Laquita Norrington, wife of country director Don Norrington, blogs from Ecuador.

What a week!!! It began with a dynamite volunteer team from Tennessee arriving in Loja to assist in the building of Renacer Church. And ended by blessing children in a remote community with shoe box gifts from Operation Christmas Child.

Renacer Church has been meeting in groups in houses around the city since 1995, led by Pastor Phatricio. The pastor’s vision for the church includes a place where all its members may worship together, an area where evangelism workshops can be held as well as counseling, a recreation area for youth, and an area for housing the Bible institute that Pastor Phatricio now leads in homes.

The team arrived Sunday evening and prepared for a busy week. After devotions, we were having breakfast when Pastor Phatricio arrived to welcome the group and invite them to hike to a waterfall near Zamora one day during the week. The group also hoped to see an Operation Christmas Child shoe box distribution and they asked if that was possible.

The shoe box gifts for Ecuador had arrived in Guayaquil just a few days earlier. Before we left Quito for Loja, we had been told that it would take at least a week for them to clear customs and then several days for them to reach their destinations across the country. But that morning, the pastor indicated that he was expecting delivery by midweek. You could see a glimmer of hope in everyone’s eyes.

Tuesday afternoon we found that the boxes had actually arrived and that we would indeed be a part of an OCC distribution. The team was elated—and then we found out that not only would we be distributing shoe boxes, but that we would do it in the same community where we would hike to the waterfall.

You may think none of this is really exciting, but when you hear a little background information you realize that the events were not just exciting, they were divinely orchestrated.

The community by the waterfall once was completely closed to outsiders. I asked how the pastor had gained access and this is what he told me.

The name of this Shuar community is Machinaza. The village had a church that claimed to practice a traditional religion, and no other denominations were allowed to enter.

Renacer Church asked God to open doors to send missionaries. The opportunity came when the Zamora River flooded Machinaza. The church immediately sent aid—milk for the children, food for the entire community, and supplies for rebuilding shelters. During this time a young girl was bitten by a “rotten-leaf snake,” which almost always causes the victim to lose the limb that was bitten. Church members treated the snakebite and held prayer services for girl. She was healed without losing her leg.

Because of the disaster relief provided by the missionaries, the evangelical church was invited into the community and Machinaza Church was established. It is currently the only church in the village, and it was the location of our shoe box distribution.

The hike took over two hours and was quite treacherous in places. Most of us ended up wet from crossing the stream on rocks, some ended up with mud, and a few actually had cuts and scrapes to be dressed.


The village welcomed us warmly and the children courteously lined up according to gender and age. They wiggled and giggled in lines while waiting for their gifts. The pastor presented a brief message and the shoe box gifts were distributed.

Faces lit up as the boys and girls lifted the lids and saw the many gifts inside. Some had personal letters and pictures, and team members translated them to the children and their parents. The joy of seeing the children receiving these gifts and knowing that they are actually receiving the love of Christ was truly exciting.

Yes, we hiked for over two hours to see an incredible waterfall. Yes, we were tired, wet, and dirty. Yes, this team worked long days doing very physical labor. Yes, they ate food that was not what they were accustomed to eating. Yes, they could have used more rest and sleep.

Did they complain? No. They are faithful servants who brought real blessings to the communities of Loja and Machinaza. They have blessed and been blessed. We were honored to host them.

Samaritan's Purse , Blessings In Ecuador

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