In October, during training the leaders shared with us their vision for ministry. The goal is that ministry is not just something we do on a particular day, during certain times but that it is a lifestyle. Day in and day out walking in tune with the Holy Spirit, always ready and willing to share the gospel, love others, and serve people. & thus far, it’s been a really beautiful thing to watch unfold as I’m learning just how to live that mission out.
Last month in Colombia our ministry host graciously gave us two days off each week to regroup, explore Colombia, spend time with the Lord, go connect to WiFi, etc. These two days were so beneficial, allowing me to refuel and prepare for ministry days ahead. Thankfully, this month our ministry host has done the same thing and each week we have two days off.
Last Monday and Tuesday we had the days off. On Monday we all just hung out together and rested, but Tuesday we decided to venture into Quito, one of the larger towns near us about an hour or so away depending on how you’re traveling. We all piled in an Uber and made our way to Old Town Quito.
Once we arrived we walked around for a bit. Quito is absolutely beautiful. The streets are full of colorful buildings and homes and street venders selling all sorts of yummy foods. We made our way to an old Catholic Cathedral and explored the inside for a little bit. After the church, we went to find a fruit market but much to our dismay we never really found it.
At this point, we were all starting to get hungry. We went back and forth on where to grab lunch and finally made our way inside of Texas Chicken, a restaurant that is just as classy as it sounds! Three of us decided to eat there and the other four decided to go get empanadas from a street vender down the road.
Yett, while we were standing there talking, in walked a woman. She walked past us sitting at our table waiting for our food and approached the counter. In my limited Spanish, I had no clue what was said, but she walked away empty handed with a look of disappointment on her face. In that moment, our team struck up a conversion with her.
M, shared that she had just been deported from the United States only a few months prior. She shared that she had picked up a few odd jobs here and there, but she didn’t have friends or family back in Ecuador as she had lived most of her life in the United States and was really struggling to make ends meet. She shared that she typically gets free soup from Texas Chicken, since she helps clean the dining room sometimes, but that the kitchen staff told her they could not today. So, a teammate kindly bought her food, before she went to get her empanada.
Our food was all brought to our table and I noticed M sitting by herself at a table near us, so I invited her to join the other two girls and myself at our table. The look on her face as she grabbed her food and joined us was one I’ll never forget. Having lived in the United States most of her life she spoke really good English, so we began sharing who we were and what we were doing in Ecuador and asked to hear her story.
M was super open and shared about the struggles in her childhood and teenage years. She shared about the son that was taken away from her and the hardships she has faced in her adult life. With tears in her eyes, she shared some of the brokenness that her story held. & with tears in my eyes, my team and I were able to speak truth into the brokenness and speak truth over the lies she’s believed about herself and how the Lord sees her.
Sitting there for an hour or so, we were able to share the Gospel with M. We were able to pray over M, give her a hug, and offer her a hand-knit cross to always remind her that she has a God who always loves her despite her circumstances.
On our off day, some of the sweetest ministry of the week happened. Because, the reality is true that ministry really is life and life is truly ministry. When you’ve experienced the freedom that comes from walking with the Father, when you’ve felt the love of the Lord, and when you’ve found joy in the midst of sadness you cannot help but share His goodness to people. You cannot help but tell a homeless woman sitting in Texas Chicken about the same God who wants to lavish His love on her as well.
