Student Team - Update Numero Uno!

For the previous three days, our team has been in the town of Caupicho in the city of Quito, Ecuador. The church there is building a worship center facility that will include meeting space, classrooms, and meeting rooms. This is a HUGE project for a small church in a poor community but Pastor Santiago and his church have faith that God will supply what they need to accomplish the project.

That is where we came in… a portion of the money that we paid to come on this trip helped to pay the cost of the materials to continue this project. Not only that, we provided a lot of free labor to get the work done! And though the conditions were challenging, we felt overwhelmed by how Pastor Santiago and the church family went overboard making us feel welcome. They prepared incredible meals… and even treated us to an Ecuadorian delicacy - Guinea Pig!!



Thanks for your prayers! We are all healthy and serving well. Parents, you should be very proud of your students. They are having a great time serving together and each one will be leaving Ecuador changed. We miss you and are excited to share with you all of the details when we return.

For now, here are a few highlights from the trip so far:

6/19 Sunday Church Services
We went to church in downtown Quito on Sunday morning and in Caupicho on Sunday night. The worship was incredible. Three students shared their testimonies, Matt shared a message, and the Ecuadorians sang some traditional music in the evening service!

6/20 Construction Begins
We started off the week by digging 10 holes between five and six feet deep to serve as a foundation for the new building. We also spent some time in the afternoon at a local park - playing games and hanging out with people in the community.



6/21 Concrete and Rebar
We mixed and poured concrete in the holes that had been dug. We also moved some small rocks into each hole to provide additional strength. Support towers of rebar were also put together to be set on the foundation the next day. Vacation Bible School in the park for the kids in the afternoon and some futbol in the park rounded out our day.




6/22 Towers in Place
Our rebar towers were set in place and the hardest work began - carrying the large rocks in teams of two from the street, down a ramp and into the foundation holes we dug at the beginning of the week. At night, the Ecuadorians challenged us to a futbol match at a local stadium. Though we fought valiantly, we lost and had to buy Coke's for the victors.



Our time in Caupicho ended last night with a "thank you" from the church. They had gifts for each of us - large bags for the guys and smaller ones for the girls. They also took time to thank us personally for our work. As we prayed together, there was not a dry eye in the house. Every student has been impacted in a huge way by our time in Caupicho!