On our last day of debriefing as a team in Guayaquil, Ecuador, our leader, Jorge, challenged us to record all the lessons and memories we didn't want to forget. I started writing, flipping back and forth between journal pages, and I have to say that, in writing all these out, you realize God is so good and reveals Himself in the midst of difficulties!
I never want to forget:
Breathing
"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD." Psalm 150:6
Taking five breaths as a devotional exercise at the beginning of the trip, we were challenged to remember God's gift of life-giving breath and give thanks.
This thanks turned into profound gratitude as I prayed fervently with Ana Gabriela as we walked up the hill at around 3000 mts altitude. We cupped our freezing hands together and alternated steps with scripture. Ana started singing, "This is the air I breathe."
Did I crave God the way I craved air in that moment?
Depending
The next day Paulina, Isabella, Jovanni and I worked side by side picking up shovelfuls of dirt and flinging them out of the ever-deepening ditch. The villagers watched in amusement at our feeble attempts. Yet, we found some patient teachers too, that instructed us in the correct way of using the pick or shovel. I leaned into the shovel to scoop more dirt. As I mustered the strength to repeat this motion of "stoop, scoop, fling," I repeated the scripture verse my friends and I were trying to memorize.
"Todos dependen de ti"
"Everyone depends on you" (from Psalm 104:27-28)
We had started this ditch with a simple line on the ground. The whole Nanzag community, decked in their traditional ponchos and hats, set to work and our team of 26 high school students and leaders joined in. The community demonstrated unrelenting strength and perseverance at its finest; our team, short of air, needed more breaks and encouragement. Unified together as a single community, digging in sync, we accomplished a lot. Just an hour later, the ditch was deep enough to stand in. A few hours later, the ditch was so deep, you had to jump into it and climb out.
All this so the community could install pipes that would carry clean water up the mountain to the village.
Thirsting
You never realize how critical water is until you try to accomplish everyday tasks without it.
How do you flush a toilet without water?
How do you wash a team's worth of dishes with just a trickle?
How do you keep on jumping around and giving energy to kids when you haven't had a drink of water for three hours?
Yet, God put it in my mind that there was a Water source more important than the fresh stream at the bottom of the mountain.
How would these people know about Jesus, the source of Living Water?
"Jesus answered, 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'" John 4:13
Seeking
"Tu Amor es Grande" -Vacation Bible School Song
I kneeled next to Gladys, a shy 8 year old girl, and sang the VBS songs with her and the other village children. As we sang, I prayed that these children, as well as their parents would personally experience God's profound love for them. Soon after, God gave me a glimpse of His heart for these little ones and the opportunity to share with them.
Using a rubix cube puzzle that told the Gospel through pictures on each side, I shared about Jesus with Gladys and a small group of her friends. All of them prayed to accept Jesus!
Later, my friend Jovanni built trust and rapport with a large group of kids. Being a native Spanish speaker, he was able to clearly share the message of salvation and pray with the kids who understood and wanted Jesus to be their Savior!
God was bringing Living Water to this village!
Twice, God put a sign of his promise in the sky. He sent a rainbow arch over the mountains to remind us of his faithfulness. He would sustain us and watch over this community. Our team prayed persistent prayers for God to answer, and, later, interceded on our knees for spiritual protection in the midst of the amazing work the Holy Spirit was doing among those people and within our lives. We saw His answers the next day in very real and practical ways!
I distinctly remember praying with a widow named Maria. She has six kids, two cows, and large field on the side of the mountain where we were installing the water pipes. I had the privilege of praying with her on the mountainside as well as after the last evening church service, when most people had left.
Somehow God gave me the words to pray for her, and, when I looked up from the prayer, Maria was crying. She confessed to me that she had so much fear. I held her hands in mine, looked into her eyes and reassured her with the confidence of God's promises and truth. Jesus will never leave you no matter what. He cares for you and loves you deeply. You are so precious in His eyes, and you are not alone.
Eventually leaving Maria's side, I couldn't shake the conversation from my head. I stood, breathing the cold, mountain air outside the little Catholic church, and prayed with all my heart for the community. I looked up at the array of stars, so clearly seen from this pinnacle far removed from any city, and God reminded me of this verse:
Psalm 147: 4
"He determines the number of the stars
and calls them by name."
God is so infinitely powerful and so immeasurably wise, yet so tremendously personal that He has named every star. How much moreso will He care for us, His special, set apart creation made in His image? This reminder overwhelmed me -- God would take care of Maria. He would take care of these people. He would take care of me.
Bonding
"Todos deben ser de un mismo parecer." 1 Peter 3:8a
God used this week to unify us, as a team, as a community, as a Church. We not only had to depend on each other and learn to work well as a group, but we also had to be unified in prayer and vision. It was beautiful seeing our memory verse lived out among the team members! Even while different team members suffered from headaches, lack of sleep, or muscle pain from the hard labor and the cold, they still persevered to show compassion, brotherly love, and a tender heart, all while maintaining an attitude of humility.
Multiple times I witnessed a team member volunteer to hike down the hill to get water, to carry someone's backpack or tools, or take over the job of digging when one of us needed a break. During VBS, the team did the motions with enthusiasm and stooped down to wipe runny noses, throw a ball, or glue a popsicle stick frame. After meals, the team worked together to collect and wash dishes and to sweep and mop the dirt-smeared kitchen floor. The team overflowed with generosity, and God gave us eyes to see the needs around us.
Reflecting
During the week, we had the privilege of working alongside Alfredo, Ma Fer, Andres and Cristian, engineers and members of the local Operation Mobilization team. They helped to give us insight into the Nanzag culture, teach us Quechua words and phrases, and remind us that God's work would not stop when we left. We were inspired by their selfless examples and commitment to serving God in these difficult places.
This work was bigger than any of us ever imagined. CODEINSE (Corporacion de Desarrollo Integral Socio Economico), which does work in community development in these rural mountain towns, has been supporting these clean water projects. I know, with their help and the funds we raised to aid the project, that the task will be completed and, Lord willing, this year the people of the Nanzag community will receive fresh, running water for the first time in history.
Praising
The last day, CODEINSE invited our team to a celebration BBQ at the park in Rio Bamba. We felt humbled to sit with this incredible group of people and enjoy an Ecuadorian specialty, grilled cuy (guinea pig). We reflected together on all the Lord had done in the Nanzag community and prayed about all the Lord was still doing in Ecuador.
Numbers 23:19
"God is not human, that he should lie,
not a human being, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfill?
Thank you for partnering with me through prayer and finances to go to San Antonio de Encalado, Ecuador and see firsthand what God is doing among the Nanzag community. We can stand together amazed. Because God's work is not finished.
Habakkuk 1:5
"Look at the nations and watch--and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told."
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