E-TEAM: It's Worth It!

By Armon Jorden

I was asked to write a short article about my E-TEAM experience. I started to write out a day-by-day account of what I had physically experienced. But I don’t think that is what E-TEAM wanted from me. As I sat there reading it, I decided I didn’t even want to read it…
so why would anyone else? No, I want to share what I saw and felt God do in and through our team. So here is my witness of what God has done.

As soon as our team came together, tragedy struck one of our members. A close personal friend passed away and, even though it was expected, the hurt was still sharp and painful. But in it, God drew us together. As the team member shared what had happened, we were able to be there for her. We were able to cry with her. We became all she had and we were willing to be all she needed. I have never been part of a group of people who grew so close so quickly. Through that tragedy, love bloomed and family was born.

Over the next seven days, we studied God’s Word together, prayed for one another, ate together, worshiped together, and spent all our time together. If that sounds like an awesome experience to you, let me remind you we were only following the example found in the Book of Acts. In Acts 2:42-47, Luke described how the church interacted with one another immediately after the Day of Pentecost. I won’t quote it here, but I urge you to put this article down, pick up your Bible, and read it right now. Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you.

Done? Great! Did you see it? The Early Church studied the Apostles’ doctrine together. They ate together, prayed together, worshiped together, and spent much time together. I believe the result of that dedication to one another was what we experienced at Welch College during our training. We became a family in much the same way the Early Church became a family. And it only took a week! We dedicated our time to one another and, in doing so, God gave us a taste of what He has for us. And it tasted good.

It was so good that despite being stuck in Florida for four days due to flight problems, we still loved one another and still looked for opportunities to serve God. We never got discouraged, because we knew God was not surprised we were still in Florida. If God had us in Florida, He had a reason and we wanted to know what it was.

Just as God planned, we ended up ministering to a Cuban church in Miami by performing and speaking. Even though it was Father’s Day, Pastor José knew God wanted us there…because we were there. We sang, spoke about what E-TEAM was doing, and encouraged them to take part in future E-TEAMs. Only God knows who we may have touched and what seeds we planted.

I don’t know what God was doing to hearts in Brazil while we were stuck in the U.S., but I’m guessing He was doing the same things for them He was for us. I have to believe this, because as soon as we met Pastor “Z,” it was like meeting family. He opened his life to us. He opened his family to us. He opened his heart to us. Personally, I felt as though I had met a brother for the first time. I know my wife and students felt the same way.

Again, we spent every second we could together. We ate together (can you tell I like eating), we prayed together, we studied together, and we worshiped together. God brought us closer to one another. I look forward to returning and spending more time with Pastor “Z” and his beautiful family.

Above all else, E-TEAM gave us an opportunity to experience God’s family like never before. If you are an adult, and you are wondering if the sacrifice to lead an E-TEAM is worth it…it is. You will experience more than you could ever imagine. If you are a teen, and you don’t know if God wants you to go on E-TEAM…go. Even if you never step foot on an international mission field again, God will do great things in your life and your heart.

Beyond that, imagine what God could do in your life and in your church if you simply placed fellowship with God and one another above everything else. I have no doubt you would experience a deeper level of fellowship, relationships that would even exceed what we enjoyed with E-TEAM.
 
About the Writer: Armon Jorden and his wife led E-TEAM Araras, Brazil, 2016. Learn more about E-TEAM: www.FWBGo.com/eteam