Seeking Something Bigger: A Spiritual Void in Quito
High in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador, Mijail and Alis’s story unfolds like many in Quito—two young people who met in college, married, and started a family. But God had greater plans for this financial professional and accountant than they could imagine.
“I always knew there was something bigger than me,” Mijail reflects on his early spiritual search. While successful in his financial career, he spent years exploring different faiths, unable to find what his heart sought.
An Unexpected Invitation Changes Everything
The turning point began quietly. With three daughters, Alis had a schedule filled with extracurricular activities when an invitation to what seemed like a simple women’s group came from another mom. “I don’t remember being in a tough time,” Alis recalls, “but like everyone in this world, I was feeling incomplete and empty.” She didn’t even know this women’s group was connected to a church – as they met in a parking garage that housed the fledgling Cumbayá Church.
Eight Years of Patient Faith
That Wednesday evening sixteen years ago changed everything. “Since the first day, I knew I wanted more. I wanted to know more about God’s word,” Alis shares. While she dove deeper into church life, Mijail remained distant. But rather than push, Alis trusted God’s timing. “I never got desperate or pushed him. I just knew the moment would come.”
“You Just Need to Go”
For eight years, Mijail watched his wife’s transformation from the sidelines. He attended occasional social events but struggled to surrender his own spiritual journey. “For years, I tried in my own strength and my ways to find the Lord when He was always there,” he admits.
Finally, Mijail reached his breaking point. “What do I need to do to learn more, to get involved in the church?” he urgently asked Alis. Her wise response? “You just need to go.”
A Supporting Community of Faith
Mijail didn’t just “go” to church, he quickly joined a discipleship group – the same group that years later he now helps lead. Alis continued to grow through the women’s ministry and eventually, with encouragement from the lead pastor’s wife, took a lead role.
The transformation that followed rippled through their marriage. Five years ago, Mijail was baptized alongside their eldest daughter—a young woman now training for ministry leadership in Brazil. The couple volunteer in the church’s marriage ministry and also lead two small groups together.
“We are not perfect; our marriage is not perfect,” they share, “but our base is Jesus and He is perfect. If we stand on that perfect base, everything will be ok.”
Perhaps most telling is Mijail’s humble reflection on serving: “The Lord doesn’t need me, but He allows me to be in the front row to see what He is doing in other people’s lives. And every time, He surprises me more.”
Through your partnership, churches like Cumbayá are creating spaces where seeking hearts find Christ, marriages are restored and transformed lives multiply impact across Latin America. Thank you for making stories like Mijail and Alis’s possible.
