Post Ministry Day 2 - June 27

“See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”
-- Colossians 4:17

Today was our final day here in Quito, mixed feelings abound.  We woke up again to a wonderful breakfast before we headed out to the Youth World headquarters and the market for some shopping (See below).  After an Indian flavored lunch we made our way back to the Hostel for our final debrief.   It was a great joy to spend some time reflecting on our time here and how can continue to make an impact for Jesus as we return home.

We finished the night by spending some time with the boys at Casa Gabriel.  What a joy to see how a young man named Jesus was rescued from the streets by Jesus!  After eating Chinese with the boys we headed back to the Hostel for the night and spent some time praying over our hosts Jade and Chance and Brad and Sandi.  It was such a joy to have Brad and Sandi so involved in our week, we love so much!  Please pray for our travel in the am, we have to be at the airport at 3:15 am, ugghh!

Blessings, the team

Kim with "Snot" fruit.

The store at the Youth world headquarters.  All sales go to support ministry to girls who were caught in trafficking.

Two friends!

The market, yikes!!!!!

What a crew with our awesome translator Natalia.

The team at lunch.

Wow, look at all the bracelets!

Some things never change...

Juan Miguel translating for Jesus as he gives his testimony.

Praying over Jesus.

Juan and Yudyli.

Time of sharing.

At Casa G.

A weapon.

What a beautiful friendship.

Post Ministry Day 1 - June 26

"Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity."
-- Colossians 4:5

Today the reality that we will soon be leaving Ecuador really started to sink in.  We started the day by sleeping in a bit and then enjoying a fabulous breakfast prepared by some of the ladies on the team and Sandi.  We then headed out to the center of the world (the Equator) where we learned a whole lot of cool stuff that was all topped off by the water experiment.  North of the Equator the water spins counter-clockwise, south of the equator the water spins clockwise and directly on the Equator the water drops straight down, amazing!

After grabbing a quick lunch we went to one of the ministry sites for Youth World, El Refugio.  This is an outdoor adventure camp that specializes in using nature to connect people with Jesus, it is an amazing place, make sure to go to the link.  While there we had the opportunity to spend several hours in prayer and reflection both as a group and as individuals.  We capped off the night with worship, sharing and of course dinner; hot dogs and Guinea Pig :)

As we prepare to come home we are excited to continue the process of bearing fruit, fruit that will last into eternity.  We hope that you will join us!

Blessings,
the team

Sharon is the bacon master!

Dan balanced the egg, sweet!

Guinea Pig, also known as dinner (see below)

Diane and Chance at the museum.

Our guide educating us, now that takes work!

Kim walking the line...

Three good lookin' guys...

Cute puppies at El Refugio

The amazing tree house at El Refugio.

Time in prayer and listening as a group.

Some beautiful flowers!

What a view!

Time as a team around a nice warm fire!

Dinner!

Ministry Day 5 - June 25

"Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving"
-- Colossians 4:2

Our final day at Remanso De Amor was really enjoyable.  It is really a privilege to serve God here in Ecuador.  We got the morning started with some more VBS for the kids of this school.  The kids enjoyed games, crafts, and bible teachings.  The kids are so sweet.  They really love the attention we have lavished on them.  Deb, Dianne, and Dan also did some more training with the teachers of this school.  These teachers are passionate about their jobs and helping the children in anyway they can.  We can really see God working in this school and church.

The afternoon was spent doing some cleaning and painting.  There was some challenging work done!  Several team members cleaned out a baptismal(the size of a hot tub) that had collected some very disgusting water and garbage.  We emptied it out bucket by bucket and then scrubbed it clean. Now it is ready for its intended purpose and some swimming lessons for the little chicas.  The rest of the team did an awesome job painting classrooms and desks.


We also had some powerful group sharing time this evening.  We took turns sharing how team members have encouraged us this week. It was a moving experience and really wonderful to hear how we have impacted each other. Something we should probably all do more often.  All in all another special day here in Ecuador.  

The day started with a spectacular breakfast prepared by the men of the team, tom, dan and stan (the real brains behind the operation).

Deb and Ashley giving the teachers a lesson in first-aid.

Yudyli with a little nina.

The kids making masks.

Dan teaching on how to be cool.

Barb teaching real school stuff.

Yudyli and Juan trying to get more paint on the wall instead of the floor.

Gabby one of our translators eat her first pb and j sandwich (Sanduche). 

Kim giving Pastor Romero the "Divine Plan" to use in ministry.

The dreaded baptismal pool gets a cleaning.

Stan imparting some good administrative wisdom to the leaders of the school.

Barb with our old friend and translator Monica.

Diane during our encouragement time offering some kind words to Sharon.