An Outdoor Market & A Beautiful Church Service

     Two weeks ago, our NILI group traveled about one and a half hours north to a town called Otavalo--a town known throughout Ecuador for hosting one of South America's largest outdoor markets. Every weekend, Otavalo's main square overflows with Ecuadorians from all over the country who have come to sell their goods: hammocks, blankets, scarves, wood carvings, paintings, jewelry, clothes, shoes, and just about any other type of handcrafted/purchased Ecuadorian good there is. The market is so large that the town's main plaza cannot hold all the vendors, and tents filled with goods line the surrounding streets, sprawling out in all directions for many blocks.
 

Rows of colorful hats for sale.

Little boy hides under his parents' table of goods.

Trying on finger puppets for size.

      While we were in Otavalo, we also visited "Wood Town" and "Leather Town," two neighboring villages with crafts according to their names; Cascada Peguche, a beautiful 18 meter tall waterfall; and Laguna Cuicocha, a tranquil lake within a (still active) volcanic crater.

The little ferry boat we rode around Laguna Cuicocha.

Girls (NILIs, two seminary students Myrian & Mery, and me) at Cascada Peguche.

     Then Sunday, we were invited to attend a very small Church of the Nazarene several miles outside of the city. We passed several remote farms, climbing up a dirt road in our Sprinter van to reach the church, and we saw several members walking to church along the way. Most of the congregation were indigenous families whose native language was Quechua. Each came in wearing their Sunday best--the women carrying their Bibles in their traditional head coverings.
     Our NILI group was blessed to share in a Sunday morning service with these gracious people. NILI staff and students shared two praise and worship songs (in Spanish and English) as a special, followed by the women of the congregation sharing two worship songs (in Spanish and Quechua). The pastor, switching back and forth from Quechua to Spanish, preached on unity in the body of Christ and Christ's sacrifice for all the people of the world. What a meaningful time with this congregation, our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Outside the little, rural church.

Praise and Worship on Sunday morning.

     As I (Hillary) have reflected on this NILI trip, I am thankful for the holistic experience of NILI. Throughout the course of a regular semester, our students are completely immersed in Spanish language and Latin American culture by taking at least 12 hours of intensive Spanish classes every week--and by living on the Nazarene Seminary Campus in Quito with seminary students from Ecuador, Columbia, or Peru as roommates. NILI also travels throughout the semester, exposing students to different Ecuadorian cultures such as the coast, the mountains, and the jungle, yet always integrated in all of these trips is involvement with the local church. On a weekly basis, NILI students attend both seminary chapel services and local church services on Sundays. They are also involved in weekly ministry projects with children, older adults, and battered women at three designated sites within Quito. Through all of this, NILI very intentionally combines language study, cultural immersion, ministry, and travel to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience in which our students will encounter God in a new and very personal way.
    This coming week, our NILI group will be traveling to Quininde, Ecuador, to serve in a week-long ministry project at a Nazarene church there. The plan is to divide our time between physical tasks around the church such as painting and children's/teen ministries such as VBS lessons. Please join us in praying for our group as we are away from the seminary campus on this ministry trip. Pray that both staff and students would stay healthy and strong for the physical labor and the VBS ministry set out before us. Pray that our group would be united in spirit and purpose and that we would be able to share the love of Christ with each person we meet.

     Thank you, dear friends and family, for your continued support of our student ministry here in Quito, Ecuador! We cannot tell you how much you all mean to us.