Trip to Manta to visit OMS Church

Hannah and I were able to join some other OMS missionaries on a recent trip (May 2-4) to Manta, Ecuador.  We left from Quito and they left from Loja and we all met at the OMS church in Manta.  There were 7 of us in all. With a couple stops along the way, it was about an 8 hour trip for us.





Our purpose for the trip was to meet with the pastor and his family and find out how we can help.  We also wanted to visit some families of the church who had been most affected by the earthquake.

We arrived on Monday afternoon.  It was great to see several people from the youth group dividing up provisions/donations and putting them in bags to be handed out.

After checking in to our hostel we had dinner at the pastor's house, which is connected to the church building.  We had some time to talk with the pastor and his family.  They seem to be doing great and they really seem to have a good plan for helping their church members and others in the community.

Pastor Julio and his family

On Tuesday morning, we spent some more time with the pastor.  He showed us the report from the inspector who had inspected the church for earthquake damage.  There are several things on the report that need attention, but fortunately nothing is too serious that it is preventing any of the normal activities/services of the church.  The pastor and his family are also able to stay in their home.  OMS is considering which of the recommendations we will be able to help with, and when we will be able to.

Crack on the stage/platform at the front of the church

The pastor shared with us some of the things they have been doing.  He said that there are 33 families from the church that are receiving help from the church donations.  He said that number will decrease as the families are able to begin to provide for themselves again.  The church families are his first priority - the donations go to them first, and if there are extra they go to others in the community.

He also said that he has asked each family from the church to adopt 2 other families that they know are in need.  When the church receives extra donations, the church families are to deliver the provisions to their adopted families, and when possible share the gospel and invite them to the church.

After this, we went with the pastor to visit a couple of the families who had a lot of damage to their homes. We wanted to pray with them and encourage them.

Later in the afternoon, our OMS group joined several others from the church (many from the youth group) and went to a very affected area of Manta.  It was really sad to see the people and the damage from the earthquake.

 

We had loaded up our vehicles with the bags of provisions.  We passed them out and the pastor and his wife shared the gospel to different groups of people.  It was great to be a part of this, but really unfortunate to see people in this terrible situation.

The older gentleman (Miguel) in the middle of the picture in the green shirt "lives" with his family under the tarps.  You can see the mattresses where they sleep.  His house is part of the damaged structure on the left side of the picture.  He was very nice and polite but very sad as well - their whole community is just in so much need of help.

The situation there is so terrible.  It's really hard to think we can complain about anything in our lives.  These people have lost everything, and they have to live outside in the miserable heat and humidity of the Ecuadorian coast.   They are desperate for help - not only to take care of their physical needs, but just as importantly to be able to share their experience and feel like people care for them.

As darkness set in, we made our way back to the church.  We talked a little more with the pastor and felt like we had accomplished our purpose for the trip.  We left Wednesday morning and returned to Quito.

After spending some time in this community of Manta, we just want to be able to bring loads and loads of supplies to hand out.  The need is so much greater than the supply right now.  Pray that these people can get their lives back quickly and that many can see God's goodness and love through this.