Our Mission Path
Serving God in Ecuador
Pan de Yuca
Friends, this post was first published in September of 2019.
Pan de yuca or cheese bread (this recipe is taken from a forthcoming cookbook from Our Mission Path)
Produces 20-25 small yuca breads
Some food is attached to good memories. This was a favorite of Timothy 2 when he discovered it on his first mission trip to Ecuador. Pan de yuca, also known as Ecuadorian cheese bread is a treat the whole family can enjoy. Seven out of seven Downings recommend.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1 stick of butter (room temperature)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups yuca flour (starch)
- 4 cups grated mozzarella cheese (white cheese)
Instructions
First. Combine the yuca starch or flour, cheese, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and mix well.
Then. Add the butter and eggs
Then. Mix until small dough balls begin to form, if it’s too dry add 1-2 tbs of water or heavy whipping cream.
Then. Lightly flour a work space and turn out the dough. Knead the dough until it is smooth, even textured and not sticky.
Then. Pre-heat the oven to 500 F.
Then. Make small round shaped breads with the dough and place on a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Then. Bake. Once the oven reaches 500F, turn on broiler, place the dough on the middle rack and bake until the breads are golden, (5-10) minutes.
Enjoy. Best served warm.
With much love,
The Downings
Disciple! Being a missionary
Friends, this post was first published in September of 2020.
The Great Commission calls each believer into what we commonly call missionary service. Missionary. What do you think of when you hear the word missionary? Missions, primarily, is not about men and women giving their lives away for a moral or humanitarian cause. Rather, missions are primarily about the proclamation of a specific message with a specific content and discipleship over the implications of that message. We see this message written large in every sermon recorded in the book of Acts. The redemption of the world through the death and resurrection of our incarnate God, Jesus Christ.
“Every Christian is either a missionary or an imposter.”
-Charles Spurgeon
If you warn someone of their sin, of Hell and, of the road to perdition they are on, you are speaking missionary words. If you tell someone of the love, salvation, and redemption of Jesus Christ you are speaking missionary words. If you proclaim “God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world should be saved through him” you are proclaiming the missionary message.
But where should you proclaim your missionary message? Jesus gives us clear instructions as to where we are to be missionaries.
In Acts, chapter one Jesus tells his original disciples that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. In other words where they lived, where they were comfortable, across cultural lines and to the furthest parts of the earth.
We, His current disciples are called likewise. Although we tend to think of only the furthest parts of the earth as being the realm of missionaries, the truth is that all Christians are responsible for each area of witness. We must take care to witness in each of the realms to which Christ sent His disciples.
The Downings
Tigrillo: Ecuadorian Green Plantain Mash
Friends, this post was first published in July of 2019.
Ingredients
- 1 large green plantain
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2-1 cup of reserved water where plantain was cooking
- 2 oz of crumbled queso fresco
- salt to taste
Instructions
first, in a pot, bring some water to a boil.
Then, peel the plantain and cut in half.
After that, place the plantain in the boiling water. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the plantain is soft, about 15-20 minutes.
Then, remove the plantain from the water and place it on a flat surface or a bowl. Mash the plantain with a fork.
Make sure to reserve 1 cup of the water you used to cook with.
Then, in a pot at medium heat, melt the butter and add the mashed plantain. Coat the plantain and sautee for a couple of minutes.
Then, add enough water to the plantains until the mixture turns into a mash and resembles lumpy mashed potatoes.
Than, add the crumbled cheese and cook for a few more minutes until the cheese melts.
* Optional: add eggs into this mixture along with the cheese and cook until the eggs are done. You can also serve with a fried/poached egg instead of incorporating the eggs in the mixture.
Enjoy, serve immediately.
Love, 
The Downing family
Fully Involved
In no other way can the believer become as fully involved with God’s work, especially the work of world evangelism, as in intercessory prayer.
Dick Eastman
The most important place we can go on the mission field is to the throne room of grace. Many think missionary service requires vast amounts of money, a willing and welltrained workforce. Many think that missionary work needs slick marketing and promotion. Some think a modern missiology is absolutely essential for the Great Commision to be fulfilled.
Consider the history of the Church. God seems underwhelmed by man’s plans and organizations. In Acts chapter one we witness the dawn of the church. God turns the world upside down through a small group of believers who had no systematic theology, no hymnal, no buildings or budgets, no clergy, liturgy or organization.
When we conform ourselves to His mission, to His guidence, He brings about His work.
The first step to shed our plans and our work in favor of His is to align our hearts and passions with His through intercessory prayer.
May we be found in the throne room of grace! May we be fully involved with God’s work in His way!
Love, 
The Downing Family
I’ll Follow With Rejoicing
But he brought his people out like a flock;
Psalm 78:52-53
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
Charles Wesley Naylor was born in southern Ohio in the year 1874. He grow up in the hills of Ohio and West Virginia where he was raised by his grandparents. At the age of nineteen he “saw the church” and became a part of the Church of God movement. He was injured in 1908 in Florida while moving timbers from under a meeting tent. He suffered a dislocated kidney and other internal injuries. Then a year later he was in a bus accident that left him an invalid for the rest of his life. His injuries did not stop him from contributing to the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. From his bed of infirmity he become a prolific writer. He redeemed his time by writing eight books, many articles, pamphlets and a regular column for the Gospel Trumpet magazine. The hymns and gospel songs he wrote are a masters class in practical doctrine.
The poetic words of his hymn I’ll Follow With Rejoicing show the doctrinal truth that we follow the One with eternity in His hand. We don’t need to know what the future holds because we follow the One who holds the future!
When we look forward into an uncertain future we often see impassable obstacles in our way. But when we follow Christ closely eventually we look back on the impassable and see the clear path He lead us through.
The future lies unseen ahead,
It holds I know not what;
But still I know I need not dread,
For Jesus faileth not.
Refrain:
I’ll follow Him with rejoicing,
With rejoicing, rejoicing;
I know He safely will lead me
To my eternal home.
Doth He not know what I shall meet
Upon life’s rugged way?
Will He not guide my halting feet,
Lest from the path I stray?
No matter how things look to me,
Nor if they threaten sore;
I know my way prepared shall be,
For Christ leads on before.
-C.W. Naylor
May we see Christ clearly so that we may follow Him closely.
With love,
The Downing Family
From The Beginning
World missions was on God’s mind from the beginning.
Dave Davidson
God seeks a dwelling place among the creation that He has made in His Own image. Although with horror we read about the walk of God and mankind being shattered by sin in the early pages of Scripture, we read of God’s missionary nature revealed throughout the remainder of sacred writ. The great hope of the Scripture is that what was once shattered in the garden is resurrected in the city of God. This redemption is achieved not through our seeking but through God’s, not through our power, but His, not by our actions, but by His. The redemption of the world has been heavy on His mind from the very beginning.
May we all join in the mission that was before time and will be achieved in a new Heaven and new Earth!
Blessings, 
The Downings
A Call to Harvest
Up, away to the harvest field,
Ella V. Phillips
Gather in the golden yield;
Gird your armor and faithful be,
For the Master calleth thee.
Refrain:
Thrust your sickle in, the harvest time is here,
Labor with your might, the judgment day is near;
Thrust your sickle in, the grain is falling fast,
Haste, ere harvest time is past.
Always take with you faith’s bright shield,
And your sickle bravely wield;
Stand against cunning foes you see,
For the Master calleth thee. [Refrain]
Keep uplifted the word of truth,
Spreading light to hopeful youth;
Bowed to Him must be every knee,
For the Master calleth thee. [Refrain]
Take with you holy peace and love,
Lift despairing souls above;
Toil to make sinful mortals free,
For the Master calleth thee. [Refrain]
What is a Minga?
And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
Disciple! Presence
Friends, this post was first published in September of 2020.
The Great Commission of Christ begins with the assurance of His authority and ends with the assurance of His presence. It should be noted that His presence is not simply a comforting thought. His presence carries with it His power and His authority. What is done through the Great Commission is done in the power and authority of Christ.
“All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Goye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Matthew 28:18-20
It is important to understand that this assurance belongs only to those who engage in the biblical pattern of the Great Commission. We cannot expect New Testament power if we do not hold to the New Testament pattern. How can we pray and ask for the Holy Spirit and His power without also adopting the call of Christ? If we, individually and corporately, are not honoring His Commission should we be surprised if He is not with us?
The Downing Family
Llapingachos (Ecuadorian Stuffed Potato Patties)
Friends, this post was first published in August of 2019.
Llapingachos (Ecuadorian stuffed potato patties)
Produces about 15 medium sized llapingachos
This delicious dish is very common in Ecuador. Llapingachos are potato patties stuffed with cheese, cooked on a hot griddle until crispy brown and served with various foods like fried eggs, tomatoes, onions, avocado slices and hot sauce. Six out of seven Downings both enjoy and recommend this dish.
Click play to hear this recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 tbs oil
- ½ white onion chopped
- 1 tsp ground achiote
- 1 cup grated quesillo, mozzarella or any white melting cheese
- 5 large potatoes, 3 lbs more or less, diced
Instructions
First. Boil the potatoes until soft.
Then. Heat the oil over medium high heat, add the onions and achiote, cook until the onions are soft, (5 minutes).
Then. Mash the potatoes, mix in the onion and salt to taste.
Then. Cover the potato dough and let it sit at room temperature for an hour.
Then. Make small quarter size balls with the potato dough.
Then. Make a hole in the middle of each ball and fill with the grated or crumbled cheese.
Then. Shape the dough into thick patties and let rest in the refrigerator for one hour.
Then. Cook the patties on a hot griddle until browned on each side, be careful when turning them as they will be flakey.
Enjoy. Serve with a fried egg, peanut sauce, tomato and onion, avocado slices or hot sauce.
Love, 
The Downing Family