A short-term mission team from the University of West Alabama’s Wesley Foundation will be in Ecuador May 8-15. Please pray for them as they serve the children and adults at Dulce Refugio in Villaflora, Quito. They will be posting throughout the week about their experiences.

May 10 – When is the Last Time You Drank Some Water? by Genevieve Baughman and MaeLee Taylor

Rise and shine, bright and early – without an alarm clock. There was a bit of a mix-up with the wake-up call.  Luckily, most of us were awake at some point before the morning devotional time. This morning, Rachel shared Scripture and a brief message.

Today was the first day on the work site. Our VBS and construction teams worked hard today alongside the Ecuadorian church members. The construction team on the roof was blessed by the songs the VBS team led for and with the children in the rooms below. The roof construction area was a tad bit on the warm side. However, the “water” person made sure the team was well hydrated and sun-screened. The construction team actually got a bit perturbed, in a humorous manner, by the constant barrage of “Make sure you drink your water. Have you reapplied sunscreen?”  The team worked on the infrastructure that will at some point be concrete pillars. This consisted of placing “S” bars, tying them onto the existing structure with rebar, and repeating the process many times over. The work was enjoyable though tiring to the team. We look forward to a good night’s sleep tonight.

The VBS team was truly blessed today, as we were able to share the Gospel with children from the ages of 1 to 14. The children are very loving and pay attention so well. It is amazing to see and experience God in this form of ministry.

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A short-term mission team from the University of West Alabama’s Wesley Foundation will be in Ecuador May 8-15. Please pray for them as they serve the children and adults at Dulce Refugio in Villaflora, Quito. They will be posting throughout the week about their experiences.

May 9 – Genevieve Baughman

Part of the team met early Saturday morning at the Wesley Foundation to pack the van and head out to Atlanta. Wilson, Melvin, Rachel, and MaeLee all met us at the airport since they drove separately. The trip to the airport was full of excitement and anticipation as we prepared ourselves for our 5:30 pm flight. It was also full of a few napping team members.  Scott mentioned that he was eager to witness the change in direction of the water. We passed through the normal checkpoints with only one hold-up: Ketia’s bobby pins.  We attempted to document this special occasion, but were warned by security that this was not allowed. The five-hour flight lasted what seemed to be well into the night. However, we arrived in Quito, Ecuador around 10:30 pm. Sleepy passengers waited in line to go through the South American customs to be joyfully greeted by Dr. Roberto and Nanny. After arriving at the Hotel Tambo Real, we were given a few instructions, room keys and permission to take our exhausted bodies to bed.

Sunday morning, we met for a devotion given by Ketia from a few chapters of 1 Corinthians. Her message relayed the importance of unity in being the body of Christ and serving in love.  Breakfast was delicious (as have all the meals been at the hotel). Our next order of business was the bus ride to the Middle of the World. We were able to spend some time on the tour learning about early tribes native to Ecuador. We were also able to witness the water flowing in three directions: straight down, clockwise and counter clockwise. A few team members were able to balance the egg, in addition to walking the equator without stumbling. The next stop we were allowed to visit the spot that was thought to be the original middle of the world, yet it was not so due to miscalculations many years ago. The bus rides throughout Ecuador have allowed us to view much that we have not before. On our last stop of the afternoon, we went to church at Mama Yoli’s and were blessed by the welcome we received. What joy it is to see so many worship the Lord and in so many ways! Rachel and MaeLee joined some of the women in praise by dancing. Ashley shared a bit of her testimony. Wilson translated the message given today.

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May 6 – Wilson Kendrick

It is hard to believe that after a year of work and faith walking in our preparation for Ecuador we are ready to board the plane in a couple of days. Tomorrow, we will load as much as we can get into one vehicle, and the next day we will all meet in Atlanta and make our way to Quito. I can only imagine that the children we are going to work with next week in Villaflora are just as ready for us as we are for them. Many thanks to those who have helped us to make this trip. There are countless people who have helped us with their donations and their time and their prayers. We would not be going without you. So keep watching this blog on SIFAT’s website, and write us some comments. We hope to have some photos, too. May God bless you in your daily ministries where ever you might be.

Our current intern in Ixiamas, Bolivia, is 2008 Practicum graduate Becky Forrest. Becky served on short-term mission trips in 2007 and 2008 in Ixiamas. She is now in her second year as an intern.

Yay! The heat has broken for now in Ixiamas! Easter Sunday blessed us with a thunderstorm and cooling winds. It finally got below 80. I believe winter is on its way. They say it has been cold in LaPaz; I guess I will see for myself in another month when I go to start the process of renewing my visa. I pray it will be an easier process than last year.

Most of the students went home over the long Easter weekend. Schools were closed for Good Friday here. Easter is not celebrated here like it is in the US. In fact, church services were not held in Ixiamas because it was Election Day to elect a new mayor. There are no chocolate bunnies or marshmallow Peeps to eat or colored eggs to hunt. Thank the Lord I had CD’s of last Easter’s service at Belin UMC, my home church. Holy Week was always special for me, since the choir had a lot of special music at that time. I have to admit to being a little homesick. With the students gone, the staff took turns cooking, so we had some really good meals that were different than what we normally have. I still had a little cornmeal left from the bag a group brought me last year, so I cooked black-eyed peas and cornbread muffins.

We also had the big chicken slaughter. We have been raising chickens to sell as one of our money making projects. Saturday, we sold around 20, so there was much work to be done since they had to be slaughtered and cleaned. I back away from the task and took the position of photographer and helped with some cleanup afterward. Rachel stepped right in there and plucked three. She did a good job but was a little slower than Mercedes (our cook), Delia (animal and grounds caretaker) and Nancy (our only student here). Those ladies have had much experience with chickens–a lost art in my family, and one I don’t really want to learn.

English classes are going really well. We have had a request for another class on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. At the present time, I have 10 students with classes 4 nights a week. They seem to be enjoying learning, and we have a good time with lots of laughs at some of the pronunciations. It is also helping me with my Spanish, which is coming along. I am trying to do my devotions with the students in Spanish this year. I write it out in English, and then translate to Spanish. Eduardo, my Spanish teacher, then reads it and helps me to correct the grammar. I have really been learning a lot that way and he says he enjoys my devotionals.

We will be finishing the rice harvest this week. We had a lot left over from last year, so Andres did not plant as much this year and planted later in the year. Many people in the area who planted early lost most of their crops to disease, but God has blessed our harvest. We will have plenty.

Please keep the Internado in your prayers.
Blessings,
Becky