Another wonderful day. Our Sardinas and El Coca teams departed at 5am. I went to the bus and spotted Perry Floyd at the back of the bus happily serving and loading luggage after arriving here in Ecuador late last night. I spoke by phone to Julia at about 6pm and she reported a fabulous day. The team set up the dental clinic upon their arrival at El Coca and the line was still very long at 6pm. The Sardinas and dental teams were planning to drive on to their final destination tonight. Tomorrow afternoon there will be more dental clinics and the beginning of construction. El Coca will also have a full day of ministry.
Here in Quito we had a day full of hard work, fun, and ministry. We started out with a the meaningful custom of sharing testimony and praise in a large circle with our team and Ecuadorians. Ruben spoke about how he was heavily involved with partying, alcoholism, and domestic abuse. His brothers and sisters had one by one come to Christ and were all praying for him. He was initially drawn to the to the church because they offered food to people. Ruben's wife, Esperanza, became a Christian first and through Christ's change and empowerment in her life, influenced her husband. Now a key leader in the church, Ruben and his wife do marriage ministry and mission trips into the jungle.
Allison Kniffin shared her testimony next. She spoke of how the Lord had used moving to Hope in the 6th grade and the extreme difficulty of having Spinal Meningitis to help her turn to God. Seeing the Passion of the Christ impacted her in a powerful way in 8th grade because she more fully understood His sacrifice for her. It was especially meaningful that she explained so beautifully how the Lord has filled the voids in her life and helps her thru difficult as well as normal struggles.
We immediately launched into hard labor. Some of our young men helped Ruben with a roofing project. My prayer life was very good as the guys walked around on beams....Yikes! Other students continued in demolition of the building, shoveled rubble into wheel barrows, and hauled it to the trash heap. Everyone worked so hard but with great joy. Who needs weight training and gyms?! Reminds me why God created work as a good thing and that it is fun to sweat and be sore with purpose.
In the afternoon, we cleaned the property and decorated excessively for Dios de los Ninos tomorrow when we will be expecting over 200 children for skits, songs, and face painting. Students prepared and practiced while others stuffed gift bags (350 total).
Finally, God used our team to minister tonight at Elohim's Friday night service. The evening started with our students playing soccer and games in the courtyard with children. For the service, some led worship, others did Drama, Desiree shared a very powerful testimony about her difficulties in life and God's provision of a close family, and I taught. Praise God for a wonderful evening! We had to change lodging today so at 9:15 we arrived at a lovely guest house run by a Christian ministry. The students are lounging around in the living room and very happy. I am handing the super fun story from our day over to them! Sorry so wordy but as a momma, I know you parents are missing your kids. Know they are very happy, tired, and prepared for manual labor upon their return home. They are so impressive.
Many Blessings,
Zoe Schlenker
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