We were able to make it back to Ecuador this summer as a family, just barely. As you may remember, when we moved from Ecuador to the United States we made a promise to the kids that we would travel back to Ecuador every year. The transition from Ecuador to the US was so hard for them so we wanted to give them something to look forward and not feel like they were never going to come back, so we made that commitment to give all of us something to look forward to as far as Ecuador. Well, we made this annual trip in July and two of us almost didn’t make it. We were planning on traveling on July 10th as a family but Simeon and I (Joel) had a change of plans when his club soccer team, Roadrunners SC, qualified for the USYS Nationals in Utah. This meant that the amount of time that Simeon and I would be in Ecuador would be reduced. Simeon’s team ended up making it to the finals of the National Championship and so we only were able to be in Ecuador for 6 days. We, obviously, were bummed that we couldn’t be in Ecuador longer but I guess if you are going to miss Ecuador for anything, then it might as well be for playing for a National Championship.
Kim, Esther and Ephraim were thankfully able to have more time. Our trip overlapped with the visit of two visiting teams from our partner churches of Pleasant View Church in Goshen, IN and Coshocton Christian Tabernacle in Cosochocton, OH. You can see pictures and learn about both teams on the Santiago Partnership Blog: Pleasant View Mission Team and Coshocton Mission Team. Our visit was a wonderful time of connecting with the staff of the project, the children in the home, partcipating in ministry projects and being with the two teams. We love Ecuador and so wish we could spend more time there as it is always so wonderful to be back. Here are some pictures from our trip:
The Santiago Partnership