Evangelist Franklin Graham made history last weekend by attracting a total of more than 185,000 people to the Festival of Hope in Guayaquil, Ecuador -- the largest evangelical event in the country's history. Combined attendance during four meetings at the three-day event was 185,674 -- an average of 46,419 per meeting.

According to the ministry's report, by the final night some 16,177 people made decisions for Christ, including 13,646 for salvation. "Each time we go to a different city we have no idea how many people will come, if the weather will be a problem, or how many lives will be changed," said Graham. "But God knows and we are humbled to just be a part of the impact He had on this city -- it was more than we could have imagined."

Samaritan's Purse, a Christian relief organization headed by Graham, reported that it is feeding 1,500 Ecuadorian children daily and has provided medical care for more than 50,000 people.

* HCJB Global Voice in Latin America produces the Spanish-language programs for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The ministry's production teams in Quito and Guayaquil aired live broadcasts of the festival for three hours each evening via ALAS -- HCJB Global's Spanish satellite network with coverage across Latin America, the U.S. and Spain -- and the network's Internet site with interviews before, during and after the meetings. Staff members are also producing a one-hour summary program that will be aired by stations that couldn't broadcast the festival live.

Sources: Breaking Christian News, HCJB Global, Christian Post