Stories from Ecuador, October 2011
VESSELS OF HONOR
We are vessels of honor created for God’s glory. We are cast for acts of extravagant worship. Like the woman who broke open a jar of priceless perfume and poured it onto the feet of Jesus (John 12:3-8), we also are to unseal ourselves, indeed uncover everything, and pour it all out for our Savior. We must be attentive for the presence of Christ and always ready to serve His heart. We have much. We are blessed not so that we feel guilty, but so that we may partake of joy in sharing our blessings in the name of Jesus. Galatians 6:9 urges, “Let us not become weary in doing good.”
See what God does with faith! In October of 2011, this church prayed over and sent new and used wheelchairs, claw-footed canes, and mobility aids to Ecuador. The equipment went with members of a volunteer medical ministry team. Much of the medical equipment, including highly specialized pediatric wheelchairs, was given by a mother who stayed at home in Alaska to care for her disabled child. Another worshipper here donated two expensive adult wheelchairs. It was done in faith that the equipment would be worth something far across the world. Thousands of miles away in southern Ecuador, entire families wept at the “presentation” ceremonies when their loved ones were finally fitted into these free chairs, walkers, and canes from Alaska. Some of the adolescent children who received their chairs had literally waited two or more years, becoming far too big for their parents to comfortably carry anymore. One of our church’s wheelchairs went to a woman with amputated legs who was then seen by the medical team using the chair to peddle crafts on the street corner the very next day. 
She had made a basket for her products in anticipation of the chair’s arrival, so that she could immediately move around the sidewalks. A typical laborer in Ecuador with monthly household income of $300 to $400 could never afford such equipment, except believers in our church sent it there in faith. The patients crushed forward each day to get into the free clinic, almost pushing the gates off the walls. Many patients came to the worship service held on the final night of the clinic. So many patients asked Jesus into their lives at that service that the new believers at the altar outnumbered the celebrating local church members. Look for the photos.
Please consecrate your own act of faith this week. You will know God’s heart when you reach the moment to step out in belief. Your moment will be different than every other person’s moment, but you will recognize that point when it arrives for you. Dare do whatever it is that God puts in front of you. Then tell others the story of how it turns out over time. We should receive and release the healing of Jesus. II Corinthians 4:7 encourages, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
*Article and photos provided by Beth and Larry Smith who traveled to Ecuador in October 2011 as part of this medical ministry team. Click here for more pictures.*