Quito: For more than two decades, young missionaries in Ecuador have been walking side by side with Andean and Amazonian communities, carrying not only the Gospel but also a message of presence, empathy, and transformation. What began as a humble initiative in 2004 has grown into Misión Idente Ecuador (MIE) a movement that continues to inspire both those who serve and those they accompany.
“It’s not we who change the communities; it’s they who change us,” says Mónica Calva, an Idente missionary and Director of University Missions at the Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja. Her words reflect the spirit of the Idente Mission one rooted in mutual transformation, where encounter, rather than assistance, becomes the true path to evangelization.
The story of MIE began when a group of missionaries from Spain, Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, along with Ecuadorian students, returned home from Chile after participating in Misión País. Moved by their experience, they asked a question that sparked a movement: “What can we do here to help our people?”
Their answer was not limited to social service or temporary relief. Instead, they envisioned a mission that would reach forgotten corners of Ecuador, bringing both the Gospel and a spirit of companionship. The first mission took place in Pangui, in the province of Zamora Chinchipe, where a local priest’s words “Pangui, your life is mission” became the motto for a nationwide calling: “Ecuador, tu vida es misión.”
The missionaries ventured into remote communities where life was marked by hardship villages without clean water or medical care, places where aging residents were left behind, and families lived solely from the crops they grew. Instead of promising solutions, the Idente missionaries offered something deeper: presence.
“We cannot fix everything,” says one of the missionaries from Loja. “But being there listening, sharing meals, praying with families that’s where true healing begins.”
A defining feature of the Idente Mission is the involvement of university students. Each year, hundreds of young people leave their classrooms and comfort zones behind to live among indigenous communities, using their knowledge and energy to serve in whatever way they can.
But this mission goes beyond volunteering. It is a call to live the Gospel. Many of these young people return profoundly changed staying in touch with the families they met, engaging in research or social projects inspired by their experience, or even discovering their religious vocation.
“I owe my calling to the Misión Idente Ecuador,” confesses a priest from Quito. A contemplative nun echoes his words in a letter of gratitude, saying she found her vocation in the same mission.
While the young missionaries arrive eager to serve, they often find themselves transformed by the simple and steadfast faith of the people they meet. “The communities teach us that it is possible to live with little and still radiate joy,” explains missionary Priscila Nole from Ibarra. For many participants, this contrast between material poverty and spiritual richness becomes a moment of profound conversion.
Behind the mission’s endurance lies a distinct “family spirit.” The Idente missionaries emphasize shared prayer, meals, and the hospitality of local families as the foundation of their work. “If we live well together, everything else follows,” says Ruth from Ibarra. The mission, they insist, is not a project to complete but a community experience to live.
In its 21 years, Misión Idente Ecuador has reached nearly 500 communities, accompanied around 30,000 families, and involved more than 4,300 students from across the country. The impact extends far beyond the mission period through local leadership training, parish collaboration, research projects, and lifelong friendships forged in the field.
Though challenges persist, the mission’s long-term influence is undeniable. It has become part of the pastoral fabric of Ecuador, integrated into diocesan activities and parish life, ensuring that every visit leaves behind lasting roots of faith and solidarity.
Today, the mission unites consecrated men and women from across Ecuador from Loja and Zamora Chinchipe to Imbabura and Quito alongside missionaries from Spain, Peru, and Nicaragua. Among them are Mónica, Karla, Priscila, Sara, and many others who continue to plant seeds of hope in the nation’s most remote areas.
What started as a small initiative has grown into a nationwide movement one that blends education, evangelization, and social transformation. The Idente Mission has become more than a project; it is a testimony to what happens when faith meets service, and when the Church’s young people discover that their life itself is a mission.