We are back! Our flight from Miami arrived into Greensboro last night about 9:30 pm. Our team was thrilled that we have had a successful 10 days of ministry, and after a final prayer at the airport with Pastor Lynn and Judy Everswick, we said our good-bye's and headed home.
The Lord has been good this past 10 days (as always!) and provided us with many individual opportunities to spread Christ's love to the Ecuadorian people. The entire trip went so smoothly that it seemed to clearly indicate that the Lord's hand was on us. Praise Him!
Our final full day at the camp was on Monday, July 19th. According to the camp - El Refugio tradition, a group of us woke up at 3:45 am to hike to the top of the mountain to see the sunrise at 6am. Although incredibly challenging, the final view and relationships built during this time made the hike worth it.
After we returned, we ate breakfast and spent time at El Refugio's treehouse (think Smith Family Robinson) for a time of debriefing. In the afternoon, we helped to raise the second of three towers that El Refugio plans to use for their 40 foot rock climbing wall. The process went so smoothly that we decided to name it the "Miracle Tower". :)
The evening finished with a meal of hot dogs and baked guinea pig. Yep, no lie. They cooked us a whole guinea pig, head and everything. Very interesting meal and not for the faint of heart.
We really felt that there was a long term impact made on this trip...
-One of the kids that went with us said that she wants to become a missionary to Ecuador!
-Of the Ecuadorian family, we helped to connect the father to a 6 month job with a local church to keep him in a good environment where he can further separate himself from the friends of his past who pulled him down into the alcohol addiction.
-We were able to play a key role in building the ampitheater and climbing wall, which will produce long-term discipleship opportunities in the lives of kids.
-We may never fully know some of the other long-term impacts on our lives and the lives of those we touched. We were simply able to plant the seeds and we pray that the Lord will water them.
Thanks to all of you for your prayers and financial support to make this trip possible!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
These past few days have been incredible. We traveled to our Ecuadorian family's church, which is also a Compassion International site. We spent Thursday and Friday serving food to the kids and playing games with them. It was so neat to see the Compassion ministry from this side. In the U.S. we see it from the sponsorship end, but here, we have been able to meet the kids face-to-face. The kids who are sponsored by Compassion receive food, some schooling, and Bible teaching. One of the coolest parts was seeing all 200 of them pray out loud together before their meal. When asking about the program, we learned that what the kids valued the most out of the sponsorship program is receiving letters from their sponsors. One Ecuadorian mother cried when she said that only one of her two sponsored children receives regular letters.
While at Compassion, one of the activities that we provided was dropping kids off of the four-story Compassion building. :) With a rope, of course! I guess that you can call it "rappelling" them off. They loved it.
On Thursday evening, the Ecuadorian family that has been with us all week, invited us to eat dinner in their home. It was a small, four-room home, but filled with a bunch of love! The mother cooked us quite a spread and even surprised us with a chocolate cake for Claire Tippens' birthday! It was one of the most humbling experiences of our trip, as a family with so little, opened up their home to us with such generosity.
On Friday evening, we left the children behind and went to a couples Bible study that the church does regularly. It was an interesting experience, seeing two cultures come together to express their feelings and suggestions for what makes a Biblical marriage work.
Saturday morning opened with the kids leaving the parents behind to attend the regular teenage Bible study held at the church. The kids were able to share how God has been opening their eyes this week and what they have been learning. It was neat that our kids had the opportunity to participate in this.
Before coming back to El Refugio on Saturday evening, we were able to see the historic downtown of Quito. Evident from its incredibly ornate cathedrals built hundreds of years ago, traditional Catholicism has been a large part of the city's history.
After returning to the camp, we had dinner and a quick debriefing before hitting the showers and then on to bed!
While at Compassion, one of the activities that we provided was dropping kids off of the four-story Compassion building. :) With a rope, of course! I guess that you can call it "rappelling" them off. They loved it.
On Thursday evening, the Ecuadorian family that has been with us all week, invited us to eat dinner in their home. It was a small, four-room home, but filled with a bunch of love! The mother cooked us quite a spread and even surprised us with a chocolate cake for Claire Tippens' birthday! It was one of the most humbling experiences of our trip, as a family with so little, opened up their home to us with such generosity.
On Friday evening, we left the children behind and went to a couples Bible study that the church does regularly. It was an interesting experience, seeing two cultures come together to express their feelings and suggestions for what makes a Biblical marriage work.
Saturday morning opened with the kids leaving the parents behind to attend the regular teenage Bible study held at the church. The kids were able to share how God has been opening their eyes this week and what they have been learning. It was neat that our kids had the opportunity to participate in this.
Before coming back to El Refugio on Saturday evening, we were able to see the historic downtown of Quito. Evident from its incredibly ornate cathedrals built hundreds of years ago, traditional Catholicism has been a large part of the city's history.
After returning to the camp, we had dinner and a quick debriefing before hitting the showers and then on to bed!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Getting to know each other the first day. 
The guys working on an outdoor ampitheater.
The guys working on an outdoor ampitheater.
The girls worked on scraping and painting a climbing tower.
These pictures are from the ropes course that we did together as a team. It helped us 
prepare for working together on projects that would be coming later.
We will also be attending a couple of Bible studies with our Ecuadorian family at their church. We won't have access to a computer until Saturday night so we will have to continue the blog then.
prepare for working together on projects that would be coming later.
We are leaving the camp tomorrow morning to travel to Quito and work with our Ecuadorian family at their church. We will be helping care for kids who have no where else to go during the day. We will be playing games and serving meals and whatever else needs to be done.
We will also be attending a couple of Bible studies with our Ecuadorian family at their church. We won't have access to a computer until Saturday night so we will have to continue the blog then.
Work is going well and everyone is healthy and enjoying our time. Thanks for praying for us. We can really feel God at work in many different ways. We look forward to sharing more about our trip in the days to come.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
July 13, 2010
Today was our first day of labor proper. The men began to work on the amphitheater while the ladies worked on the climbing tower. However, we began the day with a devotional based on Psalm 8. We gathered as individual families and read Psalm 8 together. We then shared favorite qualities of each other with one another.
After breakfast we began work. The women spent the first part of the day scraping paint off pieces of an old radio tower which will be used as one of three legs of the new climbing tower. The men began by setting posts at the corners of the amphitheater, then setting horizontal beams between the corner posts. The amphitheater will be used for group debriefing, and foul weather campfires among other things.
After lunch the women continued work by painting the old radio tower that they had scraped earlier. The men continued with installation of the horizontal beams. The plan for tomorrow is to continue where we left off today.
The food was great today as it has been all week. Supper consisted of chicken and rice, with fried plantains. Dessert was homemade ice cream made with berries. You should be envious.
We ended the day with a campfire where we talked about the day and what we might do when we arrive home. We then told campfire stories that made us all laugh. Super day!
Thanks again to all of you supporting us in this mission. We continue to keep you in our prayers daily.
After breakfast we began work. The women spent the first part of the day scraping paint off pieces of an old radio tower which will be used as one of three legs of the new climbing tower. The men began by setting posts at the corners of the amphitheater, then setting horizontal beams between the corner posts. The amphitheater will be used for group debriefing, and foul weather campfires among other things.
After lunch the women continued work by painting the old radio tower that they had scraped earlier. The men continued with installation of the horizontal beams. The plan for tomorrow is to continue where we left off today.
The food was great today as it has been all week. Supper consisted of chicken and rice, with fried plantains. Dessert was homemade ice cream made with berries. You should be envious.
We ended the day with a campfire where we talked about the day and what we might do when we arrive home. We then told campfire stories that made us all laugh. Super day!
Thanks again to all of you supporting us in this mission. We continue to keep you in our prayers daily.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Monday, July 12
We had a great day today. We began the day with a devotion at 7:00 am with Juan Carlos on 1John ; 4:7. Juan Carlos encouraged us to deepen our relationship with Christ this week, returning home changed from the way we arrived.
Breakfast was excellent with the main course being baked oatmeal, which was much like oatmeal cake (cake for breakfast!) served in a bowl with milk.
Following breakfast the team met with the camp staff and began our program for the day. We began with some icebreaker type games, then moved on to one of the low ropes elements (the "islands"). This activity serves to build team unity and communication. This is especially helpful as part of our team is a family which speaks no english. We survived better for the experience and definitely stronger as a team.
After lunch we headed to the high ropes course elements for some serious physical challenges. The high ropes activities are done in pairs (we find a partner for the activities). In some of the activities, partners depend on each other directly to complete the challenge, while other activities depend more on individual constitution and faith, with your partner (and the rest of the team) there as cheerleaders. All of the high challenges require a great deal of trust and the ability to set your fear aside and depend on God for your strength.
After a challenging afternoon we had a time to debrief and talk about some of the spiritual applications that we could apply to our lives and help deepen our relationship with God.
Tomorrow we begin our work around camp, as we will start building one leg of the new climbing tower. We may also begin work on the camp amphitheater.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Breakfast was excellent with the main course being baked oatmeal, which was much like oatmeal cake (cake for breakfast!) served in a bowl with milk.
Following breakfast the team met with the camp staff and began our program for the day. We began with some icebreaker type games, then moved on to one of the low ropes elements (the "islands"). This activity serves to build team unity and communication. This is especially helpful as part of our team is a family which speaks no english. We survived better for the experience and definitely stronger as a team.
After lunch we headed to the high ropes course elements for some serious physical challenges. The high ropes activities are done in pairs (we find a partner for the activities). In some of the activities, partners depend on each other directly to complete the challenge, while other activities depend more on individual constitution and faith, with your partner (and the rest of the team) there as cheerleaders. All of the high challenges require a great deal of trust and the ability to set your fear aside and depend on God for your strength.
After a challenging afternoon we had a time to debrief and talk about some of the spiritual applications that we could apply to our lives and help deepen our relationship with God.
Tomorrow we begin our work around camp, as we will start building one leg of the new climbing tower. We may also begin work on the camp amphitheater.
Thanks for your prayers and support!
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Sunday, July 11
We made it to Quito safely on Saturday night at 8:00PM and were met at the airport by Juan Carlos and an Ecuadorian family that we will be working alongside this week. Praise to God that all of our luggage arrived safely as well. We rode by bus to El Refugio and were shown to our rooms. The camp is lovely and the setting is in a beautiful valley surrounded by gorgeous mountains. Our rooms have six bunk beds and an attached bathroom. We are being looked after very well.
Breakfast this morning was at 8:00 and we had yummy scrambled eggs and rolls with butter and jelly, juice and coffee and bananas. During breakfast we met a group of Ecuadorian campers who are staying on the property. We had a great time talking to them and trying out our Spanish.
After breakfast we had an orientation meeting with all of the staff here at the camp. We found out that our project will be to help build a climbing wall for the campers. We were also challenged to deepen our relationship with Christ as we work together the next 10 days.
One of our primary focuses this week will be towards the Ecuadorian family that we met at the airport. Like many Ecuadorian families, this family lives in a small house where the entire family lives without many of the commodities that we would expect. Though they are believers in Christ, the father fell into alcoholism some time ago and just came out of a rehabilitation program one week ago. He has a fresh fire for the Lord, and it is our desire to be an encouragement to him as he tries to put the pieces back together and be a strong father for his family.
Then we traveled to Quito to church and afterwards ate pizza at Courtney and Juan Carlos' house. We watched the World Cup Finals in soccer and got to know each other better.
We came back to camp for a free time and will be having supper soon. We hope to put up some pictures soon to show you this beautiful spot and some of the people here. Thanks for your prayers and support. We couldn't be here without you.
Breakfast this morning was at 8:00 and we had yummy scrambled eggs and rolls with butter and jelly, juice and coffee and bananas. During breakfast we met a group of Ecuadorian campers who are staying on the property. We had a great time talking to them and trying out our Spanish.
After breakfast we had an orientation meeting with all of the staff here at the camp. We found out that our project will be to help build a climbing wall for the campers. We were also challenged to deepen our relationship with Christ as we work together the next 10 days.
One of our primary focuses this week will be towards the Ecuadorian family that we met at the airport. Like many Ecuadorian families, this family lives in a small house where the entire family lives without many of the commodities that we would expect. Though they are believers in Christ, the father fell into alcoholism some time ago and just came out of a rehabilitation program one week ago. He has a fresh fire for the Lord, and it is our desire to be an encouragement to him as he tries to put the pieces back together and be a strong father for his family.
Then we traveled to Quito to church and afterwards ate pizza at Courtney and Juan Carlos' house. We watched the World Cup Finals in soccer and got to know each other better.
We came back to camp for a free time and will be having supper soon. We hope to put up some pictures soon to show you this beautiful spot and some of the people here. Thanks for your prayers and support. We couldn't be here without you.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Prayer requests for the week
Saturday, July 10th - This is our travel day to
-Please pray that we will be a blessing to each person that we come into contact with in the airport and on the airplanes.
-Pray that we will respond to any frustrations with a grace that makes others homesick for what we have.
-Pray for unity on our team as we will spend more than 12 hours in transit
Sunday, July 11 - This is our day of rest. We will attend an Ecuadorian church and go through an orientation of the camp.
-Please pray that we will spend time individually and corporately in prayer and preparation for the week that is ahead of us.
-Pray that we will be an encouragement to the missionary couple that is hosting us – Juan Carlos and Courtney Cevallos.
Monday, July 12 - This will be our first full day at the camp. We will spend some time with the Ecuadorian family that we will be serving alongside and will learn how the camp reaches out to the community around it.
-Pray that we will be able to show the love of Christ to this family through our words and actions.
-Pray that as the kids see and learn about the ministry at the camp, they’ll develop a passion for missions and be able to see God’s heart for the nations.
Tuesday, July 13 - Wednesday, July 14th – These will be full work days. We just learned this past week that we will be building a climbing wall instead of concrete steps.
-Pray for servants’ hearts—that we’ll seek to go above and beyond to help in any way.
-Pray that the work will be something that everyone will be involved in, and that the families will grow closer as they serve together.
-Pray for our attitudes as we may be facing culture shock and tiredness from the work/ altitude (9000ft).
-Pray for the oldest daughter of the Ecuadorian family, Priscilla, since she has plans to go to seminary.
Thursday, July 15 - Friday, July 16 – We will also spend two days serving a local church and doing activities with Compassion International kids.
-Pray that we will show the love of the Father to these kids who do not know their earthly fathers.
-Pray that God will raise up at least one of the kids on our team to one day become a long-term missionary.
Saturday, July 17th - We will spend our last morning at the local church, eating breakfast with some of the older kids, before heading into Quito (the capital of Ecuador) to spend the day.
-Pray that we will be a blessing to each person that we interact with and that we will be able to share the Gospel with some of the people that we meet.
Sunday, July 18th - This will be our second day of rest. We will attend a local church, then spend a couple of hours at a tourist locale in
-Pray that we will not forget why we are in
Monday, July 19th - This will be our last workday (on the climbing wall) and we will serve alongside the Ecuadorian family.
-Pray that we will finish strong.
Sunday, July 20th - We will spend all day in transit back to
-Pray for us as we reflect on all that the Lord has done in us and through us.
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