Being in the Rainforest with constant torrential rains, combined with regular earthquake tremors, wreaks havoc on our jungle Church buildings. Although things have advanced greatly in the 20 years I’ve lived here, there are still limitations on the selection of building materials that are available to us. Our Puyupungo Church was built 10 years ago and is a perfect example of that, but an even greater example of the Lord’s faithfulness!
The entire roof on this church was sagging down tremendously and the left wall was bulging out, and very unstable, moving with the slightest of touch of hand, so the building was at the point of a total collapse. My contractor of many years, (who has built some of our churches, but not this one) was shocked when he saw the damage here, and could hardly believe the building was even still standing at all. He said to me, “Your faith in the God you serve has saved your life and that of your people. It is a miracle from God that the entire building did not collapse on top of y’all when you were in here having Church.”
This man does not yet know the Lord, but I witness to him every time I see him and this was just another great opportunity for that! I could once again tell of the many marvels that have taken place in this now broken down building; the lives that have been changed, the healings the Lord has wrought, the chains that have been broken, the families restored, the people literally hearing God’s Word for the very first time and so much more. I could tell of all the visitors who’ve come from America and the Ecuadorians themselves, too, who have literally seen Angels standing beside me on the platform as I’ve ministered; they’ve heard Angel’s voices praising God together with us that sounded like a great multitude; they’ve felt Angels physically touch them in the services in this building, and so many other phenomenal testimonies.
So yes, this was another miracle indeed. And in three or four months, as the Lord provides the funds (as this will cost upwards of $20K to finish), this building will be restored, rebuilt and the miracles will continue. In the meantime, we’re so Blessed that the nearby community is allowing us to rent an outdoor pavilion to hold services in. And, oh! What beautiful services we are having.
I am so thankful that the Lord is not ‘contained’ to a building, but He lives in us through the power of the Holy Ghost and we can worship and feel His presence wherever we are! I also know that one day soon, my contractor is going to be a powerful man of God full of the Holy Ghost and on fire for Jesus. He may not realize it just yet, but he is already working for the Lord by helping us to build these jungle churches!!
