Sunday, May 31, 2015

Sunday Fun Day!

Today has been such a blessing and a treat. Let me start off by saying that if you ever get the opportunity to visit this place, take it!

After we left the hotel this morning, we set out for the Middle of the World museum. It was quite a lengthy drive, but worth every mile. We got to stand in both hemispheres at once, balance an egg on a nail, and see and experience the culture and history of this area. There is so much history to be learned from this experience and today was only our first full day!

After our journey to the middle of the world, we came back to our hotel and had a wonderful lunch before going to church. 

If you think people from the south like to eat, try going to Ecuador!  

There are so many things to be thankful for, but being able to worship with a different culture was the most rewarding experience. From singing worship songs to hearing the Word of God in Spanish, to say the presence of the Lord was in this place is an understatement. We joined together in singing "Here I Am to Worship" in both English and Spanish which brought many tears of joy as we worshipped. I will save all the details for later, but here are a few visuals to give you an idea of where we were today. 

I will leave you with this thought: When you go to sleep tonight in your comfy bed in your home no matter the size, just remember that you are blessed. Please pray for us as we go to our posts of construction and VBS tomorrow. Thanks for reading!











Traveling to Ecuador!

First, I would like to start off by thanking everyone who made this trip possible. God has blessed us beyond measure and we are so very grateful!  We hope you enjoy our posts throughout the week as we share the awesome things that God is doing through us. Thank you all for your prayers and kind words. 

This is a prayer cloth someone made for everyone on our team. Beautiful!

Yesterday was our travel day and boy was it exciting. We started our day off at 3am as we met at the church. Our team consists of 10 gals and 2 guys so I'm sure you can imagine the giggles and funny moments at that early of an hour. It was then that we decided to start a journal of quotable moments for our trip. From Tristen Fitts starting off the day by saying how she "loves the sky" to Lee Stringfellow ending our first day with "You  can't go wrong with meat and potatoes.", we had such an amazing and peaceful journey to South America. 

Our first stop after check-in at Hotel Tambo Real... McDonald's of course.

The food in Ecuador, even McDonald's, is amazing. One of our SIFAT guides told us that everything is prepared with fresh ingredients. I'm sure good ole Mickey D's has some processed foods happening, but it was way better than any fast food I've had in the US. We anticipated eating decent food, but we never expected steak and potatoes on our very first night!  We can't wait to see what else is in store!!

It is time to go out and start the day so we will post more later, but before we go, here are a few photos from our journey thus far:










Thursday, May 28, 2015

Youth and Adult Team to Leave for Ecuador in two days!

These 11 people plus one more will be leaving in the wee hours Saturday, May 30 for Quito, Ecuador where they will serve the children and families of the village of Calderon for 8 days. They will be providing Vacation Bible School as well as programs for pre-teens and teens in the area. They will also be helping to construct the church/daycare facility that will house programs year-round for area children and youth. This building will provide a safe place for them while parents are away, not to mention daily meals and Christian-based programs and activities.

Will you join these teens and adults in this important mission by praying for them? Please use this link and sign up for a specific time so we can keep them covered in prayer 24-7 while they are away.

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f054fada829a3fc1-ecuador

They will be posting to this blog as they can while on their trip!

Team members are: Wade Andrews, Kade Laws-Andrews, Jaci Laws, Jada Laws, Paul Biederman, Cammie Boller, Jaylee Dempsey, Tristen Fitts, Sarah Greer, Ashley Huffmaster, Erin Stringfellow, and Lee Stringfellow.