August 12, 2010 - Quito
Today was the big day. We cleaned the house up and finished all the little details. Then we loaded in all the funiture, food, appliances and decorations. Pastor Jose brought the family to the house sometime around 2pm and if you have ever watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, you know what it is like when the bus is moved. The family can't really believe their eyes, partially because they are so teared up. Before the family went into their new home, they were all presented a Bible by one of the team members. Then they were given a tour of the house and all the trappings. The whole team was able to crowed in as Pastor Jose dedicated the house and the family. Finally, each member of the family took a turn to thank the team for their new home. Kevin, the 12 year old son, could not stop crying he was so overjoyed. He thanked us because he always wanted to take care of his family and now they had a place to live! There were so many tears and hugs that it took over an hour for the team to all get on the bus for the ride back to base. The whole time, Kevin was still crying.
The bus ride home was quiet as we all contemplated the week before and how awesome it was to help that family. Thank you so much for your prayers. Our students worked incrediably hard the whole week and I am so proud of them. Friday we had planned as a play day, but are not sure now what we are going to do. The team is exhausted and another one of our team members has the stomach flu. The day might just be a time for rest before our all night flight back home. Thank you again for your prayers and support for us during this awesome trip. God has truly done amazing things because of it all.
August 10-11, 2010 - Quito
These two days were filled with lots and lots of work. Originally today, Wednesday, was going to be the house dedication, but there was just too much work. The team is mostly exhausted from all the work, but it is a good exhaustion, one that speaks of hard work and even more exhausting, playing with the neighborhood children. Tomorrow, we will be doing the final cleaning of the house and then surprising trhe family with a whole bunch of funiture, food, pots and pans, and clothing. The family is very excited about the house, but they have no clue that they are also going to be getting a fully furnished house. We are exctited to see their reaction as they enter their new house. We praise God for all the work that He has let us complete, and are also looking forward to a little rest Friday before we fly out.
August 9, 2010 – Quito
I met Laura shortly after arriving at the old people’s home. She spoke excellent English. After exchanging a few facts about each other’s lives she said, “I want to share with you that I was once a single mother when I was 16.” She shared that her mother died when she was one years old so she was raised in an orphanage. She had a three year old brother and her aunt raised him but only wanted one child so she always felt unwanted. When she got pregnant through unfortunate circumstance she was left to find a way to take care of herself and her daughter. She found a job as a maid and worked for good families until she was twenty eight and had enough money to move to NY with her ten year old daughter. She worked as a maid in NY and later at a printing press for twenty three years. Her brother asked her to move back and live with him so she did but he died three months later. So she lived by herself for nine years and recently moved to the home because life had become too hard to be alone. After hearing her story I said, “You know God loves you” and tears began to well up in her eyes. She said, “Yes, he is the only one who has always stayed with me, always by my side. Since I was sixteen I have always known He was with me”. She said her old age and being at the home is the best time of her life because she is no longer lonely and feels closer to God. She also shared that when people like our team visit she sees God in them. She was absolutely beautiful and her story moved me to tears. Our God is always with us and His love goes beyond all measure.
On the bus ride home I saw two young boys walking on their hands and doing flips in the middle of the busy streets along with boys pouring gasoline into their mouths so they can blow fire in hopes of a few coins. It is hard to see young kids living in such poverty and humbling to see how hard they work to have what I take for granted each day. This trip has challenged me and created a longing to live a life of love to the least of these. - Jen
August 8, 2010 – Quito
Today was our rest day. We got to wake up an hour later and had a really good breakfast of breakfast burritos. We went to church today and we were an hour early. So we all decided to take group pictures. It was really good because I feel like we actually got to bond with the group a little more today than we had before. I was really impacted by the worship today at church. With my limited knowledge of Spanish I really couldn’t sing but God really showed up. I felt God’s presence in the church today. Some of the VBS kids showed up at the service and my little boy came and sat by me. After the service we went to the hot springs. I could have stayed there my entire life. The ride up was amazing. If I ever needed proof that God was a majestic crazy awesome god that was it. We were fourteen thousand feet up and I have never seen such beauty before. God is crazy awesome and it was great to have a day where we could rest and just relax in the beauty, majesty, and splendor of God. – Mark
August 7th - Quito
This morning we once again jumped on a bus and traveled about 45 mins to Pastor Jose's church. We found out that Jose and another man built the church building just a year ago out of left over material and anything else that they could find. The building itself looked 10-20 years old parts were starting to crumble. We were able to patch up the brick work on the outside of the building as well as paint and clean up the inside. Three of the girls from our group were also able to go on home visits. They were able to talk to different families familiar with the church and encourage them through prayer and gifts.
Then the VBS started. Once again 150 kids descended on the little one room church building. The started to arrive over a half an hour early and contiued to arrive an hour after the program began. Parents had been invited and 10 parents actually showed up! Jen was able to personally invite one of these parents back to church on Sunday and we are hoping to see her and a lot of the other children there when we worship at Jose's church Sunday.
August 6th - Quito
6:00pm
What a day! We were able to go back to the church that was hosting the VBS. Pastor Jose is an incrediable man and we had the opportunity to help make the church building where he pastors a little better. The outside wall brick wall need a little TLC so we mixed concrete and went to work patching it. On the inside, we painted and cleaned up a little bit. Then the kids arrived...about a hundred and fifty of them. We sang, danced, nodded like we knew what was going on and fed the kids. God is working in the lives of many many children through the ministry of Pastor Jose's church and it was a blessing to be a part of it today.
August 5th - Quito
10:45pm - Vanessa
This morning, August 5th, 2010, the ladies took the children on a field trip. Upon arriving at the dump daycare, one could already sense the excitement in the atmosphere. After patiently awaiting in line, the children joyously loaded onto the bus. As we were driving to the Interactive Reptile Museum, all of the kids were singing and playing with great anticipation. It was incredible to watch the kids experience such an opportunity as they probably have never done so. What a privilege it was to not only love on these precious girls and boys by our words and presence, but also by being able to treat them to such luxuries as a bus ride and lunch in the park. There were 4 parts to our trip: 1) The kids saw the solar system come to life via the planetarium. They learned about all of the planets and about comets. 2) After leaving the planetarium, we ventured over to the interactive dinosaur part. This, however, was not too pleasant, for the dinosaurs were a little too life-like for the kids, which scared them profusely. 3) The children then went into a movie theater-like room where we watched three movies that were in 3-D. The kids mostly seemed to like each of the films, especially the third because we "were on a roller coaster." The movies concluded our time at the museum, so we headed across the road towards the park. The children were then able to enjoy a picnic consisting of sandwiches and juice. Then we loaded everyone up and headed back to the daycare.
I feel so thankful to have been apart of such a special occasion, and am grateful how God allowed us to do this. It was as though we were seeing 20 children on Christmas morning-full of happiness and elation. Such simple efforts on our part created such immense effects. God cares for every SINGLE one of his children no matter how poor they may be, so why shouldn't we? It is pretty amazing how a few people can change the lives of many with the help of God, and I can't wait to see what He has in store next.
5:20pm
The boys and girls split up today. The girls took kids from the free day care at the dump to the reptile museum. The boys began the work on a house for a family of seven. But these are just the beginnings of what is happening today. After dinner, we will be helping to cook a huge pot of chicken and rice for the workers at the dump and then driving out to the dump and helping to feed the workers.
August 4th - In Quito
7:35pm
Today we visited an open air market for fresh fruits and vegetables. It is amazing that we could pick up four fresh pinapples for only $2! Afterwards, we drove about an hour to Pifo and were able to spend a few hours with about 200 children. We sang with them, played with them and tried to memorize a verse in Spanish with them. They even made us do a crazy dance. The highlight of this day was the children. Even though a lot of us could not understand them, we were still able to communicate our love and joy with them.
7:45am
Everyone is awake and pretty well rested. We are going to have a nice busy day with picking up supplies for building, running a VBS and getting introduced to the city and culture.
August 4th - Travel Day
Quito, Ecuador 12:30am
We arrived in Quito in one piece and on time. The flight was long and we lost one bag...Jesse's. But he had an extra change of clothes in his carry on bag so everything worked out well. He even had a tube of toothpaste in his carry on that should never have been able to get through security, but we are glad that he had it. Paul and Susan were there to meet us once we finally cleared customs. Everyone was very tired and their was no trouble getting people in bed.
Atlanta, GA 12:30pm
The day started out with rain. At 4am we all I heard was a downpour and thunder. Atlanta is hot and hazy, but the airport is nice and cool. So far the trip has been fairly uneventful. Everyone was one time, we breezed through security and our flight here wasn't even delayed. Now we will sit here until 5:30pm local time and then take off for Quito! - joe
Just got off my first plane ride. My favorite part of the plane ride was when we took off. I never knew how fast a plane could accelerate. I am enjoying my trip so far with the terminal train and the standing walkways. This is a wonderful start to my 16th birthday! - Bryan
