Ecuador Earthquake Disaster Relief - One Month Later

Sami's house was nearly done by the time we met with the community president at the end of the week. Days earlier we had arrived in the small town of Coaque, Ecuador with the intent to help earthquake victims.

We ended up at a small plot of land and with 25 volunteers from three mission organizations and multiple local churches, Sami's new home went up quickly.

During the week we were there we held church meetings in the evenings. Nearly 60 adults and children attended every night to hear the preaching and a number came to faith. During the day volunteers led outreach ministries to women and children that were well attended.

So with Sami's house nearly completed, we were finally able to sit down with the community president and ask him how we could help long term. We were envisioning future building and water projects and more. The president's invitation was surprising.

"After seeing all that you've done in our community this week, what we really need is a church," he said. "I've seen you build this week, giving bricks and cement to many people who needed it. However each night as the community has gathered together to hear you preach and watch the movies I can see our community needs Jesus, that's what we really need."

God is at work, even through the aftermath of the destructive 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck coastal Ecuador on April 16. More than 70,000 people are displaced countrywide and the situation is still critical for many. We are thankful we could do this work in partnership with a local church, and we hope to maintain these relationships with the Coaque community. SIM Ecuador is planning another work trip to this community in early August.


This article was first published on the SIM International website
http://sim.org/index.php/content/ecuador-earthquake-disaster-relief-one-month-later

Three legged race with Pastors of Loja

We had just had a downpour the night before and were on edge as to whether it was going to rain again, but in hope of clear weather, went on down to the park for a morning of some fun games and social time with church pastors and leaders we had invited.

We started with a human noughts and crosses game watching participants running across the park to secure their square, or not. We played volleyball, using water balloons and towels to catch them, and watching them burst to the ground when the towel wasn't in the right spot. The three legged race brought many to their knees. It was an opportunity to have some laughs and build on relationships with pastors.

Our team seeks to support the local evangelical church in lots of ways, whether through providing training opportunities or discipleship courses or christian resources or some prayerful encouragement along the way. One of the pastors said it was nice to be able to come and have fun participating, as they are usually the ones responsible for organising events.

Our team organising the morning even performed a drama item which we managed to pull off quite well, our audience including not only our group but also the people watching on from the block of flats across the road....

Perhaps this will help open a door in the future, or be something to laugh over in conversations or just be helpful in letting people know that we are here to be a support and help for the local church as they faithfully continue their task of bringing to gospel to many in this part of the world.

Happy International Women's Day!

Tuesday mornings I meet up with a friend to spend some time in God's word and talk about what is going on in life and we pray. I hesitate to say I disciple her, as normally we read the bible together and then she talks us through what she discovers, I feel like my presence kind of just opens a space for that to happen every week.

We are reading through the book of Romans together and yesterday read through the first eleven verses of chapter 5. It took a while to talk about all we saw in the passage, to let the big, amazing truths soak in - justified through faith, peace with God through Christ, access by faith into this grace in which we now stand, the hope of the glory of God, the effect of suffering leading to perseverance to character to hope which does not disappoint because we have love poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. God demonstrating his love for us in that Christ died for us while still sinners, the importance of Jesus' resurrection guaranteeing our hope of eternal life, reconciliation won for us through Christ.

Half-way through, my friend paused and looked up with a bit of a smile. She said, 'And I asked my husband what he was going to get me as a gift for women's day today, yet here it is, a feast in God's word, what could be better than that?'.

Indeed, what could be better than the Holy Spirit applying to our hearts the incredible truths of the gospel and the impact it has on our lives for now and eternity? And for me, the joy to be able to spend my Tuesday morning in this way was a perfect gift for International Women's Day.

Happy International Women's Day!