Ministry & Mountains

LIFT just finished its time in Oyacachi, a very remote indigenous Quichua village high in the Andes Mountains.  No outsiders (foreigners) except for LIFTers coming for 10 years in a row and one European Peace Corps worker who worked there few years ago have ever visited this “hidden village”.  Ecuadorian tourists visit the quaint village, known for its quality handcrafted woodwork and wonderful hot springs.  Out of the 800 residents, there are over 150 kids attending school in the center of town.  LIFTers spent two days visiting the school to teach English lessons and share the great news of Jesus Christ.  Once school was dismissed, they played with the kids throughout the afternoons and evenings.  The LIFT students also presented dramas and dances, shared testimonies, and preached the gospel message at the church on Thursday evening.  God was moving in everything that was happening.  Our prayer is that the Holy Spirit works in the hearts of all those we interacted with and heard about the love of God.  The evangelical church invites LIFT to its town each year and considers LIFT as part of its family and an expected regular extension of ministry every March.

As we departed Friday afternoon, hearts were very full but heavy in saying goodbye to all the children who had so quickly bonded and adopted LIFTers as their own big brother or sister.  As the bus climbed its way out of town, heading back over the mountain pass the children ran behind trying to get last glimpses and waves before they would not see LIFT again for another year.

We arrived at Rick Borman’s brother’s house last evening and finally all got to sleep well after 10:30 after a very full day.  Over 30 of us are all “indoor camping” throughout the large house. As I write this, students are slowly waking from a much-needed sleep and will be having a group devotional time, followed by a baked-oatmeal breakfast then departing for a short tour through the “old town” section of Quito then on to the last leg of this trip – mountaineering a 16,000’ peak called Sincholagua.  Packs are full of winter gear, ropes, tents and food.  The students are ready after physically training hard all semester and acclimatizing to high altitude.  Pray for us and our final days in this beautiful country.

We will try to get one or two more updates posted after returning from the mountain.

Check out our pictures posted in the LIFT 41 album on the LIFT Discipleship Program Facebook page.

Tim