First Baptist Church of Frisco, we are pleased to share this initial field report from your church plant in El Edén, in the Los Ríos region of Ecuador. The church has made rapid progress in completing construction and they are already holding services in their building. In the photo above, Pastor Gustavo is preaching in the nearly-completed sanctuary at Iglesia Iberoamericana El Edén. Many children have already begun to learn and receive care at the child development center you helped launch. Thank you for your support and prayers.
Construction Progress
The sanctuary is mostly complete, with only a few finishing touches remaining.
Now the focus is on the classrooms, kitchen, bathrooms and office, which are actively under construction with considerable progress already achieved. The pillars and beams are set, and the construction workers are starting to place blocks.
Local materials and workers are being used as much as possible to support the community’s economy.
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- Meeting in the sanctuary
Church Activities
Currently, 35 adults and 70 children attend the church regularly, with 150 children attending the child development center.
In the past 60 days, one person was baptized.
The process of starting the program has attracted a lot of attention from the families of the area. The church’s goal is to take advantage of this attention to reach people who have not wanted to get involved, but now are interested in the program.
The church regularly hosts worship services, home groups, and a Bible school for children. Church leaders are planning more outreach efforts to share the love of Christ.
The pastor is focused on the child development center as well as supervising the construction effort.
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- The child development center under construction
Challenges and Opportunities
Due to the rural location, some difficulties have arisen in finding materials and transportation to the site, but these issues have been mostly resolved.
The greatest opportunity seen in the construction process is to be able to build an economical, high-quality, expansion-ready structure which fits in the community and will last for generations.
Next Steps
The construction effort will continue with:
- Placement of blocks.
- Completion of the roof structure.
- Installation of windows and doors.
- Finalizing the interior finishes.
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- The project director and tutors teaching children at the Bible school
Testimony of Impact
I feel very happy to see how God is transforming this place.
It is really beautiful how God can touch hearts so that this dream is coming true.
I am so excited that my children are attending the activities and can see what our wonderful God is doing.
– Merida Moncada, mother of a beneficiary child
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- Tutors teaching children at the Bible school
Praises and Prayer Requests
The church leaders thank you for all your support and love. They are praying for all the donors, sponsors and Compassion International.
They said they are infinitely grateful for your constant support in this project – financially and in prayer – as they have already seen positive reaction from the community and are excited to see how God will use the child development center to make a major change in the hearts of people in the region.
The church asks for prayer for Ecuador, which continues to seek solutions to the social crisis that its citizens have experienced recently. The church desires God’s wisdom and peace for its leaders and people throughout the country.
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- Exterior of the sanctuary building
