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!