Estamos en Casa!

I made it back to Virginia just before 8:00 p.m. tonight. Thank you for all of your prayers as we traveled back! We had a wonderful time in Ecuador with those that we ministered to, and with each other!

All of us recognize the influence your prayers were having on our ministry opportunities and in our personal lives! Thank you VERY much!

Please pray as the work continues in Ecuador at Pan De Vida, Zambiza, Para Sus Ninos, English Fellowship Church, and Extreme Response as a whole. Pray also as our team processes the amazing things that God has done in and through us over the past couple of weeks!

Numbers 6:24-26

We are home!

The Fountain of Life crew of the Mission Ecuador team made it home safely. We had a couple of snags with our luggage (it did not make it to NC with us the first time), but all is well now. We are going to present some of our pictures and stories during the sermon on Sunday (8/15), so come and learn more about what we experienced and how God changed our lives. I can say that we are not the same as we left 2 weeks ago - Thanks be to God!

Earthquake Update

Dear Praying Friends,

Many of us have received e-mails and texts about the earthquake that occurred at 6:54 a.m. today. It had a magnitude of 6.9, but we did not even feel it! The epicenter was about 4 hours from here, closer to Ambato. Thank you for your prayers and concerns!

We board our flight at 11:30 tonight and will be back in Greensboro and the DC area by tomorrow afternoon.

Pray that we have a safe and uneventful trip back.

Gracias!

Last day at Pan de Vida

Today was our last day to work at Pan de Vida. We took 70 kids to the Quito Zoo (about an hour away from here on the bus, through the beautiful Andes mountains) and had a great time. We even got to see some Galapagos turtles (tortuga). When we came back, we played outside (no work today!) and helped prepare and serve supper to about 250 people (only 6 meals left over!). We had a hard time saying, "Good bye" to the people we met, especially the kids. Several girls did not want Jordan to leave, and they were actually crying! Please pray for safe travel. We will try to send a post from the airport tomorrow, but you may not hear from us until Friday.

Last Day of VBS

Today was the last day of VBS, and our lesson was on forgiveness (Joseph forgiving his brothers). We finished painting the "wall" and the green fence (praise to God!). No more construction, just a day to hang out with the kids at the zoo tomorrow. A couple of us went to visit Oscar (director of Pan de Vida) and Lori Aguirre and their baby Oscar Andres, and had a chance to pray for them with an intimate healing and worship service in their home. I knew that God had personally called me to Ecuador on this trip, but did not know the reason until tonight: "for such a time as this."

VBS Week 2 Day 1

Queen Ester was a hit. The children all turned a Burger King crown into a Brave crown. Why? Because Ester was brave to admit she was a Jew. The children all put the word brave "valiente" on their crowns. The theme of being brave was shown in all our activities. Tommy our Extreme Response Team Host brought in his Boa for show and tell. The Boa was 7ft long, and went by the name "Diamond". She was very nice and sat well in my hand and on my neck for a few minutes. Many people said I was "valiente" for holding a snake.

We finished painting the inside wall and the fence. We started painting the outside wall but will have to finish tomorrow. Up on the ladders one more time. When we loaded up to leave we all had white speckled faces from paint rolling. Showers were a must when we got home. It was a ton of fun, and we got a bathroom painted also.

A Special Sunday

We had another amazing day in Ecuador. We went to church at EFC (English Fellowship Church) again (we went last Sunday as well), where we sang praises in both english and spanish. The sermon was from Luke, about repentence. We'll have copies of the sermon when we return if you'd like to learn more.

After church, we went to Pan de Vida to prepare and serve lunch to the less fortunate in the community. We did this last Sunday and also on Wednesday evening last week. This is where an amazing thing happened that I want to share with you all. On all three days, including today, we had EXACTLY enough food for those that came. On Wednesday, more than 200 people came, I spilled a dish of food and prayed that we would have enough so that it would not be missed. We served the very last plate to the last person. Then today, Pastor and I were passing food out to those in line (about 130 people) and I realized there were only about 8 plates left and about 15 people still in line. I started to worry, but the others said "don't worry - the Lord will provide" - and he did. When I turned around again, they had found more plates. The last lady in line had a child - but we only had one plate left, so she gave it to the child and did without. Then Pastor walked into the prep area of the kitchen and found one more plate!! When Harriet walked it out to her, she was so grateful. Again, there was exactly enough food. Amazing. God is sooooooo good!

This experience has been so wonderful. We have had fun, grown closer as a group, practiced our spanish, met new friends, prayed together and worked hard (yes, we are working a lot too). We have seen God work in so many ways. Today, before we served lunch, the Pan de Vida leaders led a worship service and 8 people came to Christ. On Wednesday night, 3 people accepted the Lord. It is so rewarding to be a part of such an impactful group.

We miss you all and are looking forward to coming back to share our pictures and stories with you. God bless you and keep you in his care (He is certainly taking care of us!)

Your sister in Christ,
Brenda