“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20.
The above promise has been fulfilled in my life as a co-worker with Christ. This time, the call was to go to South America.
Many years ago, Elder Henry Dering answered God’s call to enter the work of spreading the gospel through preaching, teaching and baptizing.
I was privileged to have a part in this work by interpreting the spoken word into the Spanish language. And, yes, the Lord has kept hispromise! He was with us from beginning to end.
I arrived at the airport in San Salvador, checked my luggage in atTaca Airlines, and proceeded to gate 14. There I waited patiently for flight 7561 to be announced, when suddenly a police officer came to me and said, “Ma’am, may I have your passport, please? We would like you to answer a couple of questions.” I was reluctant, but then another officer came and said, “It’s our job to detect terrorists!” At first I thought it was a joke, but then in disbelief and shock I heard him repeat, “Your passport, please!” “Oh, yes,” I answered, handing it to him. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Out of the whole crowd they had picked me on suspicion of being a terrorist! I was beginning to worry that I will miss my flight, but after half an hour of questioning they determined that I was more like a missionary than a terrorist. With a smile, the officer let me go saying, “I wish we had more people like you that could go and teach the nations about Jesus!” He gave me his blessing and returned my passport to me. Praise God for His help!
When I arrived in Ecuador, my luggage didn’t arrive with me, and I had to live for three days wearing borrowed clothes until I got my luggage back, but I was sure thankful to be safe and sound in Ecuador!
I had arrived in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, a country with 1,100,847 inhabitants who speak Spanish and Quechua. The public meetings were to take place in Santo Domingo, a city with a tropical climate and about three hours’ drive from Quito. We arrived during the rainy season, not a very good time, because during the time the public meetings were going to take place the local people were celebrating a festival called “Carnaval.” The name of the festival is a compound word derived from the Latin word “carne” which means meat, and “Baal,” the sun god.
This celebration took place February 20th – 24th. During this festival, people throw water at each other, usually from the rooftops and from trucks. The water could be filthy or clean and no one can say, “Why are you doing this?” because it is the “Carnaval!” On the 23rd and the 24th they throw paint and flour and other substances at you and, yes, even we got soaked a couple of times!
Elder Henry Dering came with Brother Brian Igarta from Hawaii who was also part of this evangelistic outreach in Santo Domingo. In the morning, Elder Dering conducted the seminar for leaders, lay workers and Bible workers. In the evening, public meetings were held in a theater in Santo Domingo. Everything was organized by a group of brothers, among them Brother Sanchez and Brother Ardila. The public meetings were announced all over the city by a small airplane. Pamphlets were scattered from the plane like the leaves of autumn!
There are several experiences that I wish to share with you. One of them is of a young man in Santo Domingo who was so desperate that he wanted to commit suicide, but the day that he was going to take his life he picked up an invitation to the evangelistic lectures. That night he went to the public meetings and met Jesus. He confessed that if he had not gotten that leaflet that fell from the “sky,” he would have killed himself. He is one of the 50 people that are now receiving Bible studies.
But we did not preach the gospel only in Ecuador–we also spread the Word in Argentina and Chile. And in spite of the lack of true Christianity in those countries, we had a good response.
In the city of Mendoza, many visitors came on Sabbath morning to hear the beautiful message based on Luke 5:18. After the service, we sang the lovely hymn, “On a Hill Far Away,” and an altar call was made. We all felt the presence of the Holy Spirit touching our hearts. Most of the congregation came forward at the altar call, including the visitors, some of whom had been receiving Bible studies for some time, but had not yet made their decision to be baptized. And that morning the Holy Spirit completed the work, and those souls gave their lives to Jesus making public their confession of faith. The young people, also, came up and made their commitment to God.
I must say that it was not easy keeping up with the schedule! In Argentina, Elder Henry Dering and Elder Geraldo Hunger and I had to get up early in the morning and drive about 20 minutes to the seminar at Maipu in the city of Mendoza. Berea, a school for missionaries with about 20 students, is located in a beautiful countryside of vineyards with the mountains so close you could breathe the fresh air. Elder Dering gave classes on public speaking, ten differences between the S.D.A. and the Reform Church, and other topics. The classes started at 7:00 a.m. and ended at 1:30 p.m. Lunch was served at about 2:00 p.m. and sometimes when we had other errands to run we would go back to Elder Hunger’s house and eat a delicious lunch prepared by Sister Rosita Hunger.
Mendoza is well known for its wineries. “Vendimia” is the most popular annual festival and people from all over the world come here to celebrate the grape harvest the first Saturday of March.
The sun is always shining here and that is why it is called “the city of the sun.” It seldom rains, but the river runs through the city and waters the trees and gardens. Here the people take a “siesta” in the afternoon, but the city comes alive at night. Therefore, the public meetings had to start at 8:00 p.m. and even then it was still quite early for the people to arrive. Sometimes we would start at 8:30 p.m. with half an hour of singing. By the time the power point presentation began, it was about 9:00 o’clock. After the message was presented, there were more special songs, and at the end a raffle was held. By the time the equipment was all taken down and loaded in the automobile, it was about midnight! Sometimes we went to sleep at 2:00 a.m. or even 2:30 a.m. and still woke up early in the morning. Though tired and even exhausted, we enjoyed every minute of our missionary trip!
The people were friendly and kind. I stayed with a very nice family who treated me as if I were a part of the family. And although most of the people were Catholic, we had some visitors who were very much interested in receiving Bible studies.
Next on our itinerary was Santiago, Chile, where we held public meetings. We had a good response in spite of the lack of true Christianity in this place where one out of every three people on the streets was smoking. It really shocked me to see even adolescents smoking. How sad! But praise God some of the youth were able to attend the public meetings and are now taking the free Bible course!
I cannot finish this report without telling you about the most extraordinary experience I ever had and the power of God working in my life. During this time, due to heavy smog in the city and lack of rest, I got very sick. In the mornings we had the seminar, and in the evenings we had the public meetings as usual. One night I could not control my coughing any longer. I had tonsillitis and was very sick from a cold. I took a spoonful of pure eucalyptus oil, and it seemed to work. This was at the Mission. When I arrived at the theatre (for the public meetings), I got a cough attack five minutes before being called up! I remember that the eucalyptus oil had worked the first time so I took another spoonful and the coughing stopped so I returned to my seat inside the theatre. When suddenly my eyes started to hurt and I couldn’t keep them open and the room went round in circles. I felt dizzy and faint and I started to pray because I felt like I was going to die! But the words come in slow motion: “D-e-a-r G-o-d, p-l-e-a-s-e d-o-n’-t l-e-t m-e d-i-e.” I couldn’t think straight any more when the announcement was given, “And now the internationally known evangelist Henry Dering and the interpreter Esther Ellington.” I could hear my name being called very far away. I got up very dizzy, stood on the platform, and held on to the pulpit. Since the presentation was to be in power point, all lights had to be turned off and I praised God for I couldn’t open my eyes!
Elder Dering started greeting the people in Spanish and I was praying silently that somehow He would give me the strength for His honor and glory and, please, not let me die in front of all these people. Elder Henry said, “Buenas Noches!” and I answered, “Good Evening!” with a strong voice. The people were startled at the sound of my voice for it was loud and clear! I proceeded translating the service automatically for the Holy Spirit was putting the words into my mouth. Time passed and my knees started to get feeble and I was falling, so again I asked the Lord for strength because I couldn’t take it any more! But, praise God, the message was given out to the people loudly and clearly, all through the power of the Holy Spirit! You see, I had poisoned myself. Three drops of this oil can kill a dog and I had taken two spoonfuls!
Praise God that with the command to “go” He has also given us a promise that nothing will hurt us: “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them…” Mark16:18.
There is so much work to be done in these countries and the call to preach the gospel is not only for Elder Henry Dering and Sister Esther Ellington but for us all! And the Lord has promised to be with us even unto the end of the world! And yes, He has kept, and will keep, His promise!
Perhaps you are not able to travel to any of these countries, but you can still let your light shine right where you are! May the Lord richly bless you as you preach the gospel!
Written by Esther Ellington
Argentina 2004 Students & Teachers of Missionary School
Argentina 2004 Missionary School
Ecuador 2004
Ecuador 2004