An Ecuadorian Mission Experience

Hey there folks,

I hope you have been enjoying the posts now that we have reliable internet connectivity. It is nice to be able to share our experiences with you in this way.

Today we started out with a devotional time at Carmen Bajo. On Saturday, the Pastor's wife, Grace, and the people of Carmen Bajo lead us in a devotional. Today, we were able to give back to them by leading the devotional. We sang a couple songs in spanish, and then we had two team members share their faith stories. I don't know that Beaumont had ever shared her faith like she did today, but she was dynamite, and the people of Carmen Bajo were so appreciative of her and her willingness to share. Gordon also shared his testimony, and it really touched the hearts of the people of CB. Both Beaumont and Gordon had stories that moved us all.

After a brief lesson on loving Jesus, we broke into 3 groups for work time. One group hacked up the trees that we cut down on Sat. It was a really tough job. Another group washed some of the large rugs that are used in classrooms and such. The third group sifted sand in a very large sifter. It was work that was tough, but not too terribly hard. They were little jobs that seemed to make a big difference to the people of CD. Finally, right before lunch, we pulled down the largest eucalyptus tree of the bunch. It was intense!

Lunch was very cool. They fixed us hamburgers! That is one example of some really funny things I have noticed. We have been trying to at least greet in Spanish and then they turn around and try their best to greet us in English. So funny and cute!

The afternoon was very chaotic! VBS was a blast, but it was somewhat structured chaos. We sang a couple Spanish worship songs: Todopoderoso and Tu Nombre Leventare (Lord I lift your name on high). We taught them the hand motions to Lord I lift your name on high. They seemed to really dig that. We were somewhat surprised, but we shouldn't have been, that they knew a lot of songs in Spanish that we know in English. We had a very improvised skit about the Good Samaritan that was hilarious! We spent a lot of time doing crafts. The kids were so content to simply color a coloring page, but we had some other stuff for them to do...like making wire and bead crosses and putting their hand print on a table cloth. We closed with a game of Twister and they loved it! It was hilarious.

We finished the evening with dinner at Grace's house. Grace is the pastor's wife, but he is currently in the US visiting churches. She fixed the most incredible tilapia that I have ever had! It was served with rice, salad, and delicious local fruit.

It is getting late, and I am whooped! Off to bed. Tomorrow will be a fun day, so I look forward to sharing our adventures with you...we'll be eating guinea pig for dinner! Hasta luego!

blessings,
dorian