Snapshot of the Summer

Dear Friends, Family, and Prayer Warriors,
Thank you again for partnering with me this summer to serve in Ecuador. I am thankful to testify to God’s goodness this summer. I appreciate your financial support, prayers, e-mails, and encouragement as I served as a host for short-term mission teams. God provided more than enough funds for my summer so that I was able to give financially to YouthWorld.
As I served as a short-term host, here is a brief summary what we did in ministry:
I served in Shandia, a jungle community, where Jim Elliot use to reside. We helped build a road for a future retreat center for pastors and a camp for kids. We partnered with the village in a church service sharing testimonies, a sermon, and we led vacation Bible school.
I served in Puyo, a jungle city, at Kairos Baptist Church, where we painted their sanctuary, helped clear out a field, painted a mural, played soccer, and participated in a church service with their youth group.
I served at Santos Pamba, a school in a Quechua (the indigenous population) neighborhood in the south of Quito. We built a fence together, built stairs, fixed some of their electrical problems, played with their kids, and participated together with them in church services. I spent time with the other hosts with women of the church in the kitchen laughing and sharing stories.
I served at La Roca, Youth World’s newest ministry, a skate ministry in Calderon, Ecuador. We attended a church service and hung out during a skate competition. Our team lacquered ramps and painted school classrooms.
I served at a soup kitchen called Pan de Vida where we served breakfast and lunch to the children. We ran a soccer camp for the kids with a devotion and singing beforehand. For the soccer camp, our team organized drills and games that would reinforce the spiritual lesson. We also helped with painting, organizing donations, and washing doors.
Our teams visited Casa Gabriel, a leadership program for former street boys. We shared testimonies and played soccer together.
The highlight of my summer was seeing God’s work in the jungle community of Shandia. I had the privilege of meeting with Mariano, the spiritual leader of the community. Mariano showed me the garden of the school where they grow bananas, pineapples, and other various plants. I was encouraged by how he uses the garden to teach life lessons to the children. It was also a blessing to translate with him during church; as I translated from English to Spanish, he would translate from Spanish to the native language of Quechua. God is truly working in ends of the earth.
I have grown through many practical experiences this summer. I learned the importance of taking care of myself, I handled team money, and I had many opportunities in church services to translate from English to Spanish. God taught me significant spiritual lessons of greater dependence on him, the importance of enjoying the process of any given activity, and the necessity of prayer in difficult times.
God is doing a great work in Ecuador through YouthWorld. Please continue to join me in prayer for YouthWorld. I would also ask you to join with me in prayer specifically for three Ecuadorian leaders of the ministries: Pastor Pedro Pablo of Santos Pamba, Brother Mariano of Shandia, and Pastor Ramiro of Argelia Alta.
Thank you for your friendship, prayers, and support.

In Christ,

Chris

Heartland Alliance

This last group I have been hosting, Heartland Alliance, has worked at a school called Santos Pamba, spent time at Casa Gabriel, and is now ministering at Youth World’s new skate ministry called La Roca (The Rock). They are a group of about thirty with a positive attitude, hard work ethic, and hearts for the Lord.

We spent our first four ministry days at a school and church called Santos Pamba (Santos for holy and Pamba is Quecha for Land). We built a fence, stairs, helped build their roof, and repaired some electrical problems. In addition, we played soccer, ecu-volleyball (similar to nuke-em), and played with their kids.

The highlight of our time at Santos Pamba was talking and interacting with the women who cooked lunch and dinner for us. They made some tasty typical Ecuadorian meals of soup, rice, potatoes, meat, and salad. It was a fabulous cultural experience. I thoroughly enjoyed our time with them and the opportunity to be a part of a reciprocal relationship. Here at Youth World, we try to cultivate an experience where both the host church and the sending church give and receive. For example, the Santos Pamba dance team taught some of the girls on our team a dance, the choir invited our site host, Kristin, to be a part of their formal choir, and they invited me to accompany on the piano as Leigh (another host) sang with a woman from Santos Pamba. Not only did Heartland Alliance serve through construction, but they have also shared how they have been taught life lessons by partnering with Santos Pamba.


Saturday, we spent the day at Casa Gabriel. Casa Gabriel is a house for former street boys. It is not a typical homeless shelter or soup kitchen. Rather, it is a discipleship, education, and training program to equip these men to become ambassadors for Christ. All of the boys have to apply to be a part of the house and they receive formal education, learn about Christ, and some times they travel to the jungle to minister to the native people. God has transformed these young men into responsible, loving, and caring men of God.
Heartland Alliance exchanged testimonies with Casa Gabriel, played a large game of soccer with them, and wrote thank you notes to the sponsors of Casa Gabriel. The team thoroughly enjoyed their time with the guys.
Yesterday, our team spent time at Youth World’s newest ministry, La Roca. We went to a church service of the sponsoring church and then hung out for a best-trick competition.
One of the highlights in this block is our team debrief time. I have had the opportunity to lead worship for the team with another team member. It has been refreshing and encouraging to play with a talented musician.
It has been a blessing to walk with teams in their experience here in Ecuador. It has been a privilege to serve them and experience the culture of Ecuador for almost the entire summer. I am humbled when I think of all of my sponsors who are partnering with me to make this summer possible. I wish all of you could meet the pastors, leaders, and congregations of these churches and schools with which Youth World has a long-term relationship.
Thank you for your prayers. My health has been great the past two and a half weeks. Please continue to pray for me as I say my goodbyes and return back to the States in a week.

So much has happened!

Hello Everyone,

So much has happened since my last post! My apologies for my tardiness...

Our current team is a group from Alberta, Canada and they actually have their own blog.



I am super impressed with it...so check it out!

http://www.heartlandecuador.com/

God is so faithful.

I am continually reminded by the amazing ways in which he is working here in Ecuador.

I will post more soon!

Break My Heart Lord, for What Breaks Your Heart

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." ~James 1:27

Yesterday, our group from Chicago did house visits at Argelia Alta. This neighborhood is one of poorer neighborhoods in Quito. The Argelia Alta church does intentional home visits with different single mothers in community every week to teach their kids as well as connect with the mothers by having a Bible Study for them, praying for them, and giving them updates on new ministry events at Argelia Alta.

During our house visits, God broke my heart. I just about cried. Four of three different homes we visited, the mothers were not there. The kids were home alone. Their living conditions were less than ideal. Our ministry partner Magally played with the kids, read books to them, did crafts, and prayed over them. This was "religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless". HOW COOL!

Argelia Alta with Gaitersberg Presbyterian

Kairos Church and Staff Retreat

Here is a picture from last block. I am with the Pastor Jaime of Kairos church (on the left) and his son Yahir. Jaime is a missionary pastor and travels to different cities in Ecuador. Yahir is a civil engineer who serves diligently in the church. He hopes to be able to go to Seminary to work in full time ministry. I was blessed to spend time with Yahir and hear about his time he has spent in the jungle. Please join me in praying for them as their church's vision is to reach out to the five jungle communities in their area to provide them with better sanitation, education, and food once a month.

Today, we returned from our staff retreat. We took five days away from Quito to spend time together, rest, and reflect on our ministry here in Ecuador. It was encouraging to hear others' stories from the last block. It was a refreshing time to fellowship with one another, get some much needed rest, and even go running a couple mornings. It was great to be away, but I am also looking forward to the next group. I will be hosting a small group of five with another host, Amalia. She is from Ecuador and I am excited to work with her for the first time this summer. We will be serving at a place called Pan De Vida. It's a soup kitchen for the homeless in Quito.

God has been teaching me a difficult lesson on having boundaries on taking care of my body, getting enough sleep, exercise, and eating healthy food. It may sound a little bit like the obvious, but it's a lesson I'm continually learning.

God also reminded me of the importance of being a good steward while I handled all the finances for this past group of 31. It wasn't my money that I was managing with the group, but I still had to use it wisely. In the same way, the money I have...is not my own, it's God's money! I continue to recognize that I am just a conduit of his grace and resources to other people.

Thank you for your continued prayers for my health. They mean more than you know. The staff retreat was beneficial and I am starting to feel like myself again. Please pray for unity for Amalia and I as we lead the next team.

Blessings on You!

Puyo

Yesterday, I finished hosting a Presbyterian Church from Maryland. During their time here they worked at Argelia Alta, a school for underprivileged kids, a church, and a microfinance site. The school is a Compassion International ministry site through the sponsorship program. The group participated in home visits where they were able to pray for single mothers. They led four Vacation Bible Schools for the kids and helped out with construction. We built walls, lowered bricks, painted walls, and hauled potting soil. In addition to helping at the school, our group played soccer with the kids twice after school.

After Argelia Alta, we went to a jungle city called Puyo. There we connected with a church called Kairos. We played games with their youth group, shared testimonies, and ate pizza together. All the while, we did not have electricity-so it was a night to remember.

After our time in Kairos, we attended a retreat for five Christian Churches. We had a church service, group games, and then a soccer tournament.

Our time in Puyo was especially significant for me because I was able to hear about their ministry to five different jungle tribes. We helped the church paint their sanctuary and clear an area to make a soccer field.

On our way back from Puyo, we stopped at el Pailon del Diablo. It is a giant waterfall which literally means pod of the Devil. It was one of my top five experiences being so close to the waterfall from different observation decks. We also climbed behind the giant waterfall.

During final debrief, we were able to hear from the group what God had been speaking to them during their experience. One has decided he wants to start an outdoor ministry camp for kids, two girls have decided to research some tough questions about the Christian faith, a guy has decided to volunteer more in his community as a result of working with kids, and yet three others want to be intentional to reach out to their unsaved friends.

As for me, I think God taught me about the importance of resting in abiding in Him rather than worrying about minor details. It was a great experience for me to be in charge of the finances for the team and it will definitely prepare me for a future vocation.

Tomorrow, the staff will be taking a retreat to the beach.

Thanks for all your prayers. God is alive and well here all throughout Ecuador and Kairos church in Puyo is a confirmation of just that.

Please pray specifically for:

my health, my stomach has been upset recently

greater unity among us staff

that I would continue to take time to listen to God (John 10:27) even though things can get hectic with a team

A relaxing time at the beach

Translation Goof

I thought some of you would appreciate this slip up in translation...

Tonight, I called our bus driver to ask him to pick our team up at 7am to pack our bags. Instead of saying the word for suitcases, "maletas" , I said "muletas".

In essence, I asked him to come at 7am to pack our crutches, not our suitcases.

After I ended my conversation, my pareja, Rachel, quickly corrected me. :D

I'm hoping this isn't some sort of bad omen or something...

Fruit

Dear Supporters,

Our second team is actually from Maryland.

I am tremendously excited at what God is already doing in our team.

Today we helped out at a school/church called Argelia Alta. In our debrief time tonight, one shared that she actually knew God loved her for the first time in a month because her life circumstances have been convincing her otherwise. Another guy shared he hasn't been trusting God enough with his life because he hasn't felt like he has been able to be trusted by his friends and family. Yet another team member shared that they have been too lazy and now they want to take their relationship with God more serious.

All of these reflections help me to realize the importance of time with the team. I was telling one of the other hosts, Brandon, that if I can participate in an environment where children of God realize his unconditional love in a tangible way-all of the late nights and early mornings are totally worth it!

Thanks for your prayers...especially for my health. Things are getting better slowly, but surely.

Why Short Term Missions?

Often times I have heard, "Why do Short Term Missions?...You could have just sent the money to the country to have the natives do the work. More harm is done when gringos come." OR phrases like, "Short term missions only benefits the people coming. They experience a God high, get warm fuzzy feelings, and then return to their country."

If we are honest with ourselves, at one time or another we have all thought these things to some extent.

Here at Youth World, we believe that in fruitful short-term missions there is a reciprocal relationship and that all parties involved bear fruit (John 15). If God changes the course of one person's life because they participated in short term missions, is it worth it?

Yes, Absolutely!

There is a process that short term missionaries usually go through after completion of the ministry. The hope is that the end result is fruit!

Here is an excerpt from Dana, a full time staff member, in her blog:

"The Five F's is a process that many people go through upon returning home after a short term mission. Here they are:

"Fun": it's fun to speak English, flush toilet paper, drink Starbucks, see friends and family.

"Flee": Expectations of home don't meet reality. You expect people to care more and listen longer as you share about the mission. The people at home don't really get it, so the only people you want to be around are your team members.

"Fight": Your passion gets a little misplaced. You are filled with passion and motivation to change the world after everything you have seen and learned. You know God is calling you to a higher purpose, but you just find yourself fighting against your home culture. So you do things like: sleep on the floor instead of your bed because that's what you did in India, or take cold showers to identify with the people in Jamaica...but none of it actually makes a difference.

"Fit": You eventually have to reengage into life at home. You need friends, even if they don't understand. You have to go back to work or school, and slowly your life looks like it did before you ever got on a plane. Unfortunately, many people stop the process here.

"Fruit": The ultimate goal and expectation is that you would bear fruit as a result of the short term mission. Fruit looks different for everyone. Sometimes it means you start a scholarship program for kids at Argelia Alta, or read your Bible because you actually want to, or appreciate your family more, or change your major... Fruit is between you and God, so no fruit is better than another. This is one of the ways we can determine the success of a mission: if the team members bear fruit."

Can you relate to these things? We have been pointing all of these ideas back to John 15 where Jesus says, "Apart from Me You Can Do Nothing." It's only because of Jesus that we are able to live, breathe, and have our way...yes, and even participate in short term missions.

Be Blessed!