GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador — Concluding a 10-day ministry in the South America Northwest Area, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said he saw many people are living the gospel joyfully.
“They are anxiously engaged in family history work. They are opening their mouths. They are joyful and sharing the gospel, so they understand what matters most,” he said in Guayaquil, Ecuador. “They have a remarkable desire to share what they know and what brings such joy into their lives.”
Elder Bednar’s wife, Sister Susan Bednar, was touched by the testimonies of the people she met in one-on-one ministering opportunities and in larger groups — both in Huancayo and Cusco, Peru, at the beginning of this assignment and in Ecuador for the last three days.
“It has just been a remarkable experience to see the Church here,” she said. “It is well established, and it is a strength. It is a beacon of strength here in this area.”
In the port city of Guayaquil, Elder Bednar held leadership training meetings for leaders of multiple stakes on Saturday, Aug. 31, and met with missionaries and young single adults the day before.
The young single adult devotional on Friday night, Aug. 30, filled the Guayaquil Ecuador Kennedy Stake Center and was broadcast to thousands of people in the area’s four countries: Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.
Kevin Muguerza from the Urbanor Ward met with Elder Bednar in a focus group with other young single adults before the devotional.
“Heavenly Father does things in an extraordinary way, because three days ago, I had asked Him something, and tonight I was answered in a very direct way,” he said.
Stephanny Yépez Morchán is a recent convert to the Church and is in the Centenario Ward. She spoke about the joy she felt in her heart to find the gospel and to hear from Elder Bednar. “I don’t have words to explain it.”
Going through topics such as faith, repentance, revelation, marriage and families, Elder Bednar conveyed the joy that comes from living the gospel of Jesus Christ — and consistently striving to be better with God’s help.
“This is the only source of enduring joy,” Elder Bednar said during the devotional. “Not the Church as an organization, but the Church of Jesus Christ. He is the source of peace, of hope, of joy, of light and truth. I witness that God the Eternal Father is our Father. He is the author of the plan of happiness.”
Elder Juan Pablo Villar, General Authority Seventy and second counselor in the South America Northwest Area presidency, said it was good for the young adults to see Elder and Sister Bednar laugh with each other during the devotional and share some of the challenges and joys of family life.
“We can relate to him, and we can realize that we can do it. It’s not impossible,” Elder Villar said. “We feel like sometimes the Apostles are on this special level and they receive all the blessings. It’s not like that.”
The Church in Ecuador
The first missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were called to serve in the country in 1965. When Ecuador’s first house of the Lord — Guayaquil Ecuador Temple — was dedicated in 1999, the Church had nearly 150,000 members.
Today almost 265,000 members of the Church live in Ecuador in 44 stakes. The country also has six missions and two temples, in Guayaquil, dedicated in 1999, and in Quito, dedicated in 2022.
Elder Kevin Bazurto is from Guayaquil and serves in the Ecuador Guayaquil East Mission. He said he wants members of the Church around the world to know that Ecuador is a country that has a lot of faith and belief in God.
Having Elder Bednar come was a unique opportunity, he said. “It shows that God loves all of His children. It shows that He is teaching all of His children.”
Elder Jim Bailey and Sister Nancy Bailey, from Snowflake, Arizona, serving in the Ecuador Guayaquil West Mission, love working as a senior missionary couple here. One of their roles is to teach temple preparation classes to new Church members — and then they take them to the house of the Lord.
“To see them being baptized for their father or for their grandfather, to be there with them is a marvelous experience,” Sister Bailey said.
ADRA donation and government meetings
Elder Villar accompanied Elder Bednar to a meeting with government officials in Guayaquil on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Elder Villar said normally when government representatives meet people, they think the people are coming to ask something of them. But the Church is there to offer its help, talents and resources to the people in the community.
“When they hear that we are honest and sincere in our desire, the spirit of the meeting changes immediately,” Elder Villar said. “Their hearts open, and they relax, and they start asking questions, and it is a fantastic opportunity to teach some principles of the gospel.”
One of those ways that the Church is helping the community is by collaborating with nonprofit organizations. While in Ecuador and in Peru, Elder Bednar met with officials from the Adventist and Development Relief Agency to officially announce more than $1.6 million in donations to help migrants in both countries to develop self-reliance.
Several news media outlets were at the events, where Elder Bednar explained why the Church prioritizes such efforts.
“If we truly love God, then we should serve our brothers and sisters,” Elder Bednar said, adding that this cause motivates organizations to join forces regardless of religious differences. “What unites us is much stronger than what could divide us.”
What missionaries learned and what they will change
More than 700 missionaries from the four missions in Guayaquil gathered at the Kennedy Stake Center on Friday, Aug. 30.
Grouped by mission on four risers outside, the elders and sisters sang “Called To Serve” as Elder and Sister Bednar walked into the center of the square, their voices lifting from the chapel grounds to fill the surrounding streets.
In the stake center, Elder Bednar spent time asking and answering questions with the missionaries. At the end of the meeting, he had them write in five words or fewer what they would do now after what they had observed, felt and learned.
For Sister Danna Barbeito from Cochabamba, Bolivia, serving in the Ecuador Guayaquil South Mission, those words were “talk less and listen more.”
Her companion, Sister Emma Withers, from Spokane, Washington, chose, “I will act with faith.”
Elder David McRae, from Beaverton, Oregon, in the Ecuador Guayaquil West Mission, wrote, “Keep improving my prayers.”
When asked what she learned, Sister Sierra Yerman, from Farmington, Utah, serving in the Ecuador Guayaquil East Mission, said: “Today I learned a lot about the importance of listening to the Spirit and teaching with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because none of us have what we need to be able to do what we need to alone.”
And Elder Daniel Haight, from Centerville, Utah, also in the Guayaquil East Mission, said he learned about going and doing: “We need the faith to go and do. Sometimes we don’t know why we are doing it, but we should go and do.”
Elder Bednar said meeting with all four missions at once was quite unusual and rare for him, and he told the missionaries: “I will always remember this, so thank you for creating that memory for me.”
