(May 23, 2014 - by Ruth Pike)  Only the shadow of a medical clinic remained in the small jungle community of Puyopungo, Ecuador. Medicines five years out of date and a rusted hospital bed were signs that there had been a medical presence at one time.

Maybe this little village wasn’t a priority for the outside world. No one seemed to know why the clinic had been abandoned, but as a team of volunteer doctors, dentists and medical professionals from an area evangelical church arrived, they sensed a buzz of excitement among community members who were hoping to be seen that day.

Unlike many jungle communities in Ecuador’s eastern Pastaza province, the majority Quichua community of Puyopungo can be reached by road—about an hour’s drive from the bustling jungle town of Puyo. Yet healthcare access remains limited. Ecuadorian general practitioner Dr. Alba Mejía explained that if the people were to visit a doctor they might be able to get a diagnosis, but they wouldn’t necessarily be able to get medicine.

Iglesia Esperanza Eterna-Puyo (Eternal Hope Church in Puyo) has a team of Ecuadorian evangelists and children’s workers who regularly visit jungle communities and some of the poorer neighborhoods in Puyo to preach the gospel and disciple believers.

In the last four years, members of the team have visited Puyopungo nearly every week, meeting with people in their homes and teaching them God’s Word. They currently hold weekly Bible studies attended by about 15 out of the 70 adults in the community and run a kids’ club attended by a similar number of children.

“It’s a community that has heard the gospel, but hasn’t been spiritually strong,” explained Elizabeth Monges, director of evangelism and missions at the church. “Part of our work plan is forming leaders in every place where we are working—to leave established leaders before moving onto another place.”

A year ago, medical professionals from the Puyo church decided to open a clinic and use their medical skills to share God’s love through community outreach, helping support the church’s existing evangelism and discipleship ministry. The outreach team numbers about 25 volunteers.

“We are bringing health to the soul through the message of Jesus Christ,” said Monges. “And we are bringing health to the body when we are bringing a trained person—a doctor ready to find a solution for them or to direct and organize how to help this person who has an illness, not just in their soul but also in their body.”

A few weeks ago, the church asked Reach Beyond’s Vozandes Community Development team in the neighboring town of Shell for assistance with dental equipment. Missionary Ian McFarland, who directs mobile medical clinics, joined the caravan in Puyopungo, bringing dental equipment and a special truck in which dental patients could be treated.

“If we hadn’t had the help of the Vozandes vehicle for the dental checks, we couldn’t have done all this,” said Monges. “But God even provided [a vehicle] so that this could be achieved.”

During the day, the team of health professionals attended nearly every member of the community, many of whom suffered from parasites, respiratory infections, tonsillitis, flu and skin problems. A number also complained of aching bones as a result of hard manual labor in the fields.

“One of the highlights was seeing the local church taking the initiative and reaching out to the communities,” said McFarland. “I make no secret that one of the desires of [mobile medical clinics] is to see Ecuadorians reaching out to other Ecuadorians. They obviously know the culture better than I ever will, and they know the language better than I do.”

“The people were very grateful for our visit,” related Mejía. “You could see the warmth of the people and their interest. It was as if an interest truly awoke in them to know more about God.”

“That would be my No. 1 prayer,” concluded McFarland, “that God would be pleased to work in their hearts to show them their need of Christ as their Savior.”

Photo credit: Alex Flores
Sources: Reach Beyond, Iglesia Esperanza Eterna-Puyo