Ecuador Reflections

“You are not in Ecuador to climb a mountain—you are here to serve God.” Tim’s words echoed in my head as our bus headed down the El Refugio driveway. Up until that moment, the majority of our trip had been missions oriented. Many blessings had come from our time serving in this beautiful country. God had provided so many wonderful opportunities to serve our Ecuadorian brothers and sisters, from the work projects in Chaco, to the precious time spent playing and teaching the amazing kids of Oyacachi.

As our time in Ecuador drew to a close however, anticipation and excitement for the traditional camping/hiking trip began to grow. This year, the plan was for LIFT 35 to take on Sincholagua  Mountain, an epic 8 hour hike/climb. All of our fitness training had led up to this moment—every group run, the meticulous practice in repelling technique, and of course, all the insane power hikes up and down Oak Mountain. Initially, Tim had made this declaration to establish proper perspective. Our mission in coming to Ecuador was to glorify God by loving and serving others—climbing the mountain was merely an added bonus. My gaze centered on where the driveway met the road, the same road that would have taken us to our base campsite, where we would have spent the night and proceeded with the climb the following morning.

That was before the earthquake hit. Now, the bus had a new course. Our destination: Portoviejo, an eight hour bus drive away from El Refugio. The night before, we had received word that the city had sustained serious damage, and by God’s sovereignty, an opportunity had emerged for both LIFT 35 and the El Refugio staff to offer aid. Tim’s words had been unintentionally prophetic: we would not be climbing a mountain on this trip. It mattered little though. Frankly, hiking a mountain was the last thing on anyone’s mind. Instead, the idea had been replaced by a simple, yet powerful prayer: from Isaiah chapter 6: “Here I am Lord, send me.” In a matter of hours, every single person in our group had focused their prayers on one single objective: to serve God through the administering of relief to the people of Portoviejo.  

 

As a fellow LIFTer, it was pretty incredible to see how this decision impacted the rest of my team. Before we knew for certain that we could go, all of us met in the El Refugio chapel to pray. Being a part of that process was incredibly intense and powerful. “We were all there, praying together for God’s will to be done,” exclaimed my roommate, Vanessa Gottreux, “and it really strengthened my faith to see God answer our prayer.”

 

In Portoviejo we split up into several groups, each headed up by either an El Refugio Staff member or a LIFT leader. A few groups worked on cleaning and reorganizing damaged areas of the local hospital, while other groups went out into the city to help clear debris and assist the various search and rescue teams.  It was long, hard work in some pretty intense, nerve rattling conditions, but every single person rose to the challenge. God proved Himself to be so faithful in the midst of it all, providing a valuable chance to work alongside the people.  When I asked my fellow LIFTer Peter to recall a memorable moment in Portoviejo, his mind went immediately to his work with the fire fighters. “I remembered sharing my chocolate bar with a fire fighter named Antonio during our break time,” he said, smiling. “He was so grateful.” He continued to say how much he appreciated sharing the moments of laughter with the team, appreciating the moments of friendship in the midst of the chaos. This was something that I could definitely relate to. My team also assisted the fire fighters, removing large chunks of rubble and debris from a local church that had collapsed. It was amazing how God allowed us to work together, even bridging the language barrier, to accomplish so much. During our break, I also had the chance to share some of my food with them. Before they left, one of the fireman approached me, handed me a water bottle, and gave me a firm handshake. That will probably be one of my best memories of being here in Ecuador.

 

As I was writing this blog entry last night, a young woman named Jessica approached my table in the dining hall. “Are you leaving in the morning?” she asked. When I replied that we were, she asked me to pass a message onto the rest of the LIFT 35 team. “My English is not very good,” she said apologetically, “But on behalf of all Ecuadorians, I want to thank you for what you and your team have done for us in Portoviejo.” She smiled broadly, “God called you here for such a time as this.” I was overwhelmed. All I could do was praise God as I gave her a hug. “Please, do not forget to pray for us,” her voice trembled slightly as she spoke the words. “We will never forget,” I assured her. God had allowed us to literally “walk in their shoes”, to experience a tiny taste of their victories and their sufferings. We will not forget. Not ever.

 

It’s hard to write conclusions to a trip like this. How in the world do you condense two weeks of non-stop adventure into a single summary paragraph?  In our time here in Ecuador, we have seen the mighty hand of God at work through His people and have been overwhelmed by their kindness and genuine love. “It’s amazing how generous they are, even though they have so little,” Lila Trezise remarked, reflecting back on her time with the Oyacachi children, “they have so much unconditional love to offer, even though they knew we would only be there for a short while. My time with them really has inspired me to show sacrificial love towards others, regardless of what happens. Being with them has also taught me the importance of having a thankful heart. Through thankfulness, we have the courage to love without fear.”

 

In addition to thankfulness, a lot has been learned about the concept of strength, and how God finds ways to manifest His strength through our weaknesses and areas of vulnerability. One of the biggest areas of weakness that our group encountered was language. “I came into our time in Ecuador thinking that I had a decent working knowledge of Spanish,” Brianna said, “Looking back on it now, I realized that it was a pride issue. It wasn’t long before I found myself struggling to communicate with the people. Once I surrendered it to God, things really began to change.” She went on to say that God actually used her vulnerability with language to help develop relationships with the people. “Even with the communication barrier, God provided me with the power to understand what they were saying, allowing me to establish friendships.”

 

As I write this, we are sitting in the Guayaquil airport, awaiting our final flight back to the states. For LIFT 35, there is still a lot to think on, pray about, and process through. Every aspect of this trip, both good and challenging, has the capacity to move our hearts, if we let it.  

 

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God.  If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11


Alexis Barnett