Just a quick update to let you know that the SON-BEAM board members who were traveling back to Michigan have arrived safely. However, not without some more "character building" circumstances. It began in Quito when for some reason that no one could explain, Stan & Barb's boarding passes printed only through Chicago and not Grand Rapids. Then Ray was "chosen" to have his bag that was already checked in searched. That involved going outside and walking a long distance to watch someone look through his bag (it was actually my bag that they searched).
We did enjoy our LAN airline flight to Miami. The staff was very professional, the food was good, the movies were free, and the flight was not full so we had some empty seats next to us. We left Steve & Deb in Miami where they will begin some vacation time.
Once in Miami we found that Ray's bag had mysteriously lost its label and we could not check it back in after going through customs. Unfortunately the man we were dealing with did not speak English. (How ironic that after spending a week in a country where we did not understand the language, we arrive in the USA and were still not able to communicate because the worker could not speak English.) We walked a long, long way to get that bag relabeled for flight and get Barb's boarding pass and then found out that Stan had to walk back to where we just come from in order to get his boarding pass.
The flight from Miami to Chicago was uneventful and also was not a full flight, so we again benefited from empty seats next to us. In Chicago, both the American and United flights were delayed and we all arrived in Grand Rapids more than an hour late. It then took a very long time for the baggage to come off the United flight and you guessed it, more missing luggage. :( This time it was only Stan and Barb's luggage that did not make it. Hopefully it arrives soon!
We are looking forward to sleeping in our own beds and enjoying the comforts of home.
Thanks for following our trip and covering us with your prayers. Blessings to all of you.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Good-Bye to Ecuador :(
It's hard to imagine that a week has already gone by and tomorrow morning we will be flying out of Ecuador.
Today included another trip up into the mountains, this time to Cayambe and the villages of Lote Tres and Lote Quatro. Again we were made aware of needs they have in order to in one case enlarge their building and in the other to finish it. The most memorable part of the morning was the testimony of Ortencia, the first Christian in the community. We were moved to tears as she told of her life before she became to Christ. In her words, "My life was a disaster". She then described her journey to Christianity. Once a Christian, she shared with her sister who also became a Christian. Even though they faced persecution from their community, they were persistent in their witness and held services in her home. A village leader began coming to the services at her home, attracted mostly by the music. That man is now the pastor of the church. From those humble beginnings, the church now has 120 adults, 80 young people, and 100 children. As Ortencia spoke, her face literally glowed. We were touched and inspired.
After visiting the two congregations, we visited another farm project; this time seeing how organic liquid fertilizer and insecticide were made from worms. We also saw the equipment for making bio gas from manure.
Then it was on to visit a museum on the equator (one really should not visit Ecuador with seeing the equator). We concluded the day with a wonderful meal at the La Ronda restaurant. After that came the sad part of saying goodbye to Rob & Betty and our bus driver Danny.
As we leave Ecuador, we do so with full hearts. I am reminded of what Ray said when he said a few words to one congregation, "We will probably not see you again before we get to see you in heaven, but you will always be in our hearts."
Thank you so much for your prayer support for this trip. We look forward to sharing even more when we next see you in person.
Today included another trip up into the mountains, this time to Cayambe and the villages of Lote Tres and Lote Quatro. Again we were made aware of needs they have in order to in one case enlarge their building and in the other to finish it. The most memorable part of the morning was the testimony of Ortencia, the first Christian in the community. We were moved to tears as she told of her life before she became to Christ. In her words, "My life was a disaster". She then described her journey to Christianity. Once a Christian, she shared with her sister who also became a Christian. Even though they faced persecution from their community, they were persistent in their witness and held services in her home. A village leader began coming to the services at her home, attracted mostly by the music. That man is now the pastor of the church. From those humble beginnings, the church now has 120 adults, 80 young people, and 100 children. As Ortencia spoke, her face literally glowed. We were touched and inspired.
After visiting the two congregations, we visited another farm project; this time seeing how organic liquid fertilizer and insecticide were made from worms. We also saw the equipment for making bio gas from manure.
Then it was on to visit a museum on the equator (one really should not visit Ecuador with seeing the equator). We concluded the day with a wonderful meal at the La Ronda restaurant. After that came the sad part of saying goodbye to Rob & Betty and our bus driver Danny.
As we leave Ecuador, we do so with full hearts. I am reminded of what Ray said when he said a few words to one congregation, "We will probably not see you again before we get to see you in heaven, but you will always be in our hearts."
Thank you so much for your prayer support for this trip. We look forward to sharing even more when we next see you in person.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Ecuador Rain Forest
Jan has told the story of our trip through the Pastaza gorge, and I have been handed off the baton for the next leg of the relay.
The city of Shell marks the end of the gorge and the beginning of the rain forest floor. Shell is also the location of the HCJB jungle hospital and airstrip where Nate Saint operated the mission plane in the 1950s. You may remember that he and Jim Elliot and three others were killed by the Auca Indians, now called the Wowari. The river they were killed on runs parallel (15 miles south) with the river we traveled alongside of as we left the main road after Puyo to visit a remote village. We traveled with Rosa, one of the national community and church leaders. The native Quichua name of the village is pretty much unpronounceable for us, but most people simply refer to it as Milepost 28, designating its distance from the start of the road. They wanted to talk with us about their church structure, but also show us their project of cocoa plant production (picture below with cocoa plants and Rosa).
When we arrived at the village we were met by many, many people--the majority of them being children. We discovered that the church has 72 adult members, but over 140 children. They sang for us and fed us fresh oranges and pineapple, and then wanted to talk about their church. It was, to say the least, too grand of a design for their numbers and their location (see picture below). We felt very bad telling them we could not help them finish such a building because of it's overall structural unworthiness, but that is exactly what we had to finally say. They have been working on it for 8 years, but will now be considering a different plan that we'll help them with, hopefully incorporating some of the present structure.
After leaving them we journeyed on to the Orchids Paradise lodge, where we spent the night. It was good for Barb and I to once again be sleeping with jungle sounds and smells, and the rest of the party seemed to sleep very well also. We started today with a great breakfast at the lodge, during which a monkey snuck up to our table and snatched Ray Van Drie's bun off his plate. Then we enjoyed sharing a surprise birthday cake (pineapple upside-down variety) with Jan Van Drie before we got back into the bus for our four hour ride back Quito.
On the way to Quito we took a couple of hours and enjoyed the thermal pools at Papallacta, arriving in the Capitol again around 6pm. Our wonderful bus driver then offered to take us on a bus tour of Quito Old Town, and Rob and Betty Wood shared much of the history and stories about it.
We are now almost ready for bed once again, but did want to get you caught up on the past few days when we did not have Internet connections. Tomorrow, our last day, we are hoping to visit two more churches/projects, and actually go to the gps equator to visit the museum there and have our lunch at he center of the earth. That, by the way, is what "Quito" means in the Cechua language--"the center of the earth". More later... Thanks again for all your prayers.
The city of Shell marks the end of the gorge and the beginning of the rain forest floor. Shell is also the location of the HCJB jungle hospital and airstrip where Nate Saint operated the mission plane in the 1950s. You may remember that he and Jim Elliot and three others were killed by the Auca Indians, now called the Wowari. The river they were killed on runs parallel (15 miles south) with the river we traveled alongside of as we left the main road after Puyo to visit a remote village. We traveled with Rosa, one of the national community and church leaders. The native Quichua name of the village is pretty much unpronounceable for us, but most people simply refer to it as Milepost 28, designating its distance from the start of the road. They wanted to talk with us about their church structure, but also show us their project of cocoa plant production (picture below with cocoa plants and Rosa).
When we arrived at the village we were met by many, many people--the majority of them being children. We discovered that the church has 72 adult members, but over 140 children. They sang for us and fed us fresh oranges and pineapple, and then wanted to talk about their church. It was, to say the least, too grand of a design for their numbers and their location (see picture below). We felt very bad telling them we could not help them finish such a building because of it's overall structural unworthiness, but that is exactly what we had to finally say. They have been working on it for 8 years, but will now be considering a different plan that we'll help them with, hopefully incorporating some of the present structure.
After leaving them we journeyed on to the Orchids Paradise lodge, where we spent the night. It was good for Barb and I to once again be sleeping with jungle sounds and smells, and the rest of the party seemed to sleep very well also. We started today with a great breakfast at the lodge, during which a monkey snuck up to our table and snatched Ray Van Drie's bun off his plate. Then we enjoyed sharing a surprise birthday cake (pineapple upside-down variety) with Jan Van Drie before we got back into the bus for our four hour ride back Quito.
On the way to Quito we took a couple of hours and enjoyed the thermal pools at Papallacta, arriving in the Capitol again around 6pm. Our wonderful bus driver then offered to take us on a bus tour of Quito Old Town, and Rob and Betty Wood shared much of the history and stories about it.
We are now almost ready for bed once again, but did want to get you caught up on the past few days when we did not have Internet connections. Tomorrow, our last day, we are hoping to visit two more churches/projects, and actually go to the gps equator to visit the museum there and have our lunch at he center of the earth. That, by the way, is what "Quito" means in the Cechua language--"the center of the earth". More later... Thanks again for all your prayers.
Catching Up
We'll try to catch you up a bit on our trip. On Saturday morning we traveled through the mountains once again, this time up to the San Jose de Cecel community where we met with the Mision Luce de Vina congregation and their pastor, Alberto Coro. This congregation has a new building nearly completed, but could use some help with completing a second floor office. An office may not seem like a necessity, but in addition to pastoring his own church, Pastor Coro works with an organization called FYKDE, which is an acronym for Spanish and Quichua words which translated means Foundation of Learning for Life for Ecuador. In this capacity, Pastor Coro travels to churches in 7 communities to give them encouragement and provide spiritual leadership. In fact his own congregation, which has about 200 people in attendance each Sunday with 100 children in the Sunday School and 40-50 young people in the youth group, has to wait until 6 p.m. to have their Sunday service because Pastor Coro preaches each week at three other churches earlier in the day.
The remainder of Saturday was spent traveling to other projects of the FYKDE organization. They are very active in promoting and improving agricultural methods in their communities. These projects include promoting wheat and barley production, improving milk production by improving pastures, growing tomatoes in greenhouses, and
growing organic vegetables. You'll see a picture of the tomato plants which actually look more like tomato trees. The Ecuadorian people we met with have a great passion for improving life for those in their communities, but have faced the harsh reality of having more than one North American organization pull their funding from these projects.
Sunday morning began with attending a church service at the Diosga Cuyimi church in the Salisaca community. About 10 minutes before the service began, Pastor Stan was asked to give the message. He very clearly presented the plan of salvation with missionary Rob Wood doing the interpreting. The congregation especially responded to his statement that once we are saved, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter our country or nationality.
Following the service, we got back on the bus and traveled along the Pastaza Gorge into the rain forest. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, including gorgeous tropical flowers and plants, as well as several waterfalls. The one we have pictured is bridal veil falls. Our trip leaders Rob & Betty Wood are shown in front of the falls.
The remainder of Saturday was spent traveling to other projects of the FYKDE organization. They are very active in promoting and improving agricultural methods in their communities. These projects include promoting wheat and barley production, improving milk production by improving pastures, growing tomatoes in greenhouses, and
growing organic vegetables. You'll see a picture of the tomato plants which actually look more like tomato trees. The Ecuadorian people we met with have a great passion for improving life for those in their communities, but have faced the harsh reality of having more than one North American organization pull their funding from these projects.
Sunday morning began with attending a church service at the Diosga Cuyimi church in the Salisaca community. About 10 minutes before the service began, Pastor Stan was asked to give the message. He very clearly presented the plan of salvation with missionary Rob Wood doing the interpreting. The congregation especially responded to his statement that once we are saved, we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter our country or nationality.
Following the service, we got back on the bus and traveled along the Pastaza Gorge into the rain forest. We enjoyed beautiful scenery, including gorgeous tropical flowers and plants, as well as several waterfalls. The one we have pictured is bridal veil falls. Our trip leaders Rob & Betty Wood are shown in front of the falls.
Out of touch?!
Greetings everyone, sorry that we have not been so good on keeping up the blog, but have not had many opportunities for wireless accessibility. We arrived here at the Orchids Paradise lodge in the rain forest just outside Tena late last night, but the wireless was not working. It is working now,but we don't know for how long, so we wanted to just give a quick update and will fill you in more tonight, with pictures, when we get back to Quito.
Many of you have heard by now that Rog and Karen Van Dyke needed to leave country early because of a possible detached retina in Karen's eye. We just heard that they made it back to GR area Sunday morning. We are thankful that they are back in a place where Karen can be receiving the physical help she needs.
We are on the road back to Quito soon, so are hoping to fill you in on the past 2-3 day when we get there.
Many of you have heard by now that Rog and Karen Van Dyke needed to leave country early because of a possible detached retina in Karen's eye. We just heard that they made it back to GR area Sunday morning. We are thankful that they are back in a place where Karen can be receiving the physical help she needs.
We are on the road back to Quito soon, so are hoping to fill you in on the past 2-3 day when we get there.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Back to Ambato
We are just about ready for breakfast and then the bus leaves at 8am. Today we visit four more projects around the greater Guamote area before heading back to Ambato to the mission guest house there. Since they have no wireless I just thought I would let you know not to expect another posting tonight. We will write again, hopefully, Sunday night from the rain forest in Tena. Blessings until then...
Friday, January 21, 2011
Our day trip to Jubal
While the Van Dries and Van Dykes were checking out trout ponds and pig farms and two churches in the area around Guamote, the Bylesmas, Windemullers and Drenths traveled to one of the most inaccessible villages in Ecuador, called Jubal. In fact, we were told that Barb Drenth and Deb Windemuller are the first two American women to have visited there.
It was about a three hour bus ride, and then another hour by horseback (or muleback, in my case!). The road was, once again, hugging the side of a mountain for most of the journey, and as we tried to ford one river we got the bus stuck, both coming and going.
The village church in Jubal has approximately 250 members, all having been evangelized in the past 13 years. Their goal now is to win all of their other community members (around 500+) to the Lord as well. They would like a larger church to facilitate all of this, so perhaps we can help with that desire.
I'll throw in a couple of pictures, but should also let you know that your prayers (and ours) were answered--our long-lost luggage arrived into our hostel here in Guamote this afternoon. Blessings,
It was about a three hour bus ride, and then another hour by horseback (or muleback, in my case!). The road was, once again, hugging the side of a mountain for most of the journey, and as we tried to ford one river we got the bus stuck, both coming and going.
The village church in Jubal has approximately 250 members, all having been evangelized in the past 13 years. Their goal now is to win all of their other community members (around 500+) to the Lord as well. They would like a larger church to facilitate all of this, so perhaps we can help with that desire.
I'll throw in a couple of pictures, but should also let you know that your prayers (and ours) were answered--our long-lost luggage arrived into our hostel here in Guamote this afternoon. Blessings,
Today while some of the group rode horses up to a remote village, the Van Dykes and Van Dries traveled by pickup trucks to two additional villages. Like our trip on Wednesday we traveled narrow, bumpy roads around hair pin curves. Unlike Wednesday, we did not travel with our careful, cautious bus driver. The young truck driver drove much faster, (Ray renamed him Mario Andretti) and much closer to edge than we would have liked. There were many prayers offered from the backseat of that pickup truck.
To my BSF friends I have a total new appreciation for Isaiah 40:4 - "Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain."
The trip was well worth it! In the Pull San Jose community we first visited the trout farm that the church has established. Hopefully we'll be able to upload some pictures of the young men catching the trout they would later serve us for lunch. We then visited the congregation who started building a facility in 2007 and just six months ago put up the walls. At this time they meet in the roofless building "unless it's raining too hard". They humbly requested help with a roof because "the rain can be very cold". It was not until we asked them about the windows, door, and floor that were still missing that they even told us what they would like to complete those parts of the building. They then gave us beautiful handmade gifts. It was truly humbling to receive from those who gave from the very little that they have.
After a huge lunch served by the church members, we traveled on to the Leime Capulis Pungo Community and visited with the Iglesia Evangelica Belen congregation who would like assistance in adding a second story to their building.
We so appreciate your continued prayers.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
We are in Guamote
Sorry about no news last night, but no wireless. Yesterday we traveled to Illahua la Hondonada, elevation 3500 meters (12,000 feet). To say the least it was a spooky bus ride around hair pin turns, at the edge of the mountain without any guard rails. Thank you for your prayers for our protection! Once there, we met some beautiful people who need help finishing their church building. We'll try to include some pictures tonight.
Today, after spending the night in Ambato, we traveled around Mount Chimborazo through hail and snow and took pictures of the rare vencuna. We visited with the people of Tamboloma and Yatzaputzan. We found them to be very active churches, improving life for their communities. Following those meetings, we rode the bus to Guamote where we met with another indigenous community development group. For the next two days we will be traveling with them to see their projects and church sites.
Our luggage is now in Ecuador, but still not with us. We are hopeful for a change of clothing by tomorrow evening!
Hopefully more news tomorrow night.
Posted by Stan, Jan, & Ray
Today, after spending the night in Ambato, we traveled around Mount Chimborazo through hail and snow and took pictures of the rare vencuna. We visited with the people of Tamboloma and Yatzaputzan. We found them to be very active churches, improving life for their communities. Following those meetings, we rode the bus to Guamote where we met with another indigenous community development group. For the next two days we will be traveling with them to see their projects and church sites.
Our luggage is now in Ecuador, but still not with us. We are hopeful for a change of clothing by tomorrow evening!
Hopefully more news tomorrow night.
Posted by Stan, Jan, & Ray
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
We made it
We arrived safely in Quito about 8:30 pm, but without our luggage.
Pelase keep praying for safety as we travel to Ambato today and meet with some local pastors and organizations.
More info, and perhaps some pics, tonight... If the wirelessmis working.
Pelase keep praying for safety as we travel to Ambato today and meet with some local pastors and organizations.
More info, and perhaps some pics, tonight... If the wirelessmis working.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Map of Ecuador and Trip Itinerary
Greetings,
Our trip is only 10 days away now--doesn't seem possible! We have been planning this for almost a year, ever since last year's S0N-BEAM board meeting in January, and now the time is almost here.
We will be flying into Quito on the 18th and meeting up with Robert and Betty Wood, who have been working for several years in Ecuador with CRWRC (Christian Reformed World Relief Committee). They are done with that work now, but want to introduce us to several national organizations in the country so that we can perhaps help them in their work.
Ray Van Drie, our Executive Director, has put together this map with our planned itinerary.
Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare for this trip. Thank you,
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