Hi! Well our time in Ecuador has come and gone. Since I didn’t really get a chance to write about my time there while actually in Ecuador, here’s a summary of the month, mostly about ministry (photo blog to follow for the rest of my time in Ecuador!).
Before heading to our ministry location for the month in the capital city of Ecuador – Quito, we made a quick stop in Banos for a few days for our first debrief. We spent four days in Banos reflecting on our time in Peru: how we felt about ministry, about living in community, about what God did and is doing in us and how we see God moving in others. I was able to be refreshed by the beauty of the mountains, meaningful conversations with good friends, and time to soak up a little Ecuadorian culture by way of Carnival (basically Mardi Gras with shaving cream instead of beads) and good coffee:)
It was all squad month, meaning our whole squad lived together at the same location – the Inca Link Ecuador base. Each team was assigned to a different ministry partner of Inca Link. Hope Ignited had the pleasure of working with a local non-profit ministry called Pan de Vida.
Our time working with Pan de Vida was incredibly rewarding and encouraging. The first day, after an orientation with the amazing Janela, we helped with some light cleaning and painting then spent the rest of the day looking over their website and meeting with Oscar, the founder and director. From the first day and throughout the month, each time talking with Oscar and hearing more of his vision, hopes, and dreams for the future of Pan de Vida, I just got more and more excited for this ministry. It makes me excited to see what God has in store for them knowing His will and heart are at the center of this group of compassionate people coming together to serve the families of Quito.
A quick overview of the ministries of Pan de Vida: twice a week all year they have Bible teaching and dinner (serving about 1,600 meals each month); a monthly flea market; Home Improvement Teams to improve the living conditions of families in their program; a micro business program to teach women a skill to find employment and increase their income; kids and parents club once a month; kids programs to include VBS, sports camps, etc. throughout the year; school supply distributions, and a few other ministries that I encourage you to read more about at their website www.pandevida.ec 🙂
Oscar asked us to help with four different aspects of the ministry during our three weeks there. First was food distribution on Wednesday evenings, we helped alongside other regular volunteers to cook and package dinner for around 150 adults and children. Second was three days of VBS plus a Saturday kids program. Third was to assist with home visits as part of a program for families to become beneficiaries of the foundation and receive additional assistance to improve the their living situations. Last but not least was to make three promotional videos for the various fundraising campaigns plus a video highlighting the internship opportunities at Pan de Vida. All of which we did to the best of our ability and hopefully blessed them as much as they blessed us – and the videos made possible with the help of our awesome squad mates Alexis and Mike F!
I thoroughly enjoyed each of the different ministry activities we were involved with but I think my favorite was helping with the home visits. The current circumstances of the families asking for help was heartbreaking. But to know there was hope of improvement and seeing it in their eyes as they told us how Pan de Vida could help is worth every effort to see it come to fruition.
One story that I think embodies the essence of Pan de Vida: we were at a home visit seeing a young single mother with three children. After taking pictures of the one room house and hearing how she would like Pan de Vida to help her family, we asked if there was anything she would like prayer for. Her response was for God to provide food for that day, as she had nothing to feed herself or her kids. She ended up coming back to Pan de Vida with us and getting two full bags of food from the food pantry…I would say enough for at least a week. It was so amazing to see Pan de Vida be able to immediately answer this mother’s desperate prayer for food on what seemed like a random home visit….a good reminder that God is always working!
All in all, this ministry to me is more than the food distribution, providing school supplies, the food pantry, the kid’s programs. It’s about seeing a need in the community and doing whatever it takes to try to meet it. Pan de Vida works to connect single mothers with job opportunities, partners with all kinds of organizations to bring in different types of resources, and is constantly seeking increased efficiency and new ways to investment in the community. Even though we were only in Quito for about three weeks, it was an honor to work with Pan de Vida during that time. I am excited to follow their journey and to continue seeing what blessings God has for them and the mighty ways he will use them.
All for His glory,
-Pamela
