Random comments about Ecuador:
- Buses get crowded at rush hour. And by crowded, I mean it’s just like 3,650 samale in a pot with no wiggle or breathing room.
- Weather here is fun. On a typical day, we experience all of the four seasons. Due to this, we always have our rain jackets ready at any moment over here in Quito.
- Morning – Spring
- Mid-day/Afternoon – Summer
- Afternoon/Evening – Fall
- Night – Winter
- Sopa (Ciorba/Soup) with popcorn is actually good.
- The college students here are very open, friendly, and willing to have conversations with us.
- We are 9,350 feet above sea level so running, exercising, and sleeping here is quite the exhilarating experience.
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This month Team Valor is in Quito, Ecuador. My team and I are ministering alongside the organization called CRU. We are going to about 7 different Universities in or around Quito evangelizing while also trying to find other Christians to build up the community of believers in the area.
CRU is a Christian organization that strives to make disciples who make disciples. Their main goals are: evangelizing and sharing the Gospel to non-believers, and to find other Christians at these college campuses to invite them to be involved in their Christian discipleship program so that they can have a community to build and encourage them to continue running the race that is set before them.
So, make disciples who make disciples.
My team and I learned about different tools we could use when going up to students and begin a conversation with them, of which includes: Soularium (a way to open up about spiritual views/beliefs), Perspectives (a way to challenge life beliefs/values), The Four Laws (a way to share the Gospel), and the Key Volunteer challenge (a way to find other believers). Each of these methods essentially attempts to get students to open up and speak about their own views and beliefs, opportunity to share their life stories, and possibly even give their life to Jesus if they choose to do so.
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Up until now, we have had the opportunity to evangelize at a few of the Universities. Prior to setting out to find people to minister to, I prayed to God to ask Him to give me a word, a picture, or really anything from Him that pertains to who He might want me to talk to.
He gave me a picture of the backside of a girl with longish, wavy, brunette hair, and wearing a yellow top.
The first school we went to was UDLA, Universidad de Las Americas. Here, Anna, Sean, and I approached two girls sitting outside near a tree and began talking with them. Soularium is what we used to try and get them to open up about their views and beliefs. Their names were Andrea and Nicole. Andrea shared how she used to be an atheist, but recently, she found God and has a relationship with Him and Nicole shared about how she was raised Catholic all her life and knows God as well. They mentioned that here in Quito it is hard to have a Christian community to do life with and that is something they do not really have. They will be graduating soon, so we prayed for them and for their future endeavors – that God will be their Guide and their Source of life. Our prayer is that they find a community in which they will be able to grow and encourage one another.
The next place we went to evangelize, we went to Universidad San Francisco de Quito (San Fran), which is more in the valley in Quito. Kristen and I went walking around and asking God to show us where to go next and who to talk with. First, we ended up talking with two girls (one of them didn’t know very much English) but, we managed. They didn’t end up opening up too much. They seemed hesitant and distant and ended up saying, “we have to go to class now.”
BUT, following them, we walked around a bit more and ended up seeing a girl sitting by a tree outside by herself. Guess what she was wearing? A yellow shirt. Yellow. And her hair? Long. Wavy. Brunette. (#lookatGod). Immediate flashback to the picture God gave me the previous day when I asked. So, not saying anything about it to Kristen, we approached her and began talking with her. She seemed a little hesitant at first but after asking her a few questions about her, her life, and her beliefs, she opened up and even seemed to be very curious as to what we had to share with her. Currently, she believes in God but doesn’t have a relationship with Christ. I could feel that the conversation was soon coming to an end, BUT …At this point in the conversation, the Spirit was telling me to talk to her about Jesus Christ. So, I asked her if I could share with her what I believed, and without hesitation she said yes. I would say this is the first time I really shared the Gospel to someone.
In the end, she asked, “You really believe all of those words? It’s awesome, but I don’t think I really believe that for myself.” After this, she was in a hurry to get to studying and so we ended our time together with praying for her. Hoping to see her again, we got her contact information so we can meet her on campus sometime in the next two weeks, get to know her more and continue to share more about who Jesus is and that He wants a relationship with her as well. I pray that she comes to know Christ for herself. Her name is Nancy.
^This picture was taken at San Fran.
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The next day, it was Valentine’s Day. The team went, once again, to San Fran. This time, though, we split up into groups and passed out candy, a note “from Jesus”, and sang songs…all in hopes to have spiritual conversations with the students and to let them know that Jesus loves them. We were able to talk to lots of students that day and many were touched by the note, the songs, and what we shared.
^…Yes, that is the accordion that I brought with me.
Also, Friday we had a girls get-together called “Galentines.” We baked cookies, got to know each other, and spent time doing a devotion about the importance of having our identity in Christ.
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Ephesians 4:11-12 states,
“And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
Evangelism is defined as the spreading of the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness. The Greek word for evangelist is Ευαγγελιστ? which means, “one who brings good news.”
Matthew 28:18-20 (AKA the Great Commission) states,
“Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw Him they worshiped Him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
A disciple is defined as a personal follower of Jesus during his life. Before Jesus left earth, He spoke these words to tell all of His followers to fulfill this command.
I am His disciple. I desire to make other disciples. Why? Because I want to live in obedience to what God asks of us… I want to be pleasing to Him.
Three key points:
- Go.
- Make Disciples.
- All nations.
Prior the World Race, if I am being completely honest, I can say that evangelizing was not something that I intentionally sought out to do. And it is an unfortunate thing. This month has been a challenge for me. Evangelizing, sharing the Gospel, answering thought-provoking questions, and approaching strangers are all somewhat new things for me. But, I can see how God is already working in me and transforming me. I have to grown in boldness, cast out any fear I had of sharing the Gospel, and trust that God is completing a work in me and in others. “What if I can’t put my words together or share the Gospel in a super clear way? What if what I say doesn’t actually do anything? What if it doesn’t make a change?” Well, this is where I learned to just trust. Trust that God’s Spirit is living inside of me and that He will give me the words, He will make the way, and He is the only One who can do that transforming. And I am the tool and the vessel He uses. If I don’t do it, then He will find someone else.
How can I, having experienced the abundant grace of God and gift of Jesus Christ and just keep it inside of me, all to myself? Doesn’t Jesus tell us to “Go” and “Make Disciples” of “All nations”? What about all of those people out there who never had the opportunity to hear of His name because no one shared it with them… and here I am, Sunday after Sunday, week after week, learning about who God is and what He has done and just keeping it all to myself.
Forgive me, Father.
It is my responsibility to be intentional on sharing the Good News to others.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you have to travel the world to make disciples… but are you doing that where you are at right now? Are you sharing the Gospel with coworkers? With people you pass by on the street or at the store? Are you listening to the Spirit who lives inside of you? Are you investing in people, in other believers? Are you making disciples, who make disciples?
I pray that I continue to grow in boldness and that I do not shy away from the Spirit when He tells me to go and speak to someone about Him… no matter how crazy it seems. When God puts it on my heart, may my response be in love and in obedience with a “yes.”
Matthew 10:20
“For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”
1 Peter 3:15-16
“…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
Soli Deo Gloria
