The scorpion king

When I went to Ecuador, I took my cell phone with me. I had already called my carrier (the one with the fewest dropped calls, although mine drop every now and then) and they told me that yes, I would have service over there. A text message would cost me 50 cents to receive and 50 cents to text out. That was OK with me since I didn't know if and when we would be able to get to a phone.

We all text ed from Ecuador. We wanted everyone to know that we were OK. We even received some from our loved ones.

Well, one day, I turn on my phone to see if anyone had sent us a message. There was one from Hubster. It said "AB got stung by a scorpion. He's fine. We love you and miss you."

OK, I don't know about you, but I freaked. I am over 2ooo miles away and I get that message. Yes, it said he was OK, but what do you mean he got stung by a scorpion?

My mominess kicked in. This message was three days old when I received it. So right away the questions started to come in my head.
Is he OK?
I wonder if he had to go to the Dr?
How big was this scorpion?
Where was he when it happened?
Is my baby OK?
Why did Hubster have to tell me this?

I tell our leader that I need to go to a phone bank before we go shopping. I knew I wouldn't be able to enjoy the day without knowing the answers to all of those questions.

We find a phone bank and I call Hubster.
Yes, he's OK.
No, he didn't have to go to the Dr., the swelling went down that evening.
He was in the school room with grandma when it happened.
Yes, I promise you he's OK.
I just thought you'd like to know.

Anyway, I calmed down, cried a little because I was talking to Hubster. You see, in the 9 1/2 years we've been married, we've never gone that long, 5 days, without talking to each other. Can I get an Awwwwwww here?

But before I got off the phone, AB told me that he had saved the scorpion for me to see when I got home. He said it was a surprise for me.

Day five in Ecuador

On the fifth day of my mission trip, my true love gave to me..................
5 glorious days with kids eager to learn about Jesus
4 days without hot water
3 bruises blackening
2 translators
and
1 wonderful but humbling experience


Friday was by far the hardest day we had. We had gotten to know the families that were there. We had gotten to know the kids. Played with them, loved on them. Or rather, they loved on us. We re-enforced what they were learning. We saw them as sponges, absorbing all that was said.

The people from the church were making us lunch on this day. They wanted to thank us for all that we did for them. But I think we should have been thanking them for all that they did for us. We played soccor with some kids that knew how to playit well. One of the girls in our group got kicked in the leg by one of the guys in our group.

We ate what they fed us. It was yummy. They grilled pork chops, chicken and beef. They made corn and steam vegetables and some yummy potato cakes. We ate and ate and ate some more. They would come around with these plates full of meat. They wanted to make sure we had one of each piece of meat. N, our leader, had eaten his portion and then another of our groups portion. It works well to have guys in our group. JB, wouldn't sit next to us after the hot dog incident.

By this day, I was doing a lot of the translating of the skit and lessons. I was nervous at first, but I didn't have to worry, because the couple of words I would say wrong, the kids would correct. It was funny. We taught them 'I have joy like a river' in Spanish. They wanted to sing this all the time. I also taught them a song in Spanish that says 'I have a friend that loves me, that loves me, that loves me, I have a friend that loves me, his name is Jesus.' Of course, that one I taught only to the group (the youth) that I was helping with. They wanted to sing that all the time as well. They really enjoyed 'I have joy like a river' in English. Some of them got it.

During Friday's lesson in small groups, I was informed right then and there that I was to do the entire lesson. Try coming up with something in Spanish on the spot. I looked at JG, who was another member of our group, and asked her what we should do. I did come up with stuff though. God is good. We did the cross trick as well. They enjoyed that.

We had taken the church some clothes from here. We found out on that day that they (the pastor and his wife) had painstakingly, unselfishly, folded each and every piece of clothing neatly and with love. They then placed this piece of clothing in a plastic bag and enclosed it with a Jesus book. Each child was to receive this gift. They were short 10 bags for the older kids.

I say painstakingly because Maria, the pastors wife, has rheumatoid arthritis. Medicine is not cheap over there. She never let on that she was in so much pain, and we only knew when we probed her and she told us.

We also had taken 150 bags filled with toys, colors, gum, candy and such. We added a little bag to each big bag.

When VBS was over, they distributed these bags to all the kids. There was no fighting over which bag was bigger. No fighting because one baggie had more stuff than others. Never heard a "that's not fair". They all just accepted these bags and the look on their faces said it all. They wouldn't even push to hurry up the person in front of them. They just waited their turn.

One little boy approached me and asked me if I could help him find someone to switch with him. He had gotten a girl bag and of course was hoping to get a boy bag. We asked around and this one little girl had gotten a boy bag. The shirt she pulled out had some stains on it. The little boy looked at it and said "no, that's OK. I'll just give this to my sister. I have this goody bag anyway"

We all cried when the kids were telling us goodbye. They hugged our necks, gave us kisses, told us they would miss us and even told us they loved us. Try not to cry when they do all that.

When all the kids left, we formed a circle and the ladies of the church wanted to sing songs with us and pray for us. Kennedy, the pastor, had gone to a pastor's convention. To hear these people pray and sing with their hearts is something that I can't explain. It's just beautiful. I know the whole group felt it. Sometimes the translation gets chopped up when even just 1 or 2 words get translated wrong. I was crying. I couldn't translate to the group. The translators did. And when they would mess up a word, I couldn't correct them. The group felt the love these people offered. I don't think any translation was needed. Those little packs of Kleenex's come in handy.

We left there before we cried some more. We went to go eat dinner and tried to not think about this wonderful, bittersweet day. We did enjoy dinner together. We laughed. Especially when the guy came out to take our order and when one person ordered the chicken, he said that was the last piece of chicken and they were out of chicken, so no one else could get chicken. Since we had had that big lunch, and had heavy hearts, we really weren't that hungry. But we still wanted chicken. So the guy said "OK, I'll be back in a little while, let me go prepare more chicken". That's when we laughed. We waited for the sound of the chicken clucking, but we heard none. We all ended up with what we ordered. We didn't even ask where the chicken came from.

We left the restaurant and went to the convenience store to buy some cokes and some dessert. For the previous couple of days, we would get together in our room (girls) and just hang out and talk. So we did it again on this Friday. It was fun.

I leave you this post with a picture of Kennedy and Maria and their 5 sons. I ask that you pray for this family. Pray for Kennedy, that he continues to preach God's word. Pray for the ministry they are doing and for the lives they are touching. Pray for Maria. For her arthritis. There are days when she can't get out of bed. Pray for their boys. The oldest is 21 and the youngest (twins) are 12.

Day four in Ecuador

On the fourth day of my mission trip, my true love gave to me..............
4 days without hot water
3 bruises blackening
2 translators
and
1 wonderful but humbling experience

We started day four a little easier. We were going to take a tour of a Rose Plantation. There are Rose Plantations around what seems every corner. We went in and were given a tour about all the different areas. We were showed where they fix the flowers so that they can look their best before being shipped out. We were showed how they pack them and how the different size cuts went to the different countries. We saw them make bags of rose petals for weddings and such, and we even saw the rejects that were going to be sold in the local market. They were beautiful and I don't know what made them rejects. Slight imperfections I guess.

We even saw these beautiful blue roses. They were white roses that were dyed. They dye them blue or black and even purple I believe. They sure looked pretty.

We passed out scripture gum and tracts. A young girl even came running after us to see if we had more of a certain tract.

We went and passed out tracts and goodie bags to a neighborhood right behind the molino. We visited a day care and then walked the streets. We came across a young lady whose kids had been coming to VBS. The little boy had medical problems. Her family was the only one around that neighborhood who were Christians. They get no help from their neighbors because they are Christians. The lady feels all alone with no one there to help. Her husband works at a Rose Plantation kind of far from where they live. He rides a bike to and from work. She walks to where she needs to go. We tried to encourage her. We read her scripture and then we prayed for her. Her name was Sarah.

We went to the molino to go eat then get our craft and skit ready for VBS. By the end of this day, we had over 100 kids. We sure were tired. But in a good way.

We went to eat and then to church services. It sounded so beautiful. Here in our church we have a band. Guitar, Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, keyboard and such. We also have a choir. There at that church, they have one person playing Acoustic guitar and everyone singing. It just sounds so beautiful.

After church, we realized that our translator to our group had locked the keys in the truck. While we wait for someone to come open it, three of us start to walk. We were going to pass out candy to kids. Our other translator says no. It's not a safe area. She'll walk with us. We start to walk when a car pulls up next to us. It is a pastor from a Baptist church in Quito. He says get in. We tell him that we are just walking and we'll wait for the truck to get unlocked. He says get in.
N, our leader, said that maybe this was like the joke of when God send the guy several modes of transportation. We got in.

This is downtown Cayambe. Where the church is located.

Here is a view of the snow capped Cayambe Volcano. We had been noticing that the sky was a little hazy. Little did we know that it was volcanic ash.

1

Day three in Ecuador

On the third day of my mission trip, my true love gave to me..............

3 bruises blackening
2 translators
and 1 wonderful but humbling experience


Day three started with a prayer walk and devotions. Some of us then went for a walk before we started our day. It is so beautiful. You see mountains everywhere. People greet you when they don't even know you. They walk their cows, pigs, sheep. You name it, they walk it.
I think this little piggy was going to the market.

We went to the molino and started helping with the craft and then we were told that we needed to do a skit. So we gather together to come up with something. When we finished VBS that day, there were close to 100 kids there. All eager to hear the 'gringos' talk about Jesus.

The kids were from around there and they were from a poor neighborhood. Most kids wore the same clothes everyday.

We went to eat dinner. We ate this wonderfully, tasty filet Mignon that was huge and was only $10. We even ate 2 big baskets full of bread with a salsa that they make in Ecuador called Aji. Boy is that tasty. I didn't listen to people when they said don't eat the vegetables. I ate lots of this.

We separated into two groups. One group went to go visit a pastor about started more works. My group went back to the molino. We were invited to go sing some songs, get to know each other better and have a devotion. When we got there, they said they had snacks for us. It had only been an hour since we had finished eating that wonderful food. I made an excuse for us and they started the singing.

Of course, in Ecuador, there is no hurry. No one is rushing to get to work. No one is yelling at you because you need to hurry up and get somewhere. It is a very laid back, no hurry kind of place. They told us to be there at 7pm. We started everything at 8pm. We didn't mind. We actually enjoyed it.

During the prayer time, we all gathered in a circle and held hands. Kennedy, the pastor, was praying and suddenly I felt it. It was as if God was in the room. I got chills and then teary. It was definitely a God moment. I felt as if I would have opened my eyes, I would have seen God face to face. What a wonderful feeling it was. Something that really can't be described. By the time the week was over, everyone in the group had felt that same thing at one time or another.

When devotions finished devotions, they told us that the hot dogs were almost ready. We all looked at each other and wonder how we are possibly going to eat. By this time it was 9pm. We sit there and talk and they bring out a bowl of chips. There were 4 of us from our group in that room. JB, the teen guy, was entertaining kids. I look at him and tell him that they are bringing us food and we need to eat. Starting with the chips. He sits down and starts eating chips.

The chips are taken away and then these huge hot dogs come out. Hot dogs like the extra long coney's from Sonic. That long of a wienie inside a french bread loaf, loaded with aji, cheese, chunks of tomato and crushed chips. This was no small American hot dog folks. The best way to describe how long it was is to compare it to the subway sandwiches. Large.

Well, we convince them to cut them in half. JB says he's going to eat a whole one. He's taking care of us women. We other wimps eat half. They come back and offer us more. I decline since I'm not even half way on the half. JB gets a half. They come back again and offer us still some more. I say that we are full. I end up saying that JB has eaten two already. He feels guilty because he hadn't and ends up eating the other half of his half. Poor guy.

After stuffing ourselves, we end up having to roll ourselves out. We get to the room and start laughing as we tell the other group what we went through, especially JB. It was fun.

I'll leave you with another Cayambe, Ecuador view.

I was missing my family lots. But every time I looked at the moon, I knew that it was the same moon they looked at.

Day two in Ecuador

Our church has adopted this region in Ecuador. For the last three years, they have gone over to do medical clinics as well as assist some pastors in starting home bible studies. This is, I believe, the first year we go to help do VBS.

On our first full day in Cayambe, Ecuador, we woke up a little late and went to the restaurant in front of our cabins to eat breakfast. We had already been told not to drink the water in Ecuador and not to eat anything that was cleaned in water that wasn't boiled. Like salads.

But we didn't have to worry, because this little restaurant had omelette's, scrambled eggs, pancakes ( Aunt Jemima) and bizcochos. Now those little pastry things were my favorite. I'm sure it was loaded with fat, but boy were they yummy fatty things.

They even had cokes. The fridges they have are not like ours. They don't cool as much. So finding cold coca-colas was not that easy. They really weren't that hot, but they sure weren't cold. By the next day, the people at the restaurant would put some cokes in the freezer just so they would be a little cold. No Dr. Pepper for you that like that drink.

One of the views that greeted us every morning looked like this. God's beautiful creation.
The weather was also wonderful. At night it would get to the upper 40's and during the day it was only in the 70's. We either wore a light jacket or a long sleeve shirt.

We head on over to the molino, the windmill. This is where the pastor and his family live, work and where they were having vbs. It is 5 stories high. The bottom floor is the restaurant, the second floor was like a living room area and the rest of the floors were where they lived. Little to no light and in the evenings it was pretty chilly. They did have a little room on the bottom floor that had a fireplace and they would light that up on occasion.

We arrived a little early. VBS was going to start at 2pm. We introduced ourselves and started planning as to how we were better going to serve them. They had about 80 kids the day before and were expecting more on this day. By the end of the day there were close to 90 kids.

We had several bags with VBS supplies that we brought them. Kennedy and Maria, the pastor and his wife, were quite excited with what we had brought. We even took clothes for the kids. This was one of the needs that they had expressed.

There was a swing that was on a big tree at the front of the molino. That seemed to be a fun swing as it always attracted lots of kids. They would get on the swing in groups, then others pushed them. The joy that they had from this simple, broken swing was something that we really don't see down her in America. There was no fighting going on over how many times someone had already sat in the swing. No fighting over who was going to get on next, or who had more turns than someone else. They were just laughing and having a good time.

When we looked down the road from the molino, we saw lots and lots of kids walking. This was a poor little community and not very many people had vehicles. Old bikes were used a lot, as well as the legs that God gave them and sometimes the bus.

Lots of little kids came with their siblings. Almost all the siblings we saw took care of each other. The older ones held the younger ones hands and made sure they were safe before they left them to go play with their friends.

This swing set was already in poor shape when we got there. At the end of this second day, it was broken. The pastor said "It's better that it mess up with the kids than with the rain."

They had the general assembly outside. All these little kids eager to hear about Jesus. They were ready to soak it all in.

They called us 'missionarios'. Missionaries. They usually call Americans 'gringos', but they were afraid that we would be offended, so they called us the other word.

They introduced us to the kids and then had us go up to the front and do the hand motions to the song they were learning that day. That seemed to be the only song we could remember all week long.

The VBS they were doing was ' A Festival of Colors'. They were doing it based on the plan of salvation. On Monday, it was black. They talked about black being sin. On this day it was red. Talking about the blood of Christ. We also had to come up with a craft.

We were pretty tired by the end of the day. A good kind of tired. Knowing that God was already working in our lives. Ready for a hot shower and bed. Bed was good, but the hot shower didn't happen.

Our arrival in Ecuador

Well, this trip was wonderful. Nothing like I expected, but everything like I expected. If that makes any sense.

Before I left, I had written that we didn't have a place to stay at in Cayambe. All day Sunday, I had a peaceful feeling. Then in the wee hours of the night, during my anticipation, God just told me to trust him. That all would be well. I slept for a couple of hours then woke up ready to go.

We had no trouble at the airport. We checked in all of our bags that were loaded with VBS supplies and clothes to take to the kids up there. We ate lunch to prepare ourselves for the long day ahead.

There were six of us going. We had all just met when we were having the meetings to prepare for this trip. The group consisted of 4 women and 2 men. Ages ranging from 18 on up. We started to get to know each other.

By the time we arrived in Quito, Ecuador, we knew each other pretty well. We were all excited to see what God had in store for us. By this time, we had all just let every thing go and said "God, you are in control. Use us however you need us to be used." We had just found out that morning that we did have a place to stay. Our flights were going smoothly, minus a little turbulence at the end, and we arrived on time.

We get to the airport and go through immigration then on to get our luggage. It is midnight by this time. We meet the missionary and the two translators. We load all our luggage in one car and walk over to the rental place to get the other vehicle. We finally get all ten of us situated in both vehicles and at 1am we start driving to our destination. Cayambe, Ecuador.

It was dark and cold and not very many cars on the road. When there were cars, they were driving fast and passing you when the solid double lines were showing in the middle of the road. We kept turning as if we were going through curves, we had no idea where we were going. I had to pull out my crackers and water during this time because I was not feeling the greatest.

I week later, I would understand why all the curves. We were driving through the mountains and you could see down a long ways as well as see mountains all over us. Not as scary driving through there during the day.

Cayambe is an hour drive from Quito. We arrive at our hotel and find that there is a lock on the gate to get in. We finally wake the lady up and she let's us in. We unload all of our luggage and go in our cabins. We were fortunate to get a cabin that had 4 beds. All 4 of us girls were able to sleep in the same cabin. It was fun.

We tried taking showers, but hot water is a little non-existent up there. And when it's 50 degrees outside, the last thing you want to do is take a cold shower. It was 3am before we finally lay down to sleep in order to get ready for the next day.

Home, home on the range...............

I'm home!! I'm home!

Ahhhh, it feels so good to be home.

While we did have an awesome week, we were all ready to come home.

Emotions were running wild yesterday. All week long we were busy. Missing our families, but not really thinking about them due to the fact that we were busy all the time. Sunday got here and we were on home mode. We tried to go to sleep at midnight because we knew had to get up at 3am to head on over to the airport for our 6am flight.

I was thinking about being home with my boys and my man that I hardly slept those 3hrs. I wake up with energy thinking that I'll be home with my family that night, only to be told at the airport that we might or might not be in Houston that day. But for sure that we weren't going to be home until Tue. Emotions took over and added with the tiredness, lots of tears erupted.

The plane that was supposed to land on Sunday night didn't. It flew 3 hrs from Houston to Quito, Ecuador, but then headed back to Houston when they couldn't land because there was volcanic ash on the runway. Not many planes were there yesterday.

We prayed a lot. Individually and as a group. I think our group leader was tired of us women crying for no reason at all. I'm sure he was ready to get away from us cry babies.

We finally left Quito, Ecuador at 3:30 pm. We'd only been at the airport 11 1/2 hrs with little to no sleep. To say we were tired and hungry is an understatement.

The planes heads on over to Panama City to fuel up. We are there for 30 minutes fueling up then it's 3 1/2 hrs on to Houston. We arrive in Houston at 9:40 pm. God was taking care of us because we had no trouble going through customs and immigration.

We, along with the other 100 people from the flight that missed their connecting flights, wait for a shuttle to take us to the Sheraton hotel to spend the night. Finally, 3 shuttle buses later, we arrive at the hotel, get our rooms and go find something to eat. Nothing like eating a greasy jack in the box burger at midnight. Welcome home huh?

All went well this morning. Our plane left Houston on time, and made it home a little after 1pm. I was exhausted. I did have me a good nap though.

I am so looking forward to taking a hot shower in my own shower, and sleeping in my own bed.

So thank you to all who prayed for our safe return home and everything that went with it.

I will start writing about what God did this past week in Cayambe, Ecuador.

Hello from Ecuador

Hello everyone!!!!!

I am still in Ecuador. Our flight was supposed to leave at 6am, but was cancelled until 1pm. Now they are saying 3pm. All 6 of us are exhausted and homesick. We are ready to see our families. Ready to touch them and love on them. But all of us are glad that we experienced what God wanted us to experience.

We fly to Houston and then have to spend the night there tonight and catch a 5am flight home in the morning.

Please continue to pray for our safe return home.

Until later my friends.

It's almost time for Ecuador

Wow! My trip to Ecuador if finally here. Of course it's late and I'm still packing. I keep forgetting stuff. I sure hope people don't mind how I smell. Just kidding.

I've been pretty busy lately. I mean, I am leaving out of the country, and it just clicked in my brain Thursday. I went to pick up my mom so that she can stay with the boys while Hubster works. Then on Friday, we went to spend the day getting last minute stuff that I needed and stuff that I didn't need. Hubster and I even went on a bike ride on Sat. morning.

Yesterday I spent the day stocking up on food so that no one will starve while I'm gone.

So today I'm packing.

As of right now, this is what I know. We arrive in Quito, Ecaudor at 11:30 pm (same time as this time). We get our bags, hoping they all arrive there. We get the rental vehicles, pick up two translators and drive 1 1/2 to 2 hrs to our destination, Cuyumbe, Ecuador. We then arrive at a hotel ( right now we don't know if we have one). But hey, I'm taking me a pillow, blanket and sheet. I'll sleep at the airport if I have to.

The church we are helping do VBS has already got the ball rolling. They made radio announcements, made fliers and are actually starting tomorrow. They are having VBS from 2-5pm, so maybe we'll get to sleep a little mon. night/ tue. morning. They are already estimating about 100 kids ages 7-12. Six of us, one missionary, the preacher and two translators for 5 people. I can't wait to see what God has in store for us.

I'm not sure if I'll get to post from there. I don't have a laptop, but there are some Internet cafes around. Just keep us all in your prayers.

One more week until Ecuador and other stuff

I leave in exactly one week from today. It's almost here. We are getting 250 bags together with toys, candies and such to take and pass out. We are waiting for some stuff to come in and then we can finish the bags. The kids at VBS last week collected lots of toys for us to put in the bags.

One of the other ladies going has already got her bags packed. We were giving her a hard time because she's had this bag packed since last Wednesday. Not me. I'm the biggest procrastinator there is. I wait until the very last minute to get things done. I work better under pressure. Ha Ha I do have some stuff ready, but not my big suitcase. I'm getting my backpack ready with snacks. I've got priorities here.

The weather here has been strange. Hot and sunny some days. Hot and cloudy some other days. Rainy and humid on yet some others. UB's asthma doesn't know whether to hang out with him or just leave. It's like an uninvited guest, it just needs to leave. Anyway, we were working outside and UB spotted this rainbow. It was coming out through the clouds.

UB is explaining to AB that the rainbow means that it is a message from God telling us that it has already rained. AB is trying to tell him that a rainbow means that it's God's promise that he will never flood the earth. Needless to say, there was a big discussion about the rainbow and what God was really saying at this time.

But in the end, they both agreed that God is the one that made the rainbow and eventually UB said that AB was right. Brothers!!!!

VBS in Ecuador

We just finished a week of Vacation Bible School at church. There were over 200 kids there each day. There were also close to 90 helpers.

Now that I've got that out of the way, let me tell you why those numbers scare me. Yes, that's a bunch of kids and lots of helpers, but that's not what scares me.

What scares me is that when we go to Ecuador, there will be close to that many kids doing VBS and only 6 American helpers, the Missionaries(husband and wife), the pastor and his wife (from Ecuador) and only a handful of other helpers.

We are going to Ecuador to help a church do VBS. This church is also a restaurant and home to the pastor and his wife. We are going to teach the church people there how to conduct a VBS. There are roughly about 50 members of the church. I believe that includes adults and children. Maybe even a dog or two.

So see? That's what scares me. A church with over 200 kids and 90 helpers runs smoothly, chaotic and crazy. What do you think a VBS with close to 200 kids and 10? adults mean?

We are going with little to no resources from here. We are planning to buy everything over there. That way, the people can know what's available to them. We are going with no curriculum, only plenty of Bible stories.

I'm a little nervous, but I'm extremely excited to see God's work in all of this. I know that He'll provide everything He needs for us to accomplish his mission.

And knowing that God's hand is in all of this makes it a lot easier to see the big picture.