“We long to see communities in Ecuador transformed by the power of God and individuals experience more of Jesus!”

Rest. A small word…

We are a part of One Collective, a global organization, with a great passion to see transformation in communities by the power of Jesus. Following the patterns of Jesus’ ministry, we believe that no one should be invisible and that everyone should have access to food, freedom, and forgiveness.  We will be serving at Hacienda El Refugio, just outside the capital city of Quito.

Rest. A small word familiar to our minds, but too often unfamiliar to our experience. Jesus often took time to get away and pray and just be with God the Father. Quito is a city with close to 2 million people in a very small space. This is not the ideal place for rest and getting alone with God. Realizing this, Rick & Sue Borman, helped found El Refugio in 1999, with a heart for leading youth to have encounters with Jesus in the wilds of creation. The name literally means “the refuge,” and is a 320 acre campus about 45 minutes outside of Quito.

El Refugio is a ministry that exists to “facilitate deeper relationships with Jesus Christ through nature and outdoor adventure.” The first part is not unique to us; facilitating deeper relationships with Jesus is what all Gospel ministries should have a goal of. However, located on the side of  mountain, El Refugio was designed to get people of all ages out from the zooming, noisy city, to a place where rest and quiet can be experienced. Our desire is to serve the local church by offering a space for rest and retreat, as well as catalyzing youth and young adults for ministry in the church, through internships and discipleship programs. In changing the place and pace individuals are offered the opportunity to stop and listen to the voice of God and rest in His presence. The hope and vision being that in having an encounter with the Source of refuge and rest — Jesus — a person would discover this peace not only for their body, but spiritually as well.

[Myriah] Using my experience as a nurse and nurse practitioner and personal affinity for details and spreadsheets, I get the opportunity to serve as a retreat designer and healthcare specialist for El Refugio, creating customized retreat experiences that point participants towards Jesus as the Source of Life and coordinating the care of any illness or injury that presents with participants, interns, teams, or staff. My goal is to minimize the barriers and distractions that come with being human in a broken world, so that the focus can stay on their encounter with Christ.

[Ethan] With a background in camp ministry, maintenance, and shop management, I will be serving as a project specialist working on ground, buildings, and vehicles. This role will allow me to be the liaison between Spanish speaking maintenance staff and English speaking short term teams and interns, while they are doing work projects. I will be investing in discipleship and mentoring relationships as we work together. I get to do this, all while helping meet the needs of the property that serves as the physical space to retreat.

We long to see communities in Ecuador transformed by the power of God and individuals experience more of Jesus! We are confident that Jesus is inviting more than just us to bring rest and ‘refuge’ to individuals and families in Quito and are looking for team members who will share this vision, because we cannot do it alone! We believe He is inviting us to a variety of roles and responses: in prayer, giving, serving. Will you consider allowing God to use you in this ministry of rest and refuge? You can use the form at the bottom of this page to join our prayer team and receive our newsletters and/or the give button at the top right-hand corner to join our financial team. God is at work in Ecuador! Will you join us?