Saturday--More Than We Expected

Saturday was the highlight of the trip for me. Everything happened so quickly but the gravity of the day will last for years. On top of bringing food to 5 families during the week, we also took time to personally invite 11 additional families to an outreach service on Saturday. That afternoon our team was running late getting to the service because picking up the fresh foods took longer then expected and we had to pick up a huge cake for our guests.

As we pulled into the drive way of the church we noticed all the children playing in the dirt and the parents waiting inside the church with anticipation. We unloaded the food into the building next door and hurried over to the church. Pastor Carlos introduced us to the families that we had not met previously and shared with them why we were in Ecuador. Bre, Danielle and Efra sang three songs that the people really seemed to like. One boy was dancing a little and a few ladies were singing along.

After the songs, a few of the parents stood up and thanked us, our church, and most importantly God for providing the food. Many seemed to understand that God had provided the food and not us (to Him be the glory!). Afterwards, Pastor Carlos shared the Gospel with the families as they ate cake; this gave us time to sort the food for distribution. Once everything was sorted we asked one family at a time to come receive their food. Everyone seemed surprised when they saw the amount of food we were giving them and they were very grateful. One woman could only get the word, “gracias” out cause she was crying so much. I was blown away by the joy that filled the air and all the smiling faces. I realized that the food we were giving was going to feed a lot more people then I had thought of before!

After the food was given out, our team realized that the some of the families could not carry the food home by themselves….SO…..we loaded as many people (and food) as we could into the back of our rental truck and took them to their neighborhoods. There was much laughter as we waved good-bye to each other. I pray that every time these families eat from the food God provided for them they will remember Him and give Him the glory. I pray that they will be filled with hope and will surrender their lives to Jesus. I think especially about the young boys and men who received food. They can be the leaders in their home and neighborhood and bring change for the better. I pray that the food we brought (that God provided) not only fed these families stomachs but also their hearts. We as a church planted the seeds now may God bring the increase!

by Alyssa