The Pictures Are Here

Feel free to checkout the pictures from our trip. The Slide Show contains a summary of the pictures that we took. Then each individuals pictures are listed with their names.

Back Up The Mountain

The day started with another perimeter hike. The group was a bit smaller, but we were determined to see the sunrise at the summit. When we arrived there, we did have fewer clouds than yesterday, but our view was still a bit obstructed. We will try again tomorrow. During our devotion time this morning Brad Miller introduced us to a new method of bible study called “Turning God’s Word Loose”. It is a great way to dig into an area of scripture. Be sure to ask us about it when we see you again.

We completed the drain field and some landscaping, and almost finished the roof of the Qui shed. Thanks for the prayers for the lumber to show up and the rains to hold off. Both requests were answered. After our projects were completed, we took a journey to the center of the earth. Well actually just to the equator, where we were told that we are all 2 pounds lighter than at home. Which none of us believe because the food has been soooo good here.

Tonight we had a panel discussion with the missionary men that are serving here in Quito. The three that participated were Brad, Bob, and Howard (and Howard’s wife Mary). They gave their testimony on how they came onto the mission field and allowed us to ask many questions. It is interesting to see how God uses people of many backgrounds and talents to expand his kingdom. Some may not return the same…

And the beat goes on

The day started with a 4:30am perimeter hike. That means a group of us hiked the boundary of the property here at El Refugio. This brought us to an elevation of 11,000 feet. That is 1,700 feet higher than the buildings that we are staying in. This was just a warm-up for the day of work that was ahead of us. More progress was made on the projects that we have been working on, but even better, we got to sit in on the Youth World staff meeting that is held at El Refugio once a month. This was truly a blessing to see the love that this group has for each other and how they are committed to their work here. During the meeting we got to hear from a missionary couple that is returning the states after 32 years in South American missions. They were an encouragement to all and Scott is sending for Tina and the kids to come down to take over their mission. JK… For dinner we had the privilege of tasting some of the Qui. This is the small rodent that we are building the new home for. It is considered a delicacy here in Ecuador. The night was finished off with a great time of discussion with our group that has brought us all closer together as a team and on an individual basis. Be sure to ask us about it. Some may not return…

“An oasis in the midst of an assault on your senses.”

The above was a comment made by Mike Charron after our visit to the dump. The oasis he was referring to is the day care center at the dump. This ministry, Extreme Response, is providing a safe alternative to children working alongside their parents in the dump. They can give these young children proper care and Christian influence, and as they grow older, give them opportunity for a good education.

We had a full day, but the one item I want to share about was our visit to Casa Gabriel. This is an awesome ministry, not just to get kids off the street, but to receive those whom God has chosen to raise up as leaders. We heard two testimonies from boys who took to the streets around age 7, and how God reached them and began to transform their lives. These two boys are now 15. God appears to be using them in a tremendous way, and this environment will give them the training to become leaders.

On a second note, we were introduced to Gustavo, a new resident. The touching part is that he has no spiritual family, meaning his family is not Christian, and therefore no one is there to pray for him. All these boys have many people praying for them and their development in the Lord. Some of us signed up to keep these boys in our prayers every day, and to send them things like birthday cards and Christmas cards. It is very meaningful for these boys to know that someone cares for them, and is praying for them.

We are all doing fine, and having some interesting conversations. This is a great adventure, and we are looking ahead to coming forward home.

Tom Zarnke

Tuesday

Breakfast – scrambled eggs with ham, pantitas, pineapple.
Ibuprofen
Private devotion time
Ibuprofen
Back to our work projects.
Lunch
Ibuprofen
More construction
Team Building
Dinner
Debriefing and musical worship
Ibuprofen
Sleep, hopefully without the dogs!

We were a little slower to get back to our projects, but we were anxious to get back to work. We also are really appreciating our devotional time. It always seems to be too short. It has been fun learning Spanish and trading vocabulary with Oher (sp?) and the Enricque (sp?), Andreas and Angelica. Ditch digging is an incremental experience as we thought we reached our goal several times. We’re having fun figuring out the different challenges at the Qui shed, but we are still not always anxious to end our work day.

Team building was yet another rewarding experience for us. We are becoming a more transparent group as we are able to experience a couple of the events as the youth groups and leaders experience when they come onsite.

We had another great dinner with Oher and his 5 year old twin sons, Vladamir and Kenneth. The twins were entertained by Tom and his magic tricks. We finished another great day in “Flexidor” with an impactful devotion time and song and praise session.

Monday

Breakfast – French Toast and Sausage
Private devotion time
Orientation
Split into two work groups (see picture)
Septic “life is a ditch, dig it”
Qui Shed (Guinea Pig) “A happy qui is tasty qui”
Lunch
More construction
Down pour
Dinner
Free Time
Short Term Mission Orientation
Ibuprofen
Sleep…dogs barking…sleep…dogs chasing fox…trying to sleep…

We worked very hard, a lot of physical labor, partly due to the altitude. We needed to make sure we drank a lot of water. Both tasks seem rather daunting, but we put a really good dent in both projects. We were very tired at the end of the day, but we felt we really accomplished something. The group is growing in fellowship, and having a fun time with each other. We are laughing a lot (mostly at Scotty’s expense) and we think the LORD is too!

Sunday in Ecuador

A great start to our Men's Eucador Mission trip! We started the day with a delicious baked oatmeal breakfast, then headed out to worship at Carmen Bajo. Two of the men got to share their testimony (Mark and Scott S) and Mike S gave a wonderful message about men's struggles. We had fuilling lunch at the home of Pastor Fabian from Carmen Bajo and were blessed by his wife, father and daughter. We then headed back to Carmen Bajo for some sharing time with some of the men of the congregation. Mike R, Darren and Tom shared their testimony along with very moving personal testimonies from three of the Carmen Bajo men. We ventured over the the office of Youth World for a brief orientation before finishing the day at Brad and Sandi's for our second arroz con pollo meal of the day (don't tell Sandi). Thanks to all of our gracious host for their generous hospitality. We are all very tired and looking forward to a deep restful night of sleep, for tomorrow we begin our work at El Refugio. Good night everyone!

Men's Mission Team

Messages From The Air

I am writing this entry from the plane somewhere over Central America. I am not sure where, it is pretty dark outside. So far our trip has gone exceptionally smooth. No issues at the airports. As far as we know, all of the luggage is on the plane. And I can type again. My clavicle is healing incredibly well. Five days ago I could not move my arm and I was not sure if I would even be able to make the trip. Now, I can type (with both hands) and I think the bone has fused together today on the plane. There may be something to being in a cramped airline seat. I cannot move my arm very far, and I think it is helping me. I think the prayers are working also. The pain is still minimal and I am healing quickly.

Our serious preparations started on Thursday night with the packing party. The plan was to pack all of our person items in our carry on bags, and leave our two checked bags for the supplies that were donated for the trip. Amazingly, we fit all of the donated items into 22 bags that weighed close to 50 pounds each. That means we have 1,100 pounds of donated items for this trip, and it all fit. The Lord provides exactly what is needed when it is needed.

This morning we all gathered at 9:00am to leave for the airport. We had a wonderful group of family and friends there to send us off with prayer and encouragement. We are leaving the US knowing that there is a huge group of people praying for us while we are gone. The luggage check-in at the airport went about as smooth as anyone could imagine. They weighed one of our bags and sent the rest of them through without a second look. Praise The Lord.

In Houston we were able to catch up on the NFL draft and catch a meal before continuing on the second leg of our journey to Quito. I look forward to the opportunities that await us in a few hours. I hope to be able to share them with you over the next few days. Be sure to check out the pictures section. I will update them when I get a connection that is fast enough to allow it.

I Think I Broke Something…

Yes, if you have not heard yet, I (Rick Gibbs) had a little bike accident on Monday April 23. I hit some gravel on a corner and the road came at me pretty fast. You can see the result on the right. I ended up breaking my right collarbone. I saw the doctor on Tuesday and he gave me the OK to still go on the trip. I am very grateful that I do not have much pain associated with this injury and that I will still be able to leave on Saturday. All of your prayers for a quick recovery are greatly appreciated. I have been told that my role has now changed to supervisor instead of grunt. Is that a promotion??? I am waiting to see what God has in store for me with this change in abilities while in Quito.

Silent Auction Results

WOW
That is all I can say for the outpouring of support by the congregation at the silent auction. The participation blew away our expectations. Sometimes I think we limit what God is capable of based on our simple minds. Because of the wonderful support we will be able to provide more resources to the Youth World ministries than we were expecting. I also want to sincerely thank all of the people who donated items to the auction. There was really a great selection of items to interest a number of people. It was fun to be able to share with people a little bit of what we are expecting to be doing while in Quito.

Silent Auction Sunday April 22

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting a silent auction to raise funds for the trip and Youth World. The auction will take place during services on Sunday April 22 in the lobby. The auction will start at 8:00am and close at 12:30pm on the day of the auction. The winners can claim their items at the end of the auction. If they are not present, they will be contacted. Checkout the partial listing of items that are in the auction on the right. Most of the items in the auction are being donated by members of the mission team or their families. This is another great opportunity to support the mission efforts in Ecuador and get some great stuff in the process. Please continue to be in prayer for the trip preparations and the Millers in Quito.

Proposed Trip Agenda

Sat 28th	Arrival in Quito - 11:00pm
Sun 29th	El Refugion Orientation
	Carmen Bajo 10:00am worship Service
	Lunch at Pastor Fabian's (family) home
	Men's ministry @ Carmen in afternoon
	Youth World orientation
	Miller's for Dinner
Mon 30th	Work Day (Element team building)
Tue 1st	Work Day
Wed 2nd	Casa Gabriel/Expat/Dump (talk to Lorena and Ruth Shattuck)
	Sack Lunch. Dinner at El Jardin
Thur 3rd	Work Day (Orienteering / hot dog roast)
Fri 4th	Work Day
Sat 5th	El Ejido Market/Old Quito
	Lunch out
	Solo time @ El Refugio
	Dinner @ El Refugio
	Final Debrief
Sun 6th	Leave Quito for home @6:40am

Pancake Bruch Was Great

I really want to thank everyone who came to the pancake brunch on Sunday. We had a great time serving you, and especially want to thank you for the wonderful support that we received. Be sure to check out the picture section. I put some of the pictures from the event up there. You might even catch a glimpse of the mixing method. Guys need to use their power tools.

We continue to prepare for the trip while we are seeking out prayer support and working on our handyman projects to raise some more funds and make connections to the ministry.

Woodbury Lutheran Men's Mission Trip To Quito, Ecuador

This is the first posting to the blog that we will be using for our men's mission trip to Quito, Ecuador. This mission trip is a continuation of a series of trips from Woodbury Lutheran to support the Miller family. They are the missionary family that our church sent out into the field a little over six years ago. About a year and a half ago, a group of women from WLC went to Ecuador and we are just continuing that effort. Right now we have a group of 11 men who are committed to make the journey. While there one of our primary focuses will be to work on a community bathroom at El Refugio. El Refugio is a 350-acre retreat and training center less than an hour north of downtown Quito. They are planning on having larger groups this summer and they need these facilities to support the larger groups.

Currently we are deep into the process of the fund raising activities which include a handyman service, pancake brunch, and support letters. The brunch is taking place on Sunday, March 25th from 11:00-1:00 at Woodbury Lutheran Church. We have already had a few opportunities to serve different families with the handyman projects thanks to a large snowfall that we received a few weeks ago. Because of the snow we were able to help some people out with snow removal. Other projects include plumbing issues and door replacements.

We look forward to sharing more as we get closer to our departure data of April 28th. Please be in prayer for our group as well as Youth World through this process and experience.

Pancake Brunch Coming Up Sunday March 25

This week will find us in preparation for a pancake brunch that we are serving to our congregation to raise some funds for our trip, but more importantly it will give us a chance to work together as a team to draw us closer to each other and learn how we work with each other. Given the short time that we have to prepare for this, we will definitely have to rely on God and His Holy Spirit to make this happen. A prayer request would be for people to be moved to participate in our trip by coming and letting us serve them and also receiving information about how they can be supporting us in our preparation for the trip and while we are in Ecuador.