CSO Ministry Trip - Manta

Most of you know that under normal circumstances, I'm part of the group that provides a Kids Club for the children at the Quito City Dump. It is something that I have missed a lot during the past few months and am looking forward to getting involved with again in the future.

Part of our group is formed by a group of high schoolers from Alliance Academy here in Quito. The group is part of a extracurricular program they have, called Christian Service Outreach (CSO) - a really neat program that provides ministry opportunities for the students. Our group is called the Extreme Response CSO and every Wedsnesday afternoon during the school year you will find the students out at the dump, providing a fun Kids Club for the 35 -50 children.

There are other CSO groups on Wedsnesday afternoon - one that goes to the public children's hospital, another that paints Christian-themed murals, another that mentor's Junior High students, etc. I believe that there are about 10 groups in all.

Anyways - in addition to doing the Kids Club on Wednesday afternoons, we also do a special ministry trip during Carnaval in February (this year, it was Feb. 2 - 5). You may remember that we normally go to the province of Chimborazo - about 5 hours south of Quito to a Quechua indian community to provide a VBS for the children there over the long weekend. I've talked about it many times as the trip is truly the high light of the year for me and for the group.

This year, the group decided to do something different and go to the coastal city of Manta where Extreme Response has a partner ministry - Por Amor Foundation (www.por-amor.com). Por Amor has an orphanage there as well as a ministry with the people who work in and live near the garbage dump there in Manta. So our CSO group headed to the coast (a much different climate than previous years in the cold mountains) to provide a VBS for over 100 children in a community near the garbage dump.

I really missed going this year. The high school students are incredible - they work so hard to plan the songs, verses, Bible story, games and crafts for these children. And we have such a great time together. This year, I had to enjoy the trip via photos taken by my friend/leader, Teri Newburn. She put the photos in an on-line photo album. Feel free to visit this link if you want to see more photos. You will need to scroll down and choose the album that says: Feb 2 - 5, 2008 Ministry Trip. You will also find photos from the Weds afternoon Kids Club on the site. I recommend that you visit it. http://ercso.shutterfly.com/action/

And below is a report she wrote about the trip - what a blessing! I'm so glad to be a part of the ER CSO group and am looking forward to getting back with them and the Kids Club at the dump! Thank you Teri, for writing this for us.

Carnival weekend is a time of fun and mischief for most Ecuadorians. (Carnival is the same holiday as “Mardi Gras” only with a water fight theme instead of masks and parades.) However, 22 Alliance Academy International high school students (and several adults) gave up vacations on the beach, favorite television shows, and even running water for four days (Feb 2 – 5, 2008). They spent the long weekend camping out on the floor of a small high school and eating meals cooked by a local family in San Juan, a community near the dump in Manta. During the school year, this same group of students organizes the Wednesday afternoon kids’ club for approximately 40 children at the Zambiza dump in Quito (and volunteers at the Extreme Response Daycare), so the Carnival trip was a natural extension of the yearly community service project.

The purpose of the trip was to provide a “Vacation Bible School” for over 100 children, who otherwise might not enjoy their vacation. The high school students prepared songs, Bible stories, memory verses, hygiene lessons, crafts and games. The Bible stories presented the story of creation, the first sin, and Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. The crafts included coloring pages of the Bible story. The children loved the framed Polaroid picture craft. The next morning, the students helped the children trace and cut out their hand prints to make sequin-decorated butterflies. Another afternoon, the children painted creative designs on t-shirts. Long after song time was over, the children were still singing a song about a “sapo” (frog) with a tagline about their friend Jesus, and a Spanish version of “John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt” (Juan Paco Pedro de la Mar). They also enjoyed the song about the marvelous love of God and the “Aleluya” song where they get to shake a friends’ hand, and hug a friend, etc. The children squealed with delight while running under the colorful parachute, and playing duck-duck-goose or freeze tag. The hula hoops and jump ropes were also popular novelties for the children. During the final club session, the students presented the gospel message and prayed with the children. The high school students quickly became friends with the kids, and the farewells on Saturday morning were only softened by the hope that the group might return for the 2009 Carnival vacation.

The best part of the trip is that the students learn so much about themselves and about God. During the trip “debrief,” one of the “missionary kids” said that his parents had gone on many mission trips, but he had never participated in one because he didn’t see “the point.” Most people had heard about Jesus anyway, and how could any “real” ministry happen in a few short days. But after the trip was over, he realized that many people even in Ecuador still need to hear about Jesus, and there IS a point to even short mission trips. He realized the great need for missions everywhere, and that he could be a part of God’s work. Many other students shared about how they realized that life isn’t all about them – it’s about God and His plan. What a great encouragement!

AS A REMINDER - PRAY FOR THE KIDS CLUB AT THE DUMP THIS AFTERNOON! AND FOR THE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WHO WILL BE SHARING SONGS, VERSES, A BIBLE STORY, GAMES AND A CRAFT.