Ecuador Ecuador This was a special day for all of us in many regards. We visited Cusubamba, a remote area high up in the mountains at about 11,000 feet, where some of the most humble and loving people in the world live. We had church service at 9am, and immediately afterwards started attending patients. At lunch, the two pastors shared their stories of persecution. Ricardo shared the intense times during the founding years of the church, where it was vandalized and burnt by a mob of hundreds, the members ran for their lives and some were beaten, some of their children were beaten and hung upside down in trees, and the pastor was severely beaten and doused with gasoline to be burnt alive. Only God saved him, as a strong wind kept the mob from striking any matches. Pastor Sixto shared of the present day persecution that exists only 20 minutes further up the mountain, where he and his small congregation were run off by the community.
We also got to talk to them about their unfinished sanctuary, which they have patiently been building, block by block, for 15 years. We attended around140 people, and enjoyed a beautiful, simple service afterwards.
