Hephzibah Baptist Association

On August 31st a group of five volunteers traveled to Ecuador to work with Pastor Marco Lozada and the church in Sigchos, Ecuador. Throughout the week the volunteers teamed up with a translator and church members to minister to folks in the city and the region. Sometimes teams found themselves in the homes of the lost where there was opportunity to share the gospel and throughout the week there were several who professed to receive Christ. At other times the visit would be for the purpose of teaching and encouraging believers while other times it was for the purpose of praying for and encouraging someone who was suffering. The team also had opportunities to minister to children each evening and on Saturday at two locations. One day I traveled with Pastor Marco on a two-hour drive to visit his farm. He purchases a few dairy calves and grows them out for 2 years then sells them for income because the church cannot afford to support him fully. We walked nearly an hour beyond the end of the dirt road to arrive at the property. I don’t suppose I have ever been anywhere as quiet as it was there. On the way back we stopped by a store where we had an appointment to do a Bible study. Chickens wandered in and out of the store as we sat for an hour talking with an older woman and her 30 something year old daughter while entertaining a curious 3-year-old. We listened to the daughter tell us about her family and the struggles she had endured. Both professed a relatively uninformed faith in Christ, so we shared passages of Scripture to instruct them more accurately about Christ and encouraged them to read the Scriptures. They would not let us leave until we had eaten boiled eggs and boiled Habas (a kind of bean). Perhaps that little tienda will become a place where many from the community come to learn from the Word of God. Another day I had an appointment to visit a church member in a community about 30 minutes from where we were staying. When we arrived at her farm we found her elderly mother, but she was not there. We sat awhile with her mother who mostly did not understand what we were saying and we ultimately decided to see if we could find someone in the area with whom we could have a Bible study. After a little searching we found someone who knew the lady with whom we were to visit and a few texts and calls later a meeting place was arranged and within 45 minutes we had a house full of folks who came eager to study the Word. I led a study surveying various New Testament passages on False teachers warning them against the multitude of different cults and heretical sects that operate in the region who will try to draw them away from sound teaching and a sincere faith. All the team members had opportunities similar to these throughout our time in Ecuador. We discover that we are almost always well received and the folks there are eager to share their lives and engage in gospel conversations. Sometimes progress seems slow but we continue to see folks there grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. We see members of the church growing in the knowledge of the Word and in service.