters for Christ. He has been with me through bad times as well as good times. My favorite Bible verves are John 3:16 and 2 Corinthians 8:12-14, but there are so many I would be all day. I am looking forward to this trip. I praise God He is going to let me go. I am praying for the team.

Robert Hope... My wife Holly and I have a 2 month old son named Trey. We live in Calera, AL where I serve as Minister to Students and Missions at Concord Baptist Church. I also spend time leading worship at various conferences and student gatherings. I recently returned from a mission trip to the Czech Republic, which God used to refuel a passion for missions that I had forgotten. I'm excited about the trip to Bolivia, and pray that God would continue to build within me a heart that is zealous for spreading His name and renown all over the word. Other things that you might want to know about me: I love fried rice, winning belly flop competitions, chocolate caramel lattes, the guitar, and I have an unhealthy obsession with Guitar Hero on Playstation 2.

April Oakes... Hello! I am 24....actually will be 25 before we leave for this trip in November. I have been married to my best friend and high school sweet heart, David, for 2 years this September. I attend Bethel Baptist Church in Columbiana AL and have been for about 5 years now. I have done alot of growing since then. God is still showing me how to love Him more! Loving it! I serve on our hospitality team we call "First Love Ministries" this is a branch off our Women's Ministry. I have had one previous opportunity to serve overseas in Romania in 2002. It was such a humbling experience and life changing. I am looking forward to this opportunity and thank God for using me. One of the hardest things I will find going on this trip is leaving David at home. But God has confirmed over and over to me thru His Words that this trip is meant to be and meant for me to go.
Life Verses: (Acts 1 and Romans 10:10-15) I love it when it says "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" Romans 10:15