If you were signed on to follow the July team, and don’t want to keep receiving the updates for the August team, PLEASE SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER which will keep you informed as to how God continues to move in Ecuador!

Simply go to the bottom of any page on our website (by clicking the link above to view this online) and re-subscribe.  When you receive the email asking what you would like to subscribe to, “unsubscribe” to “M101″ and “subscribe” to “Newsletter.”  Then you will receive our latest news, like this story introducing church planters Julio and Maria.

Thank you for praying for the July team!  We hope that you will comment and introduce yourself to us as you keep following Compassion Connection in Ecuador.

Some of you have asked what you could bring for our staff.  How sweet of you to ask!  Here are a few things that some of us need or desire.  We will be glad to reimburse you for whatever you purchase.

• Disposable diapers in size “small”
• Pectin for freezer jam (powder or liquid) – if some could be for low or no sugar freezer jam (to use with artificial sweetener), that would be great!
• Spanish Bibles

Thanks!

Just one more week and we will be picking you up in Quito.  And then your “M101″ training begins!  Please read the following information carefully and feel free to comment with any q’s you may have.

Important Information

• You are all curious as to where you will be going and what you will be doing, I am sure.  The training part of your mission will take place at a small local Christian school, about 45 minutes outside of Quito.  It is a very simple school and we are honored that they are giving us the space to run our boot camp there.  We will return their favor by painting rooms and desks for them during the training portion of your stay.
• We will be sleeping inside and on cement floors at the school.  You will have a comfortable mat to sleep on, and you need to have warm bedding (sleeping bag or sheet and blanket) to sleep with.  The weather here (in the Andes mountains) has been unseasonably cold, so bring warm clothes to sleep in too.
• You will be traveling six hours away (by bus) on Thursday (5th) to a jungle town where we will give ourselves in service to a small community there, provide games and fun for the children, and be a part of sharing the gospel to the people.  It will most likely be hot and humid there, as it is in the jungle region.  The team will remain there through the 10th, when we will return by bus to the school outside of Quito.
• Please read through your prep manuals again to remind yourself what you should and should not be packing to bring with you!  Remember to pack LIGHT and bring the minimum amount of clothing.  Don’t forget to bring a modest bathing suit, sun block, and bug repellent.
• Boots for muddy weather will be provided for you by us.
• While in the jungle, you will be sleeping in tents.  These will help to protect you from bugs, as well as give you some privacy.
• PLEASE BRING ANY SUPPLIES THAT YOU CAN FOR CHILDREN’S MINISTRY!  We need: soccer balls (deflated), blowing bubbles, paper and crayons or markers, scissors, craft projects, beads and string, copied coloring sheets (from color books), small toys to use as prizes, etc.  All of these can be purchased at a 99 cent store or perhaps found in your closet or could be donated by your children’s ministry.  Any items will be helpful for your team’s contact with children while you are here.  Please take the time to let me know what you are able to bring.

Arrival at the Quito airport:

• The airport here is very small, therefore sometimes it takes a while to get through the limited immigration check point.  Be certain that you have your passport ready.
• Immediately beyond that is a small area where your baggage will arrive on baggage belts.  It can be really crazy there!  If you are a part of a group, I would suggest that you have someone stand guard over all the stuff you collect up so that you can move through the next step together once all your luggage has arrived.
• You will then move to an inspection point where all luggage and carry ons will have to be placed on a belt to go through an X Ray machine.  You may get questioned about the contents of your bag or asked to open your bags for inspection here.  It is always best to answer simply (if questioned) that the contents are your personal belongings as well as gifts.
• You will then walk through sliding glass doors and up a small ramp to where you will be required to show your luggage tags (that are usually stuck to the other side of your plane tickets) before you can pass through, so have these ready and accessible! They will match up your luggage tags with the tags on your luggage to be sure that you are only taking what is yours.
• After this, look for a sign that says “M101″ – that will be us!  We will get the luggage loaded up and have a very short briefing right there and then travel to the school that will become our Boot Camp Training Grounds for the next few days.

That’s it for now – but please keep checking for more updates.

This is much easier to view if you click the link above.

Welcome back to the states, July team!  Please take the time to friend all of us on FB so we can keep up with you, and subscribe to CC’s Newsletter (bottom of any of our web pages) so that you can keep up on what is going on here.  Again, we had such a great time with you all.  There are definite long lasting marks of your time here, and you will not be forgotten.

I am going to be posting some info for the team that is coming down August 1.   If you could take the time to comment on what things you brought that you wish you WOULDN’T HAVE and some items that you wish you WOULD HAVE brought (that would have been allowed!) that would be so helpful to this next team.  Also, any words of encouragement to them that you want to post would be appreciated, I am sure.  Remember those last few days of packing and worrying?

We love you all and hope you will stay in touch with us.  We are praying for you!!  Pray for Steve as he is in the mountains outside of Riobamba (sleeping on a pile of hay on the ground…sound familiar?) until Monday – following up on requests for help there.

This entry was written before the others, but it is an important part of the story, even though it comes a bit out of order : )

-Journal Entry by Elijah

Day 3 in Boayacu, and all I can say is God is awesome! I took a second on one of my breaks today to think about how great God’s plan for each of us is. Something that really hit me was hearing a story from Jose, the town leader. He told that for a while they’ve wanted to generate more income in the village which would ultimately help the community with education as well as a few other essentials. He said that Julio (a church planting pastor who we’re assisting in this village) started telling him about God, (not ironically at all) and it was then that doors started to open up for people to come in and help the village. What’s awesome is that we were on the total opposite side of the map in Arizona starting to raise money for our trip to Ecuador (at this same time). God brought us to these people! In the time we’ve been here we’ve been able to build fish farm dams that will generate a good amount of income for the community, as well as to help Julio impact the community for Christ in a big way.

What I’m ultimately saying is that God had this little town in mind when he thought of our missions trip, he had in mind how he wanted these people to know his love, he had in mind how he wanted to bless us with this challenging and awesome experience. God’s plans are soo great, and he’s used this trip to impact both us and this community.

I love you guys, and we’ll see you soon!

- by Jeannette (for real this time)  Happy Birthday, Dad!
It dawned on me today at 5 in the morning – when I was awaken by the Shaman playing his flute – that this was our last day in Boayaku.  It had been 5 awesome days of hard work, friendship, and praising God.

Our hearts have been filled with love and respect for Julio and Maria and we had all connected with the Quichua people in one way or another.  The women from the village were lined up next to the bus as we were getting ready to leave.  WIth tears in their eyes and lots of hugs, we were asked to visit them again soon.

It’s amazing to see how the Lord softened their hearts and ours.

After six hours of traveling and a great dinner at Steve and Sandi’s house, we had to say goodbye to our Ecuadorian friend Paola (who had been a part of our team).  It was hard for the group to say goodbye after spending so much time with her.  Our day was filled with goodbyes, love, tears, laughs, and beautiful scenery.  Today was good.

Day 7 post was by Sarah, not Jeanette!  But the happy birthday was from Jeanette, whose post is coming up next : )

The team has now returned to Quito!  Thank you for praying them back safely.  I’m posting journal entries from while they were gone…

-Journal Entry by Jeannette
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Today we all got to spend time playing games, laughing, delighting in good food made by the Quichua, and seeing the end result of everyone’s hard work.  The irrigation into the talapia farm is complete.  We celebrated and prayed over the farms with the people here.  Now, when the dry season comes, they will have the supply of fresh water they need.

The Quichua people made us a custom meal with plantains, rice, chicken, cucumber, and a salad made of onion, palm hearts, and cilantro.  We all enjoyed the meal together.  It has been exciting to live the way that they do, eating the foods that they eat, and working long, laboring days the way that the Quichua do.

The days before were days of hard labor, and we did this to glorify God.  Now we rest and enjoy this beautiful Sunday.

“So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.” Hebrews 4:9

Please pray as the team returns to Quito today.  It is a crazy drive and the travel is exhausting.  Pray for safety!

They will stop in Shell where they will hear from Chris Nevins, who is restoring the Nate Saint house through Fuel the Mission, and whose next project is our Training Center!

Team stories and pictures posted soon…

Journal Entry by Megan Murphy
Friday, July 15th, was the first day of hard work for everyone.  After breakfast of oatmeal (just what the doctor ordered to start a physically strenuous day!), we headed out to the work sites.  A small crew started working Thursday afternoon on dam construction and continued that, hauling materials through the extremely muddy paths in the jungle.  The rest of us worked from 8am – noon, moving buckets of sand from one side of the river to the other across a rickety metal bridge.  We did it chain gang style, which although extremely tiring, lessened the load for each of us. We broke for lunch (chicken, rice and red cabbage, yum!)  and then some headed for more work.

The children’s program was successful, in so much as the kids were more responsive then the previous day.  It’s amazing to see how quickly relationships are formed, even with the language barrier.  The kids are quiet, well-behaved and gentle, but they are still just kids.  They smile and laugh and get great joy from the most simple things like making bead bracelets and necklaces.

After everyone cleaned up from the day’s work and we enjoyed chili for dinner, the people in the village joined us in the common area.  Pastor Steve asked for anyone who wanted to come up and share an experience or thought about us being here.  Two of the quichua people, Franklin (who worked alongside the small work crew all day) and Jose (one of the community leaders), both spoke of how thankful they were for our help.  A few guys stayed after and talked to Steve, requesting Bibles.  It was a long day, but one that definitely confirmed why we are here and that in everything, God is in control.