After being in the United States for a few weeks, we were very anxious to get back to all of our churches here in Ecuador. Like any good pastor, we are always concerned about our people when we have to be away for any length of time. Our first service back was at the Talin Church. As we rounded the last curve in the road on our 2 hour walk to the church, our hearts burst with pride! Several of our members were sitting outside on the steps of their homes looking down the road, just waiting for us to get there. When they saw us, they jumped up and ran to us with great big smiles and hugs, telling us how happy they were to see us.
When we got to the church, Patricio was already there opening the door and all the shutters, getting everything ready for service time. Gloria had come even earlier in the day and swept the floors and cleaned the church beautifully. Ana Lucia had planted more flowers near the walkway and more papachinas and beans in the garden out back.
We were very proud of them, so during the service we acknowledged our appreciation and thanked them for all they had done to keep the church up while we were away. But Gladis stood up and said, ‘No, thank YOU. Thank you for coming back to us. Thank you for coming back to teach us the Word of God.”
These people have such a great love for God, such a strong desire to learn more about Him and are so grateful, so proud to finally have a church to call their own. How could we not come back to such a wonderful place?
