Day of Excitement

Today was very fun. First we went shopping at Otovalo and I got a very pretty bufanda (scarf). Then we went to a restaurant at Cuicocha which is on the side of an active volcano. We went inside the volcano, I'm surprised I'm not dead. Kidding, there is a lake inside the volcano called a crater lake. This is really cool because my last name is Crater, too. We all had a great day but we're all tired too. This is Abbey Crater signing off.

Field Trip!!!

Today, we took 66 children to Volqano Park, which is an amusement park. (ANY GUESSES WHICH VOLCANO IT'S LOCATED ON?) We had a wonderful time with the children. They insisted that I go on the Pirate Ship and Bumper Cars with them. An 8-year-old girl, Nayeli, was driving our car. It was great to see them being care-free and enjoying life, which for many of them, is a rare occasion.

Our team then worked to finish a few of the construction projects we were working on all week. We'll finish them next week. It's definitely helped us to sleep well at night and we have greater appreciation for those who have manual labor jobs!

Earlier this week, Tempy and George McCombe hosted our team for dinner. So, just so you know we're not working the WHOLE time, our first picture is from that evening with them.

Tomorrow, we're headed for Otovalo, and a few other places. Otovalo is the artisan's market about an hour and a half from Quito. We'll be working hard at shopping, especially the guys on our team! :D

Thank you for your prayers! We've had a great week and are looking forward to next week!

Trip to Zambiza dump

What an impactful experience! We learned about the Zambiza dump, greeted and helped to serve men and women on the night shift their dinner (about 60 people), gave out our toiletry bags, visited the children's daycare center and met the pastor of the dump (Jose Jimenez). We got a glimpse of what their day is life, making between $40-$60 per week, depending on how much garbage they can recycle. Let us all remember to be thankful for all that God has given us!

VBS Day 3

Since we were t0ld that the pictures look like we are on "vacation", we have added several work pictures today. After VBS today (64 kids - praise God!), we finished painting the fence, moved a huge pile of rocks that are used to make the wall mortar, dug up old grass to plant sod, moved the sod from the truck and are off to feed meals to the garbage recyclers at the Zambiza dump site. God has blessed all of us with strength and endurance for the day and great team work.

More pictures of VBS Day 2

We had a great day 2 of VBS. Even more kids today so hopefully this is a great trend. We worked the VBS until lunch, then some construction (building a wall) and painting the wire fence. We then helped in the Pan de Vida kitchen to serve supper after Wednesday worship (205 more people in an hour!). Home to organize for tomorrow's VBS and toiletry bags for the Zambiza dump community. God filled our empty vessels to overflowing today (that was our devotion). Pray for us!

vbs day 2

Vbs day 2 was funn! First of all i lost in tug o war against 15 kids of course. Then we played boys vs girls and well the boys lost (i only used one hand thats why they won). There was also these girls tht wanted me to hold them up so they could touch the ceiling and a couple kissed me. Today was great! Oh and if you were wnderin this is jordan but you could probebly tell when i said the girls snuck kisses on me. Bye now cant wait to see yall!

VBS DAY 1

Today was a wonderful flexible day. Plans were moved around many times, but all went smoothly with no bumps. Adjustments came as quick as a button. Here are the things we enjoyed about the day: The children's faces were filled with joy, especially with the puppet show when Bubba the puppet's hair fell off. The children taught us the Ecuadorian version of London Bridges. We had such a great time playing games with the children and seeing them laugh and run around. It was great to experience learning a game without understanding any directions. We learned by watching the children and joining in with them. During crafts the children put tons of energy into their crafts, paying attention to the details. Once VBS was all over, we let the dogs out so we could scrape cement off the fencing. Those who were not scraping enjoyed playing with the dogs.

Tonight we spent time with Oscar, Lori, Tempy, and George over dinner at George and Tempy's home. We were able to talk about Pan De Vida and how God is blessing us in all our different ministries. At the home which is a 9th floor apartment, we had a great view of Quito from all four sides, including the roof.

We are all now ready for a good night of sleep.