I couldn’t go into every month expecting to love the
ministry we are working with but the Lord really blessed our month in Ecuador.
I loved every moment of it. There are a couple of things that stick out to me
from this month. First it is the youth. I was amazed at how dedicated the youth
were and how walking down the streets of the country side going home to home,
they had no shame in speaking about God and inviting people into the promise
that He has to offer us. I don’t know if at 14 years old you could have gotten
me to walk down my neighborhood and tell people about Christ! I also really admired how the church did not
expect people to come to them, every week night was a mini church service in
the home of one of the members. Preceding the service we walked down the street
inviting people to join in the service at Maria Mendoza’s house.
This was the service that blew us away, we expected maybe 10
or so people would show up, little did we know that God has bigger plans for
the night. Little by little more people came piling into Maria’s small bamboo
house. By the end of the service there were 25 or 30 people, not including the
7 Americans. This night, more people were drawn in and had open ears to hear
the gospel. When asked by the pastor, ” who here does not know that their
salvation is not secured” and so bluntly, because that means you will spend an
eternity in hell, which is completely up to you” many rose their hands. That
night, people’s eyes were open and I believe that new names were written in the
book of life.
Another thing that really stuck out to me was our time spent
with the young adults in the Portoviejo church. I paid close attention to their
interactions with one another and I noticed there was one thing missing.Clicks. They didn’t live
in the little North American social bubbles that we have allowed. They all
embraced and accepted one another. They all loved one another and I saw an
equal pursuance for their brothers and sisters in Christ. I think too many
times we make the excuse that someone is too different than us, but the REALITY
is, that is a cop out. Love knows no bounds and it makes no judgments. How
often do we really attempt to seek out and understand someone who may have
nothing in common? Hardly ever! I mean I am so guilty of this, I have a squad
of 49 very different North Americans and I have done this as well!
So in this month our ministry was heavily involved with the
youth of the country and igniting a fire and desire for them to go out to the
nations as well. It was with the Pastor and His family in Calderon and it was
for us to learn to step outside our comfort zone, to not depend on youself to
go out and speak to people about God’s truth and His salvation. To have no
shame in proclaiming who Christ is. Many believe there is a God, everyone knows
about a God, but so few understand about the personal relationship with Christ
and his true sacrifice. Many people didn’t want to hear, they are content with
their catholic practice.
