By Jeremy Reynalds

Denver based flight attendant Connie Strasheim has always had a heart for the less fortunate and that vision has impacted hundreds perhaps thousands of needy people worldwide.

In the last few years she participated in humanitarian missions to Bolivia, Ecuador, and El Salvador through an organization called Airline Ambassadors. (www.airlineamb.org)

Airline Ambassadors describes itself as a "network of airline employees and others who volunteer as ‘Ambassadors of Goodwill ... Members ... escort children in need, hand-deliver humanitarian aid to orphanages, clinics, and remote communities, assist at special events and involve youth in humanitarian efforts around the world."

However, once Strasheim became a Christian about two and a half years ago, her care and concern for the needy expanded. She now wanted to help with spiritual as well as physical needs.

In an e-mail interview Strasheim said, "And so in the last year, I organized on my own two missions to Ecuador and Guatemala ... Along with sharing Christ, we distributed thousands of dollars worth of donations to orphanages in Ecuador and a village in Guatemala called Tizate."

Describing her missionary adventure, Strasheim said "I traveled with four flight attendants to Guayaquil, an impoverished and somewhat dangerous city, where we delivered 40 boxes of Bibles, medical supplies, clothing, toys, school supplies, and hygiene products to three orphanages, as well as to Calvary Chapel in Cuenca, a mountain town about five hours away by bus."

The team, Strasheim said, also visited with children in Guayaquil.

Following that, three team members returned home while Strasheim and a friend went on to Cuenca to help out for a few days with some Calvary Chapel ministry activities. Among other things they helped out in a children's soup kitchen, puppet shows and activities at a local park, as well as sharing their testimonies at various locations. The mission lasted about a week, Strasheim said.

In Feb. 2004 Strasheim was on the move again. Along with some friends and her mother she traveled to a village just outside Antigua called Tizate.

"In earlier travels to Guatemala," Strasheim said, (we) met Marco Estrada, a man who was given a vision by God to transform this impoverished village, and bring the love of Christ to its 200 families. With Marco's assistance, along with (help from two Antiguan residents) we delivered clothing and school supplies to families, as well as participated in children's Bible activities and door-to-door evangelism in Tizate. Additionally, we painted several homes and purchased a washing machine and flooring for 20 homes for the village."

Connie Strasheim (2nd from right) and Team in Guatamala

Michael Troy and other friends have accompanied Strasheim on some of her adventures. In an e mail interview he said that when Strasheim started sharing her heart about missions with him he knew he had to join the unofficial team.

"The uniqueness about her ministry," Troy said, "is the importance of building relationships with the people whom God has led us to, through children's ministry, painting, aid, and one on one evangelism. When (Connie) goes to a village or a country she stays (there) until God has finished doing what it was He wanted her to see and do.

Observing Strasheim first hand at work on the mission field, Troy said he has seen in her "A relentless effort to share her Lord and Savior with others who would rather spit in her face."

He added, "When the Lord created Connie He blessed her with the gift of evangelism. This gift in her along with her ‘no fear' travel experiences will allow God to use her in ways you and I could only imagine."

Strasheim's travels to more than 35 countries have helped her develop a deep love and ever-increasing passion to meet human need. She said, "The Lord has placed it on my heart to help those that have fewer resources than I have. I believe God has blessed us with wealth so that we might give it away. My motto is ‘God Bless the World.' I am a Christian first and an American second.

Connie Strasheim (left) and a Team Member Sharing the Love of Jesus in Guatemala

In just a few weeks Strasheim will be traveling to Colombia to help a Calvary Chapel located in Villavicencio.

According to Strasheim, "The situation in Villavicencio, like so many parts of Colombia, is tragic; poverty and crime abound, and violence has kept many aid groups out of the country. Over the past year (the pastor) has written to me about the plethora of orphaned and abandoned children, and the lack of resources to care for them, as well as the lack of resources for his own ministry. Once he confessed to me that he and his wife and four-year old daughter were living with in-laws and surviving on rice, yet he humbly wrote that he was thankful just to have something to eat."

Strasheim said Pastor William Martinez is already doing a lot there with a little. "He has established several outreach ministries to give children as well as impoverished families hope in a God who loves them. However, his ministry resources are few and thus I have felt a strong call upon my heart to help him in whatever small way God will allow."

Strasheim said that needs for the church and community include medical supplies, clothing, school supplies, Biblical teaching materials in Spanish (such as books and videos for children and adults), as well as a computer for the church. Strasheim said she will do what she can to see as many needs as possible are met.

While Strasheim's friends and relatives have been very generous, there is still a great need she said.

Strasheim said that Colombia, "plagued by violence" for many years is the most dangerous place to which she travels but she takes appropriate travel precautions and trusts in the Lord for her safety.

However, Strasheim added, "I have (also) been to places such as Yemen and South Africa. Safety should be a concern everywhere. Things can happen in the seemingly safest of places. I think people can have an exaggerated fear of overseas travel because of what they see on the news."

Strasheim said her missionary adventures have been very rewarding. "In Bolivia, we delivered a wheelchair to a woman whose mother had carried her around on her back for 40 years. They broke into tears when they saw the wheelchair. In Ecuador, the children of the orphanages we visited begged us to read them Bible stories. One woman became teary-eyed because I gave her a children's book for her daughter. She held it as though it were the greatest treasure in the world."

Her trips have enriched her life, Strasheim said. They "have provided me with perspective and insight into the blessings that God has given me, as well as into the cultures which I have visited. In most of the world, life is less comfortable for people than it is here, however in some places they seem more willing to receive Jesus because they recognize their need for Him. In the United States, I think comfort can blind us to our need for a Savior."

Strasheim encouraged others to go on an overseas missions trip. "It will bless you not only with the opportunity to share the love of Christ," she said, "but also offer you a glimpse into another way of life that can only be understood through first-hand experience. You may learn to appreciate the beauty of your own nation more, (while) at the same time (learning) to appreciate that of another."

And while some people may picture Strasheim's life as being stressful, that hasn't been the case, she said. "I haven't had any tremendously stressful experiences. One of my team members on the Guatemala mission missed the flight from Los Angeles to Guatemala, and was forced to stay the night in LA. That is the worst that has happened. I've been blessed."

Strasheim had some advice for those people who don't believe they have been called to missions. "I would say that Jesus commanded his followers to ‘go and make disciples of all nations' and to ‘feed his sheep.' All nations. Why are you a Christian if you don't desire to share the love of Christ through missions?"

But she pointed out that there is more to service than overseas missions. "Your missions field can be your workplace."

However, Strasheim hastened to add, "But we are a privileged nation and we have been given our wealth for a reason, and I don't believe it is so that we can have three cars and super-size meals. There are nations that haven't heard of Christ, and thus the mandate to make disciples of ‘all nations' ought to convict more than just a few Christians to explore the overseas missions field. Jesus also said that if we see our brother in need and do nothing about it, then what good is our religion?"

Strasheim has a unique way of partially funding her ministry. She makes jewelry and sells it on line at her ebay store at https://stores.ebay.com/New-Creation-Jewelry-and-Crafts.

For further information Strasheim may be contacted at connie9824@aol.com or by calling (303) 949-3347