PASTOR JOSE HAS US TO DINNER

PASTOR JOSE SHARES HIS TESTIMONY

A photo before Dinner

Pastor Jose invited us all to his house for dinner last night.  They live in Riobamba down a dirt street off of the main road.  He has a much nicer home than the villagers in Quislag but it was still a simple place compared to our houses in America. 

It had a small bathroom, three bedrooms and a kitchen/dinning room.  There was no living room or den or TV.  The roof was tin and the walls in all the rooms didn't go to the top of the roof and the only door was on the bathroom.  It made for a very family friendly environment.  They have three boys and tow girls who shared a bed and the two younger boys did as well.  It reminded me of a small house we lived in when I was in the 5th grade.  We were poor and it was run down and the other kids on the bus called it the "pig house" because it  was across the county road from a pig farm that stank. 

His wife Juana made a wonderful meal of corn on the cob, big beans (like Lima beans) and some really good chicken soup.  We all ate as much as we wanted and enjoyed the meal.  I asked Pastor Jose to share his testimony on how he became a pastor and Victoria translated his story to all of us.

Mmmmmm Mmmmmmm

He lived in a small village and only spoke Kectuwa which is the language of the native people and their was a Bro. Fernandez who traveled around to all the villages and preached the gospel to the people.  Bro. Fernandez was a very well know and respected minister.  In 1977 when pastor Jose was 12 Bro. Fernandez put up a tent and held a big revival many people were saved including several of his family members were saved and on the fourth day of the revival he gave his heart to Jesus. 

After that he fell back into the world but he felt God asking him, "Until when Jose, until when," but he didn't know what to do.  He could not read or write and he didn't have many church leaders to go to for direction.  He went to Quito to work and he listened to a Christian radio station there and felt many times the Lord calling him to service.  His uncle told him he needed to get an education.  So he started his schooling while working and that's when he met his wife.  She was singing in a praise group and he followed her around until they were married in 1992. 

All these years he wanted to do more for the Lord but with no education, little money and no christian leaders to help him it was hard to find the way.  He took a job drilling wells for a Christian organization and one time he had to fly on a plane to get to the village they were drilling in.  While flying he felt God show him as he looked down at the earth and it gave him a perspective on creation.   

By this time he had his education and family and they were wanting him to move down from the village and into Riobamba so that they could get a better education.  He felt the Lord tell him to move so he came down and continued to learn more of God and the scriptures. 

In 2007 God brought he and  Pedro together and he was able to start ministering to the village of Quislag and helping them understand the gospel.  He mentioned he didn't know what the future held but he knew God would continue to bless his ministry.   

Pedro added that many of the mountain villages still have many illiterate people and it's hard for Christians to find leaders who can help them learn what Gods word commands.  Pedro wants the Highlands ministry to not only save souls but to also build up a group of leaders that will continue to encourage and educate new Christians in the word.     

Bro. Jose's wife works washing dishes at night for $50 a week.  He survives with a family of 7 on $500 a month but it is a struggle.  The expense of a van and gas to drive up to the village is hard on him.  We are still looking for a good 4 wheel drive vehicle for him to use and we hope to help him financially so that he can spend more time in the ministry.   His electric bill is only $5 a month but cars costs allot and I have no idea how they get by on $500 a month. 

It would be a real blessing is Bro. Jose could be like Bro. Fernandez and go through out the villages preaching the gospel and holding revivals.  Many people would hear how Christ loves them and be saved.