Responding to an invitation from Samaritan's Purse, HCJB Global Hands sent a seven-member emergency medical response team from Quito, Ecuador, to southern Mexico's Tabasco state on Wednesday, Nov. 14, helping victims of severe flooding that inundated the area at the beginning of this month.

Vozandes Community Development leaders wasted no time in organizing a team that will help for two weeks, providing physical and spiritual care to victims.

Concerned last Friday that Mexican authorities wouldn't approve the team members' visas on such short notice, many prayers were answered less than 72 hours later when the Mexican Embassy granted visas for the Ecuadorians planning to serve on the team that will fly to Tabasco's capital city, Villahermosa.

The three Ecuadorian medical doctors, all based at the ministry's Hospital Vozandes-Quito, include Galo Nuáez, director of the family medicine residency, Amparo Torres and intern Marco Yanez.

Dr. Steve Nelson along with his wife, Dorothy, who is overseeing women and children's ministries while Ralph Kurtenbach is helping in communications and logistics.

"Everything we do in community development we try to balance the physical as well as the spiritual outreach. We're affecting communities around the world for good health but also for Jesus Christ. We can do that in the form of simple skits or vacation Bible school activities that some of our support staff do with the children in the community. It could certainly involve praying with our patients and encouraging them in their relationship with Jesus Christ."

The team will be involved mainly in primary care, working in conjunction with Samaritan's Purse. "This is a likeminded organization that we'd like to form a closer relationship with over time. When we join together like this it helps both organizations be more effective.

"It fits well with our goals in mission mobilization, especially since there are so many nationals on the team," he said. "It's an opportunity for them to get involved in a relief effort and let God speak to them through their experiences."

HCJB Global has the advantage of having medical staff available to serve at a moment's notice. "Samaritan's Purse wants a rapid response team, and we have the flexibility to be out in the field quickly," he explained. "We arrived two weeks after the flooding began and just a week after Samaritan's Purse first asked us to get involved."

David Torres, team lead for the Disaster Assistance Response Team from Samaritan's Purse, said he is grateful for the help coming from HCJB Global Hands. "While flooding is not a new phenomenon in this low-lying area, flooding of this magnitude caught many of its inhabitants by surprise," he said. "People who are beginning to return to their homes wondering what is left of their humble possessions.

"Beyond the material needs, they desperately need someone to put their arm around their shoulder and tell them things are going to be OK," Torres added. "They need someone to tell them of Christ's love and empathy for their suffering; someone to tell them that yes, He cares about their mattresses, but more importantly He cares about their relationship with Him. The best thing we can offer them at this point is an envoy for Christ with this message."

A small state in the Yucatan Peninsula, Tabasco has seen about a million people flee their homes since the area's worst flooding in 40 years hit the area. Hundreds of thousands have sought shelter in relief centers or fled to other parts of Mexico.

At least eight people have been killed in Tabasco along with more than nine others from neighboring states. The flooding also destroyed crops in Tabasco-Mexico's largest producer of cacao and a major grower of bananas.

Working together in August, staff members from the two ministries also responded to needs in Peru after an 8.0-strength quake devastated entire towns in Peru's Ica province south of Lima. Previous emergency medical response teams from HCJB Global Hands went to Indonesia, Pakistan, Ecuador, Lebanon and the Solomon Islands.