Licor del Cielo

Love this City! 

Team Praying over Cuenca

Cuenca

My Mother

This past weekend I learned something new about the city of Ecuador that I live in. For those who don't know, the city I live in is Cuenca. It is a city made up of about 500,000 people. Two and a half years ago when I first came to Cuenca I had no doubt that God was calling me here. And after this weekend the Lord showed me another reason as to why he has brought me here. This past week we had the privilege of having a district team here from GA. It was a great week and a lot was accomplished for the Kingdom of God. On the last day right before the team left we drove to a lookout point over the city to have prayer. One of the national leaders asked if I would translate for him. He wanted to share some prayer needs that the team could pray for. He shared that the name Cuenca in Azuay means Licor del Cielo or Liquor from Heaven. I had never heard of this. He said that Cuenca has a huge stronghold of alcoholism. The roots of alcoholism go back for hundreds of years. This stronghold is destroying lives, homes, and future generations. Right then and there, I just felt the Holy Spirit confirm to me that I was right where I should be. Most of you who know me, know my story. And as terrible as this may sound, since my mom has passed away I feel more comfortable sharing this publicly. For as long as I can remember my mom was an alcoholic. When I was a little girl my brother and I would pray to a God we didn't even believe in that He would quit making alcohol, so my mom couldn't buy it anymore. Thinking about it now it is really interesting that even though we had never been taught about God, we still knew that there was something bigger than this addiction. We believed that there was someone who was with us, someone good that could win over evil! Well years later God did win. The day my mother died this year, I had the opportunity of leading her to the Lord. It was amazing and something I'll always cherish! I got back in one moment, all that the enemy had stolen!  After she died, I was so angry with Satan for the years he took from my family, and for destroying the purpose God had created my mother for. I vowed to always fight against this addiction, to fight for people like my mom. And wow, look where He has brought me! A battle ground. I am so excited to share my story here and I just want to ask you pray! Pray for doors to open, pray for Cuenca, pray against alcoholism, pray for lives and homes to be restored, pray for people like my mom, and pray for a generation that will rise up against this addiction!

love,

Leah