Church...

Buenos Dias!(Good Morning!) As they say in Ecuador. I had some time so I thought I would try to slip in a quick post about today. It is going to be a very exciting day for the team.

Today, we get the opportunity to go to a local church that natives started. If you know the story of Nate Saint, these are the descendants of the tribesmen that speared and killed him and the other missionaries. Dr. Steve tells me this new generation is on fire for Jesus Christ and I can't wait to see it. But we are also getting a special treat. We found out last night Dr. Steve has been asked to preach there this morning! Please pray for him as we had a very late night and a very early morning.

We had 3 very unique experiences yesterday due to a scheduling change. One thing about Ecuador, or any mission trip, is that things can change in an instant. We were suppose to have our first VBS class with the kids, but when we got to the orphanage, the tias (ladies who watch after the kids) had taken them all swimming down the road! So we took the afternoon off to go into Shell and see the town. I was carrying my guitar as I needed to take it back to the guest house. While approaching a store, and elderly gentleman was waving me down. He motioned for me to sit beside him and play. Being in a different country and not completely knowing everything about the culture, I took this as a "not optional" request. I sat and started playing the songs I had been working on in Spanish. "I have Decided to Follow Jesus," "Lord I Lift Your Name on High," and "I've Got That Joy Down In My Heart." He sat listing and singing what he could. But then crowd started to gather around! He asked for more so I started playing and singing in English. One younger fellow came up and told us about how his church played and sang contemporary Christian music. It was really cool.
The second experience was pretty awesome, too. As we were walking back to the Guesthouse, we saw a local youth group out singing. They invited us in ans we worshiped with them for a short while. We could recognize the songs, like "God of Wonders" and started singing in English with them as they sang in Spanish.Two groups of people singing in two different languages worshiping the same God. Amazing.

Lastly, after leaving the youth group and only a few steps down the road, an elderly lady stopped us to witness to us! She sang songs to us about the love of God and even prayed with us. It was so cool.

Well, Its almost time to leave for church. Thanks again for all your prayers! I really hope you can come experience this with us next year!

In Christ,
jon walton