Another week, another great experience

Wow, freakin incredible week thus far. Saturday we finally installed the front gate for the church, which looks great. Also, the youth went out to the neighborhood and preached the gospel to the neigbors. It was really great to watch them speak and share openly. I spoke some but had some difficulty. It was great to see the people talk about their beliefs about God and see some begin to understand. Others accepted Christ and still others we were able to pray for that someone else might open them more. It was a great experience. Sunday began with another great service. However afterward, the pastor explained the church's plans for the future. eventually they want to build up to 4 floors and have a school there also. They are currently trying to buy the property next to the church for more space. Also, on Sundays they will begin classes for all ages. They will last 6 months and then progress to subsequent levels. A great way to give people a better and deeper understanding of the bible. It is great to see the plans that this church has to grow and the interest and enthusiasm from the people. Monday and Tuesday we continued working on the church as we prepare to pour the floor this Saturday.

Wednesday was incredible. I went with Fernando and Juan, who I am living with and Franklin, the youth leader of the church and we went to Rucu Pichincha, one of the mountains surrounding the city. We rode the Teleferqo (gondolo) half way up and ensued to hike another 2 hours to the top. It was incredible, steep hills, plants, rocks, rock climbing. It was hard, dangerous in parts but absolutely incredible. We were surrounded by clouds and wind. We crossed a death pass, a "bridge" no more than 2 feet wide and from there had to climb a 5 foot wall. haha. I don't know how but we all made it safely. At the summit was awesome. Surrounded by clouds and wind and bit of snow. All around seemed to fall away to steep rocky slopes to nowhere. Afterward when we finally made it down, we traveled into the city for a late lunch. We had pan de yuca, which is one of the best things I have tried here and its freakin incredible. By the end of it all I was exhausted and my legs were more or less rubber however, it was a phenomenal day.

Today was another long day of work, we are almost ready as we finish up preparation for Saturday. The group of 10 from the states arrive tonight and they will be here for 12 days. Saturday is the big pour as people from a number of different churches are coming to help, we are guessing around 60 people to help. It should be incredible. Overall everything is great. I feel good and God continues to refresh me everyday. Its been incredible. Thanks so much for your love and prayer, its going a long way. Hope everything back home is going well. I love you and miss you all.

The "death pass". yeah I was a bit nervous, haha. But we all made it alright.

The 4 of us (and a picture of Franklin's sister who couldn't be with us) at the summit. Lots of clouds and wind.

A view of the city from a bit below the cloud line. The city is huge and this is only one angle but it was incredible to see it all laid out.

1/3+ there

The 1/3 mark was on Saturday (my moms birthday (Happy Birthday again)). It has flown by in a lot of ways. My time here has definately been great. In so many ways I would love to come home and share it all with you now and sometimes I want nothing more than to do just that. I miss you all like crazy but I keep resting in the fact that God still has more for me to do here. Work is going great and moving quite well. Last week we constructed all 15 columns to support the second floor, this week we are building the beams between the colums. Each day is great as God continues to fill me up with just enough for the day. I wake up each morning refreshed and refilled. The days are great and by bed time (9:30) im exhausted and crash. Pray that he continues to fill me and keep me safe. My hands are a wreck with minor cuts but nothing serious. Here are a few pictures of whats going on down here.

This is the living room of the house I'm staying at, just so you get an idea. God has blessed me with rather comfortable living conditions. I have my own room and everything. I definately wasn't picturing anything quite so luxurious when I left home. It has definately been great to return to each day after long days of work.

Here is the church. The door on the left is to the fellowship hall currently (when we are done it will be the second floor). THe middle 2 are to the back and the bathrooms, which will be finished soon. and the the right 2 are a storage closet and the stairs leading to the second story. This is prior to the columns being built, I will have a more updated photo next time.

The wall streight ahead (yeah the big grey brick one with the big opening) haha thats the wall we built to surround the church. Eventually (when exactly is perpetually in doubt) there will be a sliding gate in there to close it off. This is what we build the giant trench for and then refilled it with concrete and rocks and eventually layed brick and poured columns over. All in all it turned out pretty good.... just waiting for that gate.

All is going well but there is still plenty of work to be done, even before the floor gets poored. Continue to pray that all goes well and safe as it has, that God continues to fill me up each day and that I will continue to seek and find His calling for life, cuz its a heck of a lot better than mine. haha. Love you all and hope all is well.

-Eric

1/4 done

Hey all, so Saturday was the 1/4 mark. It seems to have flown by and at the same time soooo much has happened. Its been a long time really. haha. I apologize for not updating sooner, last week was pretty busy all around. If I remember correctly, the weekend of the 10th was pretty lax. Saturday the Inca's took me to Ambato, there home town about an hour away. They had big thermal heated pools there so we had a good time there for several hours. The water was yellow, which was slightly disconcerting until they told me that it was naturally that way... thank God for showers haha. No seriously, it was all good. Then upon return Fernando and I went to the youth group at the church. Another great time as we played games, sang and listened to a good lesson on living this new year to the fullest by finding our peace and joy and Christ and not in the circumstances that life throws our way. Sunday we went to church, which each week gets better and better as I understand and become more and more comfortable. Afterward, I just relaxed all afternoon. I watched some soccer with Juan, read, wrote a bit. Talked with Rosa and Juan. Fernando is generally busy with school work as he has a series of huge tests next week.
Last week was pretty busy then. Monday was Ethan's and Mark's last day and Lynford took us out to pizza hut, so clutch. haha. Not portofinos but some good American food. Haha. Tuesday, Rosa and I went to the market to buy produce. The market is freakin huge and filled with fruits and vegetables I've never seen before. We bought plenty, including guanabana (best fruit ever) and mangos. The mangos here are incredible. That afternoon Rosa and Guillermo took me to Centro Historico, the old, historic area of Quito. We saw a number of cathedrals plazas and statues as well as the government headquarters (the white house of Ecuador). I would post pictures but unfortunately I don't have my camera with me. Another time. The rest of last week and this week have been packed as we finished the wall (the door will be ready in a week) and building a closet under the stairs. Again, I would post pictures. I was actually about to write last Thrusday but we lost power, in fact 70% of Ecudor lost power for most of the evening. It was a good night though as I spent time with the Incas. This weekend I kept plenty busy as I helped clean the house on Saturday, followed by youth group that evening. I'm slowly learning all their names and its getting easier and easier to talk, although i'm still a bit slow to understand and speak. Sunday was again Church and a relaxing evening with the family, however, as Juan and I ran out to get bread for dinner, the neighborhood lost power for about 10 min. haha, just to keep things intersting.
This week is off to a fast start. haha. We are starting the second floor and oh what a project this will be. Monday we recieved a bunch of materials and set up the rebar for 4 of the columns and today we filled them. 4/15 done. haha. There is still a lot to go but over the next 2 to 3 weeks, it will all go up pretty fast. God has definately had his hand in it all as everything has gone smoothly without any injury. He has provided everything we need thus far. He has definately been working in me. Each day, despite my lack of sleep at times or soreness, he refreshes me everyday and fills me with joy to help and work. This week has been great so far. it rained more or less for 5 streight days, on and off last week but the last couple days here have been beautiful. I continue to thank God for his blessing in everything and he has definatley carried me along. I'm doing great and my Spanish is coming easier and easier. I still need to learn more vocab and work on my grammer but overall its getting better. Sleep is something of an issue. I've had some trouble sleeping at times, i'm not totally sure why. But somehow God has continued to give me the energy and strength that I need. Pray that he will continue to to do that as well as that he will give more confidance to talk to people. Its tough because my Spanish isn't great and it is difficult to understand them at times. Because of this, I don't talk as much as I want to. Thank you. Thanks again for your continued prayer and support. I love you all and can't wait to recount it all when I see you again.

Week 2

Hey there. So its been a week since I last posted and It has flown by. I've been busy learning about the people, language and country. I've spent time hanging out with some of the youth from the church and they seem like real awesome kids. The church is great and this second Sunday I accutally understood everything, pretty awesome. Also, on Friday we began work on the church. We are building the last wall surrounding the church property, which they will eventually build off from. We had to dig a trench 17meters long by .5meters wide. Three levels went to depths of 1, 2, and 3 meters deep. It was a lot of work but we had a lot of help. We then filled it with giant rocks and concrete. Today we began laying blocks on top of it, which we should finish tomorrow. Starting in February another group will arrive (there are currently 2 guys from perdue university here for the week to help) and we will build the second story to the church. Its been great, and a lot of work, God has been providing everything needed.

Things are slowly getting better, my spanish for one. Also I don't feel so lonely. Tuesday was rough but I'm learning more and more to lean on God. While I can communicate what I need in Spanish, there is still a gap and I'm definately not fluent. Its also tough as I've only known anyone here for about 12 days. Little by little its getting better and God has blessed me more than I could have imagined. Please continue to pray for comfort and reliance though. I'm still far from my comfort zone here.

I miss you all and wish you could be here with me. The coutry is gorgeous. The city itself is surrounded my mountains and on a clear day you can see them all and its phenomenal. They have more fruit than I could ever have imagined too. So many new types, completely forgein. But ooooh sooo good. Here are a few pictures.

The faint mountain is Cotopaxi. It is a volcano that rises to 20,500ft and is snow covered year round. It is far more impressive in real life. (taken from the Inca's roof)

This is WawaPichincha (left) and RucoPichina (right) also taken from the Inca's roof

This is toward the expance of Quito from Inca's roof. The small hill in the middle is Panasillyo upon which sits a statue of the vigin Mary that looks out over Quito.

This is the trench that we had to dig for the wall, starting at 3m.

I love you all and can't wait to update you again, hopefully a bit sooner. Have a great weekend!!

How it all begins

Soooo.... I AM IN ECUADOR!! haha. As I landed in Quito I had one of those what on earth am I doing moments. Haha. But I'm alright now, everything is going great. Pastor Lynford and my new friend Fernando picked me up. I am living with Fernando's family during my time here and they have been amazing. Fernando is learning english and has been a huge help adjusting and translating a bit. It has been great teaching each other. I am meeting with Lyford every few days to catch up on everything. Other than that I am completely emersed in Quito. I am in the city, however the house I am staying is very nice considering the surrounding area. I am meeting lots of people and Spanish is rapidly taking over my vocabulary and my mind. Most of my thoughts are in Spanish already. It has been a great time of getting to know the people and the area. Church was great. They have also taken me to see some of the sights inculuding one of the mountains surrounding the city. I will have pictures at some point in the future. Every thing has been great. Next week we will begin the construction on the church as we add another wall and eventually a second floor. The hardest part is simply being alone and stuggling with the language at times. It has been difficult being thrust alone into an entirely new culture and language. This is probably my biggest need in prayer is simply to not be so lonely, particularly at night and to continue to work on the language. It gets exhausting after a long day. I have no complaints though and so God has proven to be more than reliable and giving me tremedous blessings. Thanks again for the support and I can't wait to share more with you soon. I love you and God bless.

And I'm off

Sooo... Finally, after delay and the holidays, I am off and on my way to Ecuador. I am currently in the Alanta airport where I have spent the last 5 hours and still have at least another to go. My flight is currently delayed half and hour to 6:00. For those of you who have spent time in an airport, you can understand my boredome and certain frustration as information is scarce and one must constantly be alert for changes. I found that out the hard way last time I went through here and ended up spending the night. Haha. Thats another story tho. Currently though, I am in need of patience and alertness as I wait for my flight. Currently I am projected to land in Quito around 11:15, which is late enough but I pray that this is not dragged out any farther. I hope everyone had a terrific Christmas filled with joy and family and friends, but of course with the spirit of Christ, which, to be about as cliche as it gets, is the reason for the season. So, I wish every one the best and I look forward to updating you next from the equator. Thanks so much for your prayers and support and can't wait to get on with everything God has for me and in turn pass the news onto you. I love you all, have a great one.

When on earth am I leaving??

So, most of you i'm sure realize that i'm still here in the states. Well unfortunately I was not clear on the fact that they wanted ALL the money in before my ticket was purchased. So, December 1st came and went and I didn't have a ticket. Well I still don't but as of this morning everything was in. I am simply waiting for a response and an agreed date and the purchase of a ticket. So with all luck and God's blessing I should be out of here by the end of the month. PLEASE!! So, once I recieve my ticket I will purchase my health insurace and I will be off for 3 months. The current date was set for Monday the 15th but since that doesn't look probable, the date will probably be closer to the 25th, so I'd be home for Christmas. So, as an update, thats where I stand. While frustrating and unfortunate that I'm not gone, it will be nice to see many of you again before I leave. So hope all is well with ya'll, especially those amidst finals. I wish you all the best. Thanks again for all your support and I look forward to sharing my joyful experiences in Ecuador instead of my frustrating ones here in the states as soon as possible.