This summer, a group of Azusa Pacific University students went on a two week long Global Engagement trip to Ecuador to participate in medical ministry. However, their impact on the community and the lives they touched spiritually allowed them to gain a better understanding of holistic care. Nursing major Joshua Tran ’27 attended the Ecuador trip and learned how his field of study can be about healing people’s eternal lives and not just their physical bodies.
Tran had looked into Global Engagement trips last summer, but he wasn’t able to sign up until this past school year. Besides having time with his team to bond before the trip, Tran felt it was important to prepare himself spiritually by looking at Bible passages that would help him on the trip.
APU students served through medical ministry, hosting seven pop-up clinics in various
locations ranging from urban schools and churches to rural areas. At the clinics,
locals could stop by to receive a routine check-up, have their vitals taken, discuss
injuries or other medical complications, and get medicine. Throughout the trip, the
team saw 250 patients, each of which was prayed over before concluding their visit.
The team was also able to hand out Bibles translated into one of the local dialects.
“Most people in the city were Catholic or Christian, but in the villages, there were
people who had never heard the Gospel, so we were able to share it with them,” Tran
said.
Partnering with other ministries, the team also worked to deliver food to residents in the area and support young children. One partnership was between the APU team and Light in the Darkness. The organization hosted events centered around providing a safe space for children living in some of the more dangerous areas or who had parents involved in abuse or human trafficking. Through this event, the children were also taught about Christianity and encouraged to get resources for school and finding jobs in the future. One night, the team took care of the children while their parents attended a Bible study. “We worshiped with them, and the kids knew all the words to the songs,” Tran said. “They had so much faith in the Lord but also found comfort in us being there. For some of them, that could have been the first time they received that kind of attention. If Jesus could use me to be the hands that lift them up, then I would gladly be the hands and feet of Jesus.”
Tran had two major takeaways from the trip. The first was the importance of healing eternal lives. “This was a medical ministry trip, but our main mission and purpose was to share the Gospel and plant seeds for spiritual healing,” he said. “We weren’t just helping them with their illnesses, we were doing something that is everlasting and will follow them for the rest of their lives and into the next.” Tran was also profoundly impacted by the idea of miracles in perspective. Going into the trip, he was looking for profound ways to see how God was working in Ecuador, but he realized that miracles can be subtle but mighty. “The team and I were very flexible with how God would move in our lives and change our trip, and it was helpful to have that open mindset,” he said. “That way, you can really see how God is working in your life and the lives of others. My encouragement for those who go on Global Engagement trips is to have an open heart and mind and trust God to guide you, because at the end of the day, it’s His work that is being done.”