A Joyful Connection
Last Thursday, Brit (my super rad wife) and I got on a plane and flew south for a week. Normally, when we fly south we land in Belize, but this time we went further south to the South American country of Ecuador.
We arrived at 1:05 AM and were picked up by a man named Mario Benavides. Even though we were strangers and it was the middle of the night, Mario made us feel at ease and like honored guests. In the darkness, he drove us to his nice house on a hill and showed us to the super-nice guest room where we would be staying.
We woke up the next day to see everything in the daylight. The nice house we now saw was very nice. The house overlooked a city surrounded by tall green hills and the soft grey of partly cloudy skies. It was beautiful. Everything about the house seemed perfectly placed and finished very well. Some nice houses can feel pretentious, but this house made you feel invited and inspired.
Next, we met Mario’s wife, Sylvana, and his two teenage sons, Martin and Adrian. They were very kind and fun, and they showed a deep rapport and ease with each other. Brit and I quickly felt the same — like their family unity and mutual respect was contagious. Over the next four days they were extremely generous as they took us all around Quito and showed us a wonderful time.
We went to Ecuador because Mario and his family are planning to move to Phoenix and start churches for Spanish speakers as a part of Living Streams Church.
For the last seven years Living Streams has been growing a fruitful and meaningful connection with some churches in Ecuador. Our founding pastor, Mark Buckley, and Living Streams’ longest tenured pastor, Kurt Cotter, have ministered to churches in multiple cities in Ecuador. It has been a joyful connection.
A few years ago Mark told me Mario feels called by God to plant churches in Phoenix just as he has done in Quito. At the same time that God has been speaking to Mario and his wife down in Quito, God has been stirring in the hearts of our Living Streams team to plant churches for Spanish speakers here in Phoenix.
With this in mind Brit and I went, praying and hoping to get more clarity about who Mario is, and to see if God is confirming for us to work with Mario in church planting.
We came away from our time in Quito thinking:
Mario and his family are the real deal.
I/we have much we can learn from Mario and Sylvana about life, ministry and the multiplication of good.
Mario and his family will be sacrificing a lot to answer this call of God.
We will not be “equally yoked” as ministry partners.
In fact, I came away more excited and committed to seeing the next 1,000 people to join the family of God at Living Streams to be those whose first language is Spanish.
And I came away praying Jesus will help us all to be inviting and inspiring in the work we do and the life we live, develop a deep rapport and ease in our relationships, and get to see the beauty and power of God on display as He unites people from every tribe and tongue in the kingdom of heaven.
David