Mission trip to Ecuador brings hope

Alpharetta First United Methodist Church’s Minister of Discipleship René Watson traveled to Quito, Ecuador, in July with a team of youth and adults from five North Georgia United Methodist Churches. René was so moved by her experiences that a follow-up trip is already on her radar. Here’s her account of the mission trip.

In her wonderful book of devotions called “Jesus Calling,” Sarah Young writes: “Hope is a golden cord connecting you to heaven. This cord helps you hold your head up high, even when multiple trials are buffeting you. Hope lifts your perspective from your weary feet to the glorious view you can see from the high road. You are reminded that the road we’re travelling together is ultimately a highway to heaven.”

I have just returned from Ecuador where I travelled with a team of 16 youth, young adults and mentors from five United Methodist Churches. Our work involved the repair and expansion of a Christian school named Antioch in Misahualli and a week of Vacation Bible School for the children of the small village of Puca-Chicta. Those were the tasks laid before us....the real mission was to bring God’s hope to men, women and children who desperately need it. 

Our mission began in Quito, Ecuador, where we spent about 36 hours acclimating to the culture and climate. We visited with a ministry that provides shelter, counseling and life skills training for girls who have been rescued from human trafficking, a horrific reality for this city. We then went to a local ministry that serves as a day school for young children who would otherwise wander the streets of Quito, in jeopardy of becoming enslaved in any number of human trades. There, we played with the children and painted the outside of the ministry building. In both places, the children and the volunteers we met seemed overjoyed by our simple act of attention to them and to their needs. From there we traveled about six hours into the jungle. We spent our mornings hauling rocks, digging holes, pouring concrete, repairing screens and painting at Antioch and our afternoons running and playing and teaching the children of Puca-Chicta the stories of Daniel’s miraculous survival in the lion’s den, Jesus’ birth, and Lazarus’s resurrection.

The physical labor was the easy part. I knew how to make my muscles move and bend and lift and strain to get the job done. The emotional and spiritual work was a bit more difficult. Here I struggled with the sight of children carrying such heavy burdens. Beautiful children who seemed to have already lost hope, many without shoes, too many with babies tied at their sides (some siblings, some their own), most of them hungry.  Some who were already enslaved by abuse at the hands of the people who should love them the most.     

A number of the people in our group had made many trips to these villages. In fact, the people of Cumming UMC have been supporting this mission for a decade. What I found so hopeful and encouraging  is that these people have developed deep and abiding  relationships with many of the people there, sponsoring many children who are now being educated academically and spiritually. I found those who had been supported and sponsored to be amazing young people with a heart for the Lord and the plight of others in their midst. Many came along with us into the jungle to serve. True Discipleship is about transformation. It’s about growth and a journey from weariness to wholeness in Christ.  For this reason, I am committed to continuing my relationship with the children I met along this journey—both through sponsorship and future visits.  My prayer is that one day I will find them to be full of joy and hope—travelling together on the highway to heaven.

I want to thank the people of Alpharetta First United Methodist Church who made it possible for me to make this incredible journey. Our team prepared for months for the trip, and yet none of us could have been prepared for what God would do in and through us. God is so very good.  

To learn more about Alpharetta Methodist’s mission efforts, visit http://www.afumc.org/Missions.