Our First Trip to Shell!

Earlier this week we took our first trip to visit our new future home.  Just the trip there was absolutely breathtaking.  As you can see, we got to ride across a little cable in a Willy Wonka basket over a 300 foot drop to the waters below.  My knuckles were very white after this one!  The road to Shell passes by more waterfalls than a person could count, and the jungle is absolutely alive.  What an amazing Creator we have!

The road from Quito to Shell is called "The Avenue of the Volcanoes", and they aren't kidding.  This is a nice shot of Cotopaxi that we took during a bathroom break.

 

Since we arrived in Ecuador, everyone has been telling us how much we're going to love Shell.  We've only seen Shell for 1.5 days, but it was love at first sight for us!  This is a shot of our new home.  It is very nice inside.  We'll have a guest room for anyone who wants to visit.  Right now we're working on getting it furnished.  We did buy some orange couches already.  Sweet!

Shell is a great little town.  It is home to quite a few missionaries because, with the hospital and the airport, it serves as a central launching point for ministries to all parts of the jungle.  Shell was originally founded by the oil company.   Nate Saint arrived in the late 1940’s and contributed to the ideas for the airport, hospital, and school. We took a tour through the guest house that he and his friends built way back then (see below).

I started feeling emotional just thinking about the sacrifices that people like the Saints have made over the years to bring the Gospel to others.  I'm praying that we can be just as commited to the goal of bringing Jesus to those who don't yet truly know Him.  An opportunity to do just that may be brewing in a place called Centro Yuu, which is a Shuar community.  The Nazarene church in Shell has committed itself to supporting this pueblo. A water project is already underway to bring clean water to each home, and plans are being made to bring full time ministers to the community. We are excited that we might be able to participate in what’s going on—that is, bringing Jesus’ love to these people by ministering to their hearts and their physical needs. Below is a picture of some of the children in Centro Yuu.  We decided to take one of them home.  

Perhaps the biggest blessing of our trip was getting to meet some of our future ministry partners in Shell. The pastor and his family at the Nazarene Church have amazing servant hearts. Also, we got to hang out with some of the extremely chévere (cool) missionaries from the hospital, and we had a great time with all of them. They are very kind and welcoming, and we can’t wait to work alongside them. A bunch of them have a bunch of kids that will go well with ours. They’ve already been playing in the mud together. We fit six adults and eight kids into a Ford Explorer on our way to dinner.

Well, that about sums up our quick trip to Shell. Now we’re back in Quito, and we’re working hard on our Spanish. Thank you so much for all your prayers and support! If you are reading this now, I can tell you that you’ve surely been a blessing to us.

A Week in Photos

There was trouble with the internet this week on the seminary grounds, so we weren't able to keep everyone updated with our blog.  Below is a week in review though pictures.

With all the changes for the kids, we want to be sure to incorporate special events/traditions into our ives in Ecuador.  Some of the missionary kids in Quito attend a school that was putting on a harvest carnival.   Caleb's birthday gift from his Uncle Gene was perfect, as the theme was "Super Heroes".

One of Dan’s school assignments was to find a friend to help him make an Ecuadorian dish. Sunday night Harrison came over to help Dan make empanadas; jam and cheese wrapped in fried, doughy goodness. They were so good we decided we needed to purchase our own mold so we can continue to make them.

Caleb had fun filling his empanadas with chocolate and apples and cinnamon.

Tuesday’s class took us on a field trip to see some archaeological sites. Quito was once an Incan center, so there is a lot of history in the city. We love the opportunity to be able to take the kids on our school field trips.

Friday night we had a school outing to see Quito nocturnal. A large statue overlooks Quito that was built in reference to Genesis 3:15  "And I will put enmity between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel."  We think that the statue depicts Mary rather than Jesus because of the huge Catholic influence in Ecuador.

The group that we’re currently studying with is made up of college and professional students. With the different ages and backgrounds it makes for a unique group. We’re blessed to have wonderful directors and teachers who are quickly becoming friends.

On a Saturday we had another school outing. Jael really enjoyed a chocolaty treat on the hike (though Mommy’s shirt suffered for it).

Caleb enjoyed a quick ride down a waterfall during a break in our hike.

Tomorrow is Kristina’s 30th birthday. In the same water where Caleb took his ride Kristina received a ”gift”. Thirty little leeches attached themselves to her legs to enjoy a meal. She didn’t even notice until several hours later on the ride home. By then, most of the creatures were gone and had just left their mark. How fitting that there were 30 of them. Thankfully, the kids didn’t have any on them.

Dr. Wally

Today we had a picnic with some of the Samaritan's Purse staff in Ecuador.  The man that lives above Judd Johnson, SP's country director for Ecuador, has been here for many years as a medical missionary.  Wally Swanson was the doctor in Shell during the polio outbreak of the Waorani (Auca).  While he was in med school he did a study to learn more about the tribes in the Amazon.  All that he read and all the people he interviewed said that they could not recall one male Waorani who had died, but by the spear.  The death rate from spearing for women and children was 75%.  When polio broke out within some of the tribes it opened up the door for Christians to share compassion with those who had never experienced anything like it.  Doctor Wally couldn't personally go in help to help the tribes since as male he would likely have been speared on the spot, but he dropped medicine and prepared the teeter-totter beds that kept the people breathing.  (If you've read the history/seen the movie, you know about these.)  At first, the Waorani that were dying believed that if they allowed themselves to be helped by the few Waorani that had accepted Christ they would be killed; it was a ploy to spear them while they were weak.  However, as more died, they figured they were as good as dead anyway.  When they accepted help and were shown compassion and love instead of 'the end of a spear' it completely caught them off guard and many came to know Christ as their Savior.  God used medicine to play a big role to end the killings.  We're excited to get to use this tool He has blessed Dan with to reach the hurting in Shell now, 50 years later.  What a blessing to have others who have gone before us like Dr. Wally, as well. 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  Hebrews 12:1

Are We Ready for This???

Today our classes took us to the vivarium to visit some of the reptiles and amphibians of Ecuador.  The kids had the opportunity to go with us.  We'll see many of the thee animals when we live in Shell, though I'm not sure I really want them visiting our house too often.

The highight of  the day!  I learned someting new about Dan today...Caleb does better around snakes than Daddy does!

Pictures from Our Week

Since Caleb bought a hammock in the big market he's been sleeping in it every night.  He and Jael were enjoying some time together in it in this picture.

A major food staple here in Quito is Salchi-Papas which is basically a hotdog wrapped in flaky dough, kind of like pigs-in-a-blanket, with fries on the side.  You can buy salchi-papas for $1.50.  They are such a big hit that pizza companies have started making their crusts out of them.  We have't tried it yet...I'm not sure our stomachs could handle toomuch of such a good thing... :)

For a school field trip we went to La Capilla del Hombre (The Chapel of Man) which houses Ecuador's most famous artist, Guayasamin.  He painted many works of art depicted the plight of thge impoverished in South America and around the world.

Many of Guayasamin's paintings are very sad; this one, Ternura (Tenderness), is one of his happier works depicting a mother holding her daughter.

Caleb has been a little obsesed with spiders lately. He's showing off the one he likes to make with his fingers to tickle people with.

Since it takes so long to boil water here bcause of the altitude I've decided to use Oriental noodles since they cook faster.  Here we had made spaghetti with them.  You can tell Jael was enjoying her's.

Some Amazing Seminary Students

We're really enjoying having the seminary students who live on campus over in the evenings to get toknow them better, hear their testimonies, and practice our Spanish.  The students are an encouragement to us, as many of them have had to make big sacrifices to be here but are confident of God’s call in their lives. The students come from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela and are here to study at the Nazarene Seminary to be pastors or missionaries.

One student (we’ll call him D. for reasons of safety) was the leading drug dealer in his barrio. D. would get high and drunk nearly every day and witnessed one of his best friends die from bleeding to death from a broken beer bottle. D’s brother was a Christian and kept asking him to go to church, until D decided he’d do it to get his brother off his back. There he had an encounter with the Holy Spirit and was at the Seminary 20 days later. It’s quite powerful to hear his testimony first hand, and God can use him to reach some tough people.

The student with his hand in the air is from Venezuela and a great baseball player.  He played for Venezuela's professinal team and had a contract in front of him to play with the Atlanta Braves in the states.  At the same time he was receiving a call from God to preach.  He gave up the prestige and fortune of professional ball to serve the Lord.

Rut (Ruth), the student on the left, is from an indigenous tribe in the jungle of Ecuador. She is very shy, especially when speaking with Gringos (white people), but she made the trip to the Seminary to answer God’s call on her life. Even though she is living in her native country, I think she has had to adjust more than we have had to life in Quito. Her life in the jungle was very different than life in a large city. She wasn’t sure how to use a fork, spoon, and knife when she first arrived. Doing laundry in a machine was very foreign to her. On her first trip to the mall she was terrified of the escalator since she’d never seen anything like it.

No matter how difficult God’s call seems in your life, if you answer ‘yes’ to it He will provide you with every good thing you need to complete it.

Church the Indigenous Way

On Sunday we had the opportunity to attend an indigenous church here in Ecuador for the first time. The church was located in the small pueblo of Gualsaqui, up in the northern highlands.  The people there were very welcoming of us and a few of our fellow gringo students who had come along. Many of the 30 or so church members only spoke Quechua, some spoke Spanish, and some spoke both. The pastor was bilingual and shared his sermon in both Spanish and Quechua. The service began with warm greetings all around. This was followed by worship, accompanied by an electric guitar and a large traditional base drum (songs were in both languages). Then they asked if anyone would like to share a testimony, and I had the opportunity to share how the Lord called us to Ecuador and how He’s been blessing us. The sermon was next. Caleb did a good job of staying quiet with the aid of his drawing pad that Emma got for him for his birthday. After the sermon, everyone took communion that consisted of a kool-aid-like drink and Ritz crackers. Finally, there was a traditional worship dance that was performed by the kids that appeared to be about 8-13 years of age. Kristina and I have traveled quite a bit, but it is always refreshing to be reminded once again about just how big our God is. He is not confined to our preconceived ideas of what church and worship mean. And even though the indigenous folks are generally low on the social ladder here in Ecuador, every person is so valuable that Jesus was willing to die on the cross for him/her.

The front of the church in Gualsaqui

 A chevere (cool, neat, etc.) moth

Jael meeting an indigenous baby

The kids did a worship dance.

A Trip to Otavalo

We headed to one of the world's largest open-air markets for the weekend with our school group.  On the way we stoped at an overlook of a valley with mountains on one side and a deep lake in the mountain.  Ecuador is a land of great diversity where you can be playing in the snow on a volcanic mountain in the morning and in the rainforest by afternoon.

You could spend an entire day at the Otavalo market just watching the people.  The women of Otavalo wear traditional clothing with beautiful shirts under a dark cloth shawl and dark skirts.  Many of them carry loads of goods or babies on their backs all day long.

We loved just seeing the many faces of the beautiful people that God has created.

Caleb was very excited to buy a wool hat in the market to gaurd his face from the sun.  He liked it so much that he wore it to sleep the first night.  After a long day in the market he needed to cool off with a sweet (messy) treat.

One of our school's goals is to help us see as much of the country and culture as possible.  On Sunday after church they took us to a crater lake for a short boat ride.

The easiest way to hold Jael in the market was to do it just as the Otavalon women do, wrapped up in fabric on my back.  Se loved being able to see all the people and it was very comfortable for me.