Yesterday marked the completion of the first Women’s Holistic Medical Caravan in wonderful collaboration of the Women’s Ministry of the Covenant Church of Ecuador, the Santiago Partnership, Covenant missionaries from the States and Sweden, and volunteers from Ecuador, the United States and Canada! It was a full week of focus on women’s health (mind, body and spirit) as well as building relationships with those on our team and those we worked with in the different churches. We traveled to San Gabriel, a four hour drive from Quito. We were there for two days. On Wednesday evening, one of our Covenant missionaries, Denise Garcia, brought the word to those in the church. We then traveled to Pungayuiaco, a Kichwa community close to Ibarra, about two and a half hours from Quito. On Friday, we had a wonderful worship service with many women from the surrounding communities coming to worship and learn together. We sang Kichwa worship songs, heard many songs from the different communities and were encouraged with our Pastora Lilliana Estevez preaching the word. This week in reflection brings many images to mind as so many women worked together to help women. One of the women who worked with us in counseling described moments together in the counseling sessions as “holy moments” when women share things they have never shared before. I look back and this week and truly believe it was a “holy moment.” Bringing women together to help women, in every sense of the word from feeling welcomed and loved, sharing the gospel, treating and healing, praying together, laughing together and many other ways of being together. God’s hand was truly evident during the week. Seeing how the women who were volunteering were helping and using their gifts was a holy moment indeed.
The Santiago Partnership