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Southern Sudan

September 8-24, 2009: RSA served in the city of Yei, southwest of Southern Sudan’s capitol city of Juba and just north of the borders of Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo. There were six days of festivals in an area that has over one million people, many of whom are refugees from Darfur. Also, the team visited schools, providing free medical clinics, and lead a three-day pastors’ conference. To read the Sudan report from the RSA Update, click here. Click here to see updates and photos from the team. Click here to see the trip schedule.

Guatemala Mission

July 26-August 7, 2009: RSA's largest team to-date shared the Good News of Jesus Christ at festivals and through medical clinics in Xela and Cantel. Click here to see updates from the team, including video and photos. A small team traveled to Guatemala 4 months ago to prepare for this mission. To see photos from that trip, click here. To read about the Guatmala mission in the RSA Update, click here.

Creation Northwest Creation Festival was July 22 - 25, 2009: Reid spoke at the festival in George, WA on the main stage the morning of Saturday, July 25. Check out photos and video of Reid or visit the Creation 09 site.

Scotland Mission

From June 7-18, 2009: Reid and a small team shared the Good News of Jesus Christ in schools, outreach events, and a festival. Click here to see photos and updates from the RSA team in Scotland. This mission is in partnership with Highland Festival with Luis Palau. You can also see photos and learn more about this mission in the July RSA Update.

RSA's First Follow-Up Booklet is here: Living Water

The first set of Living Water Booklets were printed in June of 2009, thanks to the generous support of friends like you! Praise the Lord!
You can help make it possible to print more booklets in English and in other languages today. Click here to learn more.

Northeast India

From April 28-May 6, 2009: Brett Butcher, (RSA Executive Director) Mike Scheel (RSA board chair) and Dan Fiedler (RSA coordinator) were in India preparing for the mission in 2010. If you are interested in going to India in 2010 with the team, please contact the RSA office. Visit the RSA Facebook page to see photos and updates from the trip.

Central America Mission

From March 18-27, 2009: the RSA team shared hope in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Visit the RSA Facebook page to see photos and updates from the trip.

Festival in Cartagena, Colombia

From November 16-23, 2008, the RSA team shared the Good News at 3 festivals in a cooperative effort with Luis Palau's Next Generation Alliance.
Click here to see updates and photos.

2008 Report

The Lord used RSA to share the Good News with nearly 45,000 people in 2008, 7,124 of whom made decisions for Jesus Christ.
Click here to read the report.

Job Posting: Communications Director (Posted November 2008)

Download the job description: Microsoft Word file or PDF.
Download an application for employment: Microsoft Word file or PDF.

RSA Medical Team Featured in Rethink Monthly

Read the article by visiting Rethink's website, download the October issue and see page 7.

Outreaches and Medical Clinics in Romania

From October 2-12, the RSA team ministered to men, women, and young people through outreach events and medical clinics.
Click here for a schedule, team list, updates, and photos

Uganda and Rwanda

From August 26-September 8, 2008, Reid and Brett ministered in Uganda and Rwanda.  In Rwanda, Reid shared the Good News at a festival. In Uganda, they were part of a strategic planning conference where leaders from east Africa will prayerfully plan the next 10 years of reaching eastern Africa for Christ.  Please pray for those who heard the Good News in Rwanda, and for the Lord to bless and direct the pastors and evangelists throughout Africa.
Click here to see photos and read stories about the trip.

Nurses’ Lives Changed in Africa (Posted August 5, 2008)
Click here to see the medical team photo gallery
Click here to download a Word document of this article.

How can one person make a difference in the world?  Life is so fast-paced that sometimes you might wonder, “Does my life really matter to anyone else?”

For two Salem-area medical professionals, they have found an answer to this question and have invested their lives in ways that are impacting people around the world.

In 2005, Reid Saunders Association, a Salem-based evangelistic ministry, planned a mission trip to a small village in Uganda, Africa.  A young couple, Brandon and Stacy Schmidgall, was part of the mission team.  The Schmidgalls, both Registered Nurses, were very interested in using their medical training to share the love of Jesus Christ with the people of Uganda.  Within a few months of preparation, Brandon and Stacy were able to recruit two other nurses, and they organized their first overseas medical clinic. 

When the small American medical team arrived in Kayunga, Uganda, they set up a large tent, tables, and supplies.  The team was not prepared for the response – hundreds of people began lining up to receive care!  The clinic had not been publicized, but the moment locals inquired of the team, they began to spread the word that there was free medical care available, and the crowds ensued.

Medical team members were soon busy diagnosing infections, providing wound care, distributing eyeglasses, giving away toothbrushes and teaching basic dental hygiene, treating malaria and other illnesses, screening for hypertension and diabetes, and more.  Several of the mission team members who were not medically trained were quickly recruited to help with eyeglasses, medication, crowd control, and other support tasks.   

After only a few days, the medical team had served 545 people!  But what was more significant to the Schmidgalls is that each person who was cared for at the clinic also had a mission team member talk with them, share the Good News of Jesus Christ, and pray with them.  Each person going through the medical clinic experienced the love of God in word and deed.  Of the 545 people treated at the medical clinic, 96 prayed with team members to begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Other mission team members were involved in music, drama, puppets, and speaking at schools, prisons, men’s and women’s conferences, and churches. 

For Brandon and Stacy Schmidgall, their experience in Kayunga, Uganda in July of 2005 was a turning point in their lives.  From then on, they wanted to use their skills and passion to share God’s love with even more people, not only in Africa but around the world.

Since 2005, Brandon Schmidgall has led three other medical teams with Reid Saunders Association: Madurai, India (February 2006), Red Hills, India (February 2007), and Gulu, Uganda (November 2007).  Since 2005, 5075 people have been served at RSA medical clinics, 1050 of whom have made decisions to follow Jesus Christ. 

This fall, the RSA medical team will serve in rural Romania for the first time, with plans to minister in Rwanda and India over the next two years. 

If you are interested in helping these teams, please contact Reid Saunders Association (www.reidsaunders.org, 503-581-7394, info@reidsaunders.org).  The medical team would love to have even more medical professionals serve with them, especially doctors.  Donations of supplies and funds are also very helpful.  Please also consider attending the Medical Missions Banquet on September 20, 2008 where you can see videos, hear stories of lives changed, and learn more about the Reid Saunders Association medical team.  Please contact the RSA office for more details.

Lives Changed in Romania

June 19-27, 2008
During this three-city Romanian mission, 1800 people heard the Good News of Jesus Christ with 527 making decisions for Jesus!
Click here for stories and photos

June 6 - Faith and Family Night (Posted May 29, 2008)

GREAT OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL AGES!

Faith and Family night with the Cascade Surge is coming on June 6.  Gate opens at 6:15.  Reid Saunders will be proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ at halftime.  The event will feature inflatables and a wordless book tent for kids. 

FREE SALEM RIVERFEST T-SHIRTS:
There is a limited amount of t-shirts, just mention this ad at the wordless book tent to receive a free shirt.

Details:

Location - McCulloch Stadium
(Willamette University)
700 Mission St. S, Salem, Oregon 97301

Cost - Regular Admission for All Games: $6.00
Tickets may be purchased in advance or at the stadium
(Children age 4 and under are free)

For more info: Call: 503-362-7308, email cascadesurge@yahoo.com, or visit www.cascadesurge.com

A Season of Harvest in Jamaica

April 26 - May 4, 2008
RSA shared Good News with over 12,000 people in the city of Kingston!
Click here to read about the trip and view photos.

April 17 Dessert Banquet (Posted April 21, 2008)

On April 17, nearly 400 men and women gathered at Salem Conference Center for the Reid Saunders Association Fundraising Dessert Banquet.  The evening was inspiring as guests viewed video footage of the historic Salem RiverFest with Reid Saunders (September 22-23, 2007) as well as the RSA missions to Chennai, India (February 2007) and Gulu, Uganda (November 2007). 

A group of high school students preparing to minister with Reid Saunders in Jamaica over spring break performed a drama for banquet attendees.  Reid Saunders shared stories of lives that have been changed around in Gulu, Uganda and Wroclaw, Poland during past mission trips and encouraged guests to get involved in the ongoing ministry by going on an RSA mission trip and/or financially supporting the ministry.

Reid Saunders and his team will minister in Jamaican schools from April 24-May 5.  The local churches and Jamaican government have invited RSA through the Luis Palau Association to come share the Good News of Jesus Christ in their schools (grades 1-12)!  This is such an exciting opportunity to reach the next generation for Christ!  While Luis and Andrew Palau proclaim the Good News at festivals during the evening, the RSA team will be ministering through drama, testimonies, and speaking in the schools during the day.

ECFA Approval (Posted April 16, 2008)

RSA has crossed the final hurdles to join the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (EFCA). Organizations seeking ECFA membership must fill out a lengthy application, undergo an audit, and be recommended by two current members. RSA has completed these steps, and learned on April 14 that we have been accepted for membership.

You may wonder, “Why undergo such a stringent process?” The answer is because EFCA represents values RSA has always operated by: accountability and integrity with our finances.

ECFA membership gives you as a contributor even greater confidence that your financial and in-kind gifts to RSA are used for Christ’s kingdom-building work and that RSA is providing good stewardship. ECFA members include Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, Compassion International, Moody Bible Institute, and Luis Palau Association, to name a few. For more information on EFCA and their standards and best practices visit: www.EFCA.org.