Adios Riobamba, Ecuador!

Our last day at the orphanage was an interesting one! Heather and I helped with the babies while the rest of the gang helped level out a volleyball court for the children to play on. We worked for a few hours and then were able to play with the children a little before we were heading back to pack up at the Cozy House (our apartment) and then off to Quito.
After we were done working, Naomi, one of the Allan children brought over an interesting dish for us to try. Cui, also known as Guinea Pig, was on the menu for us today. To all of our surprise the poor innocent Guinea Pig was fully intact and was smiling at us! We all decided to try it….well all except for the Deans and Jared. I was the first one to try a bite and to my surprise it was not that bad. The rest of the gang continued to try the Guinea Pig. We all made our way to the dining room and continued to try different parts. A little boy named Tito was sitting next to me eyeballing the little guinea pig. We asked him if he wanted to try it and he eagerly said yes! To our surprise he gobbled it down and asked for more. It was the funniest thing I had seen all week! Chad, Jordan, and I were feeling brave and  we decided to taste the brain of the Cui. While we were being disgusted by the taste of it, we were brought back to the table to see 10 other children chewing and ripping apart our Cui!!!! It was a funny sight!  We will post videos on our facebook soon!
After laughing and laughing, other emotions began to sink in. It was time to say goodbye. We held our tears together as we hugged each kid and told them that we loved them. It was a bitter sweet feeling. I am ready to be back in the states, but I was not ready to say goodbye.
I met God in Riobamba, Ecuador. I met him in the faces of EVERY child in the orphanage. I met him in the hearts of Glenda and Ron. I met him at the sight of his Chimborazo mountains and even at the view of his volcano Tungurahua. I met God in the people of the city Riobamba. I met God in dirt on my pants, the pee on my shirt, the dust in my hair, and in my warm bed after every long day. I have to say goodbye to Riobamba today, but I have the greatest souvenir ever, my changed heart for God’s children, and God’s mission for everyone to know him better.
Our apartment is all packed and we are about to get on the bus for Quito tonight. We travel four hours today, crash at a hostile in Quito, and then we head for the airport in the early morning. Please pray for  safe travels and peace of mind. It is hard to say goodbye, but we cant wait to bring back all that God has taught us to the states. Our mission is not over!

Until the Whole World Hears,

Aaron J. Zapata

Ups and Downs

As the oldest members of the team, we are finding that the younger members have a lot more stamina than we do! The work projects have given us aches, pains, and sunburn, but we are grateful for the energy to do the work. We have sanded concrete (a new experience for all of us). John and Brian tried their hands at stucco...didn't have much success. Our big success was removing 4 large Ecuadorian cacti. It was sticky work...as in we all got poked with the cactus spines. Our work project today was shoveling a truckload of sand into their sandbox.
I have worked with the toddlers twice. It is definitely a different experience...the language barrier makes it difficult to communicate with the workers. The way they handle some of their routines is quite different than the way we do it in the states. Although it could be distressing to watch, we continued to serve as they requested. That was one of the most difficult things for me to do.
John and I ended up staying at the apartment on Sunday, missing the village trip, due to illness. We have discovered that the food and drink doesn't always agree with us. The day of rest helped us recover.
Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. The "kids" are treating us to a night alone at the apartment with a lasagna dinner (which I have been craving). They are having dinner out and then heading back to the Ark for glow-stick capture the flag.
John and I have been out of our comfort zone in many ways on this trip. But I asked God to show Himself to us on this adventure, and He has in many ways. I have been blessed by Rosalia, Daniel, and Christian, all special-needs kids at the Ark. Chatting with Ron, Glenda, and their kids shows us their commitment to Ecuador and the needs of these kids. Watching the kids interact, the compassion they show one another, we can tell they are truly loved and cared for. We have also been blessed by the "kids" on the mission team -- their prayers for us and this trip have been inspiring. We thank all of you for your support, prayers, and encouraging words.

An Ecuadorian Sabbath

Ecuador, on the whole, is a beautiful country. We got a great look at the terrain on our bus trip from Quito to Riobamba on Day 2. But the fullest picture of Ecuador’s beauty came Sunday on our trip to Calshi, a 30-minute truck ride outside Riobamba. Seven of us sat in the bed of the pickup, and while the ride was painful, the view was excellent. Patchwork fields patterned hills leading up to Chimborazo, a striking snow-capped mountain in the Andes range. It was the first view we got of the mountain, which has been shrouded by clouds for the rest of our trip. Clouds still hid the tip, but it was great to see.

Tu Amor Hace Eco En Todo Mi Universo (Your Love Echoes In All My Universe)

Hola! The blog title is a new song we are learning here. I have been seeing God's love and hope echoing here in Ecuador. God is so good! One of the things God has been showing me is to be in awe of him & how endless and indescribable his love is. I am in awe of God's creation here. I see his power and might in the mountains. I see his glory set in the sky. I see his beauty in the orphans and the people. I see his love in the orphans' faces and smiles.

Today was a busy day for me. I worked in the baby room with Aaron. Honestly, it was a difficult, tiring, and at times frustrating experience. But I loved every moment. Loving God's precious orphans is so worth it and brings me so much joy in serving our God. They had me changing diapers and feeding screaming babies. It is very challenging not being able to verbally communicate with the workers. Their diaper changing system is very confusing. They use cloth diapers but no plastic coverings. So you are constantly changing babies and getting peed on. It is an unforgettable experience haha. The first baby I changed was wiggly, upset about getting changed, poopy, and peed all over me while I was changing her. It was in that moment of frustration God spoke to me and reminded me of his love. Our sin grieves and frustrates God, yet he still patiently deals with us. And willingly chooses to pour out his unfailing, lavish love on us. He loves us so much he sent his son to die for us while we were still sinners and enemies of the Holy God. I am so in awe and speechless of his love!

Also, I am amazed at the kids love for each other. Ron and Glenda love these kids so much and these kids love them back. This love then flows out of the children. It reminds me of how God loves us and wants us to love and abide in him; then his love flows out of us on others. 1 John 4:16. I see God's love in all the precious orphans. I pray you all would grow deeper and deeper in love with Jesus and be in awe of our awesome God. Thanks for all your prayers! Please pray for us. Tomorrow we are going to a village to share the gospel, and some of us our sharing our testimonies. Brian is teaching a lesson on the gospel. Jared, Jordan, Hannah, Julie, & Aaron are doing a gospel mime. Abbey, Heather, and I are sharing our testimonies. Love you all!!!

In Christ's Love,
Sarah Bethea :-)
ps we also did some shopping today. It was fun to experience more of Ecuador's culture.

K.G.B. Night

Last night the orphanage was having a game night and ask us if we wanted to participate, most of our members were to tired but Julie, Jared, Aaron, Abbey and I decided to go. We ate our dinner and then went back to play. It was then that Ron decided to tell us that last time they played one of their volunteers broke her leg. They paired us up with kids who spoke no English and told us we were their guardian angels. The way the game works is some of the people are the K.G.B. and some are Christians and no one knows who is who but you figure it out pretty quick when a "Christian" takes you to jail. Now their are also fence walkers, they can decided at any point which side they are on. The K.G.B. try to bring the Christians to jail, while the Christians try to gather in groups of three or more. when the Christians gather they have to pray, say a bible verse and sing a song. The point system works like this, K.G.B gets one point when they bring a group or a single christian to jail. The Christians get a point when they gather: sing pray and recite and get their entire group to the point keeper who also is the jailer. It sounds kind of tame but let me explane the yard. Its a big fenced in yard with one side that is the play area, like a big soccer field, the other side however is long grass, bee skeps, piles of construction material etc. and they play in the whole yard and the kids run full steam. It was hard to be a Christian but so much fun. And the kids really got into it, getting out their Bibles for their verses. We had a really great time and no one was seriously hurt. we are a have sore muscles to day so it should be fun.

Chad Elam

P.S. happy Birthday Aaron's Mother.

Things Are Gettin' Better, Gettin' Better All the Time

Tonight we agreed that things seem to be getting better. We are becoming more comfortable with the kids and the Ark. We woke up this morning and had the same breakfast as yesterday with bananas as the fruit. Then we headed off to the orphanage. Abbey, Brenda, Brian, and Chad all went to work with the babies. Things seemed to go much better for them today. We are starting to learn the ropes of the babies/toddlers and it is helping a bit. However, the language barrier is still making it hard to understand the expectations for us.

The rest of us continued the sanding. It was a dirty and physically tiring job but Ron (Ark Director) quickly provided us with a pick me up. He had us come do a "fun" job which entailed ripping some sort of dessert plant out of the ground that was taking over the garden. This is a story you will have to ask us about when we get back. Lets just say it involved a rope, a truck, some human weight (us), machetes, and axes.

After a yummy lunch of rice, chicken, veggies, and cabbage we got to enjoy the kids and finish taking on the cactus. Then we ran our VBS program. It seemed to go quit well today. The kids entertained us with their beautiful Spanish music for about a half hour before we headed back to the apartment.

After pizza for supper and few hours rest Julie, Abbey, Chad, Aaron, and Jared headed back to the Ark to play KGB. They came back a bit breathless but they seemed like they had a blast. I believe you will hear more about that from Chad tomorrow morning. The rest of us had a night to do laundry and rest. We spent our free time reading, preparing Bible lessons, playing Skipo, and just talking. It was a great time of fellowship.

Thank you for all your prayers. You all are so dear to me.

God Bless
Heather Snyder

Today. was. crazy.

SO our day started with a breakfast of eggs (soft boiled), croissant rolls (with jelly), and fruit (...I have no clue what kind). Until lunch that was the high point of the day for some of us. It was a weird day of highs and lows. Jared and Jordan worked on blow torching the yard, Brenda, John, Chad, Brain, Hannah,and I worked on sanding down concrete in the laundry room and fridge room and Heather, Julie, Aaron and Sarah worked with the babies and toddlers. And it was the group working with the kids who had it the hardest. It was a rough day of a million babies and lots of rules they didn't understand. But once we hit lunch life got better. It was food that was recognizable! After that we got to chill and just play with the kids till 3 then we had bible study. Once we were finished with that we schooled the children in soccer....ok I'm lying they pwnd us big time. I think the final score was 8 to 2 or 3 and that was only because Naomi (one of the directors daughters) switched to our team half way through because we were doing sooooo bad. Chad and Brian blame the lose of breath on the high altitude....but they also blamed the inability to speak Spanish on it.... We left the orphanage at 5 with Naomi and a boy named Ivan who took us to town for dinner and shopping. We ate some native food. Those who know me will be completely surprised to know that I, Abbey Graeber aka the pickiest eater ever ate pig feet. We got back to the apartment and have just been chilling since. During our debriefing we realized how much God has brought us together. We all were checking in on each other at the orphanage, we tease each other when we say some thing wrong (which has happened a lot), we have inside jokes and we all freaked when Heather almost got hit by a bus. So I guess the biggest blessing and comfort God gave us today was family. A new family of twelve. Without each other we all would have broken down multiple times today BUT instead we had a day of adventure and fun and tiredness. So thank you God for the people God brought on this trip it is only the 3rd day, it feels like a month. We come from very different families but it feels right to be together.
-Abbey

MADE IT TO ECUADOR! BLOG UPDATE BY; Aaron Zapata

Bienvenidos from ECUADOR!

We spent a very long day traveling yesterday! We left Normal Illinois at about 7:30 am and did not make it to Quito Ecuador until 11:30 pm! We made it to our hotel at 1 am and did not fall asleep until almost 2 am (Thanks Jared haha) We had to wake up at 6 this morning to catch a bus for our four hour drive to Riobamba today. We arrived safely and we loaded up our apartment for the week with all of our belongings. Then we loaded back on the bus to head to the Orphanage. Now that I am finished explaining the travels, let me share with you all about what God is already doing in the heart of myself, and all my fellow team members...

God answered my prayers about safe traveling. I had to learn that safe travels doesnt always mean I wont be afraid while traveling, it just means that God will get me there in one piece! The plane rides were long, but we made it to our destination all together and in one piece and that my friends deserves a PRAISE THE LORD! :)

It wasnt real to me that we were actually leaving for Ecuador until we boarded our plane from Miami to Quito Ecuador. I remember I was walking on the plane and everything around me was already different. Emotions and many thought filled my mind until at one point I had to bow my head and lift my heart to Him, the Almighty Comforter. I prayed that I could find peace in Him and in knowing that He is in control, not me, not the pilots, not Satan, ONLY HIM! After I said Amen, I was able to breathe better and "see" better. I was exhausted (as were all my team-mates) and upon reaching customs, I had already began to try and grasp control. I needed to run to the restroom after we finally exited the security in Ecuador, and it was at that point that I realized where I was. I am in Ecuador. Not for a vacation, not for sightseeing, not for trying to mark this off my "christian check list", but to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the people of this country. I realized I had been so afraid of my new surroundings that I was smiling less, being grouchy, talking less, and I knew that this in no way was being Jesus to these people so I lifted my head and walked through the airport and loaded our bus.

So you may be wondering what God could teach me in only one day? Well God has taught me alot today, but God has taught me the most over the last 4 months that has a boiled down to today. TRUST HIM! It is so easy to say that we trust God, but putting that into practice is a different hurdle we have to jump. I was scared that I didnt have time to go to Ecuador this summer and God answered. I was afraid I wouldnt raise enough money...and God again answered. I was afraid of the language barrier, and...well...God IS answering. Spanish words I did not know that I knew are flowing from my lips to help get us where we need to go and speak words of love to these people. God is my trust. I am learning....and each and everyday being stretched to trust him more. My prayer tonight as we prepare to work closley with the children at the ARK tomorrow is that I will TRUST God with everything in me. I know that if I trust Him and not myself, I can truly be the hands and feet of Jesus.

Tomorrow is a new day. Tonight we ordered pizza and will spend the rest of the evening getting our Vacation Bible Materials ready for the children tomorrow. Please pray for rest, as we ALL need it.

Also, remember, just because you are not physically here in Ecuador with us, God has put you on a mission field right where you are. I challenge each and every person that reads this blog to go out and LOVE all you come into contact with. We are in Ecuador because God has placed us here the next few days, but God also has something planned for you!

Until the Whole World Hears,

Aaron J. Zapata

Good news...

Abbey got her passport!! We are all very excited and relieved! When Abbey text me my eyes filled with tears as I saw our Awesome and Faithful creator jump yet another hurdle that seemed impossible to us! We are praising Him for making it happen once again!

PRAISE GOD!!!!

Pray for the Group

1)Pray that in everything we do we would bring glory to God. The point of this trip is to point to Him. So pray that we would not become self-focused, but that we would have our eyes fully fixed on Jesus and that we would all listen to and obey Him.

2)Pray that God teach us all something through this trip that will have a lasting focus on our lives and the lives around us.

3)Pray that we will be bold in sharing the gospel through the love of Christ with those we come in contact with while we are there. And that God would already be working in the hearts of those we come in contact with.

4)Pray that our team would be flexible, humble and that we would have team unity.

5)Pray for safe and smooth travel We are flying from Chicago tomorrow and stopping in Miami before heading down to Quito. Pray that check-in and security will be smooth. We also have a very short layover so please pray that we will make our next flight without any trouble. Then on Wednesday morning we will be riding a bus down to Riobamba. Pray that there will be no car trouble and no motion sickness as we head down.

6)Pray that Abbey Graeber would receive her passport today. Her and Chad turned their applications in at the same time and Chad has received his, but she has yet to receive hers. So pray that it would come this morning please! We all want her to go and it would be heartbreaking if she didn't get to go with us. I will be sure to let you know if she gets it.

Thank you everyone again for praying for us! We can't wait to share this experience with you! We will probably not be posting anything tomorrow because we will be traveling all day, but we will hopefully get a blog posted on Wednesday night.

Thanks!

The Ecuador Team

Julie Myers

1. Please pray for my health. As many of you know, I came back from Guatemala sick two years ago and my family and I have been a little anxious about me going out of the country again. I know that God called me to go on this trip just like He called me to go to Guatemala so I am trusting Him to take care of me and whatever happens is His will for me.

2. Pray that God would give me His wisdom as I lead this group. I will need His wisdom as I make each decision before the trip and while we are there.

3. Pray for unity for the group and pray for me to be wise in handling confrontation between team members if that unity is being broken by arguments. I do not enjoy that part of being in charge so pray that I will be courageous in a gentle way while handling those situations.

4. Lastly, please pray that I would wholly lean on Jesus. I want this to be His trip and I want it all to be for His glory. Pray that I wouldn’t get in the way by trying to control a situation, but trust that God will take care of it all. He has a plan for us and I want us to fit into His plan instead of making Him fit into ours.

Last December, God brought Ark Children's Home across my path. I instantly felt His Spirit moving in me and knew that God was telling me that I was supposed to go there someday. As I prayed more about it, I knew that God was wanting me to take a group down there on a short-term missions trip. God has amazed me as He has opened up doors that I saw as impossible! He has orchestrated this trip from the beginning. I cannot wait to see what God is going to do in and through the group while we are down there! Thank you everyone for all of your support so far both financially and through prayer! Can't wait to share our experience while in Ecuador with you through this blog!!

In Christ's Awesome Love,

Julie Myers

Sarah Bethea

1) That God would be glorified on this trip and that I would trust God and fully rely on His strength

2) That I be single minded on Christ and be bold in sharing my faith and the gospel

3) That I would be open and have a teachable heart/spirit to what God teaches me and that God would deepen my passion for Him and for caring for His orphans

4) That God would keep me healthy and safe

5) That God would give me peace while flying. I really don’t like to ride in planes. And that God would help me while traveling. I get really carsick easily.

Julie told me she had found an orphanage in Ecuador and was going to plan a mission trip to go there. My heart instantly broke for these precious little orphans. I began to pray and seek the Lord if He wanted me to go on this trip. As time went on, I felt God was calling me to go care for the orphans in Ecuador and to share the gospel. However, I didn’t think I would be able to take time off from my summer internship job because my boss told me she couldn’t provide me time off. So I said, “Ok Lord I trust you; if you want me to go provide the way.” Then I sent an email to my boss. Her response was “No problem, have fun in Ecuador.” I knew this was the Lord making a way for me to go. So I said, “Yes Lord I will go.”

Thank you so much to all of you who have supported our team financially and with all your prayers. I am so excited to see what amazing things our Awesome God is going to do on this trip….can’t wait to share it with you all!

In Christ’s Amazing, Unfailing Love,

Sarah Bethea :-)

Jared Murphy

1) pray that i wont be worried about problems and stress here at home so i can be focused and as useful to God as possible while i am there.
2) pray that i wont get sick on the trip and i will remain healty during and after the trip

I feel like God is calling me to go because when I went to guatemala I saw how much the kids loved the attention and how much they wanted to be loved even if they couldnt communicate with us. Another reason is I love children and I feel like this is a good way to serve.

Jordan Fischer

1) Pray that we will be open to God’s will in how he wants to use each of us on this mission.

2) Pray that our interactions with each other, and every person we have contact with, will be bring honor and glory to God.

3) Pray for the health and safety of our team, especially those members who have sensitive health issues.


When I was initially confronted about being a part of the Ecuador mission team, the first thoughts that crossed my mind were doubtful. At the time, I was in the midst of applying to the Air Force Academy and knew that if selected, my summer plans would be very… regimented. I had thoroughly enjoyed my experience in Guatemala, and I knew that the Ecuador trip would be very similar. However, I also knew that God’s plan ultimately would prevail. The only detail that remained is where my future plane ticket would take me; Colorado Springs or Riobamba. I soon discovered that God’s plan for me did not include the academy. The decision from that point on was quite simple. Right now, I am blessed with the ability to be able to pick up and leave the country at almost any time without worrying about responsibilities to a job or family. I have a strong desire to follow God’s lead, wherever it takes me. Therefore, I know that it is God’s will to send me as a part of this team.

Hannah Beaty

1) That God would protect my health.

2) That I would be able to stay focused on God.

3) That God would continue to bring in funding.

When I first heard about this trip I wanted to go, but after much consideration I concluded that me going on the trip would be unpractical. I was averaging about thirty-five hours a week at work, and I had been trying to put at least twenty hours a week on my online classes. I didn’t have the time or the money to go. However, God slowly changed my mind. He kept prodding me, and I finally decided to be apart of this mission’s team.

Chad Elam

1) Pray for smooth travels

2) Pray that we communicate even with the language barrier

I'm going because I have never been on a missions trip. I have always heard people tell about how close to God they got on one, so I wanted in on that. And I enjoy children and interacting with them so I thought this would be a good trip for me.

Heather Snyder

1) I would have peace while traveling. I'm leaving Addilece for the first time and I'm not going to be able to check on her or talk to her like I normally would be able too.

2) I would have patience when dealing with schedules, and others, and the regular stress that comes from a trip like this.

3) My heart would be open to what God may show me and that he would not only speak His truths in my own life but also my family's lives.

Since high school God has been growing a deep passion and love for orphans in my heart. I've always had a desire to visit an orphanage oversees. However, my last two mission trips did not allow me that opportunity. Soon life got in the way of going oversees. However, when Julie presented this trip the pieces quickly fell into place. I realized that all the other "stuff" getting in the way wasn't there. God had completely cleared the way.

I'm excited to see what God is going to do in my life. However, I'm rather nervous also. Holding children who are fatherless that are the same age as my daughter is going to tear at my heart. I'm hoping that I come out of this knowing what God would have me do for orphans in Ecuador and around the world. I know He wants me to do more but I am not sure what that more is yet. I'm praying that He will give me a clear vision and heart that sees what He sees.

Brian Klein

1) We have a pretty young group, so please pray for wisdom for our leaders and maturity all around. 

2) Pray for the family that runs the orphanage, that they would be encouraged and refreshed by our visit, and not burdened. Pray also for the success of their mission, and of course for the children they minister to every day. 

3) Also, please pray for the health and safety of our group.

 

My first thoughts about the trip revolved around how much fun it would be to hang out with the children. Playing with the kids and teaching them about the Bible—kids who don't get the attention they deserve—sounded like a good time. When I thought more seriously about going on the trip, I realized I had taken off the first week of August for vacation, and didn't have any plans to fill it. I had asked for it off, randomly, months before. I took it as providential that it fell on the same week as the trip. Surely God wants me to go, I thought, no matter how insignificant my purpose may be. At that point, I made up my mind to go. 

John and Brenda Dean

1) Pray for strength and health for all going to Ecuador.

2) Pray that the people at the orphanage will be open to God's Word.

3) Pray that we will show God's love to all we interact with through both our words and actions.

4) Pray that God will remove any stresses to prepare our hearts and minds for what He has in store for us.

Why we are going to Ecuador:
Brenda and I have been talking about going on a mission trip for quite awhile. We have enjoyed seeing our kids participate in different short term mission trips and felt God calling us to go. I was unsure about this trip at first because the dates coincide with our 25th wedding anniversary, but we talked about it and decided what better way to celebrate than by doing God's work. We have seen several roadblocks get in the way since we made the decision to go, but we know that God is in charge and will clear the way if He wants us to go. We are just trusting God in all things...because we know whatever happens, He is in control!

Abbey Graeber

1) That God would deepen my relationship with him

2) That He would give me a greater passion for actively pursuing him

3) Give me a better awareness of his "widows and orphans"

As soon as Julie first told me about this trip I instantly knew I was going to end up going. I have never been on a missions trip and this one just fit me, the people who were going, the very structure of it! I feel like God has plans for me there, I'm not sure what but I know he does. I am very excited to be going on this trip and pray our team will accomplish God purpose for us there.


Abbey Graeber

Aaron Zapata

1) Please pray for our travels. I hate flying and am already nervous about the airports/planes.

2) Please pray for my fear of inadequate language skills. I feel as though I should have learned more Spanish through out my life and now would have been an AMAZING time to put it into practice.

3) Please pray for my health. I really can't afford to get sick in Ecuador or when I return.

4) Please pray for my finances. I am having to take off from work unpaid while I am in Ecuador and am not able to receive funds for bills I need to pay when I return!

So my story about how I ended up on this trip is pretty funny. I remember getting an email from Julie about Ecuador while I was on a missions trip in Montana. I read it and felt God saying I should go on this trip (something that should be noted is I had only been attending Grace for three or four Sundays!) I was too busy in Montana to respond to her email and when I returned to Lincoln I had already forgotten to reply. Julie messaged me about two weeks later wanting to know if I had decided to go or not and after a while of debating with myself (and not God) I decided that I did not have the time/money to do such an extensive missions trip so I replied with a simple "sorry. I can't go, but I will be praying for you all who can go!"

Instantly there was a turning in my stomach and an invisible red handprint across my face. My heart began to race and I had no idea why, withing literally 45 seconds I replied again to Julie's email saying "scratch the last email, I will be going to Ecuador...sign me up!" God really spoke to me in that moment and he clearly showed me that I was meant for this missions trip! :) If you ask Julie there are even more crazy ways that God revealed to her that I needed to be apart of this! Anyhow, I'm apart of this team and wouldn't trade any of it for the world! I can't wait to see how God works with our hands through are hearts and in our lives and the lives of the children and workers of this orphanage!

Until the Whole World Hears,

Aaron Zapata

Two weeks from today!

I cannot believe that in two weeks we will be in Ecuador! I am very excited to see what God has planned for us! I know He has already been doing a lot in the lives of the team members and I am sure He will be doing a lot more in and through us in the following weeks.

Over the next 13 days I am going to be posting prayer requests for the team members. The first twelve days (starting tomorrow the 21st) I will post prayer requests for a different team member each day and it will also include a paragraph saying how God called them to go on this trip. We would appreciate it if you got on every day to read our prayer requests and pray for us. On the 13th day I will put up a blog with prayer requests for our whole trip including travel safety seeing as how the next day will be our travel day. We would definitely appreciate prayers that our travels would be safe and smooth.

While we are in Ecuador we will be updating the blog everyday, hopefully! I am not sure if we will be able to update it on the 3rd or the 13th because of traveling, but we will try to get something on the blog every day so you can keep up with what we are doing.

Thank you everyone who has supported us financially and through prayers. We love and appreciate all of you and we can't wait to share this amazing experience that God has given us with you!

In Christ's Awesome Love,

-The Ecuador Team-

The reason we are going!

We have been very busy lately with all of our fundraisers and I found myself getting lost in all the details. I watched these videos the other day and God reminded me. He filled me with excitement again to help and love the fatherless, the poor and the needy. Here are two videos of the Ark. The first one is on their website. The second is one from 2006, but I still love to watch it! :-) You only have to watch half of it though because it has the same movie twice for some reason.


The Ark Children's Homes Promotional Video from Silas Allan on Vimeo.



The Ark Children's Homes 2006 from Silas Allan on Vimeo.

Please continue to pray for us as we are planning for our trip. We have a lot left to do! Pray that every team member's heart would be encouraged during this time of preparation. Also, pray that God would raise all the money we need for this trip. We have raised a lot of funds for the orphanage, Praise God!! However, we are still needing to raise quite a bit more to pay for our individual trips. We have faith that God will bring it all in even though it can seem impossible to us at times. God can definitely do the impossible!! Thanks to all of you who have already given and are praying for us! We love you all!!

In Christ's Awesome Love,

Julie

We have the tickets!

I bought the tickets today for our group, which means we now know who all is going.

Here is the list of who is going to Ecuador;

-Aaron Zapata
-Abbey Graeber
-Brenda Dean
-Brian Klein
-Chad Elam
-Hannah Beaty
-Heather Snyder
-Jared Murphy
-John Dean
-Jordan Fischer
-Julie Myers
-Sarah Bethea

Please pray for all of us as we are planning for this trip. We have a lot to do in the next 3 months! Please pray that we would fully rely on God to take care of all of the details and that we would have faith without doubting that he will take care of it all. Thanks so much!!

In Christ's Awesome Love,

Julie Myers

Great Song

I love this song! I tried to find it so I could add it to the playlist, but it wasn't on that site. So I decided I would add it in a video. This is a trip that Brandon Heath and Leeland took together. I just feel like this song is so true and it's been heavy on my heart while I have been planning some of the details for this trip. (Don't forget to scroll down and shut off the playlist music) Oh and by the way it does cut off a little bit of the you tube screen...I don't know why.

Follow You by Leeland feat. Brandon Heath

It's official we get to go!

Back a couple of months ago I stumbled across a website for an orphanage in Riobamba, Ecuador. I instantly felt the spirit moving and knew God was calling me to go there at some point. I didn't know if it meant short or long term (I still don't) all I knew was I was supposed to go. So I mentioned to my pastor that I was wanting to take a missions trip to this orphanage that I felt God was calling me to and he started doing some "investigating" as to whether or not we could go. It took about a month maybe longer for them to finally be able to talk, they had trouble connecting over the phone. There were many times that I thought "well maybe this isn't what God is wanting, maybe I misunderstood". Everytime God would reaffirm me that this was His will. And so every Sunday morning I would ask my Pastor for an update. Finally on Easter Sunday I got a call later in the afternoon from my Pastor saying we had the green light to go ahead and plan this trip! Needless to say I was overjoyed!! I immediately went home and sent an email to the orphanage to verify dates and get everything started.

This morning I woke up and had received an email back that those dates worked and we were welcome to go down. At first I was filled with excitement and then with stress. I was all of a sudden overwhelmed with the number of things I needed to do! I started relying on my own strength instead of God's which is something He has been teaching me during the waiting period.

Please pray for me as I plan this trip to keep God the center of my focus and that I would fully rely on Him! I want this trip to be completely for Him and bringing Him glory through everything we do. Pray for those who are to go on this trip that God would reveal to them that He wants them to go and that they would be willing to listen. Also pray that God would do an amazing work in all of our lives and in those around us while we are preparing for this trip. Lastly, pray for those who we will come in contact with while we are on this trip that their hearts would be softened to God's truth.

If you want to look at the orphanage that we are going to the link is;
http://www.arkchildrenshomes.com/Home/tabid/258/Default.aspx

If you have any other questions of ways you can pray or help let me know. Also if you are interested in going on this trip let me know my email is jamyers88@hotmail.com

In Christ's awesome love,

Julie