Heartland Alliance

This last group I have been hosting, Heartland Alliance, has worked at a school called Santos Pamba, spent time at Casa Gabriel, and is now ministering at Youth World’s new skate ministry called La Roca (The Rock). They are a group of about thirty with a positive attitude, hard work ethic, and hearts for the Lord.

We spent our first four ministry days at a school and church called Santos Pamba (Santos for holy and Pamba is Quecha for Land). We built a fence, stairs, helped build their roof, and repaired some electrical problems. In addition, we played soccer, ecu-volleyball (similar to nuke-em), and played with their kids.

The highlight of our time at Santos Pamba was talking and interacting with the women who cooked lunch and dinner for us. They made some tasty typical Ecuadorian meals of soup, rice, potatoes, meat, and salad. It was a fabulous cultural experience. I thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and the opportunity to be a part of a reciprocal relationship. Here at Youth World, we try to cultivate an experience where both the host church and the sending church give and receive. For example, the Santos Pamba dance team taught some of the girls on our team a dance, the choir invited our site host, Kristin, to be a part of their formal choir, and they invited me to accompany on the piano as Leigh (another host) sang with a woman from Santos Pamba. Not only did Heartland Alliance serve through construction, but they have also shared how they have been taught life lessons by partnering with Santos Pamba.


Saturday, we spent the day at Casa Gabriel. Casa Gabriel is a house for former street boys. It is not a typical homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Rather, it is a discipleship, education, and training program to equip these men to become ambassadors for Christ. All of the boys have to apply to be a part of the house and they receive formal education, learn about Christ, and some times they travel to the jungle to minister to the native people. God has transformed these young men into responsible, loving, and caring men of God.
Heartland Alliance exchanged testimonies with Casa Gabriel, played a large game of soccer with them, and wrote thank you notes to the sponsors of Casa Gabriel. The team thoroughly enjoyed their time with the guys.
Yesterday, our team spent time at Youth World’s newest ministry, La Roca. We went to a church service of the sponsoring church and then hung out for a best-trick competition.
One of the highlights in this block is our team debrief time. I have had the opportunity to lead worship for the team with another team member. It has been refreshing and encouraging to play with a talented musician.
It has been a blessing to walk with teams in their experience here in Ecuador. It has been a privilege to serve them and experience the culture of Ecuador for almost the entire summer. I am humbled when I think of all of my sponsors who are partnering with me to make this summer possible. I wish all of you could meet the pastors, leaders, and congregations of these churches and schools with which Youth World has a long-term relationship.
Thank you for your prayers. My health has been great the past two and a half weeks. Please continue to pray for me as I say my goodbyes and return back to the States in a week.