Project New Hope – August 2015 – Ministry news from Ecuador and Peru

Ecuador

New women’s group

We’re working in a new barrio, Santa Martha sector 5, and started a women’s group in Lucia’s home with 10 women attending. It’s been hard to reach a lot of these women because they are influenced by their religious traditions that are not biblical and pressured by family and friends not to associate with us. Just as it was in sector 6 (the barrio we work in), people have started rumors about our church. They say untruthful things such as we’re there to steal kids for their organs, that we worship Satan, and that we’re a cult. People who don’t know us believe what they hear. God has answered our prayers and opened up the hearts of some of these women and they are starting to learn the truth about Jesus Christ. Some are going through the Peace Treaty, and Lucia has accepted Christ and made the decision to be baptized. So with lots of prayers and perseverance, with Christ we are victorious.

Reading class

Most of the people we work with do not have high school educations; many do not even know how to read or write, so it’s very hard for many of these parents to help their children with their homework. Many of these kids don’t know how to read or don’t read very well either. We are very involved and aware of the problems in these barrios, so if we can help solve some of them we try and do that. With the interest and help of these moms, we started reading classes in three different barrios! Our goal is to help kids learn to read and enjoy it.

The Chavez family

We met the Chavez family when we were doing “adopt a block” in Cheguevara. Hugo, his wife Angela, their four adult children, their spouses and children all live next to one another. The men in this family like playing soccer; after we had a soccer tournament last year, we started to get to know them better. Angela and her two daughters-in-law started coming to the women’s group and participating in other church activities. Since we needed a place to hold church and other activities, Hugo, who has a vacant house, offered it to us to use so we could continue growing God’s Kingdom in this barrio. They are now hosting a house church which they all attend with some of their neighbors. Pray for this family, that that they will continue to have the desire to know more about Jesus and that they will be a good testimony to their family and neighbors.

Mike, Danell, Skylar and Nicole Butka
Team Expansion missionaries to Peru and Ecuador

Peru

Youth group

One day before youth group started, we walked around the barrio to get to know more youth and met Eduardo, who was just coming home from work. Naturally we invited him to the group, but he turned us down because of how he was dressed. We encouraged him to come anyway. Despite his reservations, he accepted our invitation and came with us right then and there. Since then he hasn’t missed group and is punctual and very committed. He is 20 years old and lives with his mother and two siblings. His father is absent in their lives, so Eduardo has always felt the need to take care of his family. It hasn’t been an easy life for him because of financial stress. He has also been pressured by many to join a gang. Since a lot of his friends have died or are in prison because they made wrong decisions, Eduardo wanted to go to church to search for God. That was where he was at when we approached him in the street. During these past months, we have grown in our relationship with Eduardo and we are getting to know his family better.

Willy is a leader in our church and is doing the Peace Treaty with Luz, who is 17 years old. We remember the first time she came to our youth group: She was coming home from school when we met her in the street. She was very excited that we invited her and accepted right away. She came regularly and really enjoyed being part of the youth group. We went to visit her parents, but they were never home because they were working. When they found out that she was going to youth group, they forbade her to go anymore! So please pray for these two youth and their families.

Ayde

We got to know Ayde in the women’s group. She lives with her spouse and their two children. At first she was very committed to getting to know who Jesus is, but for some reason she started distancing herself from the group and didn’t want to do any of the spiritual lessons. We persevered and kept visiting her. She was recently diagnosed with uterine cancer and had surgery, which was unsuccessful. She is faced with a lot of pain and the possibility of dying. She is now going through the Peace Treaty again and the church is praying that God will do His Will in her life.

We continue doing “adopt a block” (knocking on doors and getting to know our neighbors) because there are so many people who need Christ and the hope He gives!

Project New Hope + CMF

CMF and Project New Hope have forged an exciting new partnership with Team Expansion missionaries Mike and Dani Bukta and their work in Peru and Ecuador. Through this partnership we will work together toward holistic mission where disciples are made, individual lives are transformed, and nationals are empowered to lead. U.S. churches will be challenged to actively partner in this ministry with the goal of creating dynamic Christ-centered communities (churches) that can transform the world.