(Jan. 9, 2015 - by Sara McMillan)  Being new to Quito, Ecuador, almost two years ago, my husband, Jeremy, and I had never heard of the annual sharathon called Misión Compartida (Sharing the Mission).

But it didn’t take long to discover that the event is much more than just a fundraiser or open house for Radio Station HCJB, a ministry of Reach Beyond, it’s an opportunity for families to experience firsthand what the ministry is all about. It’s also a chance for listeners to the FM and AM outlets to receive prayer, give from their hearts, meet their favorite program hosts and share their testimonies, drawing them closer to the mission family.

But what I have found most fascinating about Misión Compartida was that people from the surrounding areas bring in their farm animals and produce to donate to the station as their way of expressing thanks and to support the outreach financially. Who would do that? And why?

“They bring their best,” explained Anabella Cabezas, the mission’s media director in Quito. She described the kinds of items that are donated by the indigenous Quichua community as a vivid picture of the offerings given in ancient Bible times—listeners bringing the best of their fish, corn, beans, etc. In donating to the station, they know whom they are giving to, so “their offerings are for the Lord, just like in the Bible,” she added.

Picture the scene in Quito during Misión Compartida. Multiple tents are set up, providing many options of places for visitors to spend their time. On one side of the tents, people are selling items that members of the indigenous communities have donated: handicrafts, grains and produce from their farms. Next to this are the animals. Temporary pens fence in chickens, cuy (guinea pigs—a delicacy in Ecuador) and rabbits. Price tags are placed on each animal: $8 for a smaller cuy, $10 for a larger one. Volunteers are encouraging their purchase. Perhaps a new pet … but probably the next meal.

Approximately 4,500 visitors took part in the annual event, held both in Quito and at HCJB-2, an FM station in the coastal city of Guayaquil, on Dec. 11-14, 2014. The Guayaquil outlet surpassed its fundraising goal while listeners in Quito made gifts and pledges totaling more than $248,000. Why so generous? The heart of the answer lies in what God is doing in Ecuador, using the radio station as a mouthpiece for His truth.

From a human perspective, it’s striking to see how meaningful the station is in the lives of its listeners, driving them to give from the little they have whether it be money, produce, animals or skills.

Gabi Pinto, a volunteer who helped receive donations, recounted the story of a woman who came to Misión Compartida on Saturday, Dec. 13. She has respiratory problems, doesn’t have a job and receives a $50-a-month payment from the government. Yet, from that meager amount, she wanted to give $5 monthly to Radio Station HCJB—all because she believes every breath she takes is a gift from God and He has used the broadcasts as a tool to help her grow spiritually.

Another woman who came to make a donation said she had been listening to the station since losing her daughter and grandson about six years ago. “You guys have sustained me,” she shared. The station was an instrument in the hands of the Lord, giving her the strength needed during this dark time.

Story after story could be told about the impact the stations are having on the lives of their listeners—a ministry the Lord has been using to touch people’s lives since the first station went on the air more than 83 years ago.

Several years ago, Radio Station HCJB aired a program directed specifically toward children. The young listeners were given the opportunity to give their lives to Jesus as they heard a prayer of salvation.

But the program host, Lorena Escobar, never knew the impact of the broadcasts—at least not until Misión Compartida when a young woman came to share her testimony. She told Escobar that as a child she listened to that program.

“What you said on the radio, I did,” the woman said. She had bowed down in her room many years ago to receive Christ. After that, she asked her mother to take her to church. Now, through the testimony of this young woman, her family knows the Lord.

Why do people give? The Lord is impacting, encouraging and transforming their hearts through the media outreach in Ecuador. And though one may be touched by such stories, heartfelt, sacrificial giving speaks mainly of value. People give sacrificially to someone or something that is important to them, and the broadcasts are a valuable tool in the lives of listeners, helping grow God’s kingdom in Ecuador.

Source: Reach Beyond