El Refugio, Calacali Ecuador

Hello Friends!

Sorry it has been so long since we have had internet, and a chance to get online and update you with our time here!  It has been quite a change for us, as Daniela and I have moved into our cabin at the El Refugio camp.  We will enclose some photos of our cabin soon, and the photos of the camp as well, so you can get a good idea of where we are and what we're up to.  The camp is situated in a very small town about 30 minutes outside of Quito called Calacali.  And the internet is very slow, so thank you for your patience! :)

You generally have to take a bus into Quito if you wanted to do any shopping or sightseeing there.  Daniela and I have gotten very accustomed to riding the bus, and I feel pretty comfortable about taking the bus there and back.  I haven't mastered it, but I'm getting there.

Tomorrow marks the first day of our discipleship program here at El Refugio with the interns.  There are approximately 6 interns at the camp right now.  Daniela and I will be doing lunchtime  devotionals with these interns on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  We will be doing a more focused bible study together on Wednesday evenings after work around 4 or 4:30 PM.  Then during the week, Daniela and I hope to meet with the interns one on one for some more personal growth and discipleship time.  Outside of this time, Daniela and I will be working with one of the El Refugio leaders, Juan Carlos, in programming a lot of the activities the groups will be doing when they come to the camp.  These could include field games, scavenger hunts, high ropes activities, low ropes activities.  We will also serve as assistants when these groups are here, and maybe in time helping facilitate some of these ropes course activities.

The bees are very busy in the mornings, and are always around.  I unfortunately stepped on one a couple mornings ago (a HUGE black bumble bee) and got stung on my right foot.  Don't worry! I'm ok now, but it hurt like crazy.  So please pray that no more bees get into our cabin, or anywhere in our general vicinity and sting us! Thanks! :)

This weekend, Daniela and I took two interns (Ashley & Laura) to Quito with us.  Daniela's family took us all to La Plaza De Las Americas (a small mall) for yogurt with pan de yuca (it's comparable to a cheese bread, SO GOOD!).  After, we went to La Ronda (the historical district of Quito) and walked down these beautiful streets at night where the Presidential Palace is, historical churches, and beautiful small shops where the Ecuadorian people sell a lot of their hand crafted goods.  After La Ronda, we headed to another town called Cumbaya, where we ate dessert at a restaurant called Coffee Tree.  There were some DJ's there playing some crazy electronic music outside the restaurant which was pretty loud, but overall the experience was good.

Today, Daniela and I, her family, and Ashley & Laura went church at Daniela's father's church, La Gran Comision (The Great Commission).  He preached on 1 Corinthians 1.  It was a good sermon, and I feel I am learning more Spanish and understanding more and more of what is being said each time I am there.  After church, we went out to lunch at a mall called El Jardin (The Garden).  After we shopped for some essentials for our cabin at MegaMaxi supermarket, and then headed to a park called Teleferiqo.  At Teleferiqo, you can take a tram up to the top of mountain where you can get a beautiful view of the city of Quito.  However, the price was very expensive, so we ended up spending a little bit of time in the small amusement park next to Teleferiqo, and I did a go-kart ride, and rode a roller coaster.  Soon after, we headed back to Calacali and El Refugio for the evening.

Thank you for your continued prayer for us, and your support.  Please continue to pray for our time here, our safety and health, and wisdom as we continue to pour into the lives here at El Refugio, into the lives of the interns, and into the surrounding communities in Ecuador.  Also, pray for all the lives here in Ecuador, that they may come to know Christ more in their lives, and that the Word of God may be known more and more!