GUATEMALA/ROMANIA – Partnerships are important and advantageous in reaching goals. Fellowship of Wildwood (FOW) has discovered this in missions. The church has established long standing partnerships with churches in both Guatemala and Romania.
“We’ve taken 21 trips to Guatemala,” Russ Ewing, executive pastor, said. “We’ve taken 64 different people through the years of working with Roger and Vicki Grossmann of Good Shepherd Ministries.”
“We’ve done construction work,” Ewing continued, “as well as ministering to women and children.”
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The construction team worked on the Director and Counseling Center which is in the Good Shepherd Center. The Grossmanns host volunteer teams, youth congresses, retreats, leadership for pastors as well as operating a children’s home and a medical clinic. Vicki Grossmann is a nurse practitioner.
“All our work is done through translators,” Ewing explained. “They primarily speak Spanish, but we do have some women who come from remote villages that speak Quiche. Quiche is the language spoken by the descendants of the Mayan people.”
According to Pat Londeen, FOW member who served on both the trip to Guatemala and the one to Romania, the solution to language barrier in Guatemala displayed a miracle of God.
“The first day we were there, Roger Grossmann fell at the construction site,” Londeen said, “and Vicki was our translator for the women’s and children’s programs, but she needed to be at the hospital. As we stood trying to figure out what to do with the children’s and women’s programs, we saw two ladies approaching us on the road.”
“They didn’t look Guatemalan,” Londeen continued, “and when they reached us, they explained they were Americans serving with the Peace Corps and they heard about us at a church service and they came to observe.”
It didn’t take long for the Fellowship crew to discover that these ladies were fluent in Spanish and were willing and able to serve as translators.
“One of the ladies was a believer,” Londeen said, “but I don’t believe the other one was. But they served with us that week and heard the gospel several times.”
Ewing also pointed out that the team had other surprise ministers serving with them. “Several of the young people from the children’s home ministered with our team,” he said. “I think this is wonderful reflection of the way they grew up in the children’s home.”
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Londeen also was praising the children. “One 16-year-old girl was especially helpful,” she said, “she helped with telling the Bible stories and added animation. All the children were helpful as they showed the other children how to make the crafts.”
Another miracle that Londeen referenced was in the life of a woman who prepared a special meal for them. “Vicki told us about her story,” Londeen said. “The woman had a 12-year-old son and a daughter who was bedridden with multiple sclerosis. The first time that Vicki and a church member visited the woman to discuss getting a wheelchair for her daughter, the lady was drunk. It didn’t take long for them to discover that conversation was impossible, and they left. The next time they visited, the woman was sober and able to talk.”
“It was this time,” Londeen continued, “that she bared her heart and said she didn’t know where to turn. After that, she came to church, accepted Christ and was discipled by one of the church members. She wanted to give back, so she organized this meal and donated her week’s worth of corn to use in the main dish.”
The mission trip to Romania was the 24th trip taken by the church. “We do vision clinics in Romania,” Ewing said. “We are long-time partners with the Biruinta Church in Baia Mare, Romania. We take about 28,000 refurbished prescription eyeglasses provided by the Lion’s Club and autorefractors to test eyesight.”
According to Ewing 130 different people have gone on these mission trips. He emphasizes the different people because several church members like Londeen have gone more than once. It was Londeen’s second trip to Guatemala, but her fifth trip to Romania.
“These vision trips are so important,” Londeen said. “We give them physical sight, but we tell them about Christ, who and what He did for them which give spiritual insight.”
Ewing agreed about the vision service they provide. “The church takes us into remote villages and these people cannot afford glasses or have the resources to get them. So, we run the vision clinic for about three-four hours, then we have a children’s program for about an hour followed by an evangelistic service.”
Londeen described the women coming for the glasses. “Many of the women sew or knit for a living or supply things for their families, so they bring a project with them to see how well the new glasses work. They are overwhelmed with gratitude. Then, they go home and bring their children back with them for the rest of the program.”
Ewing described the evangelistic service. “We go to four of the villages, and the pastor preaches an evangelistic sermon. Each team member shares their testimony with a translator. With four villages, we did two testimonies a night.”
Ewing had the numbers for each trip. “In Guatemala, we had 81 children in our sessions, and we ministered to 35 different women. In Romania, we gave out 809 pairs of eyeglasses, ministered to 48 children and had 50-100 in the services each night. We go to minister to people, but we are the ones that get the blessing.”
Londeen agreed with Ewing’s sentiment. “I would encourage others if God is leading, He will make a way. We do good things for people but how it changes me is important. I come back with a different take on the world, a different perspective. It is more of a blessing to me because I come back with a new heart.”
More information about these mission trips is available by contacting Russ Ewing at russ@fellowshipofwildwood.org or calling him at 314-636-324-7200.