Last weekend we went to Tena to hold our monthly meeting with the Bible Institute students (IBCI) and Steve, Caylin and I went to a dinner at an Ecuadorian Chinese food place to follow up with a bunch of men and their wive’s who were at the church planting conference. They were all really excited about it, and there are three of them whom we are excited about helping start a new church plant in a churchless town near that area.

Although I’m not the type of person to point out spiritual warfare at the drop of a hat, I can definitely say that we were being distracted at the meeting by things beyond the norm. It started with us sitting down waiting for everyone to arrive. The restaurant was quiet, and things looked good. Then, after everyone arrived and right when Steve started to talk, it was almost immediate that tons of abnormally loud cars started driving by outside, then groups of people making tons of noises outside (which echoed in through the window), then the church bells to the nearby cathedral started ringing, and then, when things started to die down, then the server came and brought one plate at a time, then 2 sets of silverware at a time… It was horribly distracting! So I immediately started to pray and ask God to take control of the evening.

Later on, after we ate, I felt impressed to speak about sexual purity and serious accountability, but for one reason or another I decided not to. But after everything was said by Steve and the other guys, Steve looked at me and out of the blue said “Is there anything else you would like to add?” I thought that was very strange because I hadn’t been saying much the whole evening and was really there to tag along. So I decided to say what God had impressed on my heart to say, but when I started to speak, I felt as if I couldn’t catch my breath, or as if I was talking the whole time with my lungs full of air and I had to really focus on forcing out what I was trying to say. I have never felt anything like it, and I’ve spoken at much larger groups than that before, so it was very out of the ordinary. So I continued to pray.

Over-all, the night was a huge first step and we are excited about helping these guys plant a church in the near future. We are being cautious to go slowly and make sure that these guys are very grounded because we want everything we do to last and be strong. Be praying for us as we try to encourage, motivate, train, and equip leaders here to plant more churches with a missional mindset to plant more churches. And thanks for bearing with me as I wrote my most lengthy blog post yet!

PS. … so I didn’t have any pictures of the dinner, but I figured you would enjoy the one posted above!

Recently we helped host an international Church Planting conference here in Quito. The network is part of Acts 29 International, a strong movement of Godly men who are focused on planting churches that plant more churches.

This conference was more of an introduction to the network, and a start to the long application process the pastors have to go through to be a part of the network. Our goal was to try to get the pastors and future church planters excited about the network and about helping new church planters out with their experience, to keep each other accountable, and create a strong network of Godly men that they can fall back on for help, instruction, correction, and encouragement. And over all, I think it was a huge success with a good handful of men who have graduated our IBCI training and have shown strength in being active in their current churches, while maintaining a vision for the lost.

Promoting it was a great way to get my feet wet in how graphic design and marketing works down here, as sizes, printers, and many more things are very different than the states. This first event was a sort of trial to see how effective my passions can be when mixed with the mission. Sure, we’ve seen an increase of use and contact on the Compassion Connection website, but with promoting this event, we had a full room of men and their wives who were very interested. Attendees came from all over Ecuador, from the jungle region (5 hours away), from two different coastal areas (6+ hours) and a few more from Brazil, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. We had some interest in Colombia as well, but those guys weren’t able to make it.

On top of that, we made some great connections with the Christian radio station down here, HCJB, and Steve was interviewed a week before the event, and a reporter came out to the event as well and interviewed the lineup of speakers. There was even talk of some TV time, but I think we just ran out of time. Praise God for His working behind the scenes to help us in our efforts to connect, and increase the men down here who are on the front lines of the Gospel.

As we’ve been settling in to our new place, getting to know the ministries, and getting adjusted to the culture, I’ve been thinking and praying about how God will use us in our community. We want to effectively bring people to know Jesus in a personal way, and to help equip and motivate Ecuadorians to get out there and start spreading the Word too. We’re involved in IBCI which trains up leaders in the local churches with credited courses that we take to them, this way making it possible for those who can’t afford to leave their smaller communities to go to school. It also helps those who are already working in the ministry that don’t have any formal training.

I’ve also been thinking about our immediate community, and how we might reach out to them. And by the fact that last week alone, there were two guys on two separate occasions that were passed out in front of our house, I’d say it’s in dire need for God’s hope too. One of the guys I saw at about 9:30 at night, face down in the mud and brush on the side of the road. And this isn’t a nicely paved street that gets a good sweeping every few months. Rather, it’s a messed up cobblestone road with about 20 dogs that roam up and down it all day and night, and with often cows, chickens, and oily cars. The economic classes here are very distinct, and the lower class needs help, hope, and an honest helping hand that is willing to come alongside them and disciple them. Not only do we really want to do that, but we want to do it in a way that is lasting. We want to encourage the local people to have a heart for their area too.

Caylin has let the cat out of the bag that she intends to teach english as a way to help people, and build a bridge into their lives to share the gospel. And man, everyone that hears it is totally excited about it and wants to get in on it. One lady in particular tried to get dates and commitment out of Caylin right then, and said that she could show up with about 300 kids! We just told her we’ll be planning it soon and we’ll be in touch. I think we’ll have to ease our way in to that one carefully!