On Aug.1, Pastor Dave Jane of Connect Church in Washington arrived in a small village near Manta, Ecuador to visit the Centro Christiano Divino Redentor church and school that he and his congregation founded through Compassion International. It is the second Ecuadorian project of its kind that Jane has helped establish. (Photo courtesy of the Rev. Dave Jane)

It’s ironic. The Rev. Dave Jane runs his church from a school, where he and his congregation have helped build two Ecuadorian churches that host schools.

Early in August ,Jane, his two sons Will, 15, and Ben, 17, and 12 members of Washington’s Connect Church traveled to Ecuador to visit the church they helped establish and meet the children who attend school there, and whom they sponsor.

“While were there, we would play with the group of kids in the church,” Jane said. “They were just full of energy and love. They gave me a gift, and they were very kind and gracious. They just have so little.”

The average monthly wages in Ecuador, Jane was told, are $373, though many bring home about half of that. Jane’s congregation of 500, who gather and worship at Washington Middle School, sponsor 150 Ecuadorian children through Compassion International, the organization that helped them establish both churches.

“Compassion is a worldwide organization that helps children in poverty,” he said. “Their goal is to help children with food, clothing, education and medical care. But Compassion will only work in a community where there’s a local church to partner with.”

Connect Church pastor the Rev. Dave Jane brought his sons Ben, second from left, and Will, far right, to Ecuador in August to visit a church his congregation helped fund there. While there, the Janes met the two children they sponsor through Compassion International, Zalyka, left, and her brother, Orlando. Each month the Janes send money to feed, clothe and educate them. (Photo courtesy of the Rev. Dave Jane)
 

Most communities, Jane said, don’t have churches, so money must be raised to build one. Twice Connnect Church has raised around $80,000 to fund each church. They did so through donations and fundraisers, including annual bicycle runs from Washington to Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

The final bike trip helped pay for the trip to Ecuador. It was the first time Jane or any members of the Connect Congregation visited there, or met some of the children they sponsor.

“Not everyone gets to meet their child, so meeting Zuleyka was the highlight of the trip for me,” Jane said of the six-year-old girl he sponsors. “She’s beautiful It’s extreme poverty there, and she lives in a very small home with no running water or electricity. It’s made of cement blocks, but some houses are bamboo huts.”

The Connect group stayed in the coastal city of Manta for a week, traveling daily, often by converted school bus, down the dirt paths that lead to the small village and the church they helped establish there, Centro Christiano Divino Redentor.

Since 2016, Pastor Dave Jane has hosted an annual bicycle run to Chicago to raise funds for an Ecuadorian church and school project. Their goal, which they quickly met, was $80,000. This year’s run helped raise the money needed for Jane and 14 others to visit the facility and meet the students. (Photo by Holly Eitenmiler / for Chronicle Media)
 

Sponsors give $38 monthly to support each child. That’s enough money to provide three meals a day, clothing, education and health care, he said.

“It’s amazing what they do with the money. You definitely know you’re in another country,” Jane said. “I love my boys and I thought it was great for them to see that not everyone lives like we do in America.”

Indeed, the experience deeply impacted Jane’s sons. Afterward, Will posted his insight in an Instagram message.

“Over the past week, I’ve realized that poverty is not just a materialistic issue. Poverty can be the absence of anything, not just wealth,” he wrote. “The kids in these photos are living in poverty, but I know that they are happy in every other way … everyone in these pictures has helped me in so many ways to find God in places I’d never expected. The kids don’t care about how much money they have.”

Water is trucked to the village by truck from Manta, Jane said, from which the villagers refill their containers. He saw very little livestock, a few chickens, he said. Being on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, fish are a primary food source.

“Most of the people either fish, or work for fishermen to make a little money,” he said. “Zuleyka’s father works in construction, and he said that on a good week, he’ll work two to three days.”

The Janes also sponsor Zuleyka’s brother Orlando. Some may only have one sponsored child in a family with several children, but the money still helps.

“A good thing about this Compassion sponsorship is that the families have such limited resources,” he explained. “Even if one child is sponsored, one can make a difference. It’s one less child to worry about.”

— Washington church and pastor connects with Ecuador on mission trips —-