The Jungle Adventure

Hello Daybreak Family,

First, we want to thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. This trip truly changed each one of us. We can't wait to tell you all of our stories but right now we'll just talk about how awesome our God is.

God definitely answered our prayers about protection, access, and favor. We safely traveled to Peas by canoe through the dense logs and the river was low. We found that God really delivered as new believers, Marthin and Clementina, offered the upstairs of their home for us to sleep. So, thank you God!

Our food was always "Fresh". One morning, the hunter came in with a wild boar "backpack" and that is what we ate for lunch. We have some great pictures of us with an alligator which "unfortantly" we did not get to eat. Praise God for our chef, Fernando!

We're all looking forward to hot showers after days of excessive heat and no showers to relieve the stench. To our relief, we had a river in our backyard and the strong current made it very interesting to bathe. Some of us got very close holding onto each other.

We were honored that God allowed us to organize and participate in their first church service EVER in Peas! A lot of people in Peas had many concerns about salvation and baptism. Pastor Joel, Marthin, & Pastor Ulises spoke on Mark 1 and what it takes to be baptized. At the end of the service, there was an alter call. All but 1 person, stood up against the candle light and gave their life to Christ. During the church service, the children participated in VBS.

For 45 minutes, we hiked into the jungle to clear farmland for Clementina's father. Some of us got stuck in the mud, hung on vines, and we all were awed by giant tree roots. The experience was incredible as Clementina's father was one who came to Christ during the church service.

It was an adventure leaving Peas in our canoes due to the river being very high and the strong current. Mark, Mike, & Shawn's canoe tipped and they had to abandon the canoe. God's hand and protection was on them and everyone survived.

Yesterday, we traveled for 11 hours stopping in Huaticocha for lunch and had to switch buses 4 times because our original bus wasn't able to come due to the mudslide. We finally made it safely back to Quito at 11:00pm.

Today, we were able to sleep-in. We will be enjoying Domino's pizza for lunch. This afternoon, we will be going to the center of the world. For dinner, our great house parents will be making us hamburgers.

We've been on an incredible journey with Christ and can't wait to tell you all of our stories. It is hard for us to leave. But we're excited to see all of you very soon.

We love you all and thank you for your prayers,

The August 2011 Ecuador Team

They are out of the jungle!

Hey there, everyone! This is Mel (not one of the team members in Ecuador.) We just received word that ALL IS WELL with our brave team of 7 from the jungles of Ecuador!!! They just got out of the jungle today, everyone is healthy and safe, they are on their way back to Quito, and I've heard several beautiful rumors of an amazing trip! They hope to have internet service tomorrow and will try to post something with more details as soon as they can. We wanted you all to know that their trip was successful and fruitful and they can't thank you enough for ALL of your prayers!

We Made It

Hola Familia Daybreak -

We have made it to Quito. We had a great day of travel with only one slight delay in Miami.

Everyone is doing well and we had a refreshing nights sleep. We will be packing up and leaving for Huaticocha in a few hours and then it is on to Peas. According to Mark Shafer (our international worker) the temps in the Jungle have not been that bad (around 85 degrees) so we are hopeful that they will remain that way. He also said the bugs have not been so bad and that it won't be quite as muddy. These are all really blessings for us and our general comfort. God has been blessing us.

We are at Casa Blanca right now and it is a great facility. It is also a place where you can really feels God's presence.

This may be the last blog until we return to Quito late next week. There is a chance for an entry in a day or two but we will have to play that by ear. Our thanks to all of you for your prayers and we expect to have some great stories to tell you of God's awesome work.

Ecuador Team - Jungle

Dear Daybreak Family,

It is hard to believe but the last of the Daybreak short-term teams for this year is leaving in less than 2 days. This team of of 7 (from left - Pastor Joel, Lesa Kennedy, Caleb Smith, Nicole Grant, Mike Sponsler, Laura Woltz, and Shawn Woltz) have heard God's call to leave their homes and families for a two week adventure to serve the people of the Shuar tribe in the Amazon jungle (not to be confused with Amazon.com).

First off, we want to thank all of you for your prayer support. We have definitely felt your prayers. Our request of you is to continue to pray for this team and Mark and Cheryl Shafer (the international workers we are supporting) for protection from harm and illness, access to the villages (especially on August 17) and favor amoung the Shuar people. Please also pray that the people of the Shuar tribe will have open hearts to the message of God's awesome love and grace.

Because of the remoteness of the region to which we are travelling, we will not have internet access so updates will be limited to the day we arrive in Quito and the day before we return.

Dios te Bendigas,

Mike Sponsler