Surprise ministry

We’re in Ecuador! This has been a very different kind of month. We started by teaching English in a high school, did some campus ministry and an event, and have ended up now in quarantine. This month has had a lot of slow growth and so hasn’t felt very exciting to write about. Even so, in the slow growth, God has still shown up and provided us with opportunities to be His hands and feet even when we weren’t planning on it. Let me walk you through my favorite day of this month and show you what I mean. 

Sometimes when you’re from a different country people just hand you their children and ask to take a picture of you holding them. I was obsessed with this little dude and weird as it is, let the record show I will never turn down holding an adorable baby. 

We arrived at Banos, Ecuador on a Friday night for our adventure weekend. Had a cute little Airbnb and a couple of adventures planned for the next day. We woke up and found coffee (always) and headed to the famous swing on the edge of the earth (so fun by the way, more adrenaline than paragliding I’m convinced). 

On the 30 minute drive up the mountain, I was able to talk to our driver, Marcel, the whole time in Spanish, which was a miracle in and of itself. When we got to the top, he said he would wait for us. We went in and started taking pictures and lo and behold he shows up next to us. Our 20 min photo op turned into a 2-hour adventure, with our driver just hanging out with us as a friend. He was so kind, was our personal photographer, and would give any stranger he saw on the swings a push if he saw they needed help. He was a gift for real. We talked more and learned about his life on the drive down, and when I got to the bottom I felt prompted to pray for him. I was able to pray for him completely in Spanish and was so grateful he took the time to spend the morning with us. 

Marcel! Such a kind man. Also world’s best photographer cause he has 3 daughters so he knows all the Instagram angles. 

We walked all of five minutes before we met a man sitting in the park, with arm braces to help him walk, asking for money. We gave him the change we had but offered him something so much better when we offered him prayer. I was reminded of Peter and John when they had nothing to offer the lame beggar in Acts and said, “what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”( Acts 3:6). I got to pray again completely in Spanish (very flawed Spanish, but still a miracle nonetheless). Sometimes, it feels overwhelming to not be able to provide for the needs of every person we meet on the street, but we have something so much better than just physical help(though we can give that too), we can offer hope and healing and prayer no matter what. It was incredibly kind of the Lord to let us meet him and pray for him, and he was such a sweet man. 

Acts 3:6-7 “Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.”

We finished walking to the coffee shop to meet our friends, and that is when I first met a Venezuelan boy who had joined our friends. He and his family were refugees who had been walking for a month and a half and had to stop because his mom had hurt her foot. What struck me was how joyful he was even with how little he genuinely had. 

Fast forward several hours, and while we were trying to figure out our dinner plans my friend Kayla had the idea that instead of spending a bunch of money on a dinner that we would only remember for a few days, to get a bunch of chicken and eat on the sidewalk with the Venezuelans. Best decision ever. We got to hear part of their story, we got to sit and laugh and just be their friends for a few hours. This little girl Sara (*name changed for privacy) became my little bestie. The next morning we got to see her and her dad again and I will never forget her running to me, or her wanting to dance in the middle of the park (we did even though there were people watching and it was the best time). They became our friends so fast, and it was crazy how the Lord showed us how quickly you can love someone deeply. (read more about this in my friend’s blog here)

Little best friends. Crazy how quickly you can love somebody.

We set out for a fun adventure weekend but we got something so much better than expected. The Lord showed up and gave us so many little moments and opportunities to share Him as we went about our day. It wasn’t our craziest adventure day, it wasn’t our biggest adrenaline day, but it was an incredible day that we will definitely remember long after we leave Ecuador. 

Little best friend, her dad, me, and Kayla. Best weekend ever, thanks God! 

My encouragement to you would be to be open to how God wants to use you as you go about your day, it might surprise you and be something you remember for a long time.