We have spent most of our trip building relationships with the people of Ecuador in a town named Libertador Bolivar (Bolivar for short). This town has no established church. Most houses in the town are concrete block with no windows/doors and dirt floors. We have been painting the houses of the town as a means of getting to know the people on a personal level. I wasn’t quite sure how much of an impact painting houses would make until today when God moved in an amazing way.
As we were painting a house, Hannah saw an elderly lady get off the bus with a bag of vegetables from the market. As she walked down the long dirt road to her house (a wooden shack on stilts) Hannah’s heart broke for the women. The Spirit led Hannah to the lady’s house where she asked her if we could paint her house next. The lady’s name is Sabina and she was thrilled at Hannah’s request.
As we were painting the house our interpreter (Cesar, age 24) started asking her about herself. One thing led to another and they began talking about Jesus. Sabina is 88 years old and had never heard of the Jesus before. As Cesar continued with the story of Sabina began to weep and say things like “I try so hard to be a good person but I always fail.” Cesar continued by telling her that no amount of works could ever save us but we don’t have to worry because we have been made new through the sacrifice of God’s son Jesus. The women’s tears of sorrow turned to tears of Joy. She wanted to know more about Jesus.
Cesar asked Sabina if he could give her a Bible, Sabina frowned and said “I would love to know more, but I never learned how to read”. The next day we came back to Sabina’s house with an audio bible in Spanish. Sabina was elated to here God’s word coming through the headphones and could not wait to share the good news with her husband. They both sat and listened intently to the word for the first time. This was the most beautiful thing I have ever witnessed. What a blessing God has given us in Bolivar, Ecuador.
– Christian
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