hey guys!! so. Ecuador so far is super great. It's really fun and it's really tough actually. I'm actually learning a lot though. Food is amazing and people are amazing. I'm pretty nervous about tomorrow so whoevers reading this it'd be cool if you guys could pray for me. Well.were done for tonight. see you guys tomorrow haha -Justin

Hey Dad & Mom and Giulianna, Here are some fun things we did today: moved rocks, helped to make a thatched roof for the garden, and removed some grass and found many grub worms. I really miss you!!! Hope to see you soon, Ella

Ecuador Day 1

Click on the picture to view the album of our first day!

Hey there, It's Alex here; you would not believe how insane it is over here! It has only been a day and so much has already happened. Just on the plane ride over here I was able to help an elderly couple that could not speak english. Along with Erika's help, we were able to help them with what they needed. Once we arrived to Quito, you could already notice the change in atmosphere. Everything was different; talk about a culture shock! After dinner we were able to get to know the awesome people that we are staying with. Once we all woke up, we ate breakfast and started singing a couple songs that we all knew. From there, we broke off into teams and worked around the place we are staying. My group worked on tearing up and expanding the garden. I also meet a couple people that were building a gazibo next to the garden my group was at; I learned that they attend the church that we are running tomorrow. It is just crazy to see the amount of work God is doing, even though it has been only a day. Tomorrow we leave for Huaticocha (I'm not sure if I spelt that right) please pray for our continued saftely and that we are able to touch the villagers hearts through our ministry. Thanks a ton! Alex

Love in Quito by Tori Ramirez

Why hello there followers! Being in Ecuador has been a beyond amazing experience already, and its only day 1! Today we woke up had a delicious breakfast, put on our work clothes and headed out to work around Casa Blanca. There were three teams. Team one was in charge of the garden, Team two was in charge moving logs, and team three was in charge of moving rocks. I was a part of team one, working in the garden. Our task was to plow up part of the grass area and mix it with the soil so there could be more room to grow various items. While digging we found HUGE grubworms... like the ones from Lion King status... they were beyond disgusting. But since we found so many of them we decided to make a little collection. As the day progressed I met some Quito residents. (It really comes in handy knowing Spanish) I met a sweet 8 year old girl named Abigail who I fell in love with. She was such a sweetheart and a full of life young child. I also met two toddler girls named Michelle and Genesis. And a sweet young 10 year old boy named Willmy. Being with the kids was such a great experience and I enjoyed it very much. Well back to our pile of grubworms. After a while Mr. Wilson, our oh-so-wise leader, offered Nico $50 if he picked up a grub worm and full on licked it. After the whole group grathered around, cameras were in position, and many of us screaming. Nico grabed a slimy enormous worm put his tongue up to it and licked it... Well done Nico, hahaha. Afterwards we had lunch and then continued working. Then we came inside and rehearsed skits, puppets, testimonies, and worship for palm sunday sermon that the group will be doing tomorrow for the local Quito church. The atmosphere is great. Being with fellow christians is amazing and indescribable we all love the Lord and want to seek him in a new way. We worship and praise him and its just an overall wonderful experience. Well I believe its dinner time. Hasta Luego! -Tori Ramirez

For some reason this just isn't hard enough. I'm going to try and make sure the kids work way harder the rest of the week. I can confirm however, that this is realllllly hard for me and the other adults. The burden is heavy but we will persevere. Hopefully the harder the kids work the better things will get for us all. I am very proud of most of out kids, you parents know who I'm talking about. For the others, well, you know. I did have one wonderful student today, they were working so hard and were such wonderful contributors that I had to find out their name and recognize their efforts. As we talked they expressed how they had never worked this hard in their life and felt bad about how little they did at home and how they were committing to work harder at home...but I forgot their name. Mr. Wilson

Hi Dad, Mom, Khoi and Khoa!! Haha I'm so excited to be back in Ecuador! I moved some rocks and did seperated some hay today. Although it was tiring I'm glad I was able to help out around Casablanca :) I miss you guys! Happy 12th Birthday Khoi! Love you all! :D -Natalie

Hey Mom, Hey Dad, I doing fine and I am so excited to be back serving in Ecuador!! I am looking forward to the new experiences that God will bring. -Vania

ECUADOR!

Today has been great so far! I have not gotten sunburned yet and we got to work alongside Ecuadorian people in helping them make grass rolls to go on top of a roof! I am really excited to see what else this trip brings! -Ashley Fanjoy :D p.s. hi mom and dad!

Ecuador Adventure!

Doing some manual labor, having some worship during our rest time, and returning to work for a couple hours really opened my eyes to how effective we can be. Our construction may be difficult, but it is fulfilling God's purpose for us committing to this mission trip. I feel our group growing closer together by really putting in our best effort and encouraging each other. Seeing some really disgusting, scary bugs was terrifying but it is also part of the experience! I feel that God will really do great things with this group that is full with so many varities of talents that glorify Him.

Our first day

Hi everyone, this is Joanne. (I'm sorry if this is not coherrent, we are all exhausted right now.) Although the clock reads 1:30pm, it feels like this day has been so much longer. This morning started out with breakfast that our cooks had carefully prepared for us. Then we gathered in the living room for devotions that were led by Sra Kadle. She shared a poem written by a past coworker called "Heaven's Grocery Store." We also read today's devotions you all wrote for us. (Thank you!) Then we closed with prayer for today, for the team and the symptoms we are experiencing due to the high altitude.
The rest of the morning was filled with construction projects at Casablanca. Our team was divided into three groups: group 1 planted flowers and prepared soil for a garden, group 2 moved heavy logs up a hill in order to create a wedding ceremony area, and group 3 moved large rocks from one area to another. The morning flew by quickly as we worked hard and gave our 110%. After we finished our projects, we were assigned the task of moving those same large rocks to another pile across Casablanca's property. In order to do this we formed an assembly line so no one person would need to carry one rock a long way. After working for about an hour, the pile had been moved halfway. Luckily, we were allowed to stop for lunch at 12:45pm to replemish our energy levels. Now it is time to head back out and move rocks. Thank you for all your prayers, we love and miss you all! Picture will be up soon. Love, Joanne

Hi Mike, I miss you. Love, Bettie

HI EVERYBODY! Joanne says hi....we all arrived safely, made all our connections, and are now at Casa Blanca enjoying a cloudless morning! Thank you for all your prayers for our travels, we really had an uneventful day and only were delayed a hour in coming into Quito. Gustavo, along with the two interns, Abby and Annie, welcomed us to Ecuador and briefed us on our "contract" for the week....which included: choose joy, be here and now, give a %110, challenge by choice, and love covers all. We were all challenged to encourage one another in these aspects and keep one another accountable throughout the week. Today we will be participating in construction around the house and getting used to the altitude... Stay tuned for day 2's events!