Back in Quito!

Hello, everyone! We are back in Quito after our trip up from the jungle yesterday. We drove through many mud slides.  The road just up from Huaticocha had been shut down the night before by a landslide but had opened up in the morning.  Then coming into the mountains where we had been held up on the way TO Huaticocha, it had been shut again by landslides.  It looked like we were going to have to go the long way around.  Right when we were planning to leave, we received word that the road had opened back up. So besides driving through some muddy areas where small landslides were coming down, the trip back was uneventful.

Everyone is alive and well, and we've had an incredible week! Please ask us all about it when we get home!!!! Today will be full of tourism, shopping, enjoying our last full day in this beautiful country, and winding down as we prepare to return home. Please pray for more uneventful travel during our flights.

And thanks again, friends & family & spiritual family, for all of your support and prayers. We could have never had this incredible experience without you sending us. See you back in Mechanicsburg tomorrow!!! (Not sure if we'll be able to post again before we head to the airport.)

Another Full Day In Front of Us!

The Lord truly has been blessing this trip on all fronts! Yesterday was more construction in the morning and then VBS in two villages in the afternoon where the Ninawachi students regularly minister. We all had a blast and ministered to about 80 children in total. The evening worship time in the prayer hut was amazing as two Daybreakers and two Ecuadorians shared about their journey with Jesus. It was a sweet time to celebrate how the Lord can transform us into a new creation no matter what our past holds. Praise God for His grace and forgiveness!

Please be in prayer for today's plans to do a VBS in another distant village. We'll have a bus ride that is a couple of hours long followed by a hike to the village. Pray for safety and strength as well as blessings on our efforts to share the love of Christ with all that come!

A 90-minute hike and other awesome times!

Hello all! Mel here. :) The team still doesn't have internet, but not to worry! Below is some communication I received from the team leaders earlier today. Thanks for your continued prayers!!!

Mel, looks like we will not have internet today either!  We have had an incredible week this week!  Amazing teamwork, beautiful fellowship and ministry with students & IW's, and our great God who has provided everything we need exactly when we need it!  Both our flights and our bus travel were delayed (bus by mudslide for 2 hours) which made us very tired upon arrival, but everyone stayed in good spirits.  Yesterday we drove till there were no more roads, and then we hiked 90 minutes to a remote village and had a great VBS with the kids and fellowship with the adults.  We have also spent many hours in the jungle splitting bamboo for roofing and cutting special leaves that are used for shingles.  We will be able to put the "shingles" on Friday before we leave.  Today we are going to do a VBS in two different villages.  We are all healthy and excited about how God is working!

A great first day in the jungle, but no internet

Good evening, friends & family! It's Mel! Again. :( Although I tend to be a friendly face, I'm sure I'm not the voice you had hoped to hear from again. But hopefully this will be my last post on behalf of the team. They are without internet today and unable to post this themselves. I received a few short text messages from our International Workers (IW's) and here's what I can tell you...

• The team slept well their first night in the jungle and no one is sick!
• The leaders report that everyone is doing great... awesome, in fact!
• The IW's said the team worked on building a multipurpose hut today (and will likely continue to do so throughout their time in Huaticocha.) Ric & Joe were up on trusses nailing bamboo. Tom & Hunter nailed truss brackets. Kelly, Brayden, Ben & Shawn were splitting bamboo. And the rest (that leaves Fred, Timmy, Kristen, & Lisa) were in the jungle cutting & collecting leafs. It was a great day!
• Fred also had an awesome chance to spend some time in the classroom with the students.

They are hoping to get Internet back soon & update you themselves! Tomorrow they leave at 8:30am for the town of Tiwiram.

As I hear anything else I'm happy to pass it along. Hope you all are doing well on this side of the equator! 

In Huaticocha at Ninawachi

Hello again, everyone! This is Mel again. Since the team hasn't had the chance yet to officially update everyone on the nitty gritty details, let me give you the skinny...

After the team's 3-hour delay from Houston to Quito, they did finally land in Ecuador. The next morning, after sleeping at a Guest House in Quito called Casablanca, the team headed for the jungles. Apparently they got stuck behind a mudslide blocking the road, but 2 hours later were on their way and made it to Huaticocha around dinner time. If they are sticking to the pre-determined schedule (whih rarely happens on short-term trips - LOL!), today held an all-day work day for them, as well as getting to know the students at the school, and all the other fun adventures typical of your first day in the jungle.

Keep up all your prayers for the team! Thanks, everyone!

We've Almost Landed!

Hey there, friends & family -

This is Mel writing on behalf of the team. Everyone is doing great and the team is still in the air on their way to Quito. They had 3-hour delays on both of their flights, but the leaders reported that everyone was still awake and smiling when their second flight was finally ready to take off from Houston. They are now not scheduled to land until the wee, wee hours of the morning, so I wanted to briefly report in that all is well and to not expect to hear from them until after they've gotten to the Guest House and manage some sleep in a real bed.

Thanks for all your prayers for everyone today! They've needed it and will continue to need it. We love and appreciate you all for the role you've played in sending and supporting this team. Many blessings!

- Mel (on behalf of the Ecuador 12)

It's CRUNCH TIME!

This Saturday morning, June 18th, at 4AM, twelve groggy-eyed but super-excited teammates will descend upon Daybreak Church to begin the trek of a lifetime! All the meetings, prayers, support letters, team-builder activities, laughs, tears, more meetings, packing and more prayers were all for this moment and what it will lead us to: the jungles of Ecuador and the ministry that the Lord has for us to do there. May the Lord be pleased with our offering of our time, talents and resources to bring Him glory! Please lift our team up in your prayers, that we would serve the Lord well and have a peace in Him that goes well beyond our understanding, knowing that He is in complete control. This is our prayer for our families staying home as well. Stay tuned for our next update which Lord willing will be from Ecuador early next week!