MISSIONS TO ECUADOR:

2007 ECUADOR MISSION LINK

2003 ECUADOR MISSION LINK

Ecuador Companion Diocese / Sister Parish

The Diocese of Tennessee has a companion diocese relationship with the Diocese of Litoral, centered in Guayaquil, Ecuador. As part of that relationship, the Bishop of the Diocese of Litoral, accompanied by one priest from that diocese, attends our annual diocesan convention. It was a result of Fr. Jaime Davila's attendance to the convention and his subsequent visit to St. Michael's in early 1999 that St. Michael's entered into a sister parish relationship with one of Fr. Jaime's parishes, Jesus Obrero.

St. Michael's Ecuador 2000 Mission Members

When Fr. Jaime came to St. Michael's, he spoke to parishioners during the Sunday School time, as well as during the 10:30 service. He is priest to four parishes / missions and told of the growth he is seeing in his churches. Parishioners were touched by his story and the impoverished conditions in the area he serves and made contributions to Fr. Jaime to use for ministering to his people. He used $300 of those contributions to hold medical clinics for 300 children, being assisted by the volunteering of a pediatrician and the funds to purchase basic medicines to give to the children.

In the summer of 1999, the first group of 31 people from our diocese flew to Guayaquil and completed a weeklong medical, dental, and eye clinic. Over 1,000 people were treated that week and plans were made for expanded missions in 2000.

Waiting For Clinic Services

In July and August of 2000, four members of St. Michael's represented our parish as part of the teams who conducted medical, dental, and eye clinics over a two-week period. Dr. Charles Womack served as a general physician during the first week of the clinic. Dale, Ginger, and Melissa Ensor assisted with most of both weeks of the clinics as general helpers - working in the eye clinic, pediatrics, and the pharmacy, as well as other tasks. One of the highlights of their time in Guayaquil was a visit with Fr. Jaime to Jesus Obrero. While they were not able to attend a service with the people of Jesus Obrero, they were able to go to Duran (location of Jesus Obrero, across the river from Guayaquil) and see the church and visit with Fr. Jaime, his wife, and a few of their parishioners. They presented gifts from St. Michael's - a chalice and patten made especially for Jesus Obrero by Tom and Sally Freestone, t-shirts and "Operation Kid-to-Kid" packages from our Vacation Bible School, a wooden nativity made by Dale Ensor, and some miscellaneous school supplies for their Christian education program. Fr. Jaime and the others entertained the St. Michael's delegation in their living area (actually a part of the church building) and shared refreshments and photos before they were treated for lunch at a restaurant owned by a parishioner.

Melissa Comforts the Children

Priests of the Diocese of Litoral had assigned days to have their parishioners attend the clinics. Fr. Jaime's "day" was Monday of the second week. Fr. Jaime and his wife and a few of the people attending the clinic were sporting their St. Michael's VBS t-shirts for the occasion. It was wonderful to be able to assist the people of Ecuador, but especially nice to be able to help those of our sister parish. The Ensors were even able to meet and visit a bit with Fr. Jamie's mother! Two of the young boys who attended the eye clinic have cataracts - at the ages of 13 and 15. St. Michael's provided funds for these two to be seen by a specialist to determine the feasibility and cost of removal of the cataracts.

We're waiting on the results from their examinations and hope to be able to provide for their treatment, a very concrete way of making their lives significantly better.

Life for most of the people in Ecuador is hard. They lack access to basic medical, dental, eye, etc. care. Most of the people served at the clinics are unable to afford even minimal medications, such as Tylenol or aspirin or ibuprofen. Everyone who attended the clinic received vitamins and most were treated for parasites. The majority of the over 2,000 people who were treated in the two weeks willingly spent a day in travel and waiting time to receive whatever assistance we could give. The smiles, hugs, kisses, and verbal blessings, regardless of language barriers, said it all, however - we were appreciated and we received as much as we gave.

Medical missions to Ecuador continue and there is another coming up soon. If you have questions about our sister parish or companion diocese, please contact Dale and Ginger Ensor, coordinators of St. Michael's efforts in this area. For information about going on a mission, talk to Chuck Womack or any of the Ensors; they'll be happy to share about their experiences in Ecuador.