Chow!

You know you are in another country when… a group of 11 enter a crowded church service and the entire first row jumps up and insist you take the best seat in the house…. You watch 10 people hop into a small 4-seater cab… When a pedicure cost $6.00

Hola! Sunday was our last day in Ecuador. Today brings a full day of travel. Sunday we had a wonderful time shopping, having lunch on a river bank walk, playing cards and a sweet, sweet time of communion as a team with our missionary host.
However, one highlight was being able to attend a large Ecuadorian church. We listened to 1,000 voices worship followed by an anointed message on “Turning your problems into opportunities.” This message touched me deeply. As the pastor spoke (and I understood bits and pieces!) all I could think about was the various communities I had visited and how hard it has to be to stay positive, yet this was a very uplifting and joyful Sunday celebration from the music and dance to the words that were spoken. Our sprits joined in even if we didn’t speak the language and the presence of God was thick around us.

I was asked to say a few words to the congregation. With the help of The Holy Spirit (and my trusty interpreter!) I greeted the congregation and explained we were from a church called “Hope” Our goal is to bring hope to our Charlotte, NC Community. What a privilege and a joy to be in their country bringing hope to the boys & girls of Ecuador as well. Every Sunday at Hope church we have a scripture that is a blessing that we pray over our people as they exit. (I went on to read that scripture as a blessing over this church body as well.) Ironically, it was probably at about the same time that our Pastor in Charlotte was reading this scripture over our Hope Church… Isn’t it wonderful that we are all part of the same church body! How God must love Sunday’s as he receives the praises from people of many lands and languages

Romans 15:13 I pray that the God of hope will fill you completely with joy & peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confidence hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Chow….

Anticipation!

You know you are in another country when... You eat at a high end restaurant over looking the ocean and a dog runs in and out and curls up by your table... you see guards, traffic patrol and various men walking around with machine guns... some people burn their yards rather than mow them! (I know several of you have had that thought at one time or another!)

Hola! I had been telling the team that I had a special surprise for them on Saturday. Some team members tried to pry it out of me all week long, but I had fun keeping this surprise from them. Watching their The anticipation of the surprise day was fun! Finally last night the word was released: Whale Watching! I wanted to reward them with a fun, fun day. And it worked! We had a fantastic time that included whales, water and a fabulous restaurant spot overlooking the ocean. This team has worked so very hard this week with NO complaining and I so anticipated sharing this time with them.
Our heavenly father is also planning a special blessing for His "team members" One that we are in anticipation of, but really can not imagine how wonderful it will be. As his tired servants are rewarded. Oh, how much fun I have anticipating what that day will be like. And I imagine the Lord is anticipating it with great joy as well. Chow.

Dessert... my favorite part of the meal!

You know you are in another country when... you count iguanas during car rides, the goats are on leashes but the dogs run free, you see a baby crawling on a dirt floor with chickens walking around him inside a small home!

Hola! Have you ever made a special dessert that came out just perfect? As the cook you may even taste tested it. However, the best joy comes when you get to serve the dessert to your family and friends. Hoping that they like it as much as you do. Waiting for their expression as they exclaim "This is sooooo good" That is the feeling that I have as a missions team leader. Of our 6-person team only 2 of us had done missions trips in the past. As we shared our memories from the week, I know each team member is forever changed, touched and challenged by their experiences this past week. Today was our last full day of ministry and many laughs were shared, hugs were given and photos were taken. I so enjoyed watching each team member inhale this "dessert" set before them, and I could tell each of them thought is was "one of the best desserts they had even eaten." Hopefully, we will all be able to taste it again someday, but we will have the memory of the flavor to enjoy for a lifetime.... Chow!

Be Greatful!

You know you are in another country when...you are told to shake your shoes & clothes before wearing them in case a scorpion crawled in, the dogs are thinner than the cats, and you watch a funeral procession complete with men carrying a casket walking through the city streets about 5 miles to the cemetery!

Hola, Today we were in the poorest of the poor communities in Ecuador. Along with doing our program twice... (half the kids go to morning school and the other half to afternoon school) between the two programs we helped in the soup kitchen and fed approximately 60 children. I received more kisses in this one day than probably in the past couple of months combined. We loved on dirty babies and scared children, then we left them in their impoverished community, returned to our beautiful surroundings, took a dip in the pool, showered and then went out for fruit smoothies and pizza. How can I wrap my mind around a day like this? While I can go to bed clean, full & refreshed there are so many children hot, dirty and hungry. We can never understand the unfairness of life. However, I can be grateful for the life I have been priviledged to lead.... Chow

Indescribable

Hola! You know you are in another country when... You can't rinse your toothbrush in the sink... when cows freely roam along the roadside... when a drive thru is a man in the middle of the road selling bags of cut up fruit or cold bottles of water!

A week ago today I was blessed to stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon the sight was truly indescribable. Greg & I took several pictures but it just cannot capture the beauty of it all. That is how I am feeling at this moment about my day. I do not have the vocabulary at present to explain it, even though I try. My next thought is: about this time last week I was walking through the Las Vegas Strip where people were mindlessly inserting coins into slot machines hoping to strike it rich. Sad thing, is from where I stand today, they are rich, very rich according to the standards of 75% of the world and don't even recognize it.

We painted at the orphanage then did another kids' program for the boys, we then went to another location and did our 2nd day of programs for them. The smiles and hugs and kisses were endless, they were so happy we had returned. They knew all the songs and clapped as the van approached. When we left I gave the Pastor a stack of color sheets. He was very excited, We had given the children crayons. He announced to the boys & girls as they left, "Come Sunday, we have color sheets from the Missionaries", "Remember to bring your crayons!" And the 150 boys and girls will do just that! What they accomplish with no supplies is truly amazing.... no it's indescribable!

Who needs a building to have church?

Hola! You know you are in another country when... You can't flush toilet paper, Five lanes of traffic fit on a road made for three, and you watch the garbage being picked up by a man on a bike, he would carry one large black bag then several minutes later return and carry away another one until the entire pile had been removed!

Many countries are full of extremes and Ecuador certainly fits that category. The host home we are staying in is very nice (even by American standards) the gated community is complete with armed security & a beautiful tile pool surrounded by tropical plants. After our team meeting we had time for a relaxing hour of swimming and tanning, then the vacation ended and the missions' trip began!

Our first stop today was at a boys' orphanage. The children range in ages from 5-12. The circumstances that lead to their arrival is unspeakable. They attended our program in their very best clothes, as they were informed that we were taking their pictures. Their housemother did not want them to play or get dirty until the shot had been taken. We had a fantastic program, made crafts, took pictures and then "tried" to play dodge ball. Please note the word "tried" Every time a boy got a ball they immediately began to play futball (soccer!) We will return to this location tomorrow to paint, do another program and make frames for their pictures. However, the most important thing we are doing is giving one on one, kind touches and hugs to loved starved boys (Oh how I'd like to put one in my suitcase!)

Our next stop was at a "church" This church was one-year old, about the age of Hope. When we arrived the Pastor was in the process of standing on a "stick ladder" hanging a beautiful silk backdrop. What makes this interesting is the church consists of a water dispenser, outhouse, back wall, and partial tarp roof. (They knew their priorities, in that heat you need water, and of course a bathroom! No walls, no floors, no roof! I had picked up a couple of paint tarps in the States, and I was glad I did. The neighboring home brought over several plastic chairs and we put down the tarps, music began to play and over 120 boys and girls jammed into a space no bigger than my garage. Again the team did a great job and we left with lots of kisses and hugs. We will return to do another program their tomorrow with a surprise. We have given gifts at every location but we have clothes for these children in addition to those gifts tomorrow. When you see a group of people reaching an entire community with so little resources, it sure makes one hesitate to complain about any of our facilities or setup and teardown.

The heat was intense, we returned hungry, dirty (very dirty) and oh... so tired, but it is a good...good tired. Chow

Peanut butter, Pinwheels & Prayer

Hola! You know you are in another country when peanut butter is $8.00 per jar and gas is 1.49! Considering the average wage is 1.25/hr that means one would work  just a little more than 6 hours for one jar of peanut butter!

This morning we had a great team devotion and then drove about 1 1/2 hours to a village by a river. The small church had 65 kids gathered for the special surprise promised by their pastor...us! While the program went great & we had a blast, the first day of ministry can often mean adjustments to the plan... such as: Why did we think we could explain to the boys & girls how to make pinwheels in Spanish? Most of the team couldn't even explain it to each other in English! (needless to say, we will be bringing home several pinwheels) Another funny glitch was during the game time.  While Greg was giving the explanation of "capture the flag" one little guy ran, grabbed the flag, and yelled, "I won".   All the boys laughed. Then the game proceeded to be a free-for-all wrestling match...time for a new game.  

Have you ever seen a magnet on a desk with a box of paper clips? That's what it looked like when team member Krystal started handing out dimes, a huge circle of kids uncontrollably drawn to her, we knew Krystal was in there.... someplace!

We were priviledged to spend this evening with over 50 area pastors. They traveled, mainly taking busses, from a radius of 2 1/2 hours. They do this every Monday night. No one is in a hurry for the service to start or end. For them it is all about relationship and time together.  Most of their churches can not support them, so they all have side jobs as well.  I had the priviledge of being their guest speaker and encouraging them in their calling. God gave us a wonderful service together.

Hundreds of pictures were snapped, our day was filled with hugs, laughter, smiles and heat. Today was a great day and the best thing is I know that it will be followed by another one! Chow.

We Were Scanned at the Airport!

Hola! It is such a blessing to be a part of the first ever "Hope Missions Team" Our day started with the team meeting at 7:15 AM in the Charlotte airport (currently it is 2:30 AM so I hope this blog makes sense!)  It was a smooth day of sitting, eating, playing cards; listening to I-pods, and of course talking and texting on the phone until the last minute!
A new experience for me was being scanned at the Ecuador Airport before we were allowed to enter the country. Due to the swine flu, they had each person stand in front of an infra-red scanner of some sort, it could tell if you had a fever. Just watching it made me need to cough! What if they thought I was sick and I wasn't, my tired brain was on overload!
I know we are going to have a great week of adventure as we bless the boys & girls, our missionary host and each other. Keep watching the blog as I will share our daily adventures...Chow!