Today included another trip up into the mountains, this time to Cayambe and the villages of Lote Tres and Lote Quatro. Again we were made aware of needs they have in order to in one case enlarge their building and in the other to finish it. The most memorable part of the morning was the testimony of Ortencia, the first Christian in the community. We were moved to tears as she told of her life before she became to Christ. In her words, "My life was a disaster". She then described her journey to Christianity. Once a Christian, she shared with her sister who also became a Christian. Even though they faced persecution from their community, they were persistent in their witness and held services in her home. A village leader began coming to the services at her home, attracted mostly by the music. That man is now the pastor of the church. From those humble beginnings, the church now has 120 adults, 80 young people, and 100 children. As Ortencia spoke, her face literally glowed. We were touched and inspired.
After visiting the two congregations, we visited another farm project; this time seeing how organic liquid fertilizer and insecticide were made from worms. We also saw the equipment for making bio gas from manure.
Then it was on to visit a museum on the equator (one really should not visit Ecuador with seeing the equator). We concluded the day with a wonderful meal at the La Ronda restaurant. After that came the sad part of saying goodbye to Rob & Betty and our bus driver Danny.
As we leave Ecuador, we do so with full hearts. I am reminded of what Ray said when he said a few words to one congregation, "We will probably not see you again before we get to see you in heaven, but you will always be in our hearts."
Thank you so much for your prayer support for this trip. We look forward to sharing even more when we next see you in person.
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