2014 Summer Mission Team Updates

Today is the last day to order your Send One Shirt which will help send one short term missionary to the Dominican Republic this summer. 

The team attended our friend Oscar's soccer game tonight (bottom row third from left) He is a taxi cab driver in Tabacundo and invited us to his game.He was very excited that we came!!

FBCBG Ecuador Team update-Tuesday We began our day in James 1, with a reminder that all trials will ultimately make us mature in our faith through patience. AMEN! We split our team with Chip, Jane, Bruce and Alex heading toward Emilio's. They also planned to do surveys on their way. I wish I could give their experience the excitement they shared when they got back. Let me just say Chip took the lead, with Jane and Bruce and Alex just trying to keep up! He made a great contact with a mother and her daughter, one which should lead to future visits. They also followed up with old friends. Janice andKristy felt led to spend some time with Daysi. On their way they had a few detours to see Maria and make new friends. Their time with Daysi was truly sweet. She had a friend who had noticed the peace in Daysi's life and wanted to know more. Tania is her name. We gave her a Bible, at her request, and she is truly searching. Please pray for her. Something special also occurred. Daysi asked if she could pray for us and it was so very sweet. Both groups had more encounters with new and old friends. We met for lunch, then split up in different groups, with some of us going to Cayambe and others sharing around Tabacundo. There are so many stories I have not time to share. We finished out the day with an indoor soccer game. Oscar, one of our taxi driver contacts, is on a local team and invited us to his game. What fun!!! Tomorrow we will be visiting a flower plantation and then, if the weather permits, will be heading up to Lake Mojanda where we will be singing and having a time of devotions and testimonies. Pray as we share the gospel at the lake.

FBCBG Ecuador Team Update: Wednesday. WOW!!! what an awesome and fun and worshipful and all around SUPER day. The morning dawned bright and early. We left the apartment at 8am and loaded up on a bus that Paolahad acquired for the day and headed to a rose plantation called Monterosas. For those of you who are NOT aware, Ecuador is the top exporter of roses in the world. We got to walk through and see every aspect of the growth, cutting, sorting, and packaging of those beautiful creations of our wonderful Father. After that we headed to Lake Mojanda. Kristy said that reminded her of her home in Spain. Check out Jane Long or Chip Walker Facebook pages for pictures. Before you start to wonder what roses and lakes have to do with missions, let me tell you we did not go to these places alone. Paola had invited her mom and brother, her teacher from when she was in high school, a work colleague and a friend to join us. We (the team) had invited several of our contacts in Tabacundo, and four of them were able to join us on the trip. On the way up the mountain to the lakes, we sang songs. Paola's friend played the guitar and we sang in English and Spanish, depending on which language one preferred. Once at the lake, we ate lunch, took pictures, and then we had a time of testimonies and a devotional and shared the gospel. Chip did an awesome job sharing his testimony. Jane shared her devotional about the apostle Paul as he wrote II Timothy. In the middle of Jane's devotional, the bottom dropped out of the sky and we ran to the bus where we simply picked up where we had left off. Then Janice shared the gospel. Most of those who came with us are not believers, so we felt very blessed to have this time to help them understand the reason we come to Ecuador. It's not the beauty of the landscape (although that is an awesome plus) and we don't come to vacation (as did the guy we gave a ride to on the way up to the lake and the two gals we gave a ride to on the way down). We come to Ecuador because God loves each and every one of them and wants to have a personal relationship with them! After we left the lake, we went back to Tabacundo, and watched the Ecuador/France World Cup game with Celezh and her family at their chicken restaurant. Then we split up the team again. Jane and Kristy went with Paola to Cayambe to finalize some shopping for our movie night tomorrow, and the others stayed in Tabacundo, some visiting and some preparing for tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, our main event of the day will be in the evening in Malchinguí, and came as the result of the last movie night we had here in Tabacundo. We will be showing the film "Bandera Blanca", which is a very evangelistic short film. We will be serving popcorn and coke and coffee and Paola will be sharing her testimony. Prayers are greatly appreciated for Paola and the team, as we will also be needing to pack in preparation for leaving Friday morning (WAH!!!!).

Our bus ride up to Mojanda Lake.

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