Ecuador

Ecuador is the Switzerland of South America. There are snow capped mountains and volcanoes.

The capitol city, Quito, is located on the Equator and is at an altitude of 10 thousand feet above sea level. It is located at the foot of Mount Pichincha, which recently erupted.

Ecuador is divided into three distinctly different area. The Sierra (mountainous areas) with fields of grain and herds of sheep. There is the coast with it's huge banana plantations, rivers, and farms. And on the other side of the Andes Mountains is the Oriente (eastern) part. This is the rain forest and the head waters of the great Amazon.

There are many tribes of native peoples:

• The Cofasin of the lower coastal area
• The Colorado who love red and paint their hair red
• The Quichua of the high sierra. It is among these people that the Lord did a work of grace and thousands of them became christians and found the freedom that is in Christ
• In the Oriente there are the Shuar, the Huaorani, the Quechua, Achuara, and others.

Gladis and I went to Ecuador in the summer of 1950. we were there for over 16 years and then spent 2 years in Colombia.

We labored in the rain forest, or jungle area, with the Shuar. Many people from the embassy asked us why we went to the natives to preach hell fire to them. They were happy in their environment. And so it would seem. But once you live among them, you find that they aren't so happy as it might appear on a sunny day.

They were bound by fear. In fact they had three basic fears:

1. Demonic powers and witchcraft
2. Disease and sickness
3. Death

They had a name for the devil, but no name for God. They already knew about hell, but they didn't know about Jesus who could and would free them from the fear of death.

We established a school for the children, medical help for the sick, and hope for the future. All of a sudden they had a song to sing, peace in their hearts, and help for their illnesses.

They are a very intelligent people. They knew the ways of the jungle, and now they have the Bible in their own language. Women have value, and families are blessed with more children.

Notes from a talk
given by Bill Gibson to the Sertoma Club
El Paso Texas, date unknown