Is God still in the business of multiplying the loaves and fishes to feed the multitudes? In Guayaquil, Ecuador we believe He is!
In Matthew 14:13-21 Jesus saw a great multitude of needy people and felt compassion for them. He healed their sick and then told his disciples, “you give them something to eat.” They of course had no idea how to feed such a crowd, especially since all they had were five loaves and two fish. But they brought what little they had to Jesus. He, in turn, took what they brought him, blessed it, and then instructed his disciples to “feed the multitude.” Five thousand were fed that day with twelve baskets of leftovers!
Fast forward 2000 years to the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador, a metropolis of nearly 3-million people. Jesus still has compassion on the multitudes and his words still weigh on the hearts of his 21st century disciples, “you give them something to eat.”
“But Lord, how?”
“...What do you have? Bring them to me...”
In August 1993, modern-day “loaves and fishes” were brought to the Lord. Five telephone lines, and two audio cart machines provided by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Over the past thirteen years, an unbelievable 2,477,616 contacts have been made through the TeleAmigo ministry! Indeed, those “loaves and fishes” have been blessed and multiplied thousands of times over. Last year an average of more than 13,600 contacts were made every month through telephone, internet, and personal counseling sessions.
Every “contact” is a person loved by Jesus and has a story to tell. A desperate 16-year old “María” called to say she was planning to have an abortion. She did not have work and had no income with which to bring a child into the world. Her boyfriend ran off leaving María ashamed and feeling all alone to face this crisis. The TeleAmigo counselor shared Christ and was able to persuade her to trust the Lord as her Savior and not abort. Today mom and “Baby Teleamigo” come by the office regularily for visits! María is proud of her boy and is able to provide for him with the job God provided her with.
“Ricardo” was a troubled young father with many marital problems. His contact over several months with TeleAmigo also led him to a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is now asking if his home might be used to open up a new house church in order to reach his family and neighbors!
TeleAmigo (combination of the words “telephone/friend”) is a Baptist evangelistic counseling and prayer ministry manned by volunteers from various churches.
August 3 marks the 13th anniversary for the ministry. How blessed have those loaves and fishes been since ‘93? Only heaven will reveal the fullness of lives touched and ministered to in Jesus Name. Hundreds have prayed to receive Christ as Savior. Scores of marriages healed, countless individuals ministered to, and the blessings continue on and on, day after day...
Is Jesus still in the business of multiplying the loaves and fishes?
YOU BET!!!
Wow! How encouraging to hear how God has used Teleamigo in these past 13 years. I actually first came across your name about 7 years ago, as we were brainstorming on our team in Extremadura, Southwest Spain (where I was then) on creative ways to sow the seed of the Gospel. It is especially encouraging to see how this IMB-related initiative has become such a fruitful indigenous ministry in the hands of local workers.
ReplyDeleteGuy,
ReplyDeleteWow, this story touched my heart. As you know, I was there with the Packwoods in 1988--before Teleamigo even existed!
I fell in love with your city then, and have prayed for Guayuaquil since. I got choked up reading how God has worked. What an amazing, wonderful, creative, powerful Lord we serve!!!
This story also gives me a sense of anticipation and excitement as we get ready to "birth" the church here in Oakland. There are still a lot of questions, and a lot that God has not yet revealed.
But we're kicking off on August 27th. It will start by coming together to pray, worship, study His Word and ask God "what next?"
So pray for us. This is scary, and messy. But I believe that 13 years from now we'll be able to give a testimony, too, of how God has multiplied the loaves and fishes.
1Th 5:24 Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.
1Th 5:25 Brethren, pray for us.
One more thing--sorry to post twice in a row.
ReplyDeleteBut I think I've told you before that one of our interns here, Cristina Paredes, is an MK from Ecuador to the United States. Her parents are from Cuenca.
Anyway--she is going to be working with us at CMU this year. We just had our staff retreat and were talking about mission opportunities for the coming year.
We have been partnering with a city in Peru, but it looks like the situation on their end may be changing. What are the possibilities of bringing a team to Ecuador?
David--Back a couple of years ago we received a prayer request from the Extremadura region of Spain which was shared with the house churches and prayed for.
ReplyDeleteKiki--Who are Cristina's parents? That name sounds familiar. I think I shared earlier with you that we did not recognize Angelica's photo.
We would love to have you come as a missions team sometime. Just let us know when it would be a good time for you. The Packwoods were just here a couple of weeks ago with a volunteer team. This week we have with us a team from Austin, Texas. We spent the past three days reaching out into an invasion area trying to get a new church planted. Later this week we will enter another section of the city to try and get a new work started there as well. I think my wife is planning on blogging on it (she always has lots of pictures on her blog) to give you an idea of the kinds of things we do with volunteers.
Her parents are Pablo and Eulalia Paredes. They are currently ministering in Jonesboro, AR. Do you know them? They are a really sweet family.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this Guy. I am in awe of this and wish that we could implement something as effective. Praise the Lord!
ReplyDelete