A Day in SigSig, Ecuador

§ We were invited to attend a Nazarene youth rally on Saturday up in the mountains 90 minutes East of Cuenca. There were a lot of switchback inclines then deep descents into a valley. Keeping eyes forward helped with potential car sickness!  Once there, the beautiful views helped to offset the chilly, wet weather.  The temps stayed at about 55 degrees with intermittent rainfall.

§ When we arrived, we were greeted by teens from two other Nazarene churches.  We played games to become acquainted. We joined in, although, all the instructions were in Spanish.  We quickly learned that observation keeps you in the game longer!

§ Another challenging game was Charades where the player had to guess the phrase/word taped to their forehead.  Before we could give pantomimed clues, we had to figure out the meaning of the Spanish Biblical phrase taped to the head!  Once we understood, for example, Mar Rojo (Red Sea), then we could begin our clues!  A great way to learn even more Spanish!

Neighbors

§ We were then divided into small groups and given tickets/invitations to pass out to the neighbors.

The neighborhood

Now, neighbors was an interesting word because there are no "residential hoods" up here in these mountains.  Handing out these invitations meant walking up steep hills on tiny, narrow dirt paths with curious dogs underfoot!  The invitation:  Come see the Jesus Film in Spanish at 4pm!  😄

Jim was on this team.

Thirty-one came to view the Jesus Film that afternoon.  You can watch it, too.  The story of Jesus changes lives. jesusfilm.org

I was on this team.

§ Our small groups had a short Bible study/discussion from Luke 7:36-50.
I was struck by the biblical knowledge that the young people in my group had.  In the story, Jesus teaches about forgiveness: two people owed two different debts - 500 coins and 50 coins.  Their banker forgave their debts, completely.  "Which," Jesus asks, "loves the banker more?"
Of course, the one in deepest debt.  So, it is with Jesus' forgiveness: We can't out-sin His merciful willingness to forgive all who seek Him.



§ Lunch!  Lots of chicken, arroz con frijoles!  It was warm and delicious!

Pastor and his family

Lunch!  Ate it all!

Soccer

Smile!

§ It was late afternoon, but still time for a soccer game and a group photo...

...and time to make the ascent and descent back into Cuenca.  Jim and I rode with the students on a very nice school bus...we had a front-seat view of the rolling mountains.

Thank you for taking this Day Trip to SigSig with us.  It was awesome, and we were so very blessed to have been invited.

Keep Looking Up!
J:m and L:nda