Ecuador Video

Here is a link to the youtube video I put together of clips from the trip. Hope you like it!!!

Ecuador 2015 KBC Mission Trip Video

Hostal Bethel in Tababela

Here are some pictures of the Hacienda guest house we got to stay at. It was gifted to the Buen Pastor Church with the understanding that the hacienda and/or land would always house a Christian school. Right now the Colegio Tecnico Bethel (high school) is there. They are building classrooms in the back part of the property (see building project post) so that they can move the high school to that building and use the hacienda as a hostal and guest house to generate some revenue for missions for the church. It is beautiful! Built in the 1880s.

This was the door (gate?) to our room. 

All the wood work was done by Jacob. It's in every room. 

This is the cobblestone road from the 1800's. And yes, it feels as bumpy as it looks. 

The wall outside some of the property. 

The road goes along the side of a deep canyon. This is a picture of the other side. 

More coming soon!

We are back from the trip but there will be more posts. The wi-fi was slow enough in the Hacienda that I could only do a few of the posts I wanted to each day. Keep checking in to see more from our trip. You can also follow me on instagram @mindonmissions to see some of the videos that I couldn't post on the blog from there.
Thanks!!

Zambiza Dump

We had the honor of serving a meal to the workers at the Zambiza transfer station tonight. We made a dinner of arroz con pollo and boiled sweet plantains. Earlier in the day we visited some of the families. The night workers work 7pm to 7 am every day. 

They make about $100 a month. But they only get paid for what they can find out of the trash to recycle. One family said they pay $60 a month in rent for 2 concrete shacks that are both about 12x12 ft for the living area and another 8x4 foot bedroom. There were no doors at all. A sheet was the front door and a sheet hung in the middle of the main room to give some "privacy" to the single bed. They had a make shift outhouse outside. 

They rarely have enough money for food so they look through the trash for meat that has been thrown out. This is often the only food they bring home to their families for the next day's meal. One family we visited had only one member that was able to work. The grandmother, Maria, worked nights at the dump for the last 30 years. Her husband has also worked for that long but is incapacitated now either by a stroke of the result of all the sickness and chemicals he has been exposed to there. They cannot afford medicine so he sits alone on the bed without being able to see or hear. Maria's daughter, Carmen, has a 1 month old baby girl, Shirley, so she is unable to work. The baby's father isn't in the picture any more. 

Their life is just a picture of how many of the workers live. They are in desperate need. They need food, clothing, shelter, education, and most of all the hope that only be found in a living God who cares for each one of them more than they know. 

Pre-school Visit

We brought about 6 suitcases of clothing to give out while in Ecuador. The Ladies' Ministry of Buen Pastor Church does home visits every week so we joined them to give away some of the clothes. Instead of visiting a home we met several moms and kids at a preschool in an impoverished area. We were also able to give out some of the beanie babies that Marilyn collected for the trip. 

Cuy... aka Guinea Pig

Lunch. Enough said!!

Yes, those are it's little front toes. If you look closely, you can see it still has hair. 

Cotopaxi Volcano

We went to Cotopaxi Volcano for a quick hike on Saturday. Amazing to see the national park. When we got to the trail head (14,500 feet) it was hailing, about 45 degrees F, and sustained winds around 40 mph. And we were in jeans and tennis shoes!! A few of us tried, but only made it about 1/2 a mile. It took us about 30 minutes. What an experience!

Cotopaxi is the white dome poking out over the clouds. 

Wild horses at the lake in the park. 

Trailhead! Made it across the parking lot!!