Six hours southeast of Quito in the tropical
rainforest between the upper mountains of the Andes and the savannas of the
Amazonian lowlands, lay a series of split and rotted planks leading to a
concrete slab. A primitive wood plank barn roofed with corrugated steel stands
on the slab. Doorless, windowless and void of electricity, this is Jose’s church.
Jose leads worship for a group of Shuar people, 90 minutes outside of Puyo.
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| Interior View of Shuar Church |
The Shuar people are an indigenous people of Ecuador
and Peru. They are Amazonian tribes living at the headwaters of the Marañón
River. Shuar, in their language, means
"people." While Westerners may not know the Shuar people by name, we
know them by reputation – and their former practice of shrinking human heads.
We saw their work the previous afternoon, but tonight we were not afraid.
The Shuar people abandoned the practice of shrinking
heads as well as tribal warfare and polygamy at the end of the 19th
century. They live peacefully in small communities, raising cattle and serving honorably
in the Ecuadoran military.
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| Church Planter Jose |
On this night, Jose and a gathering of 50 Christians,
welcome Multiplication Network Ministries to their church to praise and worship
our Triune God. By candlelight, we sang, prayed and encouraged one another
before tasting fire-roasted chicken, cassava and corn served on a palm
leaf. For this evening, we thank our hosts, Pastor Jaime Ledesma of Iglesia
Bautista Kairos, and our gracious God for guiding us safely to and from another
Kingdom outpost made possible by the work offered through MultiplicationNetwork Ministries.
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| Receiving their first Bibles |
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