The New Normal

Our team has been back in Southern California for almost a week now and we are still being blessed daily by each other, our church, our supporters, and above all, by God. This experience certainly changed each of our lives. Please continue to PRAY for us as we re-enter our "normal" lives. Each of us are likely to experience a range of emotions these next few weeks as we continue to process all that this trip to Quito taught/revealed/opened our eyes and hearts to. 

A simple prayer for us: Lord help us not to be overwhelmed as we synthesize the world that we came from with the world we are in today.

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work. Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." Phillipians 4:1-7 

It's Not Over Yet!

Our team with Russ, Gina, and Rheanna Cline. 

It’s hard to believe today was our last day in Quito! Time flies! The day started out wonderful...the bus didn’t come to pick us up until 8:00 am. :) We then headed through beautiful Ecuador for about 2 hours to Otavalo where we got to shop and hang out. It was a fun way to end the experience together and buy some great reminders of Ecuador. Aaron was key in bargaining for all of our goods, as Mandi and Megan had a hard time bargaining at all. Anyone surprised? :)

Awesome Ecuadorian lunch together on our excursion!

Afterwards, we had time to begin packing and preparing to go home. (Since we have to get up at 3:00am, it was nice to have this time in the afternoon to get ready, so we can potentially get a few hours of sleep tonight!)

The whole Extreme Response group then came together for a delicious homemade Ecuadorian meal back at EFC. Each person on the Extreme Response team has seen God move in significant ways this week. We had the opportunity to end our ministry time together with a time of worship, sharing, and watching the highlight video of our week. We each received a copy of the highlight video and can’t wait to share it with you. The dancing and singing of “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” by our guys at the party yesterday is featured, so don’t worry, you will get to see it! We ended the day celebrating our very own Luis’ birthday, which is tomorrow. Happy Birthday, Luis!!!

50th Birthday party in Ecuador!!

(Sorry I didn't get more dressed up for you, Luis! All clean and ready for bed! -Meg)

Please continue to pray for us as we go travel home and return to our day-to-day lives. Our flight tomorrow leaves at 7:00am Quito time (4:00am California time) and with a layover in Miami that leaves at 2:00pm Miami time (11:00am California time). We would love your prayers as we travel and go through customs. Russ, Gina, and Rheanna Cline (Rose Drive Faith Promise Missionaries) are on both our flights tomorrow, too, which will be fun for all of us! 

 With Jeramy and Teresa Hing, our team hosts for the week! 

Team D! Best group ever (even though we placed 4th in the team competition).

As we head home we are all so aware of how God has been moving in our lives this week. We each have a deep desire to come home changed people. Please pray for us in the coming days and weeks as we process all that we have experienced and discern what it means for our lives in the future. 

Again, we are so grateful for the part you have played on our team this week. We know that this would not have been possible without your prayers, support, and giving. We are looking forward to sharing with you in person about this experience!

*Please continue to read our blog, even after we get back to the States! We will be posting follow-up thoughts, conversations, etc., and Extreme Response updates as often as possible! We want to keep you updated on ALL of our "Friends in Quito"!

For He's A Jolly Good Fellow!

The team at Remanso de Amor... being goofy, of course. 

“At the beginning of the week, the ER staff gave each of us a $1 coin. We could do anything we wanted with the coin - give it away, use it to buy something, keep it - so long as it was used to remember one person we met and committed to pray for while in Ecuador. It took me all week, but today I gave my coin away. I met a beautiful woman at Remanso De Amor named Gloria. The Lord totally blessed our conversation (my Spanish was miraculously much better than normal!), giving us an opportunity to talk about her, her family, and some of the health problems they were experiencing. I felt God tugging at my heart to give her the coin, and while I was handing it to her, we grasped hands, holding the coin together, and prayed for each other out loud right there in the middle of the party. I will never forget that moment. I will never forget the look on her face and in her eyes. This was my “Gloria a Dios” moment in Ecuador!”  -Megan

Megan and Gloria

Today we had our last party at Remanso de Amor. Remanso de Amor is a ministry that includes a church, Christian school, micro-businesses, sports ministry and more. This is where the high school team that Rose Drive sent to Quito 4 years ago (that Steve was a part of) primarily spent their time. It is estimated that there were about 2,000 people there! Mandi and Megan spent most of the party in the craft tent, helping little kids make nativity and “Papa Noel” ornaments. Luis facilitated the Papa Noel photo line, using his awesome communication skills to manage the crowds. And Steve, Noah, and Aaron reached “legend status” at the games, by dancing silly and singing “For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow” (in Spanglish) for each victory. It was epic.

After the party we loaded back on the busses and stopped to eat lunch at an overlook of the city. It was beautiful! We then headed back to English Fellowship Church - our headquarters location this week. We all pitched in to clean up the facilities and put away all of the party supplies. We wanted to leave the church in better shape than when we found it! This week, a couple named Jordan and Jessa Anderson have been leading us in worship during our morning meetings. After dinner, Jordan and Jessa performed a public concert for the ER volunteer teams and EFC congregation. It was a wonderful time of worship together after our week of ministry! 

Tomorrow we get to spend the day sightseeing and shopping! We are looking forward to seeing more of Quito and the surrounding areas. In the evening, will spend time with the whole Extreme Response team debriefing and celebrating what God has done this week before heading home Tuesday morning! 

Thank you for your continued prayers! We can definitely feel them! 

“For the first couple days I struggled with our place here. We are throwing Christmas Parties for the poor in Quito. We are providing basic needs for today. We are bringing joy, planting seeds, and being Jesus’ hands and feet to these people. Those are important things for sure! But how do I/we fit into the longer term picture of what God is doing in Ecuador? Is picking up a frisbee 987 times for a game really going to change these peoples lives? As I wrestled through these questions and more I got to observe and hear about how Extreme Response and their partner ministries serve each and every day. They are building relationships. They are meeting needs every day. They are following where God is leading them in Quito. At each of the parties the Extreme Response team and the leadership of the partner ministries are talking to people, they are connecting with people, they are continuing to build on relationships. And it hit me, if we can pick up frisbees and paint some nails to free them up to build ongoing relationships, that is significant. Today, Noah and I were talking about this whole idea and he said, ‘When I meet someone here I think, when I leave, you will still be taken care of.’ I love that. Do we impact people individually in what we are doing? Absolutely! But short term missions is about partnership. And more importantly, it is about the Church as a whole coming together to impact God’s kingdom. So, if that means that Jose and Teresa and the Extreme Response staff throw a Christmas party for the workers in the dump to affirm the fact that Jesus loves them and provide for some tangible needs in their lives and they need support to make that happen, that is something that I want to be a part of, because that is what the Kingdom of God is all about.” - Mandi

Our incredible view of the city from Remanso de Amor.

Mandi manning the craft station!

Luis at the Papa Noel photo line!

 The guys rocking the games and our team in front of the Remanso de Amor building.

(The RDFC team 4 years ago helped paint the interior of the building when they were here!)

Noah and our new friend Katie vacuuming the EFC church building and Steve mopping the dining hall!

What? No rain?

On the bus after the Extreme Response’s Main Christmas Event at Zambiza Dump today Mandi and Megan got to sit across from Russ Cline and talk about the day, life, and Extreme Response. When we asked how he thought the day went, he said “smoothest we have ever had!” We agreed that it was an amazing day! (We even had perfect weather! Our first party pf the week with no rain!) Extreme Response does an exceptional job, not only in ministry and partnership with the people of Ecuador, but also in the organization and implementation of multiple large parties in less than a week. I (Mandi) am very impressed...and that is high praise from me! :) 

For Luis and Aaron, the day started extra early when they were picked up from our housing at 5:45am to serve on the early set up crew. The rest of us gathered at 7:00am with the rest of the Extreme Response team and about 400 additional volunteers from local churches and ministries within Quito for a brief orientation. After we were all prepped for the day, we loaded onto busses and headed to the Zambiza dump. The party included TONS of games, crafts, face painting, temporary tattoos, nail painting, a live band, and bags of gifts and food for each person that attended. Each person that works in the dump was given 10 tickets to come to the party and they could invite whoever they wanted. There were about 3,000 people that attended the party! Aaron, Steve, and Noah rocked the games today. Mandi gave temporary tattoos to more kids (and adults) then she can count. Megan painted beautiful Ecuadorian faces. And Luis was a busy man, serving food, giving out candy, painting faces, helping with games, and translating for whoever was around him in that moment (he’s a rockstar)! At the end of the day, as the last people were leaving, the live band sang “How Great Thou Art” in Spanish. It was a powerful moment as we acknowledged the greatness of God in multiple languages and the work that He had done both in and through us today.

“While I was serving in the face paint/tattoo/nail art tent today, a little boy, about 6 years old, came up to me and asked if I would put a temporary tattoo on his hand. While I was getting the tattoo ready to stick on, he reached into the cup, pulled out a handful of the tattoos, and stuck them in his pocket. Of course, I saw him, and confronted him about this. He was extremely hesitant to give back the stack, but he wasn’t running away from it - he was joking like he would - even though he had been caught. One of the ER staff members saw me trying (in my broken Spanish) to talk to him and came over to help. After a few minutes of back and forth, the little boy finally gave in to us and handed back the stack of stolen tattoos, with the exception of one more. I put on his “bargained” christmas tree tattoo, and immediately after it was revealed, he pulled me down to his level and gave me the strongest hug I have ever felt. He held me so tight for what seemed like at least 5 minutes, only releasing for enough time for him to look into my eyes and exclaim to me “Feliz Navidad!!”  He stayed with me a little longer, never letting go of my hand, until he went to go play some more games. As he walked away, I realized that this little “thief” only needed to be loved!! He was craving it! And I am so blessed that I got to be the one to love him, through showing mercy and simply holding him tight.”  - Megan

They say a picture says a 1,000 words and today we wanted to give you a glimpse into how we experienced God today...

Guests waiting for the party to start!

Megan and David, "the little thief" :-)

 Noah, Steve, and Aaron rocking the games!

Mandi applying temporary tattoos. 

 

It was such a blessing to serve so many people today at Zambiza!

Aaron's precious new friend. 

 Mandi and some lovable party guests.

 Luis and Meg at the face painting station!

 Noah and Steve loading up the truck after the party.

Luis putting his artistic skills to good use!

Changing Lives

Touring the Zambiza dump. 

Extreme Response’s slogan is “changing lives”. They are committed to changing the lives of people living in extreme, often life threatening situations. Primarily, they do this through partnerships with community-based organizations, helping them reach out to their neighbors. Our team have the privilege of visiting one of ER’s partners today: The Quito Dump Program at the Zambiza dump. There are 300+ people that live and work right there in the trash. These people glean their living by digging through the garbage that flows out of the back of garbage trucks, and survive on what they find to use, eat and sell. Today, we got to SERVE these 300 workers and their families! We helped prepare a meal, serve it to them, and, hopefully, give them a little more dignity and self-worth through our conversations and smiles. 

We have all been learning what it means to “change lives” - those we are serving and our own - this week in Ecuador. God is working in each of our hearts and minds, and revealing to us individually what all of this means:

“Jose and Teresa minister in the dump every day. In addition to pastoring a church 70 miles away, they oversee 6 ministries within the Zambiza dump - Day Care, Medical Clinic, Bible Study, Counseling, Grave Yard Shift Support, and Womens’ Ministry. (They made me tired just listening to them!) Teresa talked about the Womens’ Ministry and the impact it has had. These women have little or no self worth. Many months ago, Teresa started teaching them to knit scarves so that they could sell them. For many weeks, these women didn’t believe they were even capable of knitting a scarf. Now, however, many of these women have scarves to sell for additional income. She had one with her and it was beautiful! She talked about how as she taught them to knit she told them about how our lives start like the ball of yarn but God desires to make something beautiful in each of them. Teresa got all teary eyed (and so did I!) as she talked about the changes she has seen in these women as they gain confidence in their abilities and began to understand that they have worth in the eyes of the Lord. Teresa tells each of these women (who see her as a women in a higher social structure and therefore, should be above even talking to them) that they have a lifelong friend in her. This is a woman who is changing lives. This is a woman who is committed to the Lord, her calling and these people. I am challenged by the woman of God Teresa is. What does it mean for me to be that kind of woman? How do I change the lives of people God has called me to?”  -Mandi

“Conflict always arrises when we attempt to have two rulers in our life.” - Living The Lords Prayer by David Timms. This quote come up during our teams morning devotions and really made me think about how much greater of a light I could be if I let God be my sole king and take myself out of the picture. I often let my own ambitions rule over God’s own plan in my life. Throughout this week I had been struggling and praying over this topic. Then today I was at lunch during one of our team meetings and one of our team leaders pulled me aside and told me that God had been pulling on his heart to talk to me and tell me that God had some great things for my life, but I just had to be ready to surrender my all to him. I believe that God used this man to speak to me as an encouragement. I still do not know exactly how to surrender everything to God as I am still learning but I am continuing to pray and seek for God’s will in my life more than ever.”  -Noah

“My life has been forever changed by our teams victory in the Great Cheese War (a race between two teams to see which team can be the first to assemble and pack 1500 sandwiches for the main event that will occur tomorrow)  Ok, so maybe it hasn’t been changed, but it was a good time. 

God has touched my life and the lives of those around me in so many ways throughout our trip.  One of the ways that God has been blessing me through this trip is teaching me to enjoy the little things that happen. Although there has not been a significant moment where I have stopped and thought “I have changed that persons life”, or one moment that I have felt drastically changed my life, I think that God has been molding me through many little moments.  One of these moments occurred today while we were serving the people at Zambiza.

The moment that touched me was before the lunch was served, there was a program being put on.  There was somebody singing and a couple of people dancing.  One of the ladies that was at the party came over to me and grabbed my hand to pull me out to dance.  For those of you who know me well it would not surprise you to hear that I am not exactly the dancing type.  However, as she was grabbing my hand I felt God tug at my heart saying that it was more important for the people to get some laughter from my ridiculous dancing than for me to be comfortable sitting watching.  So dance I did, and laugh they did.  But the cool moments not only came from the laughter I could hear that warmed my heart but also the short conversations I got to have as a result of the dancing.  A couple of hours later we were serving the people the lunch that had been made.  A few different people during the course of the serving recognized me as one of the white people who had danced before (as Noah also got the pleasure of dancing in the middle of the circle). One man I got to talk to for a few minutes, pointed out that I had danced and he thanked me for the meal and told me that it made him so happy that we were there to be with them. It has been the small moments like these that God has been using to form both myself and the people who we come in contact with.”   -Aaron

"Since deciding to come to Ecuador, my prayer has been for God to break my heart. I wanted Him to break it for the sake of feeling a deeper compassion and desire to serve the lost and poor. And in the time leading up to this trip and especially since being here, I can say confidently that he has answered my prayer.. but in even greater ways than I could have imagined. This brokenness in me has been painful, it has left me completely dependent on God, and it has been one of the most exciting and transformative experiences of my life. I am craving more and more of this change in me as God is allowing me to experience it. My views on missions and what being a missionary looks like has been completely altered. I so admire Extreme Response’s methodology - to literally do as Jesus did... be His hands, His feet, and His skin while serving the “least of these.” THAT is what I am called to do! I am praying earnestly for the Holy Spirit to continue to move in and through me, allowing me to learn and grow and discover what my purpose in God’s kingdom is. I am praying for Him to reveal more to me about what my ministry will look like through this experience. I am praying for more change and transformation. But, while God is still not done with me yet, I trust that He can use my gifts to fulfill the biblical command (Matthew 25) to help the poor while here in Ecuador. To change the life of someone else. It is by God’s power, and His alone, that this can and will happen. As Psalm 34: 17-19, 22 states, “The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. The righteous person faces many troubles, but the Lord comes to the rescue each time... The Lord will redeem those who serve him.” Amen.”   -Megan

“To change a life, it needs to start with your own. It can not be changed in a moment or a day or a week. It takes time to do that. I also felt that being here in Ecuador for a short time wouldn’t be enough to change a life. But, then I realized that our families and friends have spent so much time planning and supporting in many different ways for us to be here, that Extreme Response is continuously doing these events with groups of volunteers, and people are making a difference in the lives of all these children year round. Now, I really believe the lives of all involved are being changed. I also believe this Christmas will be different for all of us. It will be in mine for sure, thanks to you!”   -Luis

“This is day 5 of our Quito experience. There are 20 people on our team from all ages, stages and walks of life. From working long days together, shoulder to shoulder, our protective walls have come down and we are freely expressing life’s comedies and tragedies. The expressions are deep. Laughter is loud and tears of compassion are flowing. The contrasting emotions are overwhelming at times. There are the embarrassing moments of laughter that come from what happens when you eat a food that your body is not used to and at an elevation of 10,000 feet (that’s my excuse anyway!) Aaron has dubbed it “the walk of shame.” Thank you, Lord, for humor. Then there was the moment when I could hardly breathe. Not because of the altitude but because of what happens when your heart is moved so deeply from emotion that it is hard to take a breath and you utter to yourself, “no, not here - hold it together, hold it together.” At that moment the real life stories of these people became a part of my reality. There is the story of the mother who is missing fingers because when she was an infant one or more of her digits were nibbled off by a rat. I am serving her. She is seated with her own daughter - but because of what God has done through Extreme Response, this little girl has all of her fingers. This is one changed life. Tomorrow is the big day when we serve 3000 at the Zambiza dump. Thank you, Lord, for compassion.”   -Steve

Aaron dancing!

 Chopping onions for the Zambiza meal.

 Getting ready to serve lunch to the Zambiza dump workers.

The Great Cheese War CHAMPIONS!!

Too Tired For A Witty Title

The team at Le Mitad del Mundo!

     "I'm lost in a foreign land. If not for my friends, this place would fill my heart with anxiety and my mind with overwhelming doubts about my tomorrows. I don't speak the language. Google maps can't find a GPS signal and for me there is no cell phone coverage. How about this for a scary thought: I'm your team leader. 
     Today I am acutely aware of my dependence on others to change my reality from fear to security. I am grateful to be doing this with friends.
     You, my friend, have the ability to alter someone's reality. Look for that opportunity and take it. I can tell from personal experience that it makes a world of difference."
                                                                                                           - Steve

Our day started with a field trip to La Mitad del Mundo, where we got to stand on the equator!! Our claim-to-fame for the day is that we literally got to stand in two places at once - the northern and southern hemispheres! (Meg and Mandi couldn’t help but think of the movie A Walk to Remember’s “perfect 1st date” while experiencing this!) It was great to have the opportunity to see more of the city of Quito while traveling to and from this landmark, too! Such a gorgeous place! We were also blessed with sunshine during this first half of the day! The weather was quite the opposite during our afternoon Christmas party... 

Our awesome rain suits and ponchos were necessary at today's Christmas party!

Quite the change in the weather from this morning at the equator!

Today’s party was at Carman Bajo, a church in one of the poorer neighborhoods of Quito. There were over 700 people that came! The energy and excitement in the atmosphere was contagious! Even when it started POURING rain on us, everyone - volunteers and guests - still partied on and made the most of being there. At the end of the event, all of the volunteers from Extreme Response and Carman Bajo gathered together to share about the day and pray. Our very own Luis served as the translator! He was awesome! 

Aaron with some of the party guests and Luis translating at the volunteer meeting

"Today near the end of our Christmas party, I stood in the downpour and helped cut wristbands off of the kids so they could receive their gift bags as they left. It was pouring down rain, I could see my breath, it was so cold, and I was wearing 4 layers of clothes. Across from me were tons of little kids, wearing light sweaters, excited to be at a place where they got to play games, eat a hot meal, receive another meal to take home, and a small gift bag as probably their only Christmas gift, even if it was raining. As they came with smiles on their faces and said “gracias”  for their gifts and for the party all I could think was “this is what it means to be the hands and feet of Jesus.” - Mandi

Precious kids at the Carman Bajo Christmas party. 

Tomorrow our team will be going to the Zambiza dump for the first time. We will be touring the site, visiting the Zambiza Day Care/Clinic, and serving lunch to over 300 adult volunteers who serve regularly at the Zambiza church/dump. Please be praying for our time at this site - that our eyes would be open to see what God wants us to see, and feel in our hearts the compassion only God can provide to be able to serve in such a place as this. We look forward to sharing about it with you tomorrow!

We would also ask for your continued prayer for our health. So far, we are all feeling good! But, given all of the changes in weather, the altitude, and minimum hours of sleep, we are in a susceptible place for sickness. We all want to be at our best while we are here! :-)

Rain, Hail, Thunder, Lightening...Party!!

Christmas Party at Pan De Vida in the rain!

This morning began, as every morning, with a time of worship and devotional with the entire Extreme Response team. Russ Cline (one of the founders of Extreme Response and one of our RDFC Faith Promise missionaries) challenged us to be willing to listen to God. All God asks of us is to listen to His voice, then do what He says. An excellent reminder as we continue our week. As we mentioned yesterday, the entire Extreme Response team is broken up into four teams. Our devotional time was followed by some friendly team competition that we dominated, as math was involved in one and Aaron came in second and the other was a Spanish test in which Luis was our secret weapon to come in first!

Our team was then assigned to help finish the preparations for the christmas parties. We finished making gift bags, helped prep craft materials, unloaded large amounts of food, and helped in lots of other little ways. Although some of the jobs were a little tedious, it was a blessing to get to sit and talk with our new friends, hear about what brought them to Ecuador and get to know them better. A little friendly competition never hurts either to get the job done faster... Team Mandi/Noah are tied with Team Aaron/Megan after a few rounds of craft-assembling. Don’t worry, the competition isn’t over yet! There will be a victor by the end of the trip!

Team Mandi/Noah (prepping crafts) vs. Team Aaron/Megan (hosting a game at the party)

This afternoon we got to be a part of our first Christmas party (1st of 5 this week)! The party was at Pan de Vida. Pan de Vida is a Christian organization that reaches out to the poor that live on the streets of Quito. They specifically target those families that make their living selling goods on street corners and outside of business. They provide childcare during the day so that kids don’t have to sit at intersections with their parents, provide 2 full meals a week, have a number of church services, educational classes for adults, and much more. It is an amazing organization. 

The Christmas party started overcast, as it had been all day. Each Christmas party includes games, crafts, face painting, an opportunity for kids to take a picture with Papa Noel (Santa Claus), a short time of worship and sharing of the gospel, and the giving out of gift bags to kids and bags of food for adults. Today, Steve served in the kitchen preparing food and washing dishes, while the rest of us helped at the games. It was so fun to interact with the kids..and the adults. They had so much fun playing the games! Even when it started raining...then hailing...then thunder and lightening...We party on no matter the weather and so do the kids and adults! It was definitely an adventure but we all agreed it was so worth being quite wet and a little cold. Although we are going to go a little more prepared tomorrow :). Overall, there were 422 people that attended the party and 27 people accepted Christ at the end. Praise the Lord! 

Steve in the kitchen at Pan de Vida and Luis pumping up the crowd before the party!

We ended our day with good bowls of hot chili and corn bread and then headed back to our dorm for wonderful warm showers. We are so grateful for the support that we have received from you back home. We feel your prayers, see your activity on our blog and so much more. In talking to people from the other churches, they are amazed when we tell them the amount of support we have from home. Thank you so much for sending us and being part of our team from home! 

P.S. It's raining and we like it. And each other. Obviously.

Santa's Little Helpers!

“Beep, beep beep” the alarm had been going off for almost years it had seemed, yet the one man whom it aimed to wake was still fast asleep. As Aaron and I begin to look at each other wondering who would stand first, a raging Luis was awoken from a deep slumber and with a fire in his eye he jumped out of bed and smashed Steve’s alarm clock. I had never seen a man so perturbed in my life. The the rage slowly went away and the angry Luis crept back into a deep sleep. (in reality it was much less dramatic, as Luis was not mad...at all, he was actually the only one nice enough to get up.) But anyways after I had awoken and left my warm and comfy bed I walked down the the dark and wooded hallway, the old wooden floor creaking beneath my my bare toes, and then I sat...for a very long time, until everyone else woke up...”  -Noah

“When Mandi and I emerged from our room this morning, we were cheerfully greeted in the kitchen by our 4 boys. Because they had woken up so early (thank you Steve and your alarm), they chose to make us breakfast! Plates full of eggs, sausage, and crepes awaited us. It was the perfect start to the day. Perhaps if we continue to wake up after the boys, they will choose to make this a regular occurance.” - Meg

Despite our varying awakenings, all of us were grateful to see the sun shining this morning! We have a beautiful view of the Quito valley from our housing unit. It was a blessing to see where we are going to be spending this next week so clearly! 

At 8:30am, we loaded up in the bus and went to English Christian Fellowship, one of the partnering churches with Extreme Response, just down the street. There we met all of the other volunteers - about 75 people total, representing 3 continents - and the ER staff  that we would be working with this week. We had a brief orientation, played a few ice breakers, and met with our team for the first time. (All of the volunteers have been divided into 4 teams. We are in team “D”, if you are following our schedule!) The rest of the day was spent getting ready for the upcoming Christmas parties! We helped organize all of the items for the gift bags (the boys were recruited to lug the heavy stuff because of their obvious muscles), and we put together nearly 6,000 gift bags!! The kids we meet over the next few days will be blessed with crayons, toys, toothbrushes, soap, hair accessories, bouncing balls, bracelets, gliders, and stuffed animals... more than they could have hoped for, we’ve been told. 

Noah and Aaron putting together gift bags in the assembly line!

Tomorrow we will return to ECF to continue readying supplies for the parties, and in the afternoon will get to attend our first event! 

There are many volunteers here that have been a part of the “Christmas in Quito” ministry for several years. When asked what keeps bringing them back to Ecuador, they say “the joy on the kids faces.” We can’t wait to see what that joy looks like firsthand! 

Ecuadorian food for dinner!

Hello, Quito!

In Miami, ready to board our plane to Quito!

Our day started in the Rose Drive Friends Church parking lot at 2:45am. Several family members, Pastor Dave, Don Holt, and heaven-sent Les Higa (who brought each of us a hot coffee and bag of fudge) were there to pray for us and see us off. (We counted in spirit all those who were at our “send-off” Sunday after church, too, of course.) We piled and packed into two SUV’s and headed to LAX for our 6:00am departure to Miami - thank you Chris Steiger and Don Marshburn for sacrificing your sleep for us and getting us to the airport on-time and safely! 

We left Los Angeles on time, had an easy flight that most of us slept through, and landed in Miami safe and sound. Our flight to Quito was delayed a couple of hours, but good company and Starbucks makes any sort of airport delay much more tolerable. Our team also laughed ALOT throughout today’s adventure - partially from the tired silliness,  but mostly because we are just really good at making each other laugh. If today is any indicator of how the rest of the week will go, we are in for an AWESOME week of time together and collective ministry!

On our final leg of the journey to Quito, between dinner and snippets of The Amazing Spiderman on the TV, all of our team members spent time reading our devotional books (Living the Lord’s Prayer) and preparing our hearts for this coming week. Everyone would say that we already feel God stirring something in us, prepping us for some big ways that He wants to work and move. BUT at the same time, we have no idea what it’s actually going to be like, or what God’s plan is for this week. How awesome it is to simply be in a place where we are available to the Lord and willing to experience whatever he has in store.

Thank you for praying us through our travel today. We are so thankful to have had an “uneventful” trip, and excited to finally be in Quito, Ecuador!!  It feels like a long time coming. We are all tired from a long day on planes and buses, but more-so ready for the real work to begin. It all starts bright and early in the morning! Can’t wait!