A Hot and Very Meaningful Ministry Week!

     Two weeks ago, NILI staff and students traveled to Quininde, Ecuador for a week-long missions' trip. For me (Hillary) and Ian, it was the first time we'd journeyed West outside the Andes Mountains, down into the coastal region of Ecuador. It meant a long, curvy ride, and though we were still a good two hours from the beach itself, at the end we were greeted with 80 degree heat, humidity, and sun (a nice change from the cold and rainy weather of Quito!).

     We'd chosen Quininde because the Quininde Church of the Nazarene is currently without a pastor, and Jeremías, a seminary student originally from the town, has been traveling home every weekend to preach and help with the youth group. This has been difficult, since Quininde is a good 4.5 to 5 hour trip one-way from Quito, and Jeremías is also a full-time student. Through our visit, NILI hoped to both support this local church and encourage our friend filling in as interim pastor. 

      Monday afternoon, as soon as we arrived, we jumped right into prepping the church sanctuary to be painted. In the mornings throughout the week, we worked on this painting project: painting the interior of the sanctuary and the exterior of the church's front. Several members of the church also came to work alongside us. The transformation was remarkable!

Outside the church (before painting)

Working alongside members from the church to paint the outside.

Our group with the finished product!

After painting inside the sanctuary (before it was the same color blue as outside)

     In between painting, our group also helped clean up grass, trash, and debris around the church to prevent moisture and mold from spreading inside the sanctuary and to help prepare a space for bathrooms to be built. On our last day, we helped mix some of the first batches of concrete (by hand!) that would make up the foundation for the bathrooms outside, behind the church.

Removing debris from behind the church (side of the church before cleaning).

Cleaning a space for the bathrooms to be built.

Side of the church after cleaning.

Mixing concrete for the bathroom foundation.

     After working in the morning each day, we'd have lunch together at the church and then prepare for our kids' outreach/evangelism. The church in Quininde actually has a small church plant just outside of town in a large "finca" (or plantation) which produces palm oil, bananas, and cocoa beans.  Our first afternoon we visited the "finca" and shared our kids' program with songs, games, and Bible stories in a large field, hoping to attract kids that had never heard of the church before.

Singing together in the "finca."

Playing a water balloon relay game (perfect in the heat!).

      After our kids' program (and dinner), we returned to the "finca" to meet with a Catholic family the Quininde church had been witnessing to for several weeks. (One of the men from the church who had seen our kids' program asked us to come and speak with his parents and his siblings, whom he desperately wanted to come to know the Lord.) We had the privilege of meeting with this dear family in their living room (a very simple room with concrete walls and floor and plastic chairs for furniture) that night. Our group sang several songs, and Lucy, our Director, gave a brief gospel presentation afterwards. We prayed together and then spent some time visiting. Before we left, the family presented us with hot chocolate (made from the beans harvested right there on the plantation).
      Then Wed afternoon, we visited the Quininde church plant inside the "finca." We presented our kids' program for the children of the church and afterwards we attended the Wed night church service with the small, adult congregation. Our group shared two praise and worship specials (in Spanish and English) with the church, and Lucy preached a brief message of encouragement.

Quininde's small church plant inside the oil, banana, and cocoa bean plantation outside of town.

Playing with the kids before our program began.

Performing our skit about Javier, missionary to Africa.

Wed night service with the adults.

Getting ready to share our praise and worship specials.

     Thurs ended the week on a high note with a very special event. Every year, the Quininde church hosts a kids' outreach event for the kids of the church to invite all their friends. Lots of children eagerly await this time of year because the church gives Samaritan's Purse (Operation Christmas Child) shoe boxes to all who register and come. It was a joy to be able to present a special program for the day (with more songs, games, and Bible stories), and at the end of the program, our group was able to help pass out the shoe boxes!

Explaining the Bible story.

Singing!

Water balloon relay race.

Passing out the Samaritan's Purse shoe boxes.

The shoe boxes were a big hit!

He loved his box!

     It was such a blessing to be able to join with our Quininde brothers and sisters in Christ in their ministry through the church and it's extension in the local plantation! Through our physical work (painting, cleaning, and mixing concrete), kids' outreach, Wed night service participation, and in-home evangelism, we experienced the love of God in a powerful way, and we saw Him at work in the hearts and lives of the Quininde people.
     We continue to pray for the lives of those we touched while there; that those in the church would continue to grow and mature in their faith and that those who heard of the Lord for the first time would seek Him out by visiting the Quininde church.
 
     Thank you for all the extra prayers for our group during this week! Ian and I know that it's because of your support -- through your prayers and generous gifts -- that this ministry is made possible.
     We appreciate you all greatly! God bless you, much. 

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.