Across the equator and up the Andes Mountains, all the way to the other side of the world, was just the beginning of a Christmas adventure for a group of volunteers from the Grand Rapids Central Seventh-day Adventist Church. With ages ranging from six to the mid-70s, the group left snow-covered Michigan in December 2007. A day later they arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador, ready to travel up into the Andes.

The mission team included several family groups who left the rest of their family and familiar traditions back home during the Christmas holiday. It was their desire to build a Seventh-day Adventist church in Ricaurte, Ecuador. Their adventure was part of the Maranatha Volunteers International $10 Church building program (see page 26).

The Ricaurte church building site is nestled in the mountains, 8,500 feet above sea level. One of the last projects Maranatha funded in Ecuador was for the growing church family in Ricaurte. Until this building project, the local congregation used a small second-floor room for their sanctuary with three very small Sabbath school classrooms below. The Michigan team arrived in Ricaurte to build a large sanctuary on the property of the current church.

Few in the group had masonry skills, but they were eager learners. Soon the walls began to rise. Block after block was laid as volunteers, old and young, constructed the new building. Even on Christmas day, the team worked in the rain and mud, rejoicing to build for the future of the Adventist church in Ricaurte. Local church members joined them and helped wherever possible.

Each evening local church members joined volunteers to conduct an evangelistic series and vacation Bible school. These shared experiences quickly formed close friendships.

By the week's end, one of the volunteers asked a church member, "What did you think the Americans would be like?"

The church member paused before answering, and then replied, "We thought you would come here and push our culture aside. That was okay with us because we wanted your help with the church. We did not think you would become our friends like you have."

The church, with a membership of 120, expects to grow to a membership of 200 in the not-too-distant future. On the Sabbath after Christmas, church members in the new church, with a roof and a dozen new pews, overflowed with joy.

That last Sabbath in December was a day of celebration. Members thanked the volunteers who built their new church. The groups shared a potluck lunch, and then the visiting continued in the afternoon. After sundown and supper, the volunteers and church members joined together for games. The evening included a great deal of running and laughter, some singing and a few tears as the new friends said good-bye.

As the two groups parted, some of the local church members were given hard hats, signed by the volunteer team members.

"I left my hard hat in Ecuador," one volunteer said. "I don't want them to forget us. I know I won't forget them."

Maranatha! Come, oh Lord.

Judy Shull is a member of the Grand Rapids Central Seventh-day Adventist Church.