Face to Face With Reality

  The 28 member Nall Ave Work and Witness team from Prairie Village, KS was greeted by the children and parents that lined the driveway of the Santa Clara Nazarene church.  They had been waiting for 3 hours for the team to arrive but used their time wisely to make beautiful gardens with painted rocks while they waited. 

 The team made up of families worked on the Sierra Central District at Santa Clara, Ecuador, a small town of 3,000.  Mario Paredes, the District Superintendent and his family were part of the team and helpful in planning and working. 

     The team packed many activities into the short amount time they were in Santa Clara and worked hard. They poured the second story floor of the new church, put in electricity in two buildings, laid block walls and evangelized children and young adults through ministry and sports.

  Since Rev. Steve Johnson, pastor of the Nall Church, was invited by Rev. Ricardo Calles to help in the Baptismal service that took place in a near-by river on Sunday, a great unity was felt between the two congregations.  The Nall team vowed to pray for the brothers and sisters that were baptized.

     There was great rejoicing as 13 members were baptized while their testimonies were being read.  Flowers were then thrown into the river as they came out of the water.  


     The last day was emotional for the team as 60 or more children presented the team with special thanks and then made a circle around them and prayed for them.  That night the leaders of Santa Clara prepared a BBQ meal and presented gifts from the area and shared words of expression of thanks to the team. 

     Both groups will forever remember the faces of children and adults and the way their new Christian family grew after this week.  The Nall team discovered that this small community has many needs, that could not be resolved and left with a heavy burden and a desire to return to help the International Compassion Center.   The leaders of the church thanked the team for helping to bring to light the urgency of the needs so they can better help the families around them. 

The Nall Ave team is praying and would like you to join them in praying for R. This precious fun-loving high spirited little girl needs God's protection around her. Her house is mainly constructed of plastic covering and her family life is in shambles.