Upon remembering the earthquake on April 16, Sofía Escobar cannot hold back her tears, especially thinking about the pain of those who lost their spouses or children.

“There is a lot of melancholy and desperation,” she shares. “But the only One who can give them comfort in the midst of this is Christ.”

Sofía has worked as a church planter in Arenillas for some time and remembers that not everyone was open to the gospel but now something has changed.

“We felt the earthquake quite strongly here and we thought it originated in Peru and it scared us a lot,” Sofía shares, reflecting on that night. “Others were very frightened as well and came to ask us for prayer at the church. When we learned the earthquake had originated in Ecuador, we were very sad. We prayed in the streets and the people were really touched. When we could see what happened in the news, it struck us to see how many souls had been lost without knowing Christ and it was like God was reminding the Church of what we should doing and to not forget to complete the Great Commission and we cried a lot.”

But for Sofía, despite the pain, it was an opportunity that God gave her to reach others. She helped to mobilize her church and they were able to bring various provisions to the people who were affected by the earthquake.

“We also brought Bibles where we could. We worked with battered and abandoned women. It was very special because we got to work with them and embrace these women who had lost their children and their husbands,” Sofía says.

Another opportunity they had to be the hands and feet of Jesus was when they learned that the child of a woman who lived near the church had died in the earthquake. “When we heard the news, we went to her house. We gave her encouragement and strength and were even able to help with food. Even though it didn’t seem like much, it gave us an opening to share the gospel and the family accepted Jesus. There were five people who accepted Christ,” Sofía shares excitedly.

The earthquake and its devastation in Ecuador is something that no one understands. But Sofía says, “God uses circumstances to bring awareness and move us as a Church to go out and see where the need is. Now we are working with more emphasis. Through the work that the church does, if we channel it well and persevere, I believe we can win all of Ecuador.”

Prayer Requests:

-For the Church to wake up and fulfill the Great Commission.

-For the people who have not yet found comfort and who haven’t been reached with the gospel.