Sunday, July 20, 2008
Plan D... maybe E
After going back and forth on many different plans, our current one for the Adventure team coming in on Tuesday is this: We will go for getting to Tiwaeno. There is still no aviation fuel so we are going to hike in. Our estimates are that at the earliest, we will make it in 10 hours. It will probably take longer though. We were able to get one flight in with all our tools and food which will lighten the load substatially going in. However, this also means that our mosquito nets and sleeping bags are in. We can't ditch halfway through and spend the night out on the path. We will start the hike at 4 am on the 24th if you'd like to be praying. Thanks.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Summer so far
It has been a busy summer so far. This post is going to be a bit long. Here's what has happened since I last wrote. My first short-term team was of 39 people, 33 of whom were 18 year old high school grads. We worked with a church here in Quito in a community called Argelia Alta doing different construction projects as well as several VBSs and a church service. We then visited a Quichua community that this church is reaching out to and did a VBS with them. It was really cool seeing these students in a pivotal point in their life doing this kind of ministry and learning what it means to serve. Many of these students come from wealthy families and are going on to Ivy League universities. One of the things we talk a lot about here with teams is fruit. What will the fruit be as you go forward (not back... hopefully) home... how will you be different and how will others be impacted long term as a result of this missions experience. These students decided as a group that they were going to raise $50,000 for Argelia Alta. One of the outreaches the church in Argelia Alta has is a micro-business school for the women of the community. They can learn several trades like sewing, candle-making, or hair styling in which they can then use for some income. The church wants to buy the property next door in order to build this school for these ladies.
My second team was also great and an interesting mix. There were high school grads, some late-20's - 30's, and some closer to 50. It was a very mature team and listening to them talk and watching them serve was a lot of fun. There was some definite life change that happened among them and I expect to see a number of them leading teams of their own in future years.
After these two teams left, I had a few days off and this last weekend I got out to a lake with 3 friends to take a few days to relax. On the way out we drove to a mountain and I was totally stunned by God's glory. The weather cleared (it had been raining for 2 days pretty well straight) and from the top of one of the mountains I saw several eagles, a peregrine falcon, and most amazing of all, three condors (one of whom was a "baby"). One source says there are only 74 condors left in all of Ecuador. These condors came right up and circled maybe 20 feet away from me. At the same time, Antisana, a beautiful snow-capped volcano, came out. I was in awe. I tried to capture it by camera but it comes nowhere near. The photos are on facebook at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130666&l=1f27a&id=873710486.
Well, this is getting very long so I will leave you with a couple things to pray for:
My next team comes on the 22nd. They are supposed to fly out to the Waorani in the jungle but we have had so much rain that there is only one possibly operating airstrip out there. On top of that, MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship... the ones who fly us) are out of fuel and are having difficulty getting more. They are only flying rescue flights at this point. So we are working out a plan B to go by flight, bus, and then canoe out to a village in the northern jungle. The difficulty with this is there are more logistics that need to be worked out and our contact person up there is a Colombian missionary who is currently in Colombia and out of contact. Please pray that God will work things out and allow our team to get to a site and be effective. Pray also for the team as they are preparing physically and spiritually to come down.
Last time I wrote I asked for you to be praying for Sarah, who was 8 months pregnant at the time as she helped led our team. Well, God answered those prayers and she was able to very effectively lead that team and one more after it. She is now two weeks overdue and ready to have the baby. Please be praying for her through this process.
Also last time I asked for prayer for my health, specifically for sleep. I have gotten a few days of normal sleep but mostly I get by on 2-3 hours a night (at best). It is really taking a toll on me. Drugs do nothing and the doctors say I seem healthy. I've also caught a few bugs that my teams brought with them (one of the hazards of leading teams). Please continue to pray that God would get me to 100% before this next team.
Thank you for your prayer support. I can't say that enough.
My second team was also great and an interesting mix. There were high school grads, some late-20's - 30's, and some closer to 50. It was a very mature team and listening to them talk and watching them serve was a lot of fun. There was some definite life change that happened among them and I expect to see a number of them leading teams of their own in future years.
After these two teams left, I had a few days off and this last weekend I got out to a lake with 3 friends to take a few days to relax. On the way out we drove to a mountain and I was totally stunned by God's glory. The weather cleared (it had been raining for 2 days pretty well straight) and from the top of one of the mountains I saw several eagles, a peregrine falcon, and most amazing of all, three condors (one of whom was a "baby"). One source says there are only 74 condors left in all of Ecuador. These condors came right up and circled maybe 20 feet away from me. At the same time, Antisana, a beautiful snow-capped volcano, came out. I was in awe. I tried to capture it by camera but it comes nowhere near. The photos are on facebook at this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=130666&l=1f27a&id=873710486.
Well, this is getting very long so I will leave you with a couple things to pray for:
My next team comes on the 22nd. They are supposed to fly out to the Waorani in the jungle but we have had so much rain that there is only one possibly operating airstrip out there. On top of that, MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship... the ones who fly us) are out of fuel and are having difficulty getting more. They are only flying rescue flights at this point. So we are working out a plan B to go by flight, bus, and then canoe out to a village in the northern jungle. The difficulty with this is there are more logistics that need to be worked out and our contact person up there is a Colombian missionary who is currently in Colombia and out of contact. Please pray that God will work things out and allow our team to get to a site and be effective. Pray also for the team as they are preparing physically and spiritually to come down.
Last time I wrote I asked for you to be praying for Sarah, who was 8 months pregnant at the time as she helped led our team. Well, God answered those prayers and she was able to very effectively lead that team and one more after it. She is now two weeks overdue and ready to have the baby. Please be praying for her through this process.
Also last time I asked for prayer for my health, specifically for sleep. I have gotten a few days of normal sleep but mostly I get by on 2-3 hours a night (at best). It is really taking a toll on me. Drugs do nothing and the doctors say I seem healthy. I've also caught a few bugs that my teams brought with them (one of the hazards of leading teams). Please continue to pray that God would get me to 100% before this next team.
Thank you for your prayer support. I can't say that enough.
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