Meet Gavin and Heather: our new mission workers called to serve in Ecuador
We are delighted that Gavin and Heather Falconer have joined our team of Reach Beyond mission workers. Recently we caught up with them and asked them a few questions about their decision and mission experience so far. Here is what they said:
Q: What prompted you to go and serve in Ecuador?
For us, there have been a series of incremental steps, starting in 2017 with some wise guidance and prophetic insight from a trusted pastor. He encouraged us to explore the possibility of service in South America.
In obedience, we organised a couple of exploratory trips and God led us to the Fundacion Am-En hippotherapy centre near Quito. While there, we met some Reach Beyond workers who serve at Radio HCJB and Hospital Vozandes.
The opportunities afforded by these projects fit our combined skills and abilities very well, so we prayerfully took that as the sign for us to commit to serve for 2 years.
Q: What are you doing there?
Heather is a paediatric physiotherapist and a qualified hippotherapist. Few people have heard of hippotherapy; it means using horseback riding as a means of delivering physiotherapy. It is particularly effective for children affected by physical or neurological disabilities such as cerebral palsy. I am an IT engineer with a background in medical systems.
So, Heather is working at Fundacion Am-En, while I am working at Hospital Vozandes. You can see how perfectly God has fit us for this opportunity!
Q: What do you hope to achieve?
Most families of the children who come to Fundacion Am-En are poor because caring for a disabled child limits their capacity to work. Heather can offer medical care to the children, and together we hope to draw in support from Christians and local churches to care for their families and to share the good news of Jesus with them.
In addition, we very much view this 2-year period as training for whatever may come next; we are learning every day what it means to serve God in a foreign culture.
Q: How can we pray for you?
Pray for us to develop good relationships with the staff at the hippotherapy centre and at the hospital. We need to walk a sensitive balance between encouraging and affirming them, while also seeking to introduce change where necessary.
Pray also that we would build strong ties with local churches and that we would find a church that can provide us with the support that we need. Finally, pray for security and peace for our family left behind in the UK.
Q: What would you say to someone who is thinking about serving full-time in Christian ministry like you?
Seek God’s guidance and commit to take some action in response. Take a step of obedience, even if you don’t yet know where that step will lead.
Our journey into full-time Christian ministry has been a series of small steps of obedience. Each small step we have taken has enabled us to grow in patience, humility and increase our confidence in God’s plans.
Are you considering serving on the mission field like Gavin and Heather? Find out more here or check out our latest opportunities to serve God and the unreached.
