Day Two: a Reciprocal Partnership

Saturday was our first day at our ministry site, Cristo Liberador, an inner-city mission church in Comite del Pueblo, which is about 20 minutes away from our hostel. When we arrived at 8:00 am, we gathered in the church for a welcome greeting and introductions. We sang and worshipped together, and then the ladies of the church served us breakfast (bread, cheese, fruit and colada morada, a traditional Ecuadorean beverage).

After breakfast, we split up into several different work groups, working alongside the Ecuadorean parishioners. We had a kitchen crew helping to prepare lunch, a group playing with preschoolers, several people attending a youth event that included a Happening meeting, a group painting a classroom and preparing to paint a mural, and a painting crew working on the metalwork on the front of the church (window grates, handrails and gates).

Midday, we were served a delicious lunch of chicken rice. Most crews went back to their work areas after lunch, and a few helped clean up the kitchen and peel potatoes for dinner.

We were back at our hostel around 4 pm, had a wonderful dinner prepared by Cameron's mother-in-law, and had a debriefing meeting to discuss our highs and lows of the day and to share a moment or two of where we saw God at work around us.