Today was the day of.....

Buenos dias!  I have to say that for the first time in my life I am thankful for the 7 years of Spanish that I took!  The flash cards have paid off and I have used more of the language than I can believe I remember! 

We have had a VERY full day and are anxious to get to bed! This morning we went to worship at the church where we have worked with the Child Development Center and the Child Survivor Program.  There are over 200 members in the church and barely enough room for them, so as the honored guests today, we sat down front and many of the members stood for the 2 hour service.  I sat on the front row with Natalie, (my sponsor child) MaryBell, (her mother) and Omar (my incredible translator).   We worshipped in spanish with a praise band.  They sing and play loud!  It was wonderful!

Some of the ladies prepared dances to praise songs and performed for us. When they finished we listened to a powerful message from Pastor Fernando about the church being one body and each person using their gifts to make the body work effectively.  He had a translator the entire time so we were very engaged in the message.  He shared the gospel and the Holy Spirit fell. Today was the day of salvation for 8 people in that service.  They boldly walked to the front of the church and prayed to receive Christ.  As I stood and prayed for them, I was asked by a Compassion worker to come and share with church.

It was so difficult to stand in front of them and not just bawl my eyes out!  I quickly asked the Lord to give me words and He is so very faithful.  This morning for the first time in my life, I got to experience something that I have believed in faith.  Just as each of you worhsipped in America and the Holy Spirit moved in your churches and lives, He did the same thing at the same time here in Ecuador.  It really is hard to comprehend just how BIG our God is!  I can say as an absolute fact that we will never clearly understand on this side of Heaven.

I shared quickly from my heart and prayed over the church.  It truly was one of the greatest honors of my life!  When I finished the praise band came up for a special song.  They began to sing "Open the eyes of my heart Lord" in spanish and we all sang and worshipped as loud as we could in english!  I am telling you, tears flowed freely down my face as we each worhsipped as we will in heaven.  It was a sight to behold and sound I will never forget.  Below is our praise band!

After church many of us had the joy of spending the afternoon with our sponsor child.  It was precious!  Many of the children had never been in a resturant or to the equator so they were very excited!  The bus trip was 2 hours long and we each had our own translator so the time was very good.  I learned during this time that Natalie's mother makes $90 a month and that is what they live on.  Her sponsorship through Compassion gives her family hope.





We shared gifts, pictures and stories and the time flew by quickly.  As Natalie carefully looked at each gift that I gave her, her mother sat across the row and cried as she watched her daughter.  The things that my precious boys took time to pick out and pack for Natalie were the greatest gifts she has ever recieved.  She told me that this day was the very best day of her life! 

We ate and played at the equator before saying goodbye.  We prayed together and hugged long and hard.  Tomorrow we will say goodbye for a long time-I am not sure that I am ready for that.  I do know that I will be back and that brings us all comfort.

We all had special days and feel so incredibly blessed to have lived it here in this country.  When God planned our days before we were born, this day was on His calendar.  This day was the day of salvation for the lost in La Victoria Iglesia (the church we worshipped). It was the day of dreams come true for children.  It was the day of hope for many parents.  It was a day realization for me-My God is present everywhere, all the time.  Today He spoke to me in La Victoria Iglesia and changed me forever.  What was this day for you?  May I challenge you to make much of everyday?  God has a plan for each one that we live-you do not want to miss what He has in store for you!

I am going to post another blog quickly with pictures so that you can see beautiful faces and pray for each one of them!