Faith Journey to the Center of the Earth
“Go on mission if you want to witness something remarkable.”
This is what Walt Davis had to say when he returned from a mission trip to Ecuador with 8 others from Mt. Bethel Church in July 2024.
He felt compelled to go on a mission trip while attending our Men’s Monday Morning Bible Study with Pastors Jody Ray and John Freeland.
The team of 9 from Mt. Bethel Church who traveled to Ecuador to serve with S.I.F.A.T. in July 2024. Walt Davis is the first man on the left of the back row.
“We read the gospels in Bible study and talked about going out to share our faith,” Walt explained.
It was John Williams, Mt. Bethel Church’s Director of Missions, who encouraged Walt to put what he was learning into practice by going to Ecuador to serve with Servants in Faith and Technology (S.I.F.A.T.)–one of our church’s Missions Partners.
The Center of the World
The nation of Ecuador claims to be “the center of the world.”
“They have a sink there set up on the Equator Line where water flows straight through the drain,” explained Walt. “But when they move the same sink two feet into the northern hemisphere, the water circles counterclockwise around the drain. When they move the sink two feet into the southern hemisphere, it circles clockwise.”
But more impressive than the direction of the water, Walt said, is the need.
“The country is extremely poor, and many people are sick.” From talking with Ecuadorians, Walt learned it can take months or sometimes up to a year to see a doctor or get medication.
“We saw these majestic views of these snow-capped mountains and volcanos and at the bottom of the hills would be all these impoverished people.” Several of the homes Walt and Mt. Bethel’s team visited while praying with local families didn’t have electricity or clean water.
S.I.F.A.T. partnered Mt. Bethel’s team with a local church that focuses much of their of their ministry efforts on families because families in Ecuador are desperate to give their children a better life, Walt observed.
“All they want is for their children to be fed and have clean water and to be educated. They’re hoping to give their kids a better life than drugs and violence, but they can’t do it on their own. They don’t have the resources.”
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Walt Davis teaching during VBS at a local church in Ecuador. Over 60 kids attended and heard the gospel message from Mt. Bethel Church’s mission team.
The Remarkable Work of the Holy Spirit
The first remarkable thing Walt witnessed on his trip was the faith of local believers. Despite living in extreme poverty, Christian brothers and sisters in Ecuador have a captivating “energy and emotion and love for the Lord.”
“Unlike here in the States where we have so many distractions and it’s so easy for Jesus to take a back seat,” Walt reflected, “their whole world is survival. They don’t know where their next meal is going to come from. They don’t even know if they’ll have a next meal. But they give Him the front seat.”
However, the most remarkable thing Walt experienced was the work of the Holy Spirit.
On the last day, Mt. Bethel’s team helped the local church they were working with host a parade in their community. During this parade, Walt helped pass out over 200 gospel tracts (a brief explanation of the Gospel.)
“I don’t know any Spanish,” Walt admitted. “But they taught me to say ‘dios te ama’ which means ‘God loves you’ as I passed out the tracts. I walked into this one little shop and handed the woman working the counter a tract and said ‘dios te ama,’ and she immediately started speaking Spanish back to me.”
Walt recalls the woman’s reaction intimidated him. He ran back to the door of
the shop to see if the pastor of the local church he was working with was around to speak to the lady, but she caught up to him with her daughter.
“Her daughter explained she spoke English and that her mother wanted to know what this ‘dios te amo’ business was all about. I told the daughter to hold on while I went and got the local pastor, who was a little further up the path.”
The pastor came into the shop and talked with the woman about the tract and about his church. After hearing about God, the woman wanted to know where the church was so she could bring her children to services the following Sunday.
“If her daughter hadn’t spoke English, I don’t know how it would have worked out,” Walt exclaimed. He believes this was the Holy Spirit at work.
“There is no greater feeling than having the Holy Spirit work through you.”
Walt Davis
Later that day, at the end of the parade route, Mt. Bethel’s mission team hosted an outdoor worship service where Pastor John Freeland directed a skit which explained the gospel story. Walt was asked to play the part of Jesus while Terry Frierson, another team member, played the part of Satan.
Eight people responded to the skit by professing faith in Christ.
“I’m not a great actor,” Walt stated. “I know it wasn’t me. I know it wasn’t Terry or John. I know it was the Holy Spirit working through us, and that was pretty amazing.”
The Harvest is Plentiful
At Mt. Bethel Church, we believe living on mission is an essential part of a believer’s faith journey. S.I.F.A.T. and our other missions’ partners give our church family the opportunity to take what they’ve learned about the transformative power of God through the study of His Word and be a part of it.
“The world needs it,” Walt answered when asked why people should go on mission. “Jesus said in the Bible ‘the harvest is plentiful,” so go. There’s no greater feeling than having the Holy Spirit work through you.”
You can learn more about S.I.F.A.T. and our other Missions Partners by registering to attend our annual missions dinner