Every year since we have been on the mission field, we have been blessed by many of you who donate money to buy food for the poor in Brazil and now in Ecuador. This year was the same as we got to buy for for poor families. As well this year we were able to buy toys for the kids who would most likely not gotten anything for Christmas. It was great to see all their smiles and know that we made a little difference in their lives. Please pray for these families as they struggle daily with little to eat. Also thanks to all those who gave money to help these families and kids.
Friday, January 11, 2013
Saraguro
Just before Christmas our family along with some of the youth from the church went to visit a small church in a neighborhood outside of the city of Saraguro. It's basically a small farming community that has deep indian roots. Most of the men there have long hair and the women dress in the indian dresses. While we were there the youth did a puppet theater and we have a few talks and Travis did the preaching on the Sunday. We handed out bags of candies to the kids and as well the church members here in Cuenca collected clothing and toys for the people in the community that we passed out. It was a great time and very peaceful. It was great meeting some of the church members there and helping them reach out to their neighbors.
Kids Christmas Program
The kids school had a Christmas program and it was fun to watch the kids come out, sing songs and dance. Calen's class dressed as Christmas bells and Ceara's class dressed as snowmen. It was a great day and at the end Santa came to give them gifts and the classes had mini parties. Another great chance to get to know the parents and the students better.
English Christmas Party
We held a Christmas party for our English students and enjoyed sharing time with them. We had a white elephant exchange, played a few games, and the classes sang Christmas songs. It was a great to spend time together and enjoy each others company as well as sharing in the reason why we celebrate Christmas with them. Please continue to pray for the relationships we have with these people.
Calen's Class Christmas Party
The parents in Calen's class decided to throw a party so we went to one of the families homes to have a bbq and to let the kids play. We had a great time watching the kids interact, getting to know the parents and celebrating Christmas by hitting ollas encantadas. That is like a pinata but a little clay pot filled with candies that they hit till the break and each child gets to take home they pots candy. It was lots of fun!
Women's Christmas Party
At Christmas we celebrated as the women of the church by having a party. We enjoyed playing a few games, having a devotional and eating some good food. Of course nothing would complete a party better then a white elephant exchange. I was excited to win a potted plant and it was fun to see which gifts became the ones that everyone wanted.
Jorge Gets Baptized!
We had a group from the Saskatoon Church of Christ in Canada come down to see us and help us in our work. It was great having them here and showing them the sights as well as having them share in our work. Thanks for coming Ian, Ruth, Lynn and Mike, we really appreciate your work here. One of the things that they were able to do was Ian, one of the elders of the church baptized a man that has been going to the church in Azogues. We are so glad to see the church there in Azogues growing and to watch a young man dedicate his life to God. Please pray for Jorge and his new walk with Christ.
New Home
After the purchase of a home fell through and we had to move out of our temporary apartment, Travis and I took to the streets near the school to look for a place to rent. We found a few options by the school that we looked into and found this one, a block from the school. We are glad to have a great place to live. It's on a corner of a dead end street, right beside a park with green space and has lots of space inside. It even has a good place for Pipoca, our dog outside. I don't particularly like moving everything but we have been blessed to find this home for our family. We are also meeting many of our neighbors, a few with kids that go the the kids school and even just today I meet a neighbor who has a golden retriever like us, same age, is a christian and her name is also Alicia. Talk about a coincidence. So we are also tahnkful for the relationships we are making around our new home as well. We have plenty of space so please know you are always welcome to come visit us anytime.
New Car
We are very blessed to have purchased a new vehicle. We can fit 12 people (or more) into our new van. We bought it at a great time as we were planning on hosting a team of four from Saskatoon Church of Christ and needed a better way of transporting us all around the city. It has already been a great blessing to us and to many of the people, teens and friends that have needed to get around the city. So now for those of you who want to come visit, we've got plenty of space to show you around our city. Thanks to all who made buying this van possible.
School Work Bee
At the kids school, we were asked to go one Saturday to help with a school work bee. We planted plants, made special tables and chairs for the kids using tires and fun activities using tires as well. It was a great time, the kids got to play while the adults worked and got to know each other better. This day also was considered a school day so we could have a bit longer of a Christmas holiday. Now the playground looks great with all the colorful tires and recycled materials and we know some of the parents much better because of this work bee.
Youth Conference
While I was away at the International women's conference, Travis stayed home with the kids and participated in the youth conference that our church hosted. Youth from all over Ecuador came to enjoy this time together, playing games, doing dramas, singing and sharing in God's word. Travis taught a class for them and the youth evangelists also taught. It was a great turnout and Travis was very impressed with the drama that the youth in Azogues did. Ceara afterwards told me all about the dramas, so I know that they must have been great if she remembered them all.
English Halloween Party
This year we had a halloween party for our English students. It's just one way to get together not just to study English but to do fun things as well as spend time getting to know each other. This year they played a game decorating a mummy, finding the bug in the brain and a few other fun activities. Many of the students came dressed up in costumes and everyone had a great time. We are thankful for all the people that we have contact with because of our English classes and we continue to pray for more opportunities to share God with them.
School Sport Day
One of the things that the schools here do is have a sports day. It's not really what it sounds like. The classes all get dressed up the same acccording to a theme. This year's theme was animals, so Ceara's class dressed as tigers. You can see in this picture that Ceara is not dressed as a tiger. It was because she was chosen as the princess of her class as she was the best student. So all the girls chosen for their classes dress up in pretty dresses to represent their class. Calen's class were bunnies this year. At the sports day, the classes do a parade in their costumes and then the school directors choose a class that has the best costumes. Ceara's class won this year! Then the directors chose a princess of the class, they all win in the end but it's fun to see all the best girl students and best boy students dressed up. And it's a great way for the parents to get to know each other better as well.
Potato Chip Factory
We had been looking for a vehicle to buy here in Cuenca when we found one we liked. The family that owned it also owned a potato chip factory and as part of the tour of his vehicle, he also wanted to show us his factory. It was fun to see just how they make potato chips and a few other things there. In the end we didn't buy his car but we still enjoyed our personal tour of their factory and the few bags of chips he gave us as a partial incentive to buy his car.
Women's International Latin Conference.
In November, I participated in the Women's International Conference that was held just outside of Cuenca by the other church of christ in the city. Women from all over Latin America came to enjoy a time of fellowship and spiritual growth. There were people from Colombia, Peru, Honduras, the States and so many more places. I ended up sitting with a group from Colombia, they really wanted me to go there to visit sometime. I said I'd love to but would have to see how possible it was. It was fun getting to know them and it was fun to listen to them talk. Even as they spoke Spanish it was fun to hear their accent. It's like someone who speaks English from Jamaica, just Spanish and from Colombia. They laughed at how I talked too, not a surprise there. I also met an older women from the States that has lived in Ecuador for over 25 years in a city called Riobamba. She moved here with her mother after her husband died and taught English. Her mother has also past away but she remained here even though the rest of her family lives in the States. She must be about 85 or so and is still very active in the church in Riobamba as well as still teaching English from her home. We enjoyed our visits and she let me in on some secrets to living her, to her struggles and her joys of working in a foreign country. I hope that we will get to visit her someday soon and be able to see the work and the church there in Riobamba.
Ceara Turns SIx!
Six, can you believe it? Hard for me to imagine that it's been six years ago since our family changed so much when this little girl showed up. So thankful for her, her love, her joy and her abilities. She loves all things girly, dressed, barbies, babies and drawing. She's outgoing, has a bubbly personality and loves to the fullest. This year between all the things we had going on, we weren't able to have a great big party for her so we celebrated on her birthday at school. Her other friend on the left, Allison also was turning 6 on the 30th so we had a joint birthday with her. Here Ceara is with the only other two girls in her class and her best friends, Allison and Luciana. It was lots of fun and then in December we had a sleepover with a few of her close friends here at our place. That was pretty crazy but Ceara loved it.
Women's Retreat
The ladies at church had another weekend retreat for the ladies. This time I didn't have to plan anything so I invited Sandra to come along and join in the fun. It was great for her to meet the ladies from church and they welcomed her in. She enjoyed the games we played and even won with her team. Hopefully, this will be just the beginning for her to feel a part of something more. Her family is all catholic so I think it will take her a bit to open up to more of what God has in store for her but I pray for her friendship, her marriage and for her faith. It is fun to watch her grow and learn outside of just what she knows through her catholic upbringing. Please pray for her and for the work that the women in our church do to edify and grow in spirit and friendship.
Salinas
In October during a small vacation weekend for the kids, we took a trip to the coast to a place called Salinas. It was great to get away for a little bit and to have some fun. At the hotel that we stayed at they had a sandcastle completion and our family joined in the fun. In the end our Castle ended up winning and the kids got a small gold medal for their work. It was a time of refreshment and fun for our family and to reconnect as a family.
Olindo and Sandra's Home
One of the couples that is in the church in Azogues showed us their house that they were building themselves just outside of Azogues. They are a young couple with a three year old little girl and were given a plot of land from her father to start building a home. One Sunday after church we were able to take a trip out there to see their progress. While we were there we helped fill in a large hole that they had dug to put in the water system. Since that time they have completed their home and are now living in it. As well, the husband has been struggling with drinking so please be praying for them as they deal with this problem and that he will return to being sober.
Temporary Apartment
Just after Travis returned from Esmeraldas we moved into this apartment on the second floor of this building. We were asked by the owners of our old house to move as their son was getting married and they were giving him and his fiance the house as their gift. So we were desperate to find somewhere to live and that was near the kids new school. After talking with Bolo and Jenny, they remembered a friend who owned an apartment one block from the kids school. We were hoping to buy a home here and only needed something temporary while we waited for the paperwork to go through and this friend was willing to rent out the apartment for two months. It was a great apartment, a bit outdated and had a few water problems but otherwise a great temporary place while we waited for our house to go through. Unfortunately, we were unable to buy the house and needed to look for something else after the two months we lived in this temporary apartment. But as something temporary we were very lucky that Bolo and Jenny had some connections for us and the friend was willing to rent for such a short time.
Esmeraldas
Travis took a trip with some of the teens from the church here in Cuenca to a city on the coast, fifteen hours by bus called Esmeraldas. There the teens and some adults including Travis taught the youth games and had devotionals. They performed a few dramas, sang and preached in the three different churches that they visited. They also spent time with Nuvia's parents who live there and got to each lobster and fish that Nuvia's dad caught early in the morning. The kids and I stayed home as the trip was during the first days of school. Travis enjoyed his time there getting to reconnect with some of the people he knew from 15 years ago as well as meeting a lot of new people. He even told me he was tempted to bring home some of the little black kids that live there as they are so cute. Haha! Fortunately or unfortunately they had families, depending on how you look at that. Please pray for these churches and the people that are learning more about you in the city and surrounding areas of Esmeraldas.
Fun Times With Old Neighbors
We were able to spend some time with our old neighbor Patricio when we happened to meet him outside our old home quite by surprise. He invited us to his new home to see how he had fixed up an adobe home to look and feel more modern. I really liked what they had done. It was great to catch up with them and for the kids to get to play again with his granddaughter, Julietta. He also had been given a horse by his brother that he kept nearby, so he took us out to take a ride. The kids loved riding and didn't want to give up the reigns so the other could have a turn. In the end, we all got a chance to ride and enjoy the beautiful day and to spend some more time with our old neighbor who first became our friend when we lived in the same complex together. Hopefully there will be more good times like this with them in the future even though we are no longer neighbors.
Dog Bite
The day before we had to move from our old home to another, Ceara was playing with her neighbor friends in their yard. We are not exactly sure what happened, just that the kids were bugging their Saint Bernard and Ceara was bitten by the dog right beside her eye. She came running to the house as we were in the middle of packing for the move and was bleeding on her face. I worried that she had been bitten on her eye, but luckily it missed her eye just barely. We rushed her to the hospital were she was cleaned and a plastic surgeon joined up the bite so that it would have the least amount of scarring. Seems like our family, or at least us girls have bad luck with dogs. Luckily, we knew the neighbors dog and it had had all it's shots so we didn't have to worry about Ceara needing rabies shots too. She has healed from the bite but now has a pretty large scar by her eye. It will take time to fade but it's already less then when it first happened. It doesn't take away from her beauty but it will be a reminder to her to be careful when it comes to dogs, at least we hope it is.
Ceara and Calen Head to School
Ceara headed to grade one this year, where has the time gone? Hard to believe that she's already in school! Calen also is going to school as he is in preschool. He went last year to a daycare to learn some Spanish but we felt he wasn't getting enough so this year he joined his sister in their new school, Academy Bell. As you can see by their uniforms, the colors are very similar to the Brazil flag. Well that is because the owners used to live in Brazil and know Portuguese. We decided on this school because of the fact the classes were small, the teaching is very advanced and the kids will learn, English, Spanish and Portuguese. We hope that they will retain some of what they learn in Portuguese so that one day should they decide to return to the home of their birth they would have the ability to talk in their native tongue. They really are enjoying their new school and we are getting to know quite a few of the parents as well. We are very pleased with their new school and it's a definite bonus that it now is a block from our home. Pray for them as they continue to grow and learn, make friends and learn three languages at once.
Emilio and Diana Get Married
We have been studying with a couple from the coast that have been coming to church because they wanted to be married. They had been living together for awhile and have three little kids together. After some premarital counseling they dedicated their lives to each other and to being a complete family with their three kids. We were able to help them out by decorating the church and providing the cake for the occasion. Soon after they returned to the coast due to job opportunities but please keep this couple in your prayers as they learn to be married and dedicate themselves more to their family.
Calen Turns Four!
At the end of August we celebrated the 4th birthday of Calen. He had been asking for a pirate birthday when he saw a pirate hat that he wanted at the store, So we invited all our friends from church and the neighbors we knew to celebrate this day with us. It was a pirate themed party and we had people dress us in pirate costumes if they could. It was lots of fun and we enjoyed the day. We had a treasure hunt, walking the plank, don't wake the pirate and of course eating pirate cupcakes. Calen loved the party and enjoyed being dressed up as a pirate. We also were able to get to know a few people better during the party that we'd not been as close to. Hard to believe that our boy is four but so glad for the boy he is turning into the older her gets. He's a funny guy, who loves his mom ( I'll take it while I can), loves all kinds of sports and race cars. What more can you ask for in a little boy? We love you Calen and Happy Birthday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)