Hogar Betania

I have been meaning to post some photos from this summer and the ministry at the Hogar Betania - the Bethany Home for the elderly. Many prayers from many of you were answered and we had two teams who came to help with various construction projects and help with funding the purchase of an industrial washing machine and dryer. The groups also helped us with the Sunday morning service. You can get an idea of the work the groups did from the photos.

We have had a little bit of sadness as three of the residents have passed away the past few weeks. We will miss Ana, Manual and Celestina. Celestina was the oldest resident at the home - I believe she was 103 when she passed away. Both Ana and Manual were also dear to us as they came out every single Sunday to the services.

And some good news as well - another resident, Hugo, was baptized a couple of weeks ago. We didn't have the privilege of baptizing him (another Ecuadorian pastor who regularly visits out there baptized him), but we sure loved to see his smile this past Sunday as he was so excited to let us know that he had been baptized!

Keep praying for the residents at the Hogar Betania. We pray that somehow our visits make a difference and that the efforts of the teams this summer will have a lasting effect.

Basketball

Santi has been playing basketball and soccer on Saturdays as part of a inter-departmental league that HCJB puts together every summer. His department, Information Systems, has a team and they have been trying to keep up in both soccer and basketball.

In Latin America, soccer, of course, is the preferred sport, but they are managing to hold their own in both sports. A couple of weeks ago they were eliminated in the soccer part of the tournament, but they are still going strong in basketball. This past Saturday was one of the championship games and they won 32 - 17 against the Medical Services team from HCJB's hospital! So we're looking forward to a few more games before the summer season is over. Maybe they will even win the championship in basketball.

The tournament this year has been played at a very old school in the center part of Quito. It's an all boys high school called La Mejia and Santi says that there's approx 7,000 students. I'm amazed by the very old buildings which you can see in the photos.

I guess it's pretty obvious in one of photos that Emily our dog, seems to be more interested in the game than I am! I think she's their official mascot now!

And finally, I took the last photo while sitting on my perch on the stairs - it is of the spires of one of the famous Catholic churches in Quito - called La Basilica. It is known for it's tall towers where visitors can climb all the way to the top to see a great view of Quito. We actually did that a couple of years ago with some visitors who were here - I'm pretty sure I requested an oxygen tank by the time I got to the top! We were way at the top of the spire on your left.

Don't forget that you can click on any of the photos to see the image up close! The details on the church are quite interesting.

Middle of the World and Cuy. . .

I'm trying to catch up with the summer happenings and came across these photos from taking a team to the "Middle of the World" - or more commonly known as the EQUATOR. The equator is located about 15 miles north of Quito and it's about the most "touristy" place I know of here. There are many things to do - including an elevator ride up the equator monument and then a walk down through the cultural museum - with various indigenous groups represented on each level. And there's always the all-important photo, standing on the equator line with one foot in each hemisphere. They also have a "town" set up to look like a typical Ecuadorian "pueblo" with a square in the middle, a church on one-side, and a bull-ring. The "town" actually contains lots of tourist shops and restaurants. On the weekends they also feature live folklore music and dancing, making the equator an interesting place to visit with groups and visitors.



You'll also see a photo of an Ecuadorian delicacy, called "cuy" - this is actually roasted guinea pig! Kind of hard to imagine as this would normally be a house-hold pet for most of us. Somehow guinea pig was introduced here a long ago for the indigenous communities because the meat has the highest concentration of protein of any meat. . . . and it seems to have stuck around. We try to order one for our groups just to "give them the experience".

If you come and visit us in Quito, a stop at the Middle of the World is a must! But we'll let you make the choice as to whether you want to try cuy or not!

Soccer Mania!

In late July, we were on the bus with the Oakridge team heading to the equator monument when we passed by one of the major soccer stadiums in Quito. There happened to be a soccer match that day and we saw vendors on the street selling soccer shirts! We couldn't resist everyone's desire to stop the bus on the side of the road and buy soccer shirts for souvenirs to take back home . . . . here's a photo of Santi doing some wheeling and dealing to get the best deal on the shirts. We'll let you take a guess at how much they cost!?!?!?

view from my car

I couldn't resist taking these photos one day this summer as I was driving to the office (don't worry - I did pull over to the side of the road and stopped my car before taking the photo through my windshield). Sorry about the wires that are in the way - but at least you can see the mountain! A perfect snow-cap. We often have views like this here in Quito and the beauty of the mountains are always amazing to us - something we never get used to. You might want to click to enlarge the image and get the full effect!

where the children live . . .

A photographer who visited the Kids Club the week of the VBS just sent me these photos. The majority of our faithful attenders live in these shacks down the street from the dump. What is amazing to those who visit the Kids Club is that these kids are just like any other kid around the world - they love to smile, laugh and play! We keep praying that knowing more about Jesus will make a difference in their lives. Thank you Eliseo for sharing your photos with us!

More VBS Photos!

There were so many fun photos from the Vacation Bible School at the dump that I thought I'd share some more with you. We will be having our regular Kids Club tomorrow afternoon. We thank all of you who pray for these children at the dump on a regular basis and who help with the needs of the Kids Club. Many of you have collected supplies for the crafts and sent them down. Others have given money to use towards the snacks we hand out each week. Your generosity helps us to be able to carry on this ministry with children who don't have a whole lot. As you can see from their faces, just a simple craft brings a big smile! THANK YOU FROM ALL THE KIDS AT THE DUMP! If there is something you'd like to do to help with the Kids Club, please email us.

VBS at the dump! July 24 - 27

I'm finally getting a chance to let you know how the VBS went at the dump a few weeks ago! I hope you're enjoying the photos above! It was an incredible week! The team did an awesome job of providing tons of crafts, puppets, games and gifts for the children. Close to 80 children, babies and adults showed up each day. A big THANK YOU to the team from Oakridge Baptist Church, St. Joseph, MI, for all you did to make this week possible! We appreciate you!

I think I'm speaking for everyone to say that the highlight was the last day when an invitation was given to those who wanted to accept Christ as the Saviour. They were asked to step out of the room and miss the craft time and talk to one of us about making a firm decision about asking Christ to be a part of their lives and to receive the gift of eternal life.

Would you believe that 20 children and adults made this decision? We were thrilled. The following week in our weekly Kids Club, we had a special time with them at the end in which we gave each of them a Bible and shared the importance of reading it and growing in their new life with Christ!

Please pray for these 20 children and adults who made decisions. Pray for us to seek ways to help them grow. One of the boys, named Henry, has been coming to the club off and on for the past three years. When we gave him his Bible, his sister mentioned that he doesn't know how to read. Please pray that God would give him extra grace as he seeks Him.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the photos above. You'll notice how nice our newly painted room looks - thanks to another team earlier in the summer for painting it for us (the roof still leaks though and a few windows are broken that we hope to fix before the summer is over!).