Encounter Quarterly: Summer 2005
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El Batán Church Senior
Pastor Luis Estevez. |
In the Eye of the Storm
Ecuadorians by the thousands took
to the streets in April to protest against their
nation's president. Within days the administration
of President Lucio Gutierrez was overturned. As the
nation searches for answers to numerous crises,
Encounter leaders find opportunity to proclaim the
true hope found in Jesus Christ.
“Turn now!”
Gloria Stella responded and
maneuvered the car down another small street. Her
eyes on the road, she relied on her friend to
navigate the twists and turns of Quito’s streets as
they sought to avoid street fires, traffic jams and
the crowds of people marching in protest of
Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutierrez.
The journey began Friday morning,
April 15, 2005. Gloria Stella, the wife of CMI’s
Ricardo Diaz, was attending a women’s bible study at
the Cumbayá Church. Around 11 a.m. rumors began
circulating that the schools were closing because
the Gutierrez government was bringing in paid
supporters from the provinces to counter opposition
from the people of Quito. Opponents of the president
were shutting down roads in order to bar the
president’s supporters from entering the city.
With her children 30 minutes away
and husband Ricardo out of the country, Gloria
Stella knew that somehow she must find a way home to
be with her children. A friend from the church
agreed to help her get there safely.
The main road would be blocked, so
they set out on a round about route that took them
through back streets and alleys from the suburb of
Cumbayá to central Quito.
“It was truly God’s intervention,”
says Gloria Stella. “I would never have been able to
find my way through the various streets without my
friend’s help.”
With God’s help and protection, she
made it safely home to be reunited with her
children. But the turmoil in the city was not over.
The Build Up
The political firestorm that erupted
that day had been building in Quito for several
months. In December 2004, President Gutierrez
convinced a slim majority of the Ecuadorian Congress
to dismiss the nation’s Supreme Court arguing that
the court was improperly stacked with judges of the
opposition political party. One month later the
court was reconstituted with judges more favorable
to the administration.
The public outcry in Quito was great
but it increased to fevered pitch when, in March,
the new court dismissed all corruption charges
against exiled former president Abdala Bucaram whose
political party provided vital support to the
Gutierrez administration.
Quito citizens saw the court
decision as an injustice orchestrated as payback for
Bucaram’s support. Led largely by teenagers and
university students, large crowds turned out to
protest against the government.
The Match Is Lit
The decision to bus in paid
supporters from the provinces on April 15 ignited
stronger protests. Clashes between supporters and
opponents of Gutierrez began to occur in the
streets. In response, President Gutierrez declared a
state of emergency that granted him additional
powers to restore order.
Upwards of 10,000 people turned out in defiance of
the state of emergency. With the pressure mounting,
conflict seemed inevitable. The actions of the
military in enforcing the state of emergency would
prove decisive.
Sheathing the Sword
In the home of one of Ecuador’s
highest military officials, activity was humming as
the official worked into the night trying to get
information on the situation and determine the right
response.
In the midst of this storm God placed Pastor Luis
Estevez, Senior Pastor of the El Batán Church. As
the events of that Friday unfolded, the military
official asked Pastor Estevez to come meet with him
during the tumultuous hours.
“We were in his home and he was
there coordinating military forces by phone,”
recalls Estevez. “I said to him, ‘The army is the
sword of the government, but the sword must be
just.’”
Restoring Order
As events progressed, tensions
continued to rise, but in the end the armed forces
were ordered to stand down – a decision that likely
averted further bloodshed and spared a potential
increase in hostilities.
Within 24 hours President Gutierrez
rescinded the state of emergency. Four days later,
with support continuing to collapse, he fled into
exile. An emergency session of the Ecuadorian
Congress formally removed him from power and
elevated Vice President Alfredo Palacio to the
presidency.
The weeks since those events have
been challenging ones for Ecuador. Divisions still
exist, particularly between people in outlying
provinces and the people of Quito. Likewise, the
continued political instability has left most
Ecuadorians completely disillusioned of political
solutions to their country’s problems.
“People, particularly young people,
are fed up with the entire system,” says one
citizen. “They want to throw out all politicians.”
Finding Hope
But disillusionment also causes
people to search for answers, and it is in this
search that there is increased openness to the
gospel.
“When is the Church great?” asks
Pastor Estevez. “How do you measure it? It’s not the
numbers, not the income, not just when it reaches
certain goals. But the Church is great when it is
one that transforms its society. The gospel
transforms society and a strong church must be about
taking the gospel to the centers of power.”
To this end, the El Batán Church and
its sister Encounter churches in Ecuador proclaim
the gospel as the hope for individual lives and the
hope for their nation. Along these lines, Batán has
initiated efforts to contact government authorities
in order to share with them biblical principles for
dealing with the nation’s problems. In addition,
they too are gathering each month in front of the
national government buildings – not in protest, but
in prayer for the nation, its leaders and its
people.
EQ Summer 2005
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