June 7th
San Antonio de Pichincha, Ecuador
It’s good to be in Ecuador again! I arrived safely last night around 9pm Ecuadorian time (Central Standard Time) at the airport in the center of Quito. I met up with Carol Thompson and the M-Fuge leadership team (Steve Thompson, Carol’s husband, remained at Camp Chacauco this weekend to host a music ministry team) before traveling on to our hotel, La Casa del Habana. The M-Fuge (Mission-Fuge) leadership team consists of about 10 college graduates from all over the U.S., coming to Ecuador with the objective to give high school students a first hand glimpse of the mission field here in Ecuador as well as to make a difference in the surrounding villages via Vacation Bible Schools and community projects. The leadership team will be stationed at Camp Chacauco for the next three weeks, using this week to train and plan before hosting large groups (200-300 students) during the next two weeks.
This morning, I awoke to find myself in the middle of the clouds. Yes, I know fog could be considered a cloud, but this was unlike any other fog I’d ever witnessed. It moved across the landscape at a frenzied pace, eventually uncovering the Andes Mountains and buildings that were hid from sight. As the morning wore on and the fog lifted, we traveled to several tourist hot-spots in the city, including the Presidential Palace and National Cathedral of Ecuador. Although this is my fourth trip to Ecuador, it was my first to both the Presidential Palace and Cathedral. The Presidential Palace was certainly rich in Ecuador’s governmental history, with spots depicting where the country’s first president, Dr. Gabriel Garcia Moreno, was assassinated in 1875 as well as a statue in tribute to those that fought in Ecuador’s revolutionary war against Spain in 1809.
The National Cathedral was equally impressive with its vast ceilings and stained glass windows. We were even able to observe part of a communion service inside. The history behind the location of these Catholic churches is equally interesting, with many of them being built right on top of ancient Inca worship sights. In some places, you’ll even find statues of the Inca’s sun gods still in place….in the middle of the Catholic churches.
I find it important to impress upon you the difference between the Catholic church of Ecuador and the Evangelical churches (as they’re referred to by many here) as well as the differences between their teachings and what we as Christians believe. The Catholic church is dominant in South America, particularly Ecuador, as 98% of the population claims to be Catholic. However, their influence politically and socially, has made the growth of Christian church painstakingly hard here in Ecuador. The Catholic Church functions more as a political entity than anything, controlling most aspects of the political and business realms here in Ecuador. Although they consider themselves Christians (which some may be if they have accepted Christ as their Savior and have an active, growing relationship with God), they view Evangelicals (that’s us) as a sect of Christianity and try to oppose the growth of the many Christian churches planted in the area. Sometimes this opposition spills over into persecution, however, the approach of the Christian church and of Steve and Carol Thompson has never changed. Rather than retaliating and try to defend the stances and theology of the Christian church, they go to where God leads them and where He opens doors.
Throughout the rest of my trip, I’ll elaborate a bit more on the persecution Christians in Ecuador face everyday as I see fit.
We’ve just left the equator, which is a 30 minute drive north of Quito near the town of San Antiono de Pichincha. If it’s your first time to Ecuador, or even to the southern hemisphere, it’s a must-see. For example, how many times can you straddle the equator with one leg in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere?
I’ll continue to update just about everyday from now on (if possible), so feel free to peruse my writings, photos from the trip so far (on the links to the right), and prayer requests (also found in the tabs to the right). Continue to pray that God would use me to do His will this summer wherever he puts me. I’d love to here from you! Leave a comment or email me at the email address on the top of this page.
It’s good to be in Ecuador again! I arrived safely last night around 9pm Ecuadorian time (Central Standard Time) at the airport in the center of Quito. I met up with Carol Thompson and the M-Fuge leadership team (Steve Thompson, Carol’s husband, remained at Camp Chacauco this weekend to host a music ministry team) before traveling on to our hotel, La Casa del Habana. The M-Fuge (Mission-Fuge) leadership team consists of about 10 college graduates from all over the U.S., coming to Ecuador with the objective to give high school students a first hand glimpse of the mission field here in Ecuador as well as to make a difference in the surrounding villages via Vacation Bible Schools and community projects. The leadership team will be stationed at Camp Chacauco for the next three weeks, using this week to train and plan before hosting large groups (200-300 students) during the next two weeks.
This morning, I awoke to find myself in the middle of the clouds. Yes, I know fog could be considered a cloud, but this was unlike any other fog I’d ever witnessed. It moved across the landscape at a frenzied pace, eventually uncovering the Andes Mountains and buildings that were hid from sight. As the morning wore on and the fog lifted, we traveled to several tourist hot-spots in the city, including the Presidential Palace and National Cathedral of Ecuador. Although this is my fourth trip to Ecuador, it was my first to both the Presidential Palace and Cathedral. The Presidential Palace was certainly rich in Ecuador’s governmental history, with spots depicting where the country’s first president, Dr. Gabriel Garcia Moreno, was assassinated in 1875 as well as a statue in tribute to those that fought in Ecuador’s revolutionary war against Spain in 1809.
The National Cathedral was equally impressive with its vast ceilings and stained glass windows. We were even able to observe part of a communion service inside. The history behind the location of these Catholic churches is equally interesting, with many of them being built right on top of ancient Inca worship sights. In some places, you’ll even find statues of the Inca’s sun gods still in place….in the middle of the Catholic churches.
I find it important to impress upon you the difference between the Catholic church of Ecuador and the Evangelical churches (as they’re referred to by many here) as well as the differences between their teachings and what we as Christians believe. The Catholic church is dominant in South America, particularly Ecuador, as 98% of the population claims to be Catholic. However, their influence politically and socially, has made the growth of Christian church painstakingly hard here in Ecuador. The Catholic Church functions more as a political entity than anything, controlling most aspects of the political and business realms here in Ecuador. Although they consider themselves Christians (which some may be if they have accepted Christ as their Savior and have an active, growing relationship with God), they view Evangelicals (that’s us) as a sect of Christianity and try to oppose the growth of the many Christian churches planted in the area. Sometimes this opposition spills over into persecution, however, the approach of the Christian church and of Steve and Carol Thompson has never changed. Rather than retaliating and try to defend the stances and theology of the Christian church, they go to where God leads them and where He opens doors.
Throughout the rest of my trip, I’ll elaborate a bit more on the persecution Christians in Ecuador face everyday as I see fit.
We’ve just left the equator, which is a 30 minute drive north of Quito near the town of San Antiono de Pichincha. If it’s your first time to Ecuador, or even to the southern hemisphere, it’s a must-see. For example, how many times can you straddle the equator with one leg in the northern hemisphere and the other in the southern hemisphere?
I’ll continue to update just about everyday from now on (if possible), so feel free to peruse my writings, photos from the trip so far (on the links to the right), and prayer requests (also found in the tabs to the right). Continue to pray that God would use me to do His will this summer wherever he puts me. I’d love to here from you! Leave a comment or email me at the email address on the top of this page.
I know this post will find many of you a day behind, however, due to the spotty wireless reception sometimes at the camp, I'll try to catch up soon on my posts.
1 comment:
Andrew, we will be praying for you and checking in on your site! Love Courtney & Allen
Post a Comment