A Personal Hello to our Loved Ones

Hello Family & Friends...we had a fun day in Quito and enjoyed our time haggling at the Market!

We just wrapped up our Final Debrief and had a very meaningful evening celebrating all that God has done in and through us!  Here's a few words from the team..

KARIE~ Hola muchachos! I have had such an amazing time and an awesome experience here in Ecuador! I cannot wait to see you all and tell/show you everything! Love you all!

SHAWN~ This has been such a great trip and getting to see our family was icing on the cake!  It was so difficult to have to say goodbye again.  Can't wait to get back to see friends and family.

KARISSA~ This has been such an amazing experience. God has taught me SO much! I love and miss the Shatzer clan! Excited to see you all soon. P.S.- Momma... I was sending loving thoughts to you on your birthday!

BECCA~ Hola familia!! This week has been so amazing! I cannot wait to share my experiences with all of you when I get back home!! Love you all!! =)

JACKIE~Hola mis amigos and mi familia!  Our time here has rocked my world in incredible ways.  I made deep connections and I have heard God speaking into my heart in His gentle, loving way.  Prayer is so awesome and I have seen so many prayers answered.  Thank you to ALL who have been praying for us!

MARCUS~ Hey, how's it going? Just kidding, I know it's totally nuts in the Jacobs' household! Haha... sorry Mom. Anywho, it's been awesome here! I can't wait to see you guys again, including my besties (you know who you are!) See you after Harvey Cedars!

RIC~ Love you Jenny!  Thanks for giving me this week in the jungle with Marcus... looking forward to rejoining the circus soon.  Thank you Lord for your love and faithfulness to us all!

JASON~ Brooke and Weston! I've missed you guys a ton! I've had a great week and can't wait to tell you about my trip, but I love you both and am so ready to give you each big hugs. Thanks for your prayers and for going without me for a week.

ROBIN~It has been a wonderful week in Ecuador...I have LOVED every minute!  I am excited to get back home to share photos and stories with all of you.  Alexia & Megan....Mommy LOVES YOU and MISSES YOU so much.  I know Daddy has been taking great care of you!!  Babe...THANK YOU for making this week possible...your support means the world to me!

Hasta Manana!

Saying Good Bye was Hard!!

We have arrived back at Casablanca, but wanted to take a few minutes to tell you about our last few days in Huaticocha, which were nothing short of amazing!!!
We finished painting the dining hall, returned to the jungle to machete down palms that will be used for the bus stop and we got the basic frame of the shelter built.  We enjoyed the opportunity to work alongside the students and staff to accomplish these projects. We learned a lot from them and it gave us a new perspective on all the different ways that you can accomplish a task.  They are very resourceful!!!
Our afternoons at VBS in Arapino were really meaningful.  Spending time with the kids and their families changed us and touched our hearts greatly.  The student who is from Arapino was able to share her testimony with her family and community for the very first time and she also presented the gospel...We were so proud of her!!  Way to go Venita!  We can't wait to share photos with all of you of all the amazing little faces we met!!
The relationships we built with the Ninawachi students and staff continued to grow stronger each day we were there and it was REALLY HARD to say good-bye to them!
Our drive back to Quito yesterday had a few challenges, including a flat tire on the van, but the team pulled together to resolve the situation and we are closer now because of it!  All those extra hours of bonding in the van does a team good!!!
Today we will be spending the day doing some tourism in Quito and will be leaving EARLY in morning for the airport.  We can't wait to see all of you!!!!

Love you all so much!

We love Huaticocha!

We´ve had a great couple of days in the jungle! We love it here. We´re having a great time getting to know the students and staff. Their hospitality is muy bien! The prayer and worship time has been very powerful... being able to praise God in different languages together... God´s presence is SO evident here! We´ve had opportunities to share testimonies and have heard testimonies from the students as well.  We are getting ready to head out for our second day of VBS. We were in AWE of the opportunity God gave us yesterday to minister in Arapino... an hour drive deeper into the jungle... fording a few small rivers! The people were eager to hear about Jesus and were very engaged, both adults and children alike! While we were there a very strong storm hit and dumped a lot of rain. We were told that the rivers rose RIGHT AFTER we crossed them. Praise God for his protection! Our mornings have been spent painting the dining hall and buildng a bus stop shelter.... We had to hike deeper into the jungle to get the materials, which was quite an adventure that everyone loved. The staff here continue to provide us with amazing food, comfortable sleeping arrangements, and warm hospitality. The weather had been great. We are very blessed! Everyone on our team is healthy and happy. :-)  Thank you for your continued love and prayers. They ARE making a difference!

Jungle Happy!

We have arrived safely to Huaticocha in the jungles of the Amazon basin!  Don't have much time (or internet!) to write much now, but wanted to let all of our friends and family know that we are all healthy and happy and doing really well.  Huaticocha is awesome!

At A Time Like This...

We began our day with a great time of worship together and our first time of team affirmation.  It was sweet and set the tone for a fabulous day!

We went to a small church just outside of Quito and really saw God’s hand at work.  We were encouraged by their hospitality and their investment in children.  We got to lead the whole church family in a Spanish kids song with motions.  We had the honor of being part of a celebration of about 70 children who had completed a 3 month Bible Study.  Many of those children come from families who do not attend church.  Team members were thankful for the opportunity to experience God through worshiping in a C&MA church in another culture.  We were also humbled by their generosity in insisting that we allow them to serve us lunch before leaving.  We will be praying for continued blessing on their ministry in that community.

IncaLink continues to find creative ways to reach the city.  Following the church service, we had the opportunity to hear about a very cool local soccer ministry, dedicated to providing club level soccer, while sharing the love of God with the team members.  A guy named Nate is the ministry leader of Cumbre Alta and it was so refreshing to hear him talk about how God is using his passion for soccer to minister to local athletes.

Dinner was a partially-embraced experience by the team.  We were introduced to some authentic Ecuadorian cuisine at a local restaurant.  Gustavo joined us for dinner and he and Jim gave some great recommendations for our meal.  We enjoyed another great time of fellowship together!

Our team has some incredible interns hanging with us this week.  Dana and Justin will be coming to Huaticocha with us and we are looking forward to partnering with them in ministry!  We are thankful for an awesome team this year and excited about all that God continues to have in store!

We're here!

After a long day on the road and in the air, we are here!  We flew from Dulles (Washington DC) to San Salvador, El Salvador, and with just an hour layover loaded our next plane on to Quito, Ecuador.  Our first night was spent at a beautiful guest house called Casablanca, one of the many ministries of Inca Link International.  Today we will remain in Quito visiting a local church and getting to soak in the views of the Andes Mountains, many of us for the first time.

Thanks for all your prayers for traveling safety.  Tomorrow morning we will head to the jungle to the town of Huaticocha.  It's about a 4-hour drive out of the mountains, east of Quito.  We're all excited to meet the students in Huaticocha and see what God has in store for us!

We love you all!

They're over halfway there!

Here is the team as we sent them off this morning!  They have had great flights so far and are on their last leg from El Salvador to Quito, Ecuador.  We'll try to post in the morning to let everyone know they landed safely and arrived at their first destination without any snags.

Tomorrow the team will be able to sleep in a little and then visit a church in the afternoon.  Pray that everyone gets some good sleep, stays healthy, and enjoys their first day as a team in this beautiful country.

Posted again by the Global Ministries Team on behalf of everyone in the green shirts above... ;)

The 2014 Team leaves in one week!

On June 7th, we will send our 12th short-term team to Ecuador.  That's twelve teams in eight straight years!  This team of nine will start in Quito, Ecuador's capital city, and then head to the jungles of the Amazon Basin to spend most of their time serving in the town of Huaticocha (pronounced wah-tee-COACH-ah).  Their volunteer opportunities will include visiting churches, serving children, some manual labor at the training school where they will also live for a few days, visiting English classes and other training sessions, and diving into any other unexpected opportunities God throws their way!

Please pray:

• That they would each discover Jesus in a fresh & life-changing way while they serve in community with each other and the Ecuadorians.
• That every team member would remain healthy and physically strong for the duration of their trip.
• That they would be protected and kept safe in every circumstance (travel, work, etc.)
• That they would remain STRONG and COURAGEOUS as a team, knowing that Jesus is WITH them wherever they go (Joshua 1:9).
• For the long-term workers, our friends and partners in Ecuador, as they host our team.  We love them all so much and want our time to be a blessing to what God is already doing there.

We don't know how often the team will be able to update the blog while in Ecuador (busy days, bad internet connections, etc.), so PLEASE receive the peaceful reassurance that "no news is good news" and they will work to update the blog as soon as they are able.

To everyone reading, THANK YOU for your support, your prayers, and your love for this team.  They couldn't be traveling and serving without you here to send them!

Posted by Daybreak Global Ministries on behalf of the 2014 Ecuador Team