Special Recognition for Dwight & Carolyn Rich

A meeting with the Ecuadorian national leadership is always held on December followed by a Christmas lunch.  Each leader and his family receives homemade goodies, an agenda for the next year and lots of gifts for the entire family.  Many times the leaders are given "gifts of appreciation" from the Riches.  This year, however, the tables were turned.  All of the District Superintendents and their wives from Ecuador pooled their money to buy a very special plaque for Dwight and Carolyn.  The plaque recognizes their many years of leadership and expresses the leaders' appreciation for this couple.

Work & Witness: Building the Kingdom for Eternity

We praise God for the recent work of the team from Calgary, Canada, who worked on a church in southern Quito while sharing the gospel with the children of the church.  To read more, click on the "About Work & Witness" link to the right.  On the second page, click on the "W&W Stories" link.

God's Plan Is Never Plan B

Check out the article and photos just posted about the Joplin, MO,  Work & Witness team.  Click on the "About Work & Witness" link to the right.  On the second page, click on the "W&W Stories" link to read more about God's surprise blessings.

Testimony of Nuvia Molina Montaño

When I was pregnant with my son, I was very ill and was confined to bed.  During this time, a pastor and his wife visited me and shared the Word of God.  I listened to what they shared.  Every week they returned to teach me.  When they gave me a Bible, I began to not just read it but to study it, trying to understand as many details as possible.  All of this was while I was bed-ridden.  It was the first time that I read the Bible and learned about Jesus.  I quickly had an insatiable thirst to know this Jesus.

When I was better, I began to go to the church.  I liked it so much that I wouldn’t miss even one Sunday.  In the beginning, my husband didn’t go with me and sometimes he was angry that I went.  When I was 8 months pregnant, I prepared to be baptized.  Two weeks before my baptism, my husband also decided to be baptized, and we were baptized together!  It was the most beautiful experience.  After that I was anxious to do someting useful for the Lord.  My pastor suggested that I help in Sunday School.  Four years later, during a Jesus Film showing, God spoke to me and asked me to teach a small group of children.  Later, I added a group of adults and then we formed a church.

Later, I began traveling from Santa Domingo to Quito to study at the Seminary, leaving my husband to care for my four children.  Then my daughter got sick and needed an operation, so I had to leave my studies.  This hurt me because I dreamed of finishing my degree together with my husband.  But, praise God, we are now living at the Seminary and are preparing ourselves to open a work in the city of Quito with the help of another pastor.  Our passion is to reach those that don’t know God or are apart from Him through evangelism.  We want to always serve our God with love and passion.

Thanks to the grace of God we are able to return to our studies although many times it is difficult to study, work to pay for our studies, and supply our children’s needs.  However, we will not quit and we trust in the grace of God.  I am grateful to God who has allowed us to continue our preparation and who blesses our family.

162nd Church Organized in Ecuador

A full house excitedly gathered at the Centro de Adoración Norte (North Center of Adoration) on Sunday, 9/20, to celebrate the official organization of this church located in the Sierra Centro District in Riobamba, Ecuador. Field Strategy Coordinator Dwight Rich and District Superintendent Mario Paredes presided over the ceremony.

Because a focus on children’s ministry has been a major thrust for this church, the service included the children. A group of children gave a beautiful performance to the song “Mande la Luz” (Send the Light). The children’s director in the church also called the 120 children in attendance up to the front for exhortation and prayer. (See photos 1 & 2.)

Pastor Wilson and Paula Paredes were installed as the pastors as part of the ceremony. They received communion and they took an oath to fulfill the obligations of leading an organized church in the Church of the Nazarene. The leaders of the church were also called forward and were prayed over as part of the installation. (See photos 3 & 4.)

What a day of celebration! The church thanked all of the many people who have helped them arrive at this day: the many Work & Witness teams that have helped build the building; the NILI ministry teams that have painted walls and built furniture; and many others who have invested in their church, including their own church people. Recently one of the NILI-Professional students painted murals in the church. In photo 5, you’ll see a cross she painted which greets attendees as they enter the church. Pastor Wilson acknowledged God’s blessings upon their church and is looking forward to a bright future as they minister to their part of the world.

The Sierra Norte District Unites!

God manifested His Spirit when the Sierra Norte District of Quito, Ecuador, gathered together last Sunday morning for special time of worship and prayer. Members from 31 of the 33 churches on the district attended the celebration. An estimated crowd of 1600 people united, with over 300 children from the ages of 4-10 enjoying their own activities on the soccer field. There was standing room only, with many more spilling out into the area in front of the Tabernacle.

Rev. Dwight Rich, Field Strategy Coordinator for the North Andean Field, preached on the theme: “Holiness in times of crisis.” Several different Quechuan choirs praised God in song, while several children’s groups praised Him in dance. From the first note of the first song, it was obvious that people had come together to praise and seek the Lord. And God met their needs as they overflowed the altar area at end of the service.

Because many of the attendees traveled over two hours to get to the service, people enjoyed the food booths set up outside of the Tabernacle, along with the services of the Nazarene Publishing House. We praise God for this wonderful service that brought the Sierra Norte District together.

Testimony of Presley Esteves

My name is Presley Esteves. I am 23 years old, and I study at the Nazarene Theological Seminary. My family moved to a new house when I was six. Shortly afterwards, the pastor from the nearby Church of the Nazarene visited my parents and asked their permission for me to attend Sunday School. My first day at that church is a day I will remember forever. I fell in love with God. Even at that young age, I felt that I had found what I was searching for. Even though no one in my family was a believer, I was drawn to church and to God. At nine, I began attending the worship services in addition to Sunday School. My desire was to seek God’s presence and to draw close to Him, and I grew in my faith. At 13, I was baptized; I consecrated my life completely to the Lord; and I was called to preach the gospel. I wished to please Him and felt the need to share with the lost that there is a God that loves them and wants to reconcile with them through Jesus Christ.

I am very happy that God has given me the opportunity to prepare myself academically so that I can serve Him in excellence and can communicate His Word with great effectiveness, using the gifts and capabilities that He has given me for His service.

In a world that lacks the knowledge of the Word of God, where there exists deteriorating families, children in the streets, destroyed marriages, mistreated women, and where injustice, immorality and corruption exists, God has annointed me for the challenge—whatever there is to confront. I have no fear because my strength is in the power of Jesus Christ. The reason for which I fight is this—that His Kingdom may be established in every nation, tribe, city, community, church and family. My heart longs to see His Kingdom established in all of the Earth. The Lord has trusted me with this work to proclaim His Word, and I am completely sure that I was born to serve Him. I was set apart and I carry this mark with pride because the Lord is my banner. I will always fight for the cause of Christ. Isaiah 61:1-4.

Testimony of Susy Guadamud

My name is Susy Guadamud and I am from Manibí, Ecuador. Five years ago I gave my life to Christ. My teenage brother, Xavier, spent 1 ½ years in prison, and we all worked day-to-day to get his freedom. My family was desperate when God told my sister, Mireya, to look for an evangelical church so she could receive God’s guidance. All of this was new to my family but the love and mercy of God was so big that He used this moment to touch my heart and bring me to Him. Then a miracle occurred. My brother was almost sentenced to 24 years in prison when he received his freedom. It was then that I felt in my heart a call to serve God. I knew that I had to leave everything at that moment, and I accepted this call in gratitude for everything God has done for my brother, my family and for the gift of my salvation.

Today I am in my 4th year of Seminary training in Quito, Ecuador. My current ministry is in counseling and I’m a group leader at the Seminary. My dream is to return to my home church and put into practice everything I’ve learned at Seminary. God has done extraordinary things in my life while I’ve been at the Seminary, and I want more people to know Him and to experience restored hearts. My call is to be a Missionary and a Restoration Counselor. I want to serve Him and love Him until the last day of my life.