When Helping... Helps! Healing & repair in Pedernales

Praise God that, a year after the earthquake, roughly 60% of the city has recovered! The Quichua church, Monte Sinai, is one of three project sites we are working with in our Earthquake Response Project with Pioneers. Please pray that upcoming government inspections will approve proposed changes that will enable a raised roof on top of the second level for a cooler and additional meeting space.

Turning to God in gratitude and praise! Thanking the Lord for his protection, provision, and even the loss, that has brought them back into a place of dependence and deeper faith in Him!

Turning to God for spiritual and physical healing! A young man repents and commits his life to Christ, an elderly woman seeks prayer for healing and the ability to sustain the pain in her back.

Turning to God for direction! Seeking wisdom for unity and efficiency of building materials donated for repair!

Ross, serving alongside Pastor Lorenzo (one of our students from Santo Domingo) in Pedernales as part of our Discipleship Training program

Unloading new roofing material purchased with Pioneers project funds

For more information on our earthquake response project, check out our webpage at www.evministry.org

Disciples making disciples in Zaracai

"Open your eyes," the small voice prompted me. I lifted my head, "...for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these" His Word echoed (Mat 19:14). God was pleased to be present in the hearts of these children in the barrio of Zaracai (Santo Domingo).

Pastor Jorge invited me to this growing outreach that he was leading through two of his disciples, Miguel and Suzana. I was encouraged that our pastors training program was able to help equip, pray for, and encourage Jorge in this evangelistic ministry.

Pastor Jorge (top right), encourages Miguel and Suzana as they lead this local outreach to the children of Zaracai. 


* Please pray this week for the development of our pastor's discipleship group. In Quichua culture it is not easy for them to grasp the power of the informal setting in non-western Biblical and theological education. 

*Pray God would continue to guide pastors and leaders to study in the context of Discipleship.

*Pray for Miguel and Suzana (pictured above) and other "disciples of our disciples" who are on the front lines of evangelistic and discipleship ministries in places few missionaries visit.

Four nations worship under one Tsachila church roof!

Left to right: Spanish Pastor Marco and his wife Maria from the Nazarene Church in Santo Domingo, Quichua pastor Jorge Herrera one of our students who is based out of Chimborazo and ministers in several places across Ecuador, Tsachila church leader, Primativo,  (and his grand daughter) from the Tsachila church in Congoma, yours truely, (Ross), Pioneers USA Missionary based in Riobamba, Luis (Quichua) and his wife Jessica (Tsachila), and their three kids, members of Quichua Pastor Lorenzo's church in Santo Domingo (Lorenzo is one of Ross' students - not pictured above).

The Tsafique words came over the sound system; "Junni acola, soquila, Diosi nulaca laquiranan..." "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy...." (Click the words above to hear Romans 12:1 in Tsafique). Primativo, one of the four Tsachilas believers who showed up for the service, stood up and gave a brief summery in Tsafique of the message Pastor Marco was about to preach in Spanish.

It was a special opportunity as a North American to worship alongside the Tsachila, Spanish, and Quichua cultures in one service. Primativo and Pastor Marco and his family, gave us a warm welcome. After the service we sat together sharing stories of how God was working in our lives. Primativo shared of another church in another Tsachila settlement that was meeting. In both churches there was a growing hunger to learn more about God and His Word. As we were leaving, Primativo called out "Come to my house on your next visit and we can talk some more." 

Please continue to pray for our Tsachila outreach through the Quichua. Pastor Marco was open and interested to hear about our ministry to train indigenous pastors. This outreach also serves as a platform to train our Quichua students about missions. Please continue to pray for our vision to train Tsachila leaders to pastor and reach out to the greater 98% of the Tsachila nation who do not know Christ. 

"And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy art Thou to take the book, and to break its seals; for Thou wast slain, and didst purchase for God with Thy blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.'"(Rev 5:9 NAS)

...Jesus simply said "Make Disciples!"

"Therefore go to the un-reached,  plant churches, and set up theological schools in all nations teaching them to obey...”  “No hermano David," (Ross’ Spanish name),  "It does not say that,” A student interrupted, “Jesus simply said 'Make Disciples!'”

Pastor Jose and Pastor Pedro at El Corderito (the Sacrificial Lamb)

 Pastor Lorenzo,  began to read from one of our texts “It all started with Jesus calling a few men to follow him….” (Robert Colemans’s The Master Plan of Evangelism.)

What if we could learn about God in the same way Jesus taught His disciples… if theological education was more than learning about God … but part of our calling to know Him... to serve Him? Would you leave “your nets” if the master asked you to follow Him? 

Pastor Lorenzo from Santo Domingo (and a leader from his church), Pastor Antonio from Capolusipungu, and Jorge Moyolema, director of the SINAI seminary in the first meeting of our Pastors Discipleship Group.

Lorenzo continued, “His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with the men whom the multitudes would follow.” (ibid)

Pastor Jorge Herrera co-teaching a Bible course with Ross as part of the Earthquake Crisis Response project in Pedernales.

Please pray for the formation of our Pastors Discipleship Group. We have six students committed to study right now and are asking the Lord to raise up four more who desire "follow Him" through our program of Discipleship Training.

Father, I Choose to Forgive... in Capulispungu

It was a cold wet morning on my journey up the Quichua mountain just past the little town of Guamote. Dark stains of mud from recently cleared landslides, quilt-like patches of hand and oxen plowed fields, and the thin (12,000 ft) air of the Andes were all part of the journey to Capulispungo, the remote Quichua village of one of our students, Pastor Antonio. I stopped to wait for a small group of drunken men as they danced in front of my Jeep to the irregular beat of an out of tune hand drum. Today was Carnival, (the MardiGras of Latin America), a religious holiday that spans three days of fiestas that celebrates the coming of Lent. The Evangelical Quichua often host conferences and workshops this time of year to provide their families with an alternative to the drunken revelry that is laced throughout the fiestas. For this little church, Carnival is a time when families travel great distances to gather and worship together in their home town. 

I was privileged to lead this humble church through the portion on forgiveness from Neil Anderson's Steps to Freedom. We took some time to look at the bondage of bitterness, and how forgiveness can set us free from the heavy burdens of broken relationships. We moved into small groups and they asked God to reveal the names of those who have hurt them in the past. Then one by one they began the process to forgive and release their pain. Some wept, others just poured out their hearts before the Lord. It was a time of healing. 

Please pray for the Quichua church of Capulusipugu. The process of forgiveness often evokes spiritual opposition.

Pray for pastor Antonio as he continues to guide his church through this process.

...they wanted to "lose the white face" to minimize suspicion. I smiled to myself, they were beginning to think like indigenous missionaries!

I was excited to see twelve members from the Quichua church in Santo Domingo show up to join the Tsachila church in Congoma for a day of prayer and fasting! When we got out of the car, Rosa came over from her nearby home and greeted us warmly with an Ecuadorian hug and a kiss. Pastor Lorenzo walked over to talk with a Tsachila man who was unlocking the church for our visit. Then.... all of a sudden... the Tsachila man and Rosa left! We were alone....

As if not to be deterred by the absence of our hosts, the Quichuas entered the Tsachila church and began to pray. Rosa came back after having changed into a multicolored Tsachila skirt dressed for worship. She sat in the back happy for the opportunity to share the day with other believers. We sang songs, and prayed for the Tsachila church. Pastor Lorenzo and I took turns giving a reflection on fasting and prayer, and we sang and prayed some more.

After about 3 hours we moved outside in search of relief from the encroaching heat that was rising inside the church. Rosa shared that only a few Tsachila Christians come to church now (about 10). Some walk over an hour to attend. "People from the outside came from other groups 'to help us' and there was division in our church. Some left to help these groups begin their new work, others just stopped coming." Rosa looked off in the distance and was quiet.

Lorenzo thought that perhaps one of the reasons other Tsachila believers did not show up, was that our group was perceived as another threat to the church. I also began to wonder about the communication between the two indigenous groups that arranged our meeting.

The Quichuas sat quiet for a moment, then one simply said, "we will have to try again." Another said, "we can bring food, everyone comes when there is food!" Various ideas of how to continue were shared. They decided to finish out the day by attempting to visit some Tsachila homes nearby.  I was encouraged, and started to join them when Lorenzo pulled me aside and said, "Hermano David, perhaps we might be better received if we tried to make this visit without the presence of a North American.  I got the message, they wanted to "lose the white face" to minimize suspicion. I smiled to myself, they were beginning to think like indigenous missionaries!

While we did not make the contact we had hoped in this visit, we were able to deepen our relationship with Rosa, and our Quichua partners and had a good opportunity to grapple with some of the realities and complexities missionaries face when trying to share the gospel in another culture. Please continue to pray for our efforts to reach the Tsachila through the Quichua as part of our program of Discipleship Training.

Thank you to those who fasted and prayed with us last Wed 2/8. Please continue to pray as we press on. For the road to the gospel is not one without opposition.

A Tsachila invitation to prayer!

Tsachila outreach team in front of the newer Tsachila church building

"Hermano David," Lorenzo's voice crackled over the poor cell phone connection, "I have good news! Leaders from the Tsachilla church in Congoma called to invite us and members of our church to join them for a day of prayer and fasting! Can you come?"

I was encouraged,  this invitation came in response to our survey trip to Congoma last week.

Our recent outreach to the Tsachila people was born out of several years of prayer.  I think it very fitting that our first contact* with this small band of believers will also begin in the context of prayer!  (*beyond our initial visit with Rosa last week)

Please join us on Feb 8 (8am-4pm) for a time of prayer and fasting with the Tsachila church.  When you close your eyes to pray, picture a Tsachila hand in your left, and a Quichua hand in your right, as they will be praying next to you in Spirit from Congoma. Together, with one voice we will magnify the Lord and pray for his gospel witness to go forth among the Tsachila people.

Let us know, I am sure word of your participation will greatly encourage them!

Do you see the unseen? The importance of knowing the cultural and Biblical worldview of the people we disciple!

When our kids were young we used to play "I see something... what do I see?" One person would find something hard to guess and the rest of us had great fun trying to find it.

When I look at the indigenous Quichua, I often wonder "what do they see?" 

Concepts of truth, justice, poverty and suffering are different here. Trust, family obligation, shame, and self-worth are based on a practical need for survival rather than an ideal they cannot connect to. "Do I see what they see?" 

If we are not careful we can import a western gospel of independence, self-sufficiency, and multiplication, that is foreign to their world of relationship, dependence, or loyalty to community. "Of course they see what I see!" 

Yet... if the power of God is placed in the broken, the presence of Christ made manifest in suffering, and in the Spirit of the Lord we find liberty,  Perhaps it is better to first sit with the hurting and be present with them in their world, unjust and corrupt as it is. Then we can walk out together to a new place of hope and learning. For when we turn to the Lord in the midst of our afflictions, we find an eternal weight of glory! "Do you see the unseen?" (2Cor 3:17-4:18)

From an abandoned building to a "living stone": our quest to find the Tsachila Church

Tsachilla evangelical church in Congoma, 

My heart grew heavy as I looked at the broken down, abandoned, church building. From what we understood there was only one Tsachila evangelical church among this "least reached" (2%) people group. I paused at a feeling of spiritual defeat. It was almost as if the building was a visible monument to a battle lost.

We pushed on to find out what happend to their members. My spirits began to lift when we met Rosa, a Tsachila believer who told us that her church had not entirely disbanded, but a small remnant of roughly 15 believers continued to meet twice a month in a newer building next to her home. (see previous post)  http://evmissiontalk.blogspot.com/2017/01/partnering-with-quichua-to-reach.html

As Rosa told us about her church, I was struck by her humility. She spoke broken Spanish, could not read, and lived in a very humble home.  When I prayed for her she grasped my arm tight, then looked at me with the light of Christ behind her tears and simply said "thank you!" Behind her words another voice seemed to say... "Thank you Ross, for looking beyond an abandoned church building to Rosa's home. For 'I am not the God of the dead, but of the living' (Mat. 22:32). As we pulled away I realized we had found one of the "living stones" of the  Tsachila church (1 Pet 2:5).

Partnering with the Quichua to reach the Tsachila through Discipleship Training!

This picture represents an incredible connection God has put together in relation to our outreach to the Tsachila people.

On the left is Lorenzo, a pastor of a Quichua church in Santo Domingo and part of Ross' Pastors Discipleship Group. Next to Lorenzo is Jessica, a Tsachila woman who is married to Luis, a Quichua man (not in photo) who attend Lorenzo's church in Santo Domingo.   Next to Jessica is Rosa, a Tsachila sister who attends the Tsachila church in Congoma, whom we met this morning! Rosa knows Jessica's grandmother and is happy to serve as a connection for both Lorenzo and I in a future visit when the church is meeting! Next to Rosa is yours truly!

Unfortunately the Tsachila church in Congoma has gone through a split which has greatly reduced their size to about 15 attenders! The others have left to joined a heretical denomination which has greatly reduced the already small evangelical witness and will create confusion as the two churches begin to present a different message among their people!

Stay tuned and keep praying!