by Kaytie Fiedler, Mission ConneXion Events Coordinator and India Partners Team Leader
India Partners takes teams to India 3-4 times a year, serving various needs across the country. Each team is comprised of volunteers with a variety of skills--some use their state side professions in the field and others are stretched and grow into new found skills!

An India Partners team left the US February 22, returning March 9. Working with two partner agencies, we visited the red light areas of Mumbai, serving our partners who rescue women and children from the horrors of human trafficking. Of an estimated 200,000 commercial sex workers in Mumbai, approximately one third of those are children under 12 years old.

It's never easy to work with trafficked women and children. One would think a woman would take any help offered to leave the trade. But because they are kept under the bondage of fear, they do not see a way out.

Blazing a Trail

As a young man, I was nicknamed the "I-5" kid, having spent most of my life between Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle. My life experiences have extended far beyond that long, narrow route since I came to know Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior during my senior year at Seattle Pacific University.

After graduation, I spent the summer in Uganda and Kenya on a mission outreach. During this time in East Africa, God spoke to me, "You will give your life to African peoples." My desire and heart has been to serve people in developing countries and urban areas. My passion to mobilize others to work and minister in areas of the world with great need has led many to see God at work in amazing ways. I have been blessed to serve in 16 different countries on 23 mission trips, primarily in Africa and Latin America. I also served as a resident missionary for an extended period in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

I first served with Mission ConneXion NW (then known as Mission Fest Northwest) during its inaugural year in 2001. I have fond memories of those days as we were blazing a trail for the future. It was an honor to serve with Bill MacLeod, founder and president of MCNW, during this time. He continually admonished us, "We can do this. Have faith!" This was Bill at his best. Who would have known MCNW would grow to what it has become--a continually expanding operation with nationwide and global impact!

"Mission ConneXion has enabled me to realize that missions is a mindset and not a trip somewhere. Every day, and wherever we live, God is calling us to the mission of proclaiming His gospel of grace and truth!"

Mitchell Lamotte is the Pastor of Missions and Evangelism at Southwest Hills Baptist Church in Beaverton, Ore; he currently serves as Mission ConneXion's Church Relations Coordinator.

Over 20 years ago, a Chinese-American friend of mine found a Gospel tract under a box when helping a friend move. Not thinking much about it, he stuffed the track in his pocket. He eventually read that tract, and within months, committed his life to Christ. My friend and his family now serve as missionaries in China.

It is my goal to connect missions-minded churches and individuals, with mission agencies, for the purpose of increasing and mobilizing workers to go out and share the Gospel with people, like australia pokies my friend, and "make disciples of all nations." My heart-felt desire is to see every church increase the number of believers who are actively serving our Lord Jesus Christ by embracing the power of the Gospel!

Acts 1:8, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

"I get to play a small part in sharing the love of the Lord and gift of salvation to those who have never heard His name. It is a total blast serving alongside those on the [Mission ConneXion] Steering Team; those who remain faithful in their gifting and calling by our Lord Jesus."

My introduction to Mission ConneXion came in January 2005, as I was an exhibitor with Food for the Hungry, a ministry I volunteered with, and we had a booth at Mission ConneXion Northwest. Serving as an exhibitor was such a great experience, as it allowed me to connect with those interested in spreading the Word to the ends of the earth. I looked forward to these yearly missions conferences!

In the winter of 2008, my family and I were heading to church and it started snowing, heavily. Despite the weather, I felt the Spirit strongly prompting me to go to church. As we sat down for the service, I noticed Bill MacLeod, the founder of Mission ConneXion, sitting a few rows ahead of us. I hadn't had the chance to australian pokies meet him before, so after the service I introduced myself and told him that I loved Mission ConneXion! Well, this fired him up, and he asked me to attend a monthly Steering Team meeting. I felt again a prompting from the Spirit to attend one-God was calling me to a new thing and I obeyed.