Out of the Jungle

After leaving half of our team in Huaticocha, seven of us headed to Peas.  We took a 3 hour bus ride to a bridge where we got in a large canoe and headed up river for an hour and a half to the village we would stay at for the week.  We were welcomed by eveyone in the village.  Some highlights from the week include a double wedding, a baptism of 13 people, 3 people accepting Christ as their forgiver and leader of their life for the first time and one who rededicated his life, and a village meeting to vote on whether the international workers can come to the village any time they like (currently they have to be asked to visit) - with a resounding yes! There were many tears when we left, both for us and for them.  Here are some thoughts from the team.

After an amazing week of working in Huaticocha at the mission school, it was great to return to Peas.  We felt very blessed and honored to be a part of our godchildren, Avelino & Patricia's wedding.  We are very thankful for them opening up their house to us so we could spend the week with them.  For Laura, it was great to reunite with Dayana and for Shawn to connect with Dayana's younger sister, Rejina.  God is so good!  Thank you so much everyone for your thoughts and prayers.  We look forward to seeing everyone soon and sharing many stories.  Love, Laura and Shawn

Peas was AMAZING and we fell in love with the beautiful people there.  As we arrived, a girl on the shore, Nayel (pronounced Ni-ellie) was standing with a bandaged arm so as soon as we got ashore, Laura (our team's nurse in training) began treating her.  I fell in love with this little, brave girl and it was gut-wrenching leaving her and her sister, Karina, but I hope to return one day to continue the amazing things God is doing in this tribe.  Hunter had a blast loving on the kids too and wants everyone to know that we sampled monkey while here.  We pray God continues to break our hearts for what breaks His.  We love you all and have so much to share ... see you soon!!!  Cheryl & Hunter

We feel so privledged this year to have been part of TWO Daybreak Teams!  Our team of 15 in Huaticocha rocked it!  The boys were in constant "beast" mode moving dirt and digging ditches.  And the girls worked right along side of them in their own "beast" mode.  Then we headed off to Peas for an amazing God filled adventure.  Seeing God move in such visible ways was life changing.  Kelly and I both left a piece of our hearts there.  The people of Peas are so beautiful we are blessed to have meet them and hope to visit again.  Love, Deb & Kelly

We are headed to the airport, so I'll write more about what we saw God do while we were in Peas.  See many of you State-side. Scott Weaver

Huaticocha Report

Matt Boyer

We’ve had a fantastic week here in Ecuador.  We’ve worked hard and had a lot of fun connecting with each other, the missionaries, the interns, and the nationals.  We’re sad to leave all our new friends but are excited to get back home and tell all of you everything that God did.  See you soon Laurie, Dylan, and Kenzie!  Miss you and love you!

Brian and Jenn Schreiner

We have had an incredible week in the jungle here in Huaticocha. We have dug trenches, filled in trenches, raked, and shoveled. What is more important, we have built relationships with incredible children, interns, international workers and nationals. God has placed a strong calling in both of our lives to return and serve Mark and Cheryl for an extended period of time. Please be in prayer as we begin this journey.

Brian Barnes

It has been an honor to join in the work that God and His team are doing in Huaticocha Ecuador.  The work has been exhausting but rewarding.  It has been an encouraging to see how God provides and sustains when I place my trust in Him.

Jill Zwatty

God has done amazing things this past week. His presence continuously surrounded us. I’m so glad we were able to serve Mark and Cheryl with the construction of the school and helping with VBS; however, the true transformation has been in my heart to continue to serve as God calls me. I have a stronger desire for His will to be my own whether it’s in Ecuador, at home, or wherever He calls me to go in my future.

Michael Keister

What an amazing week.  It has been so cool to see what God is doing down here and being a small part of it has been a huge blessing.  Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us, God definitely came through.  I can’t wait to get home to see everyone.  Amber and Stella - I love you and can’t wait to see you.

Dana and Melody Patrick

Ecuador is a land where beauty and poverty collide.  The splendor of the mountains, wild expanse of the Amazon Jungle, the laughter of the children and generosity of the people we met--all this clashes against a physical and spiritual poverty that we have never seen.  And yet, God has not forgotten the people here--His most beloved creation in all the land.  We have felt and seen Him move, and our prayer is that Ecuador be a country filled with people who are called Children of the Living God!

Our Huaticocha team just got back safely to Casa Blanca, our home away from home in Ecuador.  Our week in the jungle was incredible and we have lots of stories to tell!  Tomorrow, we will post to our blog with a bunch of pictures and comments from every team member from the Huaticocha team.

Also, we prayed for and sent off the rest of our team into Peas this afternoon.  They had a two hour bus ride followed by a 2-3 hour trek through the deep jungle.  Please be praying for safe travel and arrival in Peas as well as God's favor on their time there.  God has an incredible work he wants to do in and through our team and we appreciate your prayers on their behalf.  Keep in mind that they will be in Peas through the week and won't be able to update the blog until at the earliest, next Friday night.

Thank you for your support!  Tomorrow will be a day of sightseeing before we board the airplane to head home in the evening.  Be sure to check back on the blog tomorrow for pics and a word from our team.

Our first full day in Ecuador was great as we got to check out Quito a little bit in the morning and were able to participate in a church service in the early afternoon.  We also had our first "bead affirmation" tonight.  If you have ever been on a trip with Daybreak, you know how cool this is.  If you haven't been on one, this is a time where team members affirm and encourage each other by giving each other beads that recognize how God is moving in and through them.

Our dance team of Kelly, Jill, and Cheryl, performed during the service and did a fantastic job!  We had Brian S and Jill share their testimonies and Matt had the chance to preach as well.  It was incredible getting to spend some time with the Ecuadorian people at the church.  They are so welcoming and received us with open arms (and sometimes even kisses on the cheek!)

We will be packing up early in the morning to head to Huaticocha.  Once we are there, we will no longer have access to internet.  Most likely, this will be the last post until the Huaticocha team returns on Friday night.  Until then, keep praying for us.  We can definitely feel your prayers.  They made a major impact on how powerful the service was this afternoon.  Thank you and please keep it up!

On the Ground in Quito!

All fifteen of us made it safely all the way from Mechanicsburg, PA to Quito, Ecuador!  The trip took us roughly 17 hours to complete by way of two flights and a short bus ride once we arrived.  

We had our first team meeting tonight and everyone is really excited about being here to serve and grow.  One of our teammates commented on how well the team is already working together.  There is a real team approach and everyone has jumped in to help wherever needed.

We start our morning early and spend our first day here in Quito, before heading out to Huaticocha on Monday morning.  Please pray that the Lord keeps us free from injury and sickness and that we serve the missionaries and the nationals well.  Thanks for your prayers!

Heading Out to Ecuador Once Again

(FRONT) Dana Patrick, Matt Boyer, Shawn Woltz, Brian Schreiner, Brian Barns, Scott Weaver
(BACK) Hunter Fell, Mike Keister, Melody Patrick, Jill Zwatty, Jenn Schreiner, Laura Woltz, Cheryl Fell, Kelly Rutan, Deb Rutan

In less than 7 hours our team of 15 will meet at Daybreak church and head out to Ecuador.  We are all very excited to get started! This year we are two teams in one.  The first team comprised of Dana and Melody Patrick, Brian and Jenn Schreiner, Brian Barns, Mike Keister, Jill Zwatty, and Matt Boyer will be ministering for one week while the second team made up of Cheryl Fell, Hunter Fell, Laura and Shawn Woltz, Scott Weaver, Kelly Rutan, and Deb Rutan, will be staying an additional week.  

 

The first week finds us in Huaticocha helping with the construction of a mission school as well as holding VBS in the local villages.  For the second week, the second team will be heading to Peas to also do construction and VBS within the Shuar Indian villages.

Please pray for team unity and that we would have servant hearts!  Pray for safety, both physically and spiritually. Pray that we will be a blessing to our international workers, Mark and Cheryl Shafer! And pray that God would not only work through us but do an amazing work within us!

Good luck trying to find Huaticocha using Google maps.  It seems Google doesn’t know where Huaticocha is, but God does.  In fact Peas to Google is something you eat (or part of a music group’s name).  You can find Huaticocha on Google maps by entering the latitude and longitude coordinates I found.  Simply copy the coordinates in the parenthesis (-0.679890, -77.486298) and paste them in Google maps.  

It puts the village east-southeast of Quito.  Because we will be in such a remote region we may not have Internet access to keep this blog up to date.  We will post updates when we can.  Take the attitude that no news is good news. 

Thank you once again for your prayer!

Scott Weaver