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Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Bus rides, cement and people
Hello everyone!
We just arrived at our hostel in Quito from our week in Shandia. It was an amazing week with speed bumps, fun and a ton of learning experiences.
We left Monday morning around 10:30 for our 5 hour bus ride and arrived in the village around 9:30 PM. There are two different ways to Shandia from Quito, one is around 5 hours and the other is about 7. There was a giant mudslide about half way through the 5 hour route, so we had to turn around and go the other way. It was quite the day but we were all very excited to be in the village and ready to work.
We were able to work with some amazing Ecuadorian people during our project. Our first full day there (Tuesday), we helped move a lot if river rocks to the site of a future discipleship center for church leaders in Shandia and the surrounding villages. We used wheelbarrows, shovels and just plain hard work. The team was amazing all week, so much so that one of the afternoons we were supposed to work, we got off because they wouldn't have had enough work for us! All the kids worked very, very hard and got a lot of work done. They use river rocks to hold the concrete in place, so once we got the rocks in place, we got sand and cement to make the concrete for the floor of the building. We got 45 bags of cement mixed with the sand, which is 3 wheelbarrows of sand per bag of cement. They were very pleased with the work we got done.
After work on Wednesday we ran a vacation Bible school for the kids in Shandia. We didn't exactly know how many kids we would have or the timing of everything, so it didn't go real smooth. Even though it could have been better, we connected with the kids and regathered ourselves that evening to do better on Friday. After we finished our work project in the morning, we took a thirty minute walk through the jungle to a small village named Santa Rosa to do the VBS. It went much better and we brought a couple kids from Shandia with us. It was the highlight of several people's week.
We got to stay in an awesome little tourist stop that was in the village. Unfortunately all but four of us got sick, some worse than others, but everyone is feeling pretty healthy now. It was a gorgeous village with amazing people!
Tomorrow we are going to the church we went to last week and to the market and one of the sites for Youth World to get a little tour. Then it's off to LA for a couple nights and home. We will post again before we get home. When we do get home we will have tons of pictures and many more details!
God bless and we love you! Thank you for all the prayers...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We just arrived at our hostel in Quito from our week in Shandia. It was an amazing week with speed bumps, fun and a ton of learning experiences.
We left Monday morning around 10:30 for our 5 hour bus ride and arrived in the village around 9:30 PM. There are two different ways to Shandia from Quito, one is around 5 hours and the other is about 7. There was a giant mudslide about half way through the 5 hour route, so we had to turn around and go the other way. It was quite the day but we were all very excited to be in the village and ready to work.
We were able to work with some amazing Ecuadorian people during our project. Our first full day there (Tuesday), we helped move a lot if river rocks to the site of a future discipleship center for church leaders in Shandia and the surrounding villages. We used wheelbarrows, shovels and just plain hard work. The team was amazing all week, so much so that one of the afternoons we were supposed to work, we got off because they wouldn't have had enough work for us! All the kids worked very, very hard and got a lot of work done. They use river rocks to hold the concrete in place, so once we got the rocks in place, we got sand and cement to make the concrete for the floor of the building. We got 45 bags of cement mixed with the sand, which is 3 wheelbarrows of sand per bag of cement. They were very pleased with the work we got done.
After work on Wednesday we ran a vacation Bible school for the kids in Shandia. We didn't exactly know how many kids we would have or the timing of everything, so it didn't go real smooth. Even though it could have been better, we connected with the kids and regathered ourselves that evening to do better on Friday. After we finished our work project in the morning, we took a thirty minute walk through the jungle to a small village named Santa Rosa to do the VBS. It went much better and we brought a couple kids from Shandia with us. It was the highlight of several people's week.
We got to stay in an awesome little tourist stop that was in the village. Unfortunately all but four of us got sick, some worse than others, but everyone is feeling pretty healthy now. It was a gorgeous village with amazing people!
Tomorrow we are going to the church we went to last week and to the market and one of the sites for Youth World to get a little tour. Then it's off to LA for a couple nights and home. We will post again before we get home. When we do get home we will have tons of pictures and many more details!
God bless and we love you! Thank you for all the prayers...
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Mission experience!
:)
Friends and family-
Today we started out the day by attending an english speaking church. It was a great experience attending a similar church but in a different culture. After we went to lunch and had empanadas and a delicious fruit bowl. We then got to go on a tour of the basilica which is a church that was built in 1910. I don't think I have ever walked up and down so many stairs (crowbars and chicken wire) in my life! Feet hurt just a little bit!! We walked around old town and saw many different churches and heard many different theories that have come from the churches. It was really great to learn about the culture we are in and try to understand where they are coming from. We took time to talk about our experiences from the day and talk about how god is using us here in Ecuador!
Talk to everyone soon!
Brittany
We had a great day and had a lot of fun! We are looking forward to leaving to the jungle and serving the people of Shandia. We leave for that in the morning and will be there for about 5 days and will update the blog when we get back. Tonight we had youth world partnership orientation and talked about how we want to have a mission experience instead of a trip. Something that changes us and the ones around us for ever rather than a trip that ends when we get back.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support! Prayer for our bus ride tomorrow and open hearts would be awesome.
Thanks and God bless!
The church we attended in the morning!
Our lunch..
The basilica
A view of Quito from the top of the basilica.
Friends and family-
Today we started out the day by attending an english speaking church. It was a great experience attending a similar church but in a different culture. After we went to lunch and had empanadas and a delicious fruit bowl. We then got to go on a tour of the basilica which is a church that was built in 1910. I don't think I have ever walked up and down so many stairs (crowbars and chicken wire) in my life! Feet hurt just a little bit!! We walked around old town and saw many different churches and heard many different theories that have come from the churches. It was really great to learn about the culture we are in and try to understand where they are coming from. We took time to talk about our experiences from the day and talk about how god is using us here in Ecuador!
Talk to everyone soon!
Brittany
We had a great day and had a lot of fun! We are looking forward to leaving to the jungle and serving the people of Shandia. We leave for that in the morning and will be there for about 5 days and will update the blog when we get back. Tonight we had youth world partnership orientation and talked about how we want to have a mission experience instead of a trip. Something that changes us and the ones around us for ever rather than a trip that ends when we get back.
Thanks again for all the prayers and support! Prayer for our bus ride tomorrow and open hearts would be awesome.
Thanks and God bless!
The church we attended in the morning!
Our lunch..
The basilica
A view of Quito from the top of the basilica.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Hacky sack, equator and kabob
After a long day (or 2) of airports and planes, we are in Quito!!
All the flights and transfers went really well and smooth. Everyone is settled into their rooms at the hostel and in good shape other than being very tired.
We went to a nice little local place for dinner and had some good local meat and vegetables.
Hi mom -Michael.
We made it! It's so amazing :) mom I can't wait to give you some pictures to paint and dad I found a skull for you... ;p love and miss you guys like crazy!!! -Shannon
Alright everyone, that's all for now. We will try and get pictures up tomorrow.
God bless!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
All the flights and transfers went really well and smooth. Everyone is settled into their rooms at the hostel and in good shape other than being very tired.
We went to a nice little local place for dinner and had some good local meat and vegetables.
Hi mom -Michael.
We made it! It's so amazing :) mom I can't wait to give you some pictures to paint and dad I found a skull for you... ;p love and miss you guys like crazy!!! -Shannon
Alright everyone, that's all for now. We will try and get pictures up tomorrow.
God bless!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Leaving LAX!!
We are just waiting in line to head to Panama City!
Everyone is doing well and ready for some sleep on the flight there. Played some fun impromptu games and enjoying each others company.
Looking forward to getting the trip going and blessing as many people as we can!!
God bless and thank you for the prayers!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Correction - Next meeting date has changed
Hey guys, I messed up. This sunday is father's day so we are moving our last meeting to June 26 (sunday) at the church from 6-7pm. You still need to bring all of your money from your letters and car wash cards and your passports. Call if you have questions.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Last Meeting - June 19
We are almost there!! One month from now, we will be boarding the flight to Quito! Here are some things that need to be done by our next meeting which is June 19.
-All support letter money needs to be turned in to Brian or brought to the meeting.
-Passports need to be brought to the meeting.
-All vaccines need to be complete.
-All car wash cards need to be sold and money turned in.
At the meeting we will listen to the stories prepared by the "story team" and will also talk about details before we leave.
-All support letter money needs to be turned in to Brian or brought to the meeting.
-Passports need to be brought to the meeting.
-All vaccines need to be complete.
-All car wash cards need to be sold and money turned in.
At the meeting we will listen to the stories prepared by the "story team" and will also talk about details before we leave.
Monday, May 16, 2011
car wash cards are here
Hey guys, for those of you ordered car wash cards, they are here. Let me know when you can stop by the church and I can give them to you.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Next team meeting
hey guys...just a reminder that we have our next team meeting this sunday after the second service. May 15 12-2pm Lunch is provided.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Fundraisers
Hey guys - hear is the deal on the car wash cards. We let Travel Clean know hao many cards we want to sell, we have one month to sell those cards, then we get 40% of the profit to apply to our trip. The cards are $35 each, which means for every card you sell you get $14 to go towards your trip. This is an individual fundraiser which means you only get the money from cards that you sell yourself. What I need from you this week is to let me know how many cards you think that you can realistically sell in one month. Please contact me this week with that number and then I will order the cards.
For your support letters, I will put a form letter on the church website for you to download and use. You can change the letter any way you would like to make it personal. Those letters should be sent out by the first week of May to allow a few weeks for responses.
Remember the rummage sale is on May 20 (pick up 3-7pm) May 21 (sale 6:30-2pm).
For your support letters, I will put a form letter on the church website for you to download and use. You can change the letter any way you would like to make it personal. Those letters should be sent out by the first week of May to allow a few weeks for responses.
Remember the rummage sale is on May 20 (pick up 3-7pm) May 21 (sale 6:30-2pm).
Friday, March 25, 2011
Date change for next meeting
Hey guys, here is the update for the next meeting. The original date for our April meeting was on Easter. That meeting will not happen - instead it will be on April 3 following the 2nd service. I just got our preliminary schedule and am excited to share it with you. See you then.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Next meeting
Hey guys, just a reminder that our next team meeting will be Sunday March 13. We will meet in the loft following the second service and conclude at 2:30 pm (lunch will be provided). Come prepared to share your spiritual journey to this point.
If you have not already gotten your passport, this is imperative!! Also make sure you have begun your vaccinations.
See you there.
If you have not already gotten your passport, this is imperative!! Also make sure you have begun your vaccinations.
See you there.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Movie Night
Just a reminder of our team movie night this friday night (February 18). We will meet at the Ruhnaus in Pinebrook at 6 pm for pizza and Ecuador movies. If you are not sure of the address please call me. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about the people we will be working with. See you Friday.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Tickets Booked!!
Through a miracle of God we got our tickets booked this week for $250.00 less than we were first quoted! I know that when I spoke to a few of you on the team last sunday, I said we need to pray for a miracle.........well - there you go. God has provided us with one. Lets not forget who our God is. I will give you all of the details at our next meeting. In the mean time, be sure to thank God for his provision for us.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Money, shots and stories
Hey guys, here is a reminder that our second meeting is this Sunday, January 30 following the second service. We will provide lunch and will be done at 2:30pm. Please come prepared to share something about your relationship with God and how you have arrived at that point in your faith.
A reminder that you should have begun your shots.
yellow fever
typhoid
tetnus
flu
hepatitus A & B
Your $500.00 deposit for airline tickets is also due on sunday.
See you then!
A reminder that you should have begun your shots.
yellow fever
typhoid
tetnus
flu
hepatitus A & B
Your $500.00 deposit for airline tickets is also due on sunday.
See you then!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Here we Go!!
This blog will be where you find all of the information that you need to stay up to date for our trip to Ecuador. Please visit this at least once a week and read it carefully so that you don't miss out on anything.
Our first team meeting will be on January 9 following the second service in the loft. We will provide lunch and will meet until 2:30pm.
Our first team meeting will be on January 9 following the second service in the loft. We will provide lunch and will meet until 2:30pm.
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