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!

Thank you, Friends Christian School!

Friends Christian School, an affiliate of Rose Drive Friends Church and Friends Church Yorba Linda, committed to give their chapel offerings from the first semester of school to our "Christmas in Quito" team to help purchase the supplies needed for the Extreme Response Christmas parties! All of the money raised has gone to buy school supplies, toiletries, and toys that will be distributed to the kids who live in the dumps at the events Nov. 26 - Dec. 4, 2012. 

Thanks to FCS's students, parents, and staff, over $1800 was raised to support this ministry! What a huge blessing!! We are so thankful for our partnership with Friends Christian School and, that through prayer and offering, the FCS family is a staple part of our team!

Three of our team members  - Megan Ilertsen, Mandi Pettikas, and Aaron Steiger - are FCS alumni. After the new year, our team will be speaking in chapel at Friends Christian School to share our experience with the students. 


For more information about Friends Christian School, please visit their website: www.friendschristian.org

Commissioning

This weekend at Rose Drive Friends Church, Gregg Prickett (Lay Pastor of Missions), commissioned our team in front of the congregation - praying for our upcoming trip and encouraging us with words of wisdom and affirmation. He read us this passage from the book of 1 Timothy: 

"Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them. Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received..."

Each member of our team has special and unique gifts God has given us. Whether it be the gift of empathy, the gift of listening, the gift of encouragement, the gift of including, or the gift of prayer... all of our gifts will certainly be a blessing to the people we will be serving and to each other. Each of us feels called to go to Ecuador and serve the Lord. Because of this calling, we trust that God has equipped us with the gifts we need to be effective in ministry! We just continue to pray that we'd be open to God's leading and trust in the gifts He's given when called to use them. 

We also trust that the way each of our team members live and love each other would be a reflection of God's love living in each of our hearts. May we truly "be an example" for others around us - Ecuadorians, ER staff, and other volunteers - of genuine community and compassion. We are blessed to have such a close team, with deep friendships (and family!) already formed. It is exciting to get to experience this with other people we love and care about! Undoubtedly, too, we will walk away from this knowing even more about ourselves and each other. Thank you, Lord, for uniting this team and for, in advance, growing us closer together and we grow closer to you by serving your people in Quito. 

Begin to Pray Now

Our team invites you to pray with us for our upcoming trip to Quito. Please begin to pray now that God will multiply our efforts, allowing our hands-on work to help make the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ available to everyone in a language that speaks to their heart.

Please also remember to pray for:

• The spiritual health of our team.

• The final preparations: travel plans, availability of work/ministry supplies, and lodging details

• Safety in travel.

• Those left at home.

• Ministry responsibilities we are leaving behind.

• Help from God to see the world as He sees it.

• Each team member to be sensitive to God’s leading regarding future involvement in world missions.

• The Leadership Team: Our Team Leader, General Christmas Events Coordinator, ER Team Host

• Physical and spiritual strength and stamina.

• Each team member to seize opportunities given by God to be an encouragement to those with whom he/she comes in contact.

• The testimony of the team and of ER, that they will not be compromised or tarnished in any way.

Pray, too, for the spiritual condition of those we will pass on the street. Pray for the country (Ecuador) and for the city (Quito) in which we will work. Pray that we would take the opportunities God puts before us and trust Him to provide the results.

Thank you for partnering with us in this way! We covet your prayers. 

The Quito Dump Program

Extreme Response actually grew out of a small kids’ club in the garbage dump of Quito, Ecuador (also known as the Zambiza Dump). In June of 1997 the Extreme Response founders began working with the 300+ people that lived and worked right there in the trash. These people gleaned their living by digging through the garbage that flows out of the back of garbage trucks, living in small shacks made from pallets and other building materials they found in the trash. They survived on what they found to use, eat and sell.

The very first Christmas Party in the Quito Dump was held in December of 1997 with more than 300 people in attendance.  This past year (2011) we celebrated our 15th annual party with more than 1900 people.

The dump has changed drastically over the past 15 years, but the people have not. The Zambiza location was permanently closed as a dumping site in 2005 because the landfill was full. The site then became a transfer station. Garbage is now trucked in, dumped in a roofed area, sorted through and then reloaded back into trucks to be taken to a location outside of the city.

In March of 2006, ER opened the Zambiza Daycare Center & Preschool – over 50 children ages newborn through 5 years now attend. In December of 2006 a medical clinic opened in conjunction with Hospital VozAndes Quito.

ER also provide family counseling, hygiene classes, education assistance, a weekly kids club and moms club, weekly feeding for night workers and much more.

For more information on the Quito Dump Program, Extreme Response, and other ER ministry opportunities, please visit: www.extremeresponse.org