Nuevos Amigos (New Friends)

The week in Ecuador is coming to an end. It is difficult to finds words to express what we have experienced this week. I think most of us are "spent" emotionally and physically. As you read thru the other members daily blogs, you will find we have unconditionally poured out our hearts this week only to have God fill them back up. Not only filling them back up, but filling them until they are overflowing with His grace and love.

Prior to coming to Ecuador, I had spent a week in Peru working on Hannah's Home with some of the most wonderful people you could ever meet. We worked, played and worshiped together. I felt as if I had climbed the mountain top and met God face to face. I didn't think I could ever have this experience again. To be honest, I came to Ecuador to meet my Compassion children, Katiuska and Jose. I was tired and coming off one of the most wonderful times of my life. I hadn't expected God to have me climb another mountain. Well, God knew better. This week was another climb to the hilltop where God was waiting for me to meet Him.

Each of the blogs have been written by people I have not known. I'm sure I have passed them in the halls of RiverTree. But until this week, they were just other folks attending the same church that I love.

This week I have experienced another climb on God's mountain. Like last week, I did not do it alone. For He has given me "nuevos amigos" (new friends). Friends who I will no longer just pass in the halls of our Church. But they will be "amigos" who I will worship with, pray for and love for the rest of my life.

These "nuevos amigos" are not just the members of our Ecuador mission team but are all the people we met this week. They are the people we have had the priviledge to meet, love, learn from and minister to this week:
- They are the Ecuadorian people, who on a daily basis, minister to those who do not have much.
- They are the people whom we have met living in poverty.
- They are the children we visited who have been abandoned and must live in an orphanage until someone begins their climb on God's mountain.
- They are the people who are my "nuevos amigos" and have been writing about their eperiences all week.
- They are the people who God puts in our path each and every day as we make our climb to meet Him.

Climbing God's mountain is not always easy. But we do not do it alone. We do it with with each other. May we be willing to seek out those who are in need and give of ourselves each and every day. For if we are willing to give of ourselves to God's children in need; if we are willing to begin the climb to the mountain God has planned for our lives, we will meet new friends along the way and God will pour out His blessings more than we can every imagine.

In Him,
Bruce

The day with our kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW!!!!!!!!!! What a day! Almost beyond words!!!! After breakfast and devotions, we had a word of prayer. We prayed to settle our nerves. None of had met our kids before, and we all were stressed about it. I was nervous because I had only started sponsoring my boy Robin two weeks ago. My previous child had dropped out of the program.
As we sat on the bus waiting to go into the Compassion office, I don't think anyone uttered a word. We didn't know what to expect. We walked into the office and up a wide staircase where the children were waiting. They had us wait there and started calling names to match up to the kids. They called Jeremy first, and didn't even have to call his kid's names! A little boy rushed over and jumped into his arms and his little girl was right behind! It was like that every time they called one of our names. They called my name last. As I cleared that last step, a little 6 year old boy with the most beautiful smile came running over. I scooped him into my arms as tears were flowing down my face. I looked up and his mother was crying too. Any sense of anxiety instantly left all of us. There was nothing but love and open arms in that room.
We then boarded the bus and headed over to a beautiful park in the downtown area of Quito. When we got there, we went to a pavillion where we gave our kids the backpacks full of gifts that we brought. It was like Christmas!!! The kids absolutely loved it! We brought them toys, clothes, dolls, and we gave each one a childrens bible printed in espanol. What a glorious time. I think we enjoyed this as much if not more than the kids.
We then had about 45 minutes to play with the kids. Some of us kicked a futbol (soccer ball) back and forth. Others played on the swings, monkey bars and slides. Ray-Ray got his boy a nerf football and was playing catch. I looked up just in time to see him get hit in the eye trying to catch it! It was a pretty funny sight. IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES TILL SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE--THEN ITS HILARIOUS!!!! Just kidding- he wasn't hurt.
Just before lunch, one of the translaters organized a game of paco-paco, gonzo. (duck-duck, goose) It was muy loco! Us gringos hadn't played that game in 30+ years.
I picked a gray-haired lady thinking she would be slow---she almost beat me! Craig picked Ray-Ray, and RR can fly!!!! He caught up to Craig half way around the circle!
Then we ate lunch. It was very authentic Equadorian cuisine- KFC and fries! It was served picnic style on the lawn at the park--very relaxing. Some of us then rode some paddle boats. Mine would only go in circles.
We then boarded the bus and headed up the mountain to the Vulqano (volcano) amusement park. We were given credit cards with $12.00 each on them. Each ride costed between $1.00 to $2.50. (several years ago the government here switched to US currency) The rides were very clean and modern- you just swiped your card at each ride. We were there about an hour and a half. Very fun. Then we headed back to the Compassion offices.
I think this was the toughest part of the day - saying goodbye. None of us wanted to let go. We were all in tears, holding and kissing the children. It was also hard knowing the distance some of them had to travel back home. My little boy travelled nine hours on a bus each way, and I know he wasn't the only one. He whispered in the translaters ear and she repeated, when are you going to write me? Thru tears, I told him Monday! As he walked down the hill, he would turn around about every 10 to 15 feet and wave. It was almost heartbreaking.
After about an hour rest back at Extreme Response, we went to eat some authentic Equador barbeque. Nothing that would win a good old Canton ribs burnoff. After dinner, Craig, Ray and myself stopped for some frozen cappucinos. I think it was the best tasting thing all week!

Jonathan



Craig and Pepe (by the way ladies-Craig's single)



Heather, Monica and their interpreter.



Myself, Robin and his mother



Ray-Ray, Bryan, and his mother and sister



Jeremy, Juan and Elizabeth



Bruce, Jose, Katiuska, their mothers and Compassion directors


---and now some random photos of the day---



































ps. thanks to our fearless leader Ricky for taking pics while we played with our kids!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Up on the Roof

After three days I finally got the keys to the roof. It's a different view although it's only 20' higher than the window with a panoramic view. I guess it's 20' closer to God. Oops, lesson from Sunday -- God's not up, He's all around.

The Andes Mountains were crystal clear before the sun came up over the ridge. What a view!

I then became selfish with this view, did I want to go down and share it with the others or save it for myself? I went down and told Rick that you could see the one mountain clearly from the roof, but didn't expound on it. I finally invited Heather to come up and see my view. When she came up to the roof, she exclaimed how beautiful the view was and you could see the joy in her face.

Do you know what she did? She went down and told the others and they came up and shared my view. Some of you probably know where I'm going with this,my sharing with one, resulted in her sharing with four others and soon everyone was on the roof.

Lesson for today.

Our first stop today was an orphanage called, "For His Children". A beautiful facility, but as beautiful a place can be - buildings, trees and flowers - there is still the thought in your mind that it is still an orphanage and these beautiful children are still without loving parents.

James 1:27
Pure and faultless religion is this: too look after orphans and widows in their distress.

Here is a picture of a little girl I met. Her name is Beizabel.
We spent the next couple of hours playing with the kids, growing closer, becoming friends and still knowing soon we would be leaving. God was there, strengthening, loving, and healing. Heather showed incredible love and courage. The night before she shared that she was not looking forward to being with handicapped children, but view the picture and see what God can do through someone.

After the orphanage we needed a place to unwind, regroup our emotions and so we took a short bus ride through the mountains and arrived at the Equator. Really not much to see but a line on the earth, but hey, we can say we've been there.

Our final destination of the day was a Ecuadorian style soup kitchen. A ministry called "Pan de Vida" "Bread of Life". The ministry started with a man named Oscar meeting a little boy outside of church one day. Lunch with one became a meal with 15, which became a meal with 60 and tonight 125 people received a filling meal. Old, young, limping, kids on the backs of mothers, dirty, clean, smiling. All sizes and shapes. All God's children. What a group, volunteers from Great Britain, Russia, Ecuador, Ohio, and Idaho.

Children always want to be held. They know you for 10 seconds and there arms are outstretched and they are lifted up and held...and then they don't want down. It's hard to imagine these people’s lives, smiling and cheerful, kids running and playing, but knowing this could be your and your child's last meal until Saturday. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we are learning about ourselves and God. Tomorrow is a new day, new friends and more learning.

No night would be complete without a picture of Rick in an apron.

Goodnight and God Bless from Ecuador,

Craig

Kids, Statues and Dominos!

It's Tuesday and I can't believe how slowly the week is going. I mean that in a good way. The culture here allows you to be more laid back and relaxed which is pretty refreshing. We had a full day today. We picked up 4 translators from the Compassion office and took an hour long bus ride to Iglesia Evangelica Bilingue La Nueva Jerusalem. To the right are 2 of our beautiful translators - Malena and Carolina. Real sweethearts.

The Jerusalem building serves 2 purposes for Compassion - one is for a regular facility for the Compassion kids to eat, learn and play; the other is for their Child Survival Program (CSP) for children under the age of 4. We were warmly welcomed by the staff and were given a tour of the facilities. To the right are 3 of the beautiful kids I met - Jorel, Chiide and Andrea.

The photo to the right shows 5 of the mothers involved with the Child Survival Program who came out and presented a special dance (baile) just for us. Very cool. Upstairs, we saw a room where several women were sewing clothes. These were mothers who were earning their way for their children to be involved in the CSP. The quality of clothing was just like anything you would find in one of our department stores.

After we served 125 Compassion kids lunch, we headed off to visit the household of a family who was in the Survival program. We visited Lillian, whose house was about a 10x12 area divided into a bedroom/living room and a kitchen (pictured). They had a fridge, small gas stove, no running water and no bathroom. The pastor of the project spent time with the kids playing and reading with them. Then we gave them a box full of food (rice, mush, noodles, crackers, butter and chocolate). After our visit we prayed for Lillian and her family. I would pray a phrase in English and Calrolina would pray the translation. It was very moving.

On the bus ride back, Craig, Jeremy and Bruce decided to throw candy in front of some local children as we sped 35 mph down bumpy roads. Screams of "Niños!" (no, Heather, that doesn't mean 'candy') and "Caramellos!" had most of us in tears picturing them accidentally beaming the kids in the head with the sugary treats. We then traveled up a mountain called El Panecillo (9895 ft above sea level) to view the awe-inspiring Virgin Mary statue pictured to the right. The statue was a gift from Spain in 1976. It's made of 7,000 pieces of aluminum and stands 134 feet tall. The Ecuadorians say the statue is unique in that it may be the only portrayal of Mary with wings. The 360 degree view of the city from atop this hill was incredible - especially with thunderstorm clouds rolling over the Andes.

Dinner tonight was something special as we had 3 graduates of Compassion's Leadership Development Program as well as their director join us for some good old American Dominos pizza. These young men and women grew up being sponsored through Compassion and continued on to the university (normal sponsorship ends when the child turns 18). They each shared about how grateful they were to God and to their sponsors for the opportunities they had growing up in the program. More importantly, they shared their dreams about how they want to impact their communities in a positive way after they graduate. Jonathan wants to be a math teacher and encourage kids not to shy away from difficult subjects; Jose' wants to study Artificial Intelligence in Japan and come back to Ecuador and use technolgy to improve their water supply system; Fanny wants to open a business where she teaches women to sew. It was a very emotional night. Pictured from left to right are: Craig (not in the program), Jonathan, Jose', Fanny and Yesenia.

We finished the night off with Shirley's homemade chocolate chip/oatmeal raisin cookies and ice cream. Muy delicioso!

OK, the team is hounding me to death to publish this blog already since I started it an hour and 1/2 ago. They obviously don't appreciate the time put into research, formatting and using proper grammar!

Alright, buenos noches, Ohio!

Ray

; Hola! Well we had a very busy day but very rewarding day too. We headed out about 8:00am to go to the Nuevos Amigos School to visit with the children there (ages 2-4 yrs old); paint a new class room that was recently added; visit with children that are older and part of the Compassion Project there and then in the evening we went and had dinner with a few of the families that attend the Nuevos Amigos Church; at their homes - WHAT A BLESSING!!! So let me explain a little bit about the Nuevos Amigos school it is really cool. Shirley (Missionary wife at location) shared with us her intent and dreams for this mission. The intention is to continue to add another age level to the school each year so that the 4yr olds they have now will have classes and education for their 5yr old level next year and continue up to the ages of 12. The second dream she and her husband have is to give each of these children in this community that attend the mission/school the opportunity to DREAM! These little ones don't have much around them that look like great doors of opportunity - but Shirley and Tomas are doing a wonderful job by the grace of God to offer those doors to them. While there today we got to spend some wonderful interactive time with the children in their classrooms; at lunch and even outside just playing around. Hopefully the pictures indicate the sweet pleasure that was enjoyed by them and us today as we shared time just being together and having fun. We all had a blast. In between playing and serving lunches we painted one of their school rooms that had recently been added. We put a coat of paint on then played with kids; put a coat of paint on then played with the kids; put a coat of paint on then ... well I think you get it. Man it was a great time! We (the team) sat down this evening just to share about our day and the things that God was showing us or laying on our hearts. There were a number of things shared; and each of us are receiving blessing and awareness of how great our God is to all people and whispers in our hearts of what else can we do. We all hope that all of you who are sharing in our adventure with God are hearing a whisper from the Holy Spirit too. Thank you all for your prayers and support! We are having a wonderful time! Tomorrow - we go to another compassion project ... stay tuned!!!

Jeremy Chapman 7/16 9:18pm

Church at San Pablo

Today we spent our morning in church. From the picture you can see that they had a childrens lesson. Witnessing a church service all in Spanish was amazing. How awesome to be a part of that. God hears us no matter what language we speak. Praise and worship was a long part of the service, and we even got to clap, jump and turn around! We could feel that God was there among us.

This afternoon we went to the outside market and enjoyed some shopping and watching kids play in the park.

One thing that struck me was that laughter in any language is still laughter!

We are all looking forward to tomorrow. We will be going to do some painting and physical labor stuff. We are also going to have lunch at the Compassion Project.

Well, we need to head off to bed. Still getting used to the elevation and still recovering from a long day of flying yesterday.

Heather

We are here

We made it. All is well. Church tomorrow ( today actually ) at San Pablo.

Rick