Life That Bears Fruit

Day 3 at El Refugio (The Refuge)

Kate Trezise

Weary but excited, we arrived at El Refugio (www.haciendaelrefugio.org) Monday morning around 12:30 AM and settled into our comfortable rooms that would soon feel like “home” to us as we come and go from this base. The morning’s orientation sessions communicate the history and vision of the ministries here. Information taught in LIFT classes somehow penetrates more deeply as we see it lived out in the lives and ministries in this beautiful land on the equator.  The visionary principles of El Refugio, which are very similar to those of LIFT are: *Life from the Source, *Life-giving Rhythms, *Life Together, and *Missional Life.

After months of preparation and almost 24 hours of travel, we see the connections – common principles that articulate the vision where we’ve come from (LIFT at CAMP-of-the-WOODS) and where we’ve arrived (El Refugio).   

Our LIFT team of 33 people gathered at 7:00 AM this morning and read Romans 12 together, focusing on the Apostle Paul’s admonition for humble service in the Body of Christ: that we’ll share our spiritual gifts with others daily in life, but particularly as we look for opportunities to serve here in Ecuador. The catchy song “Montaña” resonated within the loft above our dining room as we sang - in Spanish - Jesus’ words from Matthew 17, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Our morning practice of corporately reading the Bible, singing worship to our Lord, and praying together set the tone for today.

After breakfast and individual quiet time to read and pray, our work projects resumed and will occupy our hands and minds throughout this Wednesday. Our hope and expectation are to know God’s presence and enabling as we do the work he’s prepared for us to do.  These three days working alongside El Refugio staff have helped “settle” us here, giving us a taste of consistency in people and place before we pack and head out to El Chaco early Thursday morning.  As our work projects wrap up at 4 PM, we’ll transition into ministry team sessions to put finishing touches on our planned outreaches. Thanks for your continued prayers for us to experience the Lord’s work in and through us, health and safety effective communication through word and deed, and open hearts to recognize opportunities that we can’t predict in order to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Our next blog post likely will not occur until next Monday or Tuesday, as our internet access will be unpredictable.

    

Tim Trezise - update from Thursday

We traveled over the continental divide today to descend into the Amazon basin and arrive at El Chaco.  We will be here through Monday morning serving with the evangelical church here.  Everyone quickly settled into the small hotel we are all staying at then we headed out to purchase rain boots and other various items while we got oriented to the town.  This evening we were welcomed at the church with a high energy worship service and a time to get to know the church members.  The LIFT group is doing very well and excited to jump into the opportunities ahead of them with serving and ministering through the different teams they have formed.