|
You are using an insecure version of your web browser. Please update your browser!
Using an outdated browser makes your computer unsafe. For a safer, faster, more enjoyable user experience, please update your browser today or try a newer browser.
|
|
Serving Christ in Ecuador |
Construction continues at the work site of the first home for at risk children. It is amazing to see what two Ecuadorian contractors can accomplish in just a few short weeks!!! They have poured the remaining column bases, back filled around the majority of the column bases and have dug, laid rock and poured pretty much all of the shallow footers. Now onto pouring the columns and floors!
We had the opportunity to attend an International Leadership Summit hosted by IPEE at our very own Covenant Campgrounds in Santo Domingo. This was a wonderful event with international speakers and participants all centered around the idea of sharing God’s word in a fresh and a new way and developing leaders in your church to promote church growth, church plants and church revitalization. Participants and speakers came from all around Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Honduras, Guatemala and the United States. The leadership of the Covenant has recently set a goal of planting 50 new churches in the next 5 years. We were very inspired by the event and are feeling like maybe we should be a part of planting a new Covenant church…
Dave Olson from the Covenant in the U.S. was one of the featured speakers
Small group discussion
The service of reconciliation
This was a big event in a wonderful newly completed main pavilion at the camp in Santo Domingo
A pastor from Honduras and one from Peru sharing about how their churches have recently seen increased growth
A picture of the newly completed, beautiful main pavilion
We wanted to share with you all a new webpage that the Santiago Partnership has developed for promoting our project, especially the construction of the first home for at risk children. On this page, you can view a new version of our video that was yet to be released.
You can check it out here: https://fundly.com/help-us-build-a-home-for-at-risk-children-in-ecuador
We will be heading to the Camp in Santo Domingo on Wednesday and be there through Sunday for an International Leadership Summit. We are excited to be a part of this amazing event and hope to learn a lot. We will be out of the communication loop during this time as the camp does not internet nor cell phone service. The picture below shows the progress of the new pavilion that is being constructed at the camp to be finished by the beginning of this event. Please pray for the speakers of the Summit as they will be teaching us from this very spot.
ROAD CLOSED!!!! This is the scene on the Pan-american Highway heading north to Cayambe, the road we take in our travels up there. This landslide and road closure is a result of the most recent earthquake and its accompanying after shocks. Simeon and Joel discovered this problem this past Monday as they were traveling to Cayambe and could not get through and have since learned that this road closure could last up to 6 months. THIS IS NOT GOOD! We have heard that an alternate route could potentially take us up to three hours to get to Cayambe, a trip that is normally one hour. Please pray for all of those affected by this landslide/road closure, including us as we don’t know how it will work to be making regular trips up there.
Humpback whale jumping.
Simeon looking at the blue-footed boobies
Joel’s favorite trees from the Coast
Esther checking it all out
This past week we were able to go on vacation! It’s been quite a while since we have had a vacation and with how busy things have been this was much needed. We traveled to the Coast and stayed in Puerto Lopez. This is the main area where the humpback whales come to mate and have their babies. We took a boat ride to see the whales and also to Isla de la Plata which is also called the “The Poor Man’s Galapagos”. There you can see many of the same birds as you can on the Galapagos. We had a great time! I wish I could take credit for the picture of the whale jumping. I can’ t though, but it is the closest picture I could find of what the whales we saw looked like. Our boat was right beside a family of 3 whales. The babies are very curious and jump like this one. We were so close that we could almost touch them! It was SO amazing!
We are so thankful for this time that we had together to be together as a family and relax and have fun and just…be.
Cayambe volcano and quechua family harvesting onions
Recently, when we were up further into the mountains with the team from Coshocton (we were in 4 lote, a small Quechua village). We were there listening to a local worship band who played pan flutes, drums, etc…The windows were open and I was looking out over the volcano that was close, Cayambe. We were surrounded by local church members from the Quechua church. We were all worshiping together, one God, one voice, one place where we were all gathered. It was a significant reminder to me that being called to this place as a missionary is a precious gift, a privilege. As the Quechua ladies and I were talking and they were holding Esther I realized the amazing gift this is to be here and I was SO thankful for it. Over the last few months we have had difficulties and it has been a challenging transition for us, but in that moment, God reminded me of His presence that is with us always. That His call on our lives is greater than all we face and it makes it possible TO face what difficulties come. I love these pictures because they are such a sweet reminder of Ecuador, at least the part of Ecuador where we live. The mountains and volcanoes, people working in the fields, the beautiful sky. It’s beautiful and all God’s. So, we praise Him in the storm and have peace, His perfect peace, knowing that we are where we are supposed to be.
[youtube id=”gBqz5_MNyNA”]
We finally had the opportunity to go see our good friends the Rochas…. Rueben, Amparo, Lisseth, Maria, Mayra, Jeymi, Caren and Rubi, at the Covenant Campgrounds in Santo Domingo this past week. We’ve been wanting to get out to see them since we arrived in Ecuador but haven’t had the opportunity because of our incredibly busy schedules. It was a blessing and a true joy to be able to spend a couple of days with them. And we were reminded of how difficult the conditions can be a the camp yet they were so hard to accomplish everything that is needed for the ministry to thrive and do well!
We were excited to be able to see first hand the progress that is being made on the improvements at the camp! We were especially excited to see the new main pavilion that is going up to hold worship services and conferences. Take a look at the pictures below to get a glimpse!
The new main pavilion being constructed.
In the process of building a newly renovated kitchen, they are utilizing this space for a provisional kitchen until the new one is built.
The older pavilion which will now be utilized primarily as the dining hall and the covered area where people can go to get their food from the kitchen.
Camp Administrator Ruben Rocha standing in front of the new main pavilion.
This is where the old out-dated kitchen used to be and is now been opened up as more free space, today being utilized for laundry services.
Any body want to come down and help us with our construction at the camp in Santo Domingo??? One last picture… here’s Simeon’s highlight of his time at the camp… catching a chicken!!!
This was the scene outside our window yesterday as an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale shook all of Quito with its epicenter just kilometers away from us. Thankfully, because of the way that construction is done here, the buildings were prepared for the earthquake, so there wasn’t a lot of major damage. The last reports we heard was that there were only 2 fatalities, numerous injured and a few people trapped in the wreckage. The news doesn’t make it any easier for those affected, but we are just glad to hear that in a city of over 2 million people that the results were not worse.
For us, it has caused a little minor damage in our apartment but not much. The big thing is that after the initial scare of the big one we have counted about 10 additional smaller aftershocks. Each minor earthquake has us on the edge of our seats and huddling for safety as a family.
The picture that you see was taken of the mountains that you can see from our apartment. When the original quake hit, you could see dust rising out the mountains as there were minor landslides that came down the hills.
Though the damage was not extensive please pray for those who were affected and that there are not any other major aftershocks that cause further damage and loss of life. They are reporting that the earth’s plates still have not settled yet and that is why we are feeling so much continued disturbance.
The Santiago Partnership