Guayllabamba, Ecuador
This church will always have a place in our hearts because we ended up their by God's divine plan! You might think it was just a wrong turn in the road and a freak time for an accident, but I believe all happens for God's purpose! They are a tiny church on the end of a predominantly Catholic pueblo.

The pastor and his family sing their favorite songs during the Christmas Service

 Their mission has been to spread the word and love of Jesus Christ to all within their reach. The pastor and his family started out and built the buildings you see themselves as they had money and grew this church one family at a time.

 
Games are fun in any language if you can explain them!

 This year has been a great year for them in his opinion as they have seen growth in the membership, huge interest in the music worship with the additional instruments CMC has helped them purchase, and an energetic man interested in taking up the role of minister to the youth.


That's the youth pastor playing dead during the youth drama

So much has grown and changed in the four years we've been involved with them and the future looks bright with the light of Christ continuing to grow and shine brighter!

Christmas Service
Projects:

- distribute 100 gifts, treat bags, and needed shoes/clothes to children at the Iglesia Bautista in Guayllabamba.
  
Preparing the goodie bags and making decorations


Clothing madness!

- continue the construction effort of the expanding the sanctuary. We were able to complete the roof, tile work on the pulpit floor, interior and exterior painting, signage and murals on the outside walls, rewiring of the lights, and general cleaning.
  



Putting on a roof is exactly as hard as it may sound! It was definitely a workingman's type of job.
 

 
Not a moment too soon before the rain decided to start for the afternoon!

  
Another hard job was the tile work on the sanctuary. It was all day on the knees working for the Lord!


- We helped also prepare the building for the Christmas Day service with decorations, more cleaning, providing more seating, repainting the benches, and window washing.
 
  - All the clothes were sorted and ready to distribute.
 



- help in the house with preparing the meals, cleaning, and just good fellowship and encouragement to those that often feel like they are out there alone.
 
- provide two days of vacation for the pastor and his family to relax and refresh to begin again in the new year. (They are now up to five days of vacation in seven years, not much time to renew their own spirits, especially for a family at it 24-7 for Christ.)
  

 
  
We weren't sure we were going to make it, but it all came together!

God Working: There was never a question as to whether there would be a Christmas service, the only question we had was how long was it going to be! The church has grown so that they have had someone step up as youth pastor and between him and the pastor, they had 18 items on the order of worship for Christmas.
  

 It was a wonderful celebration of dramas, singing by several different groups in Spanish and Quechua, thanks and praise, a message of Christ's love, dinner for all on the grounds, games for the kids, including a pinata, and distribution of the materials.
 
  
Pinata and a little gift fun!

  
Santa showed up in the middle of the youth skit!

We always try to get the pastor to take a little break and relax for a day or two. If you'd met him, you'd understand that he is at it 24-7 and is a part of everything that is going on. God gave us the world to enjoy and relax in for a reason: to rejuvenate our spirits so we can continue in His work without growing weary and tired of doing good.
  
 The fellowship with other believers and knowing that other Christians are sharing their vision is a great blessing to the pastor and the church body of Guyallabamba. The fact that more people continue to come from CMC only encourages them and lets them know that they aren't alone.
  
 
What has to touch your heart is the love and desire of this church to share Jesus with all they come in contact with, no matter what sacrifice it takes on their part. What breaks your heart is the isolation and lack of encouragement they often feel from other Christians. Every year we have worked with them, they have presented CMC with a plaque of appreciation. In a country where the average person makes $600 a month and the pastor and his family live on about $100 a month, that is an expense they don't need but they do out of love. This year, they gave us a picture of the old church with the congregation in front of it and a wall hanging typical of the area to hang at CMC as a reminder not to forget them. The verse on the plaque reads as follows:

Philippians 4:15
"Morever, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only...you sent me aid again and again when I was in need."
  
To them, CMC is that church. We need to honor them and the other foreign mission projects we support by recognizing them in a prominent place in our church facility. It would also let church members and visitors know what our church is involved in and keep them updated on current mission work around the world through CMC.

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