The Grace of Generosity

Ecuador day 3

Today we saw how the gospel transforms lives in such a way that they want to be generous with the little that they have. We travelled to the outskirts of Quito where we met with Quichuas in their church.




We had originally planned on meeting at 3:00 but we did not arrive until almost 4:30 and we were still early. In this culture relationships are more important punctuality. The church service was not your typical North American service. It started late, the music was loud and it went long, three hours. Before the service began we had to greet all the people, especially the children.






We were first treated to special Quichua singing and dancing in their native dress.






We were led in singing by a man who was definitely into it.

Then the pastor called us to the platform where we were presented with colorful native ponchos.


Then four men and one lady gave their testimonies. This took about an hour and one half. These people were being trained as church planters.

We had another Quichua song and then Paul gave a short sermon reminding them that Canadians are not going to win Ecuador for Christ but Ecuadorians will win Ecuador for Christ and we will partner with them as they go out to plant churches.




It is almost impossible to describe the day. These people have so little but they were generous with what they have. They asked nothing in return but were so grateful that we had come to visit with them.

The garden of the Lord

The garden of the Lord

On Wednesday we visited the south of Quito. It is a very poor area, so poor that the residence say that even the virgin has her back to them. The virgin is a statue that is on a high hill looking over old Quito so the virgin statue is facing north.

We visited an area where Mercedes lives. This unique lady has had a profound impact on her neighbourhood as well as all of South America in an indirect way.







Mercedes has a garden. In fact she has used all the area around her house for garden. In her garden there are flowers, fruits and vegetables. Flowers can add beauty to an otherwise dull world and the church can and should be like that. However the church should be like the fruit and vegetables. They both nourish and reproduce. I think the church in Santa Rosa is like the potatoes that grow in Mercedes' garden. There is very little show but it is growing away from most of the world's view and it will nourish the residents of the area.


We went up a long hill to a home where two men and a young mother with a special needs child gave their testimonies. You could see the love the Lord in their faces.





The one man told us that he came to faith because of Mercedes ministry and his daughter.

We then returned to Mercedes' home where we met with a number of others from the neighborhood. We heard their testimonies, listened to the children sing, gave them Bibles and enjoyed their hospitality.




What a delight to see their faces when we gave them Bibles. As the Bible president says, "What the world needs more than anything else is the living Word of God."



This lady works with the children. You will notice she is missing part of one arm.

This lady has a verbally abusive husband but has learned to love him and serve the Lord by making embroidered pictures which they sell to support the church. They have no church building and the 130 people can gather together when they can do it outside.



Mercedes may not be known outside her neighbourhood but she is a true hero of the faith. She has helped plant nine churches and her son is one of the leaders in the Multiplication Network which is training church planters to reach all of South America with the gospel.

The Unsung Heroes of the Faith

Ecuador day 1

The unsung heroes of the faith.

Let me introduce you to the couple who are in the picture with me. I would like to tell you their names but it probably is fitting that I don't know them as they are the true unsung heroes of the faith.

This couple is from Chile who came to Quito to study at the seminary so that they could be church planters. They were new in the program when they asked why everyone turned right when they left the seminary and no one went to the left. The road to the right led back to the city but no one seemed to know what was down the road to the left. This couple jumped on a bus and after traveling for awhile they found themselves in a community that had never heard the gospel. They started working with children and soon they were ministering to the parents. They then went further down the road and repeated the same scenario. In less than a year they had planted two churches. Planting a church involves more than getting a few conversions but it also involves discipleship and putting a structure together. This couple did that with very little training and no money.


They couldn't speak any English and I couldn't speak Espanyol but he gave me the biggest hug of all. The people of Ecuador will give plenty of hugs but nothing like this man. I thought about how much I could learn from these people but they seem so grateful that we had come to see what they were doing. They asked for nothing from us except our prayers and that we would remember them when we went home. How can I ever forget?


Now these are not only heroes. All church planters are heroes of the faith. We will meet more over the next few days.