Dogs and their owners in Quito, Ecuador are thrilled that One Year in Mission volunteers have become part of their community. The young volunteers came to share the love of Jesus—and surprisingly, this includes taking care of dogs.
These dogs and their owners are thrilled that these One Year in Mission volunteers have become part of their community. The young volunteers came to Ecuador’s capital city, Quito, to share the love of Jesus—and surprisingly, this includes taking care of dogs.
The story begins when a Global Mission pioneer couple, Christian and Maribel, moved into this community and found no Adventists living here.
“We wanted to reach a group of professional people who, for various reasons, have not included the church in their hearts and lives.”
In this upper-middle class neighborhood, people seem to have everything they need, like nice houses and cars.
“The challenges in this place are that people don’t open their hearts easily. First, we wanted them to open the doors to their homes.”
Christian and Maribel started by finding out what the people truly needed. Since this was a large community, they recruited a team of One Year in Mission volunteers to help them. Here’s what the team discovered: community members really needed help taking care of their pet dogs.
“There were quite a few people who wanted their dogs to be walked, and the One Year in Mission team helped with this. They helped by walking the dogs, caring for them, and they even held a health fair for pets.”
By taking care of the dogs, the team got to know the owners.
“Our objective is to reach people with a relationship, by making friends, visiting them, and going to the park with them.”
Because of these new friendships, community members started scheduling Bible studies when planning walks for their dogs. Over time, several people gave their hearts to Jesus.
“I feel happy when someone accepts Jesus. It's gratifying to know that they know and believe in a God of hope and love.”
Now because of walking dogs and building relationships, a new congregation of believers meets each Sabbath and is still growing!
Please pray for this group as they share the love of Jesus in this large city. Pray for Global Mission pioneers like Christian and Maribel as well as the One Year in Mission team. God is using them to change lives here in Ecuador.
