2 Posts: Here I am Lord, Send Me! & Servants of Christ

From Tim:

Hi everyone – sorry for the delay in communication for the past few days.  We did not have access to internet while in El Chaco from Friday through Sunday.  

We had an amazing 2 ½ days with the church in El Chaco then returned to El Refugio by 1:00 a.m.  LIFT teamed with the church in El Chaco (Cristo la Unica Esperanza) to do community outreach, church ministry and work projects for the church.  The team did drama, dance, worship leading, sharing testimonies, preaching, Sunday School lessons, children’s songs, games, relationship building and of course the annual USA vs. Ecuador soccer game (we got thumped this year).  We slept in on Monday then helped with work projects in the afternoon.  The router here was struck by lightning so this blog post is happening from a little store with WiFi in the neighboring village of Calacali.  Communication for the rest of the trip may be difficult to pull off with no quickly accessible internet anywhere but we will do our best and hopefully the router gets replaced soon at El Refugio.  We head out to Oyacachi tomorrow morning for 2 days then return to El Refugio to pack for our mountaineering trip to Sincholagua on Saturday - Monday, then back to El Refugio to finish our time here in Ecuador Monday - Wednesday.

We celebrate Jasmine today on her birthday!  LIFTers woke up @ 5:30 a.m. to do their fitness qualifier hike for next week’s big climb.  They now are working all around El Refigio – continuing with the service projects.  The group is doing well with not having problems of getting sick - keep up the prayers.

This will be a longer update since we are compressing our communication (because of lack of internet) from two blog posts into one.  Enjoy:

“Here I am, Lord, Send me”

Hello friends and family! Before I write anything else, I want to say thank you for all the prayers. We feel the body of Christ lifting us up in prayer and we so appreciate it!

After a short but full weekend of serving in El Chaco, we are back at El Refugio. My heart is full of gratitude as I begin to process the experiences we had and how we witnessed God at work! We had a four-hour bus ride on winding roads. Mountain scenes that I’ve only seen in pictures or videos brought to life before my eyes the glory in God’s creativity and beauty.

Although we were there to serve, we also were there to learn and receive from the local church. I was so blessed by their welcoming hearts, their hugs, and the wonderful food they fed us. Their passionate worship of God and their love reminds me again and again that language does not matter when it comes to the body of Christ! The love of Christ transcends all cultural barriers. This weekend reminded me of how blessed I am to be a part of a community of people passionately seeking God and how to serve him!

On Saturday afternoon we walked to a smaller village and put on a program for the local kids. Held under a pavilion next to a soccer field, there was plenty of room for our games, dramas, dances, music, and lessons. At one point I noticed two girls and a guy around my age, standing behind the bleachers watching. We were about to start our group lesson and Scott was going to present a message about God’s love.  I will say, my Spanish is quite limited and I often feel pretty silly even trying but I felt that I needed to invite them over. So, I walked over and through a few words and hand motions, I convinced the girls to come over, even though they said they were too old. As we were sitting there we began to converse some, introduced ourselves, and began to talk. Eventually it turned into questions like, “Who created God?” and “How do different people get to go to heaven with all the denominations?”, etc. Thankfully, our theology teacher Tyler came over and joined to translate some and answer questions. We invited them to church and had the chance to pray for them.

I was so happy to see them in church the next morning, to hear them singing along in worship with me! This whole experience has me thinking of how I have to be willing to go, to speak, and try to connect even with the barriers that may exist. I am well aware that if God wants someone to hear his word, they will hear it. And I am also well aware of the blessings that come when I choose to be a part of it.

I encourage you to follow the Spirit’s leading. If that is a leading to get on a plane and travel across the world or go out your door and across the street. A verse I read last night after our ministry really struck me, it is 1 Corinthians 9:16, “For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel!” This was a reminder to me to never think of myself more just because I’ve had the opportunity to go on these trips and do ministry far from home. This is necessary in every part of my life. The command to spread the gospel is for every single one of us and it’s exactly that, a command. “Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7)

Thank you for reading and I pray that this has encouraged you but also has challenged you to share your faith with those around you! Thanks again for your prayers!

God bless you,

Lynette Estola

p.s. Hi Mom and Dad. 😊

Servants of Christ

Greetings from Ecuador,

We are so blessed to know that you are praying for our time here in Ecuador. It is so encouraging to all of us to know that we have an army of prayer warriors around the world praying for our time here that God has given us. Also, thank you for taking the time out of your day to hear how God is moving here in this beautiful country!

This morning, Monday, March 25^th, God has blessed us with a restful morning. Many of us are relaxing around the premises of El Refugio after a full and long weekend serving and being encouraged with our brothers and sisters in Christ in El Chaco. Many of us are basking in the warm sun as we have our quiet time with God. While others are taking walks around the campus as they soak in God’s beautiful creation through listening to His birds and feeling His gentle wind.

This afternoon we are working on various work projects throughout the property of El Refugio. Last week, as we served at El Refugio, I was part of the painting crew. My team served the ministry by giving Casa Grande, the office building, a fresh coat of paint, or “a face lift” as one of the staff members here called it. It has been a great blessing to serve alongside many of the LIFTers as we paint, laugh, tell stories, and share with each other what God is doing in our lives.

Last Thursday, after we were finished with our work for the day I laid down in my bed for a quick nap before dinner. One of my dear friends from LIFT, Anna, came in the room and whispered, “Do you want to go to go to the treehouse with me really quick?” I shot up in bed with excited bugged eyes and said, “Of course!” The treehouse at El Refugio is a short ten-minute walk from the main area. Anna and I joyfully walked to the treehouse together accompanied by Black, the black lab, who lives the dream dog life at El Refugio.

We got to the tree house and walked over the two rickety swinging bridges. We climbed up and sat down as we soaked in the surrounding atmosphere. At first, we both sat in silence as we listened to the creatures around us and looked at the seemingly infinite lush vegetation. We delighted in God’s beautiful creation all around us. Then, one of us broke the silence as we began processing the mission’s trip with each other. I told Anna that part of my prayer request for the trip was that I would go in with a spirit of humility. I asked God to help me learn just as much, if not more, from the people around me. I expressed that I often think, especially on a mission’s trip, think that I have more to offer than receive from the people here. Yet, I know that this is not true. So, I have been praying for God’s help in changing my heart.

Anna expressed to me that she often struggles with the same thing. She expressed that she often struggles with feeling superior to others, especially when she is serving them. But, that she desires for God to help her learn from others. She shared with me that she talked with one of the interns here at El Refugio. Anna thought she would simply talk about herself, but the intern ended up sharing her testimony with her. Anna felt so encouraged by this as God used this experience to help soften her heart and grow her humility.

Serving is a give and take relationship. We often think it is one-sided, but this is so far from the truth. We can not show Christ to others by serving with pride. We must humble ourselves as we realize we have nothing to offer from within ourselves. Rather, we can only serve well through Christ, with humility that He has clearly modeled, as we rely solely on Him.

Anna and I also reflected on how much gratitude we had for the Christians here in Ecuador as they have also served us while we have served them. At El Refuigo, the cooks make delicious (which is an understatement) authentic Ecuadorian food for us every meal. Also, the staff here is patient with us as they communicate with us what needs to get down regarding the work projects. Also, this past weekend in El Chaco we served a church by doing various work projects with them on Saturday. We also were there to encourage them through dance and drama. Yet, they also served us in the following ways. Many of the women who are part of the church made us delicious meals during our stay there. Also, they performed beautiful dances for us! They had many kind words for us as they encouraged us. Those are just a couple of examples how they chose to love us through Christ’s love in just a few days. Although we came to serve, we have been filled by the love of our Ecuadoran brothers and sisters in Christ.

Thank you again for your many prayers towards our mission’s trip here in Ecuador. We are delighted with the privilege God has given us to serve here! Continue to pray that we represent Christ well as his hands and feet. Pray that we continue to turn to Him daily as we rely on his strength, to carry out his will for us here. Ask Him to help us to take every opportunity He has for us here and that we would receive it with gratitude. Also, pray that we continue to serve with humility as we learn and receive from the people here as we serve.

God Bless,

Sarah Deitz