Two Chapel in Two Days
Lima Community Church of the Nazarene, from Lima, Ohio, sent a 10 person Work and Witness team to Ecuador, August 1-10. The team had the opportunity to see the process of building and setting up portable chapels for new church plants from the end to the beginning.
You read that correctly, the team experienced the process in reverse. Their first two workdays were spent on the Sierra Central District in Ecuador placing two chapels in sites that have new works beginning. One was on the coastal side of the country in a small mountain community called La Palma. The second chapel was placed outside of Shell on the Amazon side of Ecuador among a community of people who have left their families and tribes behind in the Amazon jungle to try to find a better life for themselves and their children.
Both sites allowed the Lima team to work alongside the members of the community, some brothers and sisters in Christ, and some whose children benefit from the programming offered at the sites, but who have not yet come to Christ. Lima, OH
Due to changing the La Palma site leading up to the team's delivery of the chapel, the community members worked all day moving the dirt to provide a flat floor for the temporary building while the team and other community members worked to bolt together the chapel. Late in the afternoon, with the chapel nearly finished the ground was completely leveled. So every adult on the job site gathered inside the chapel and moved the metal structure about 4 feet to the flat ground. It was an incredible bonding experience for the team and community.
After seeing the value of the portable chapel in the field, the team returned to Lima, OH '19 Quito where they had the opportunity to see the beginning of the process of portable chapel fabrication. Team members cut several hundred feet of square tubular steel into trusses and framing for walls. The steel was then welded together by team member, John Rhodes, and a new portable chapel began to take shape. In two hard days of work, the team was able to get a new chapel about one quarter completed.
Not only did the team build chapels but others on the teams did some very necessary projects such as painting and help in the library with registering books.
We are grateful for the Lima Community team, their leader Melvin Miller, and Pastor Doug and Debbie Boquist for their investment in the church in Ecuador. We hope to see them again soon!
You read that correctly, the team experienced the process in reverse. Their first two workdays were spent on the Sierra Central District in Ecuador placing two chapels in sites that have new works beginning. One was on the coastal side of the country in a small mountain community called La Palma. The second chapel was placed outside of Shell on the Amazon side of Ecuador among a community of people who have left their families and tribes behind in the Amazon jungle to try to find a better life for themselves and their children. Both sites allowed the Lima team to work alongside the members of the community, some brothers and sisters in Christ, and some whose children benefit from the programming offered at the sites, but who have not yet come to Christ. Lima, OH
After seeing the value of the portable chapel in the field, the team returned to Lima, OH '19 Quito where they had the opportunity to see the beginning of the process of portable chapel fabrication. Team members cut several hundred feet of square tubular steel into trusses and framing for walls. The steel was then welded together by team member, John Rhodes, and a new portable chapel began to take shape. In two hard days of work, the team was able to get a new chapel about one quarter completed.
Not only did the team build chapels but others on the teams did some very necessary projects such as painting and help in the library with registering books. We are grateful for the Lima Community team, their leader Melvin Miller, and Pastor Doug and Debbie Boquist for their investment in the church in Ecuador. We hope to see them again soon!
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