AMERICA/ECUADOR - The Church in Ecuador sends its first lay missionary ‘across frontiers’ to the Church in Guatemala: fruits of CAM 2 continue to mature.

Quito (Fides Service) - On June 7 the Church in Ecuador will sends its first lay missionary “ad gentes” to work in the diocese of Jalapa, Guatemala. “Andrés Becerra Obando, missionary ad gentes, is a sign of that communion and sharing called for by John Paul II and underlined by the Second American Mission Congress (CAM 2) held in Guatemala City in November 2003. During that event it was agreed that the next American Mission Congress CAM3 would take place in Ecuador and from Ecuador we are sending our first lay missionary”, the national office of the PMS in Ecuador says in a report to Fides.
It was during CAM 2 that Archbishop Raúl Vela Chiroga of Quito in Ecuador and Bishop Julio Cabrera Ovalle, of Jalapa, Guatemala, discussed how to arrange for the sending of the young lay missionary and Andrés was able to visit the diocese where he would be on mission on behalf of the Church in Ecuador.
Andres belongs to the Ecuadorian branch of the association “Youth Without Frontiers”. For some time he has been active in the local Church and for 8 years he has followed a path of preparation for mission. He worked as a catechist for about 15 years in Pomasqui parish, Quito. He has taken part in a number of missionary experiences in various dioceses in Ecuador and has been leader of a number of youth groups. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 4/6/2004; Righe 17; Parole 228)