ELKHART, Ind. (Mennonite Mission Network) – César Moya and Patricia Urueña didn’t come to Ecuador in 2000 primarily as church planters. But 14 years later, the couple leaves a new Ecuadorian Mennonite conference.
Moya and Urueña emphasized a gospel of peace in the communities where they worked. This belief meant much more to them than an anti-war stance, or that we shouldn’t mistreat another person. “It is a lifestyle,” said Urueña.
Through the different ministries they helped organize, Moya and Urueña realized the Anabaptist message of peace brought together three different cultural groups: indigenous people, Ecuadorian people of mixed ancestry, and Colombian refugees.
“There were many nationalities at the church in Quito; it was very multicultural,” said Moya. “Many people had prejudices about those who had different backgrounds, but they were able to break these stereotypes by gathering with each other.”
The church has also been a space for reconciliation, said Moya. For example, some of the Colombians who come to the church had been enemies in Colombia – one may have sympathized with the government, while the other sympathized with the guerrilla groups.
However, in the church in Ecuador, they could eat together, sit together at a table, and worship together.
Alba Silva, one of the leaders of the Mennonite church plant in the Jardines del Inca neighborhood, credits Moya and Urueña as the ones who taught her how to live a life with Christ. The couple gave her the courage and sense of purpose to leave her abusive husband. Silva got involved in the different programs at the church, and recently started the church plant that brings the Mennonite church into her neighborhood. (Read more about Silva’s story here.)
“Pastors César and Patricia are my spiritual parents who changed my life and my family’s life,” said Silva. “They taught me the true way to walk with Christ through their total dedication to the church, through their advice, and by the way they practiced justice daily. Above all, they had peace within themselves and shared that peace with us all. They’re much loved here in Ecuador. I will miss them a lot.”
Download full-resolution image.Moya and Urueña believe that social justice is crucial to the gospel of peace. This strongly influenced their interactions and work with indigenous churches; the Moya Urueña couple brought peace in the form of respect for the autonomy and culture of the indigenous churches.
The couple, along with their three children, Daniel, Juan and Andrea, originally went to Ecuador in 2000 to serve with the Consejo de Pueblos y Organizaciones Indigenas Evangelicas de Ecuador (Council of Indigenous Evangelical Peoples and Organizations of Ecuador, or FEINE) by providing theological and leadership training for indigenous churches.
“We weren’t interested in changing or proselytizing the indigenous people, who already had many evangelical churches,” said Moya. “Instead, we recognized that they had their own wisdom and lifestyle. We weren’t there to be the ones who convert or plant churches.”
This attitude helped forge strong relationships with FEINE. The trust that Moya and Urueña demonstrated with the organization has led to continued respect for Mennonite Mission Network and the Ecuador partnership. FEINE has invited another family from Mission Network to serve with FEINE.
Moya and Urueña also responded to the needs they encountered within their community in Quito (read in their own words about how God inspired their ministry over the years). After their Bible study group increasingly encouraged them to plant a Mennonite church, they started the Iglesia Menonita de Quito (Quito Mennonite Church), recognizing that a church could carry on ministries long after they left.
By the end of 2002, the church began ministering to the Colombian refugees who started to attend, offering them support with food, blankets and mats. That ministry has since expanded and become one of the largest ministries of the Iglesia Menonita de Quito, offering assistance to refugees with microloans, housing, and applying for asylum.
Later, the congregation decided to serve their neighborhood by starting a monthly program, called Educación para la Paz (Education for Peace), for children and youth aged 5 to 14. The goal of the program was to help prevent violence, drug abuse, and gang membership. It has been running for about 10 years.
At one neighborhood meeting, the parents of the children who were in the program mentioned how their children had changed and demonstrated the values they were learning.
“[The parents told us] that their home life is much better,” said Urueña. “Some children started when they were young, and still come even when they’re 13 or 14 years old. There is no pressure to come, no prize, and they come with a smile and leave with a smile.”
Not everyone has embraced the gospel of peace with open arms. The couple noted that it isn’t an easy path for people.
“If we were solely an anti-war church, our church would be full,” said Moya. He noticed that the church loses people who don’t understand that peace requires lots of patience and tolerance.
But despite the extra work that it takes to truly live out an Anabaptist theology, Urueña saw their experience in Ecuador as “an affirmation that the Anabaptist theology and way of being a church is a response to the needs that one finds in Ecuador.”
As the Moya Urueña couple navigated cross-cultural interactions with three different cultures within Ecuador, they also worked cross-culturally with the Ecuador Partnership that supported their ministry. The partnership consisted of the Iglesia Cristiana Menonita de Colombia (Colombia Christian Mennonite Church), Central Plains Mennonite Conference, and Mennonite Mission Network.
“Each one of us [in the partnership] had some distinct approaches to theology and understanding mission, so it was a challenge as we tested among ourselves what it meant to create bridges [through the Ecuador ministries],” said Moya.
Even though Moya and Urueña moved back to Ibagué, Colombia, in May 2014, they will continue to support the Ecuador ministries and churches through a transition period until December.
Moya is pursuing a doctorate in philosophy through Free Amsterdam University. His dissertation will focus on how Anabaptists in Latin America understand and apply the Bible in Latin America.
Urueña will continue her project to write a book based on the workshops from the Educación para la Paz program that she helped organize for the neighborhood kids. The book is a response to requests from several churches and schools.
As the couple makes the transition back to Colombia, they hope to continue in some form of ministry within the Mennonite Church.
“We are more than just a married couple; we are a team and we complement each other well,” said Moya. “We are looking for opportunities that would allow us to work together.”
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Mennonite Mission Network, the mission agency of Mennonite Church USA, leads, mobilizes and equips the church to participate in holistic witness to Jesus Christ in a broken world. Media may contact news@mennonitemission.net.
