No AA in Ecuador

My heart is tuned for evangelism. I love sharing the goodness of the Father with others and praying for their broken hearts. For me, ministry looks like many things, but the onethat sticks out is evangelism.

While we have been here in Conocoto, we have been working construction and playing with children. I love doing both of those things, but because it is dangerous to go anywhere without our contacts, we are not able to leave to find broken people who need the Lord.

I got the opportunity to evangelize last night. Pastor Rafael and two of his adult children asked Meg and I to go with them to make a house call. Once we squeezed in the truck (there were 4 of us on the tiny two person bench seat), we learned that we were going to visit a family who has come to church a few times but don’t attend anymore.

We pulled up out front and were greeted by a lady wearing all gray. She was very dirty and looked shocked and embarrassed to see us there. She kept fidgeting and adjusting her hair. She then reluctantly asked us to come inside.

The house was depressingly dirty. Meg and I both received instant headaches due to the numerous cats and the smell of mold, which made our eyes water. We sat down in the “living room� and the pastor began reading her scripture. A few moments later, a guy walked in and sat down. It was hard to tell if he was her son, husband, or boyfriend, and he kept awkwardly laughing while the pastor was talking.

Because we don’t speak much Spanish, we couldn’t get all of what was being said. But we did understand that she just kept making excuses for not being at church. She said she had to work and was very unhealthy. But then the pastor has us read scripture that was talking about being free from the shame of sin and turning from old ways… I knew then that there was something more.

Pastor Rafael asked Meg and I to pray for her. I asked her name and she said it was Mary. I began praying for strength and a sweetly broken heart for the Lord, as it was obvious her heart was hardened towards Him. Afterwards, we hugged her. When we turned to leave, she grabbed Meg’s arm and said, “Regressar?� (meaning- return?). She wanted us to come back and pray for her again. Of course we agreed.

Here’s what we learned about Mary after we left her house: Mary was in a taxi accident a year ago, which would explain the scar on her face and neck. After the accident, pastor made a house call to her home and she accepted Christ. But she is a very sad lady because her husband and two children left her years ago and went to Spain, never to return again. She married someone else, which explains the man sitting in the living room laughing awkwardly.

Because of the pain she deals with daily, Mary drinks alcohol to numb her problems. She is an alcoholic and feels shame for her actions. Due to her drinking, she is ashamed to come back to church.

(Side note: There are a large population of Ecuadorians who are alcoholics. It is nearly an epidemic. Most of the church members here once struggled with alcoholism, but were freed because of Jesus.)

Will you pray for Mary? Pray that she will no longer feel shame and realize that there are people who love her only minutes away. Please pray that she will return to church and have a softened heart. Pray that she will be freed from her addiction of alcohol. Pray for peace and wholeness. Pray for a transformation.

Much love in our Father,