QUITO, ECUADOR (October 12, 2017) – A “Women’s Holistic Medical Caravan” brought a week of physical, emotional, and spiritual care to two remote communities recently.
“Last spring we had a couple of medical teams working in different areas of Ecuador and one of the things that we were struck by over and over was that there was a specific need to reach out and create space for women to receive medical care, learn about their bodies, as well as be spiritually nourished,” said Annalea Egging, a Covenant missionary and nurse living in Ecuador.
“It was amazing to see it come together and have women serving women,” said Covenant missionary and nurse Kim Delp.
Women Ministries of the Ecuador Covenant Church along with the Santiago Partnership helped sponsor the outreaches, which included medical personnel from Ecuador, Sweden, United States, and Canada.
The clinics were held at local Covenant congregations in the remote communities of San Gabriel, four hours from Quito near the Colombian border, and Pungayuiaco, two and a half hours from Quito.
At each site the team provided medical and dental care, as well as counseling services. “While the women were waiting to be seen we had short classes on normal body changes throughout the life span and some group activities,” Egging said.
“We had women that were available just to chat and listen to the women as well as activities to keep kids busy while their mothers were being seen,” Egging added.
“One of the women who worked with us in counseling described moments together in the sessions as ‘holy moments’ when women share things they have never shared before,” Delp said.
Worship services led by women also were held in each of the communities and drew people from surrounding areas.
