On December 17, we will be sponsoring an event at the Genesis 7 church and feeding center. This center offers a hot meal to needy children, serving roughly 200 children daily. These children are living in some of the poorest and most desperate situations we have ever encountered here in Ecuador. The majority of them work in the streets and are unable to attend school. Most live in crowded, make-do shacks with dirt floors and no running water.
Genesis 7 is a church started by an Ecuadorian couple who were burdened for these children. They scrape and sacrifice to provide a meager plate of rice and whatever else they can afford for these children. This meal is frequently the ONLY meal these kids receive each day. The church tries to help however they can with their physical needs as they offer them the hope of Jesus Christ.
Our Agape Christmas event will be a special day for these children as they are invited to attend this celebration where they will receive a good meal and likely their only Christmas gift which will include a bag of candy, a toy, a shirt and pair of shoes. The event will also include a special service with clowns, drama, puppets, games, and most importantly, the Gospel message. This is sure to be a day the children will not soon forget.
Please join with us to help make this event possible. We need $15 per child to be able to provide these items.
Donate here
Here is a video highlighting this project:
Kidfest Ecuador (or Festiniños as we called it) was everything we could have dreamed of and MORE! God shook our little campground and moved in life-changing ways among the teachers and the children.
We hosted a group of 45 people from Living Waters Christian Fellowship in Fountain Valley, California as we collaborated with the Church of God in Ecuador to host the first ever Kidfest event. The team from California offered intensive teacher training in Children’s ministry as well as a weekend camp for the kids.
We began the event with around 100 teachers. These are Ecuadorians who are currently teaching in Sunday school or have a desire to work with kids in their churches. The event was kicked off as National Overseer, Richar Mendoza, shared his passion for children’s ministry to become a priority in Ecuadorian churches. Then, the teachers spent an intense day learning creative methods they can use in their ministry. On the final day, we had a commissioning service where each teacher was confirmed in their calling and sent forth to do the work of the Kingdom.
Then the fun REALLY began as 300 kids arrived for a weekend of camp! For most of these kids, this was their first time to ever attend any type of camp like this. One hundred of these kids were from the local social ministries (ministries that reach out to street kids). This was a life-shaping weekend for sure.
There were lots of time for fun and games, but the most amazing part was what happened during the worship services. In the very first service, I could tell the teachers were getting frustrated because the kids were VERY restless and not listening well. Imagine, a room crammed to capacity with kids who are NOT used to this type of service. But as the altar time began, the Spirit of God moved in a mighty way and there was a sweet hush as the kids really plugged in. Many children came forward to pray with the team, but afterwards they began to huddle in little groups praying for each other! They were weeping as God touched them! The Ecuadorian adults were amazed, as they had never seen God move among children in this way.
Throughout the weekend, God continued to move like this in our services. Children were speaking in tongues and worshipping God in pure joy. One man, who heard about the service from a counselor, showed up 5 hours early for service so that he could be there (at this KIDS service) to receive the Holy Spirit. A little girl who lives in an abusive situation, prayed with the team and later told her counselor that she knows now that God is with her and loves her. Another child felt called to become a preacher. REVIVAL was sparked among the children of Ecuador during Festiniños.
The teachers are HUNGRY for more training, and we are going to help provide that. The pastors are beginning to understand the importance of children’s ministry and are working to establish that in their churches. The churches are DESPERATE for that type of worship. God is going to do some miraculous things!
We want to thank those from Living Waters who sacrificed to make this event happen. Also, thank you to our many friends and family members who gave to help sponsor the children from the social ministries. And as always, thank you to everyone who continually supports our family, allowing us to be a vessel for God’s blessings.
Here is our video recap:
Have you ever had God to ask you to do something a little different? Arturo, one of our students at SEMISUD (South American Seminary), was challenged by God recently. He and his wife are experienced missionaries and church planters from Chile. They came to SEMISUD to study and prepare for future ministry. Maybe to even take a little time to rest as they reflected upon their past years in ministry. Yet God had different plans.
Soon after arriving at SEMISUD, Arturo and his wife participated in one of our church planting courses. During this course, they were challenged by God. They were challenged to put their hands back to the plow and get back to work. Now was the time for work, not the time for rest.
As they were leaving the campus one day, they notice that everyone was walking through the main gate and turning to the right. This would be assumed normal and correct as the town, student houses, and buses are all located to the right of our campus. However, God stopped Arturo and his wife as they were exiting the gate and caused them to look to the left and ask, “What’s over there?”
So Arturo began to ask people where the road to the left went. The guard told him, “No where. There is nothing that way. Unless you walk for over an hour you will see only trees and cows. If you walk for an hour you will come to a little village inhabited by a people who don’t like visitors. Don’t go there Arturo. If you go, you will only find problems.” But Arturo could not deny that God was calling him to go to that town and visit the people. He knew that God was calling him to plant a church in that town!
Several local preachers advised Arturo against trying to plant a church in that village. They said, “Those people don’t want to hear about God. They do not want a church. You and your wife should work with us in our churches or try to plant a church in an easier area.
Don’t go to that village. If you go, you will only find disappointment and frustration.”
Despite the intense discouragement, Arturo and his wife could not shake God’s call to go to this village and share the Good News of Jesus. They had to go. And so they went.
As others had predicted, they did encounter many problems, disappointments and frustration. However, due to their faithfulness and obedience to following God’s call, within six months they successfully planted a church in that village. Today, a year after their attendance in our church planting conference, that church has over 50 members and that church has gone on to plant 2 other churches in two other villages. Arturo and his wife’s credit, our conference and training for giving him the inspiration and ability to plant this church in such a hardened environment. We praise God for men and women like Arturo and his wife that attend our training and use it to introduce more people to Jesus.
If you would like to partner with us in sponsoring one of these conferences, please contact us.
Today as I am flying back from the beautiful country of Panama, I find myself reflecting on the exciting things God has done in the short span of three months.
January started with a blast as each country in South America, along with Brazil and Mexico, appointed a person to be a part of my church planting team. These ten team members met me in Quito, Ecuador where we worked together for five days. Together we evaluated several church planting resources and developed strategy plans. Each team member built a strategy plan based upon their country’s needs and desires.
For example, Ecuador is planting 200 churches in the next five years and selected the Indigenous people as one of their target groups. While Columbia is looking to plant more 300 churches and identified several major cities as targets. This event has sent a spiritual shock wave throughout Latin America of which we will not know the full impact for years, but I can assure you that God will be greatly glorified as a result of their hard work and passion.
February was marked by several countries training their local teams and launching their new plans. In Argentina, our coordinator trained his team and formally launched the plan to focus on urban areas and plant 800 churches. While in Costa Rica our coordinator was surprised by his local team when they questioned his desire to plant 200 churches and challenged him to increase Costa Rica’s goal to over 500. We praise God for the vision and faith of this team!
By March, we also launched our first church planting initiative in Brazil. In one small region, our first conference yielded over 100 men and women recognizing that God was challenging them and calling them to be church planters. And today I am flying back from the beautiful country of Panama where I met with the church leaders of each country in Central America. Together we began the process to plant over 5000 more churches. Praise God, every leader has caught the vision and pledged their full support and participation to plant churches in their regions. Very soon you will be hearing reports of the great success we are having in Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, El Salvador, and others.
Thank you again for your partnership in this church planting initiative. As a result of your faithfulness in prayer and giving, thousands across Latin America are hearing the Good News and experiencing New Life in Christ.
Presently we are serving as full-time missionaries in Quito, Ecuador. We primarily work with the Church of God Seminary here to assist and train local ministers who are on the front lines of a vast mission field. We are passionately following His call on our lives as we dedicate our lives in service to Him.
PRAY for our ministry
