An Ecuadorian Mission Experience

Hey there folks,

Today was a special day. We had the opportunity to lead Carmen Bajo in worship. Carmen Bajo is part of the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. The pastor of the church is Fabian Erazo. His wife, Grace, is fully immersed in the ministries of the church and community as well. Grace is amazing! She has a warm smile and compassionate hug that cuts through any language barrier or nerves. Unfortunately for us, we were unable to meet Pastor Fabian as he is currently in the US for the first time visiting the churches that support Carmen Bajo and his family.

The group woke up to a phenomenal breakfast prepared by Chef Rob. He cooked up French Toast, and also made two toppings: a raisin topping and a banana topping. With full tummies, we embarked for our second day in the Carmen Bajo community. It is unlike any community we have in the US. It is definitely a 3rd world community. They do have access to plumbing and electricity, but the vast majority of the people live on less than $2 per day. 70-80% are unemployed. The church is just like the community center that we were working at yesterday...pieced together with concrete blocks, steel rebar, and piecemeal construction...

...but it feels like holy ground when you step on the church grounds.

But it is so unlike anything we consider a church building. The childrens' Sun school classroom is a small concrete block room with no overhead lighting. The kids sit on small plastic patio chairs, and when they go to church, they take their chairs with them. The bathrooms don't have real doors. The boys doesn't shut all the way, and the girls isn't on a hinge...you have to pick it up and move it over to block the doorway.

Our duties for the morning included leading Sun School and the church service. Sarah Bailey and Kayla Massey lead the Sunday school for the adults and teens, and all of our team lead small group discussion part of Sunday School with the help of translators. We discussed the passage where Jesus is walking on water and Peter tries to walk to Jesus on the water. The groups discussed how to deal with doubts and fears.

After Sunday school, we transitioned into church. Church at Carmen Bajo is nothing like an Episcopal service. When we asked how we should structure things, we were told, "However you want!" Hmmmm...so we asked how they normally do church and based it off of that. We sang 4 worship songs in spanish, had three team members (Sarah Axson, Sarah Bailey, and Lauren Del Priore) share faith stories/testimonies, and then I gave a sermon/message. We closed with the offertory and prayer. The faith stories were incredible, and they really moved the people of CB. It is amazing that across cultural and economic divides, we have many of the same issues that we deal with in life. Giving a sermon was a great experience, but it was very hard working with the translator.

We shared lunch with a group from CB, and then went to a public park to play games and hang out. It was an enormous park with beautiful trees and landscape. We spent the afternoon playing Red Rover and Capture the Flag. I never would have thought that a group of kids/people ranging in age from under 10 to over 30 would be, not only entertained, but enthralled with a game of Red Rover. They loved it! We played for well over an hour! It was also a great way to learn names. As we were playing Red Rover, people who were at the park were eager to check us out, and then eventually, a group of kids joined in on our game. After the games, we had a short devotional time with one of our team members sharing their faith story followed by one of the CB residents sharing their testimony. It was very cool.

It has been a long day. We ate a great dinner and spent time this evening debriefing, preparing for VBS tomorrow, and taking some down time. It has been a long day, so I'm off to bed shortly. Tomorrow (Monday) is a big day. Please continue to pray for us and the people/community that we will be serving. And you know what...they are praying for us and for you too. Hasta luego!

blessings,
dorian

ps...also learned today that the hostal we are living in sits on the side of a volcano called Pichincha. It last erupted in 1999, but it is now considered dormant...I think. At least that is what I was told.