Oyacachi

LIFT 37 Ecuador Mission Trip - Blog Post #4

Dante Immordino

We travel for few hours on the bus winding through open farm country blanketing the Andes mountains and several Quichua villages with tight cobblestone streets to pass over the continental divide of 12,000 feet then slowly descend the bumpy serpentine mountain road where it ends at Oyacachi - tin roofs and dirt roads! The appearance of this small village gives no indication of the wealth of treasures it holds within. Yet, unbeknownst to us as we eat lunch looking over the town, the short 48 hours that we are to spend here will be one of the most meaningful and impactful times of our lives.  God's majesty towers over the village with high vertical mountainsides and waterfalls.

When we arrive, we are told that we are to help serve lunch to children part of the Compassion International program and then put on a two hour program for them. Soon, the children arrive and come up to us and we begin to play with them, giving them piggy-back rides, chasing them around, and kicking soccer balls with them. Lunch begins and some of us sit with our new friends while others bring them their food and drink. Shortly after, our program begins, with a mix of high-energy games, Bible lessons, skits, dances, and a gospel presentation using our Evangecubes, all the while continuing to bond with the children as we hug them, hold their hands, and let them sit on our laps. 

For the next two days, we go to the school in town and conduct more youth outreach programs, one day with 7th to 9th graders and the next with K through 6th graders, but this time we have English lessons mixed in. We focus on teaching about the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Our Bible lessons, skits, games, and English lessons revolve around communicating, teaching, and practicing these values.

During these times, we grow closer and closer to the children, who show us so much love and affection. Many of us have children who never leave our sides and continually cling to us. And so, when it is time to depart, we bring with us our material possessions, but leave behind a part of our hearts; left in the countless hugs, piggy-back rides, hands held, smiles, and laughs with these children who we most likely will never see again. At the end of the allotted time, we say goodbye to the kids and they return to their homes, though some wish to bring us back with them or some of us wish to stay.

I ask you, then, to pray for them. Pray that the seeds we scattered fall on fertile ground. Pray that they can be fed and grown through the local church and the Compassion International ministry. Pray that they in turn seek to fulfill the commission to make disciples of Christ. Pray for the children who live under the tin roofs and walk the dirt roads.