Goodbye, Ecuador!
One could have never imagined all that the team experienced during our stay in Ecuador. From high mountain altitudes to hot coastal humidity, from deserts to jungles, from the poverty of the low class to the privilege of the upper class, every day offered a new opportunity to step out of our comfort zones and learn of a new people and culture.
But more than all this, the highlight of the trip for all was the opportunity to build relationships with the people. There was never a day during the trip that we weren’t with Ecuadorians. They ate with us, roomed with us, traveled with us, shopped with us, taught with us, lived with us.
Many of the team members learned that missions is about allowing Jesus Christ to build relationships with those of a different culture and country. If you look at the lives of missionaries such as Jim Elliot, Mary Slessor, Hudson Taylor, and many others, they were all about allowing Jesus Christ to live through them as they were absorbed into the strange culture of new places. As the nationals saw that the team was willing to spend of themselves every moment of every day, trust developed and the team was able to share and proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. Because people saw them live in everyday life situations, not just give a presentation and then leave, they saw the reality of the Gospel in a life surrendered to it.
This is what the team accomplished. They let Christ live out His life through them day after day, and as He lived through them, lives were touched and changed for eternity. As the team returns home, gets caught up on sleep, and proclaims the incredible works of God, may He be the one to establish the work of our hands.
Jacob Matchak and Elizabeth Fox, signing off for the Ecuador team
The church in Quito put on a farewell lunch for all of us. They were so kind! We are going to miss everyone at that church - Pastor Benjamin, our translators, the kids' workers, the children... all of them.
Pastor Benjamin and the translators saying thank you and goodbye to the team.
Pastor and Mrs. Salazar of The World Needs Christ ministries. They helped coordinate the mission trip and then traveled with us all over Ecuador. We never could have done it without their help! From the whole team: "Thank you so much!!!! We couldn't have done it without you!"
