Right now we are at Bennie's house again. Yesterday we did get to spend time at Ganas which is a house for children whose parents are either in jail , abandoned them or had to give them away because they couldn't financially provide for them. We cleaned floors in the dorms and dining room and cleaned bathrooms. Then we got to play with the kids. There is about 25-30 kids/teens that live there. The SOBA team and KC team will be heading back there next Friday and Saturday to do a VBS for them.
Yesterday and today have been days to kind of recover/relax and get ready for going back to the jungle. We all went to the hospital on Wednesday night. Melissa is still needing to regain her strength as she is fighting a stomach infection. Please keep praying for her so she may rejoin the team. She has been staying at Bennie and Patty's house for the past few days. She was pretty sick on the drive to Quito from Manta.
Bethany, Haley and Sarah were treated for traveler's diarrhea no parasites!!! YAY!!! We were given meds and 6 Pedialytes to all drink over three days!!
So again the goal is to get as healthy as we can before leaving tomorrow morning at 8am. We are joined with the Kansas City team tonight- they arrive around 11:30pm. Tomorrow we leave and are very excited (yes, in the midst of getting sick) to get back to the people we have met and left. I realize a lot of our updates have been about our sickness, and I haven't really spent time sharing about all the amazing times we have had.
We will being hosting a VBS in the village Monday- Wednesday. Then, Thursday is a free day!!! Friday and Saturday we'll spend the morning at "Ganas" the house for children. Then we'll spend the afternoons in a Park near the church serving alongside the members of La Vina! Then Sunday, we'll have church with La Vina (our first Sunday in QUITO!) and then we will head back on Monday! It'll fly by!!!
Thank you all for your prayers!
Friday, July 15, 2011
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Update: Words from Haley
Hey this is Haley and right now we are in Quito. We just finished dinner with Bennie and his family at his house. Which was really good to have a sit down dinner at their house that was the first time SOBA got to eat at their house.
Last week when we were in the jungle and i thought it was amazingly beautiful. I loved all the different kinds of butterflies there were. There was one in particular butterfly that I really loved seeing- is super pretty it's black with white swirls and on the inside of the wings it's blue and black with a red spot. Because I am the only girl from our school who isn't afraid of bugs i was the official "bug exterminator" for the girls. I knew my role- to come running every time I heard a scream or a shrek!!
From the moment we arrived the people who greeted us were very nice and hospitable. Especially the pastor's wife, Sanda! When we were all sick she became all of our "Moms" and took care of us. She brought us special tea at night.
The kids are sooo sweet!! It's really cool to see them grow in interaction with us and be so happy that we are there. And by teaching them a clapping game i learned in high school; it was really fun to hear and learn all the words in English! They are soo cute when they are saying it back. Can't wait till VBS in the jungle.
I'm still very tired and exhausted. Please pray that I'd be renewed, especially when the KC team comes tomorrow. There is still over a week left! Plenty of time left.
Last week when we were in the jungle and i thought it was amazingly beautiful. I loved all the different kinds of butterflies there were. There was one in particular butterfly that I really loved seeing- is super pretty it's black with white swirls and on the inside of the wings it's blue and black with a red spot. Because I am the only girl from our school who isn't afraid of bugs i was the official "bug exterminator" for the girls. I knew my role- to come running every time I heard a scream or a shrek!!
From the moment we arrived the people who greeted us were very nice and hospitable. Especially the pastor's wife, Sanda! When we were all sick she became all of our "Moms" and took care of us. She brought us special tea at night.
The kids are sooo sweet!! It's really cool to see them grow in interaction with us and be so happy that we are there. And by teaching them a clapping game i learned in high school; it was really fun to hear and learn all the words in English! They are soo cute when they are saying it back. Can't wait till VBS in the jungle.
I'm still very tired and exhausted. Please pray that I'd be renewed, especially when the KC team comes tomorrow. There is still over a week left! Plenty of time left.
Monday, July 11, 2011
We are in Manta right now! which is a beautiful coastal city! we left our village yesterday around 1pm...we thought we were taking a taxi but realized we could 'catch the bus.' so we all ran to the bus as he stopped right before crossing the river! we made it to the bus and then took the ferry across....i have pictures but basically the bus drove up on a wooden flat boat and they chained us down and off we went across the river!!! it was exciting and fun! Then, we took three buses to get to Manta (the last bus ride was 11 hours and started at 8pm last night) we arrived early this morning!! We were able to go to the beach today which was a lot of fun. We had lunch with Bennie, Patty, Ashley and Trinity.
Yesterday (Sunday morning) we were asked to help with the church's baptisms. We helped the pastor, Enrique with a total of about 25-30 baptisms in the river. Many were from the village we had been staying in and the other half were from a neighboring village. It was really honoring to be a part of this amazing celebration.
On Saturday- the students and staff helped kill three chickens that were served for Sunday's lunch! The brave souls to slit the throats were Zach, Michelle and Melissa. It was definitely an experience!! Again, we have plenty of pictures to later post.
**Health Update**
Right now we have a pretty healthy team. Most people were healthy by the time we left last night for our venture to Manta. We truly believe the "schedule change" that Bennie sent out in his email update was definitely a God thing. We stayed in the jungle for 10 days (not the original scheduled plan) and it really tested us as a group to push through the difficult times, yet it made us fully depend on God and each other through it all. ThAnK yOu for all your prayers!!!!
We are all wanting a good night's rest for our last day in Manta tomorrow. Thank you for all your prayers.
**Thanks to Patty for letting me use her laptop!!**
Yesterday (Sunday morning) we were asked to help with the church's baptisms. We helped the pastor, Enrique with a total of about 25-30 baptisms in the river. Many were from the village we had been staying in and the other half were from a neighboring village. It was really honoring to be a part of this amazing celebration.
On Saturday- the students and staff helped kill three chickens that were served for Sunday's lunch! The brave souls to slit the throats were Zach, Michelle and Melissa. It was definitely an experience!! Again, we have plenty of pictures to later post.
**Health Update**
Right now we have a pretty healthy team. Most people were healthy by the time we left last night for our venture to Manta. We truly believe the "schedule change" that Bennie sent out in his email update was definitely a God thing. We stayed in the jungle for 10 days (not the original scheduled plan) and it really tested us as a group to push through the difficult times, yet it made us fully depend on God and each other through it all. ThAnK yOu for all your prayers!!!!
We are all wanting a good night's rest for our last day in Manta tomorrow. Thank you for all your prayers.
**Thanks to Patty for letting me use her laptop!!**
Friday, July 8, 2011
We are in the JUNGLE!!!
Hola amigos and prayer warriors!! Update from the SOBA 2011 group! Right now i (Sarah) am sitting in the town of Palora, which is a 20 minute bus ride from the town of San Jose de Palora (the village we are in). please excuse the typing and grammatical errors. i am trying to type fast to catch our bus back. so we got to the town of San Jose last thursday. we were greated by an amazing and very welcoming group from the community. right away we realized that this it the ´missionary´experience you read about. our home is a wooden shack with a slab of cement as the floor. we are grateful to have our mosquito nets!!! but it has become home and each day we are learning more and more with how to survive and enjoy living in the jungle.
teaching started on friday with zach. he did an amazing job with the IBS overview. there were probably 30 students whose ages ranged from teenagers to adults in their 50´s. it was very awesome to see that they were HUNGRY to know how to study God´s Word from the first day!!!! Thanks to Bennie´s church we were able to give them all Bibles, some for the very first time and some who needed new ones because of the years of use. I video taped the passing of the Bibles out and will post when we get back to Boise.
The next day Bethany taught Obervation through the book of Philemon. we took a break on sunday. we attened the church service there and hung out with the people in the community. they took us on a ´two´hour hike through the amazon, which ended up taking 4 hours because we stopped at a friend´s mother´s house along the way. then tuesday michelle taught interpretation. then, haley taught on tuesday with application...and God showed up. God used us and the fellow church members´/students to pray over one student though her personal prayer ministy. it was really awesome to see God´s Holy Spirit move all over that room.
**so i have to skip to other things** please keep praying for healing. we have 4 team members who are very sick right now. Eric, Melissa Haley and Zach. All of them missed class today and have been sleeping most of the day. PLEASE pray for healing. God has healed me, today i feel better....and today is the first day Eric has been really sick. I was sick for three days. Bethany has been sick on and off for the past three day. PLEASE pray for continued protection for Michelle!! She has not gotten sick. That´s all i can do for now. i will update in few days. sorry!!
teaching started on friday with zach. he did an amazing job with the IBS overview. there were probably 30 students whose ages ranged from teenagers to adults in their 50´s. it was very awesome to see that they were HUNGRY to know how to study God´s Word from the first day!!!! Thanks to Bennie´s church we were able to give them all Bibles, some for the very first time and some who needed new ones because of the years of use. I video taped the passing of the Bibles out and will post when we get back to Boise.
The next day Bethany taught Obervation through the book of Philemon. we took a break on sunday. we attened the church service there and hung out with the people in the community. they took us on a ´two´hour hike through the amazon, which ended up taking 4 hours because we stopped at a friend´s mother´s house along the way. then tuesday michelle taught interpretation. then, haley taught on tuesday with application...and God showed up. God used us and the fellow church members´/students to pray over one student though her personal prayer ministy. it was really awesome to see God´s Holy Spirit move all over that room.
**so i have to skip to other things** please keep praying for healing. we have 4 team members who are very sick right now. Eric, Melissa Haley and Zach. All of them missed class today and have been sleeping most of the day. PLEASE pray for healing. God has healed me, today i feel better....and today is the first day Eric has been really sick. I was sick for three days. Bethany has been sick on and off for the past three day. PLEASE pray for continued protection for Michelle!! She has not gotten sick. That´s all i can do for now. i will update in few days. sorry!!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Estamos en QUITO, Ecuador!!
We left Miami yesterday afternoon and arrived at Quito early evening (central time). Last night the SOBA students were able to meet Bennie Gonzales and his family Patty, Ashley, and Trinity. After dropping off our stuff at La Viña (The Vineyard church) we all piled into Bennie´s SUV. That´s 12 people ;) in his 7 passenger vehicle!!!! welcome to Quito!! it was only for a very short distance, so we could experience some local flavor for dinner. we dined at a street vender and then walked to a small group at some church member´s house. we got to meet some people who have been a part of La Viña since it first start (about 4ish years ago). we jumped off the deep end and were quickly immersed into the culture because they were all speaking Spanish muy rapido (VERY FAST). Melissa, Bethany and Sarah can understand and speak a little bit of Spanish, but for the others it was a ´little bit´of a cultural shock. ;) BUT they enjoyed just getting to observe and laugh as people spoke Spanish and used their hands to talk, which helped understand what they were saying...kind of. :) Then we came back to La Viña where we are staying for a few days. We had very nice cots to sleep on!!!
Today we are at La Viña and just finished eating breakfast. The students are prepping for their teachings that begin in a few days. This morning they met as a group and decided who would be teaching what parts of the Inductive Study Method. After all their work today, we hope to go down town and walk around Quito´s historical parts of town. Tomorrow we leave for Puyo. Please continue to pray for our team and every person we come in contact with.
Today we are at La Viña and just finished eating breakfast. The students are prepping for their teachings that begin in a few days. This morning they met as a group and decided who would be teaching what parts of the Inductive Study Method. After all their work today, we hope to go down town and walk around Quito´s historical parts of town. Tomorrow we leave for Puyo. Please continue to pray for our team and every person we come in contact with.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Estamos en Cuidad de Sal Largo- :)
Well, guess I (Sarah) need some more brushing up on my Spanish and I'll get plenty of practice down in Ecuador. We are in Salt Lake City right now. We drove here yesterday right after church and stayed the night with Melissa's family. We leave for Miami this afternoon and will have a 13 hour layover and leave in the morning for Quito. We will arrive in Quito on Tuesday and spend Wednesday getting adjusted to the change and go through some training with Bennie Gonzales. Then on Thursday we will take a bus to the village town of Puyo and from there go further in to the jungle. Bennie will leave to go back to Quito that night, but we will have two translators with us. And Bennie is connecting us to his local contact who is a native of the town/village. The first few days will be very typical costume of 'warm climate cultures,' we will spend time getting to know one another. We pray for a supernatural connection with them that surpasses all language barriers.
Then the students will begin their teachings early next week. Please be praying for them. We have been told that there will be 40-50 leaders from the communities that will attend the students' teachings. Each student did really well on Friday and we (Eric, Melissa and myself) KNOW that they will do well. Please keep them in prayer....it's a very stretching experience, but may of them have said they want to grow in teaching while on this outreach. I hope to got to an internet cafe by the end of the first week to update again, but for additional updates please sign up at Bennie Gonzales webpage to receive updates form him about our group. Sign up for SOBA2011 and Summer2011.
www.gonzalesfam.com
Thank you for all your prayers, support and future prayers. We know we have an amazing family back in Boise, we are very grateful to be commissioned and sent out by true Disciplers.
Then the students will begin their teachings early next week. Please be praying for them. We have been told that there will be 40-50 leaders from the communities that will attend the students' teachings. Each student did really well on Friday and we (Eric, Melissa and myself) KNOW that they will do well. Please keep them in prayer....it's a very stretching experience, but may of them have said they want to grow in teaching while on this outreach. I hope to got to an internet cafe by the end of the first week to update again, but for additional updates please sign up at Bennie Gonzales webpage to receive updates form him about our group. Sign up for SOBA2011 and Summer2011.
www.gonzalesfam.com
Thank you for all your prayers, support and future prayers. We know we have an amazing family back in Boise, we are very grateful to be commissioned and sent out by true Disciplers.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Vamos a ECUADOR!!
The students are getting geared up for OUTREACH to Ecuador by having a mock teaching tomorrow! They will get to practice teaching the Inductive Bible Study Method to our SOBA class. Please pray for each SOBA student as they are preparing their teachings for Friday and for next month. SOBA starts the journey to Ecuador this Sunday. We will leave after being prayed over during 2nd Service. We will enter the Amazon Jungle from the town of Puyo sometime next week. . Please pray for supernatural relationships to be formed with people that we meet, that the Language of Loving God would surpass the barrier of not speaking the same verbal language. We will be spending a total of 3 to 3.5 weeks in the jungle. There will be occasional trips out of the jungle, but on mission trips very little is ever really “set in stone.’’ J The students will be teaching the Inductive Study Method through a few books with some of the possibilities being: Philemon, Titus, Philippians, Colossians, and Ephesians. Please pray for vision and wisdom for deciding what books to teach and that the needs will be clearly highlighted from God. SOBA will be teaming up with 4 people from Kansas City North’s Vineyard for the last 10 days of outreach. Together they will be running a Vacation Bible School in the jungle villages and in the city of Quito. The heart is to help the leadership in the Jungle Villages learn how to personalize their own VBS and utilizing their own resources. Please pray for each child that comes through the VBS that they would feel empowered and know they have an important place in God’s Kingdom. Please Pray for the adults that they would experience their inner ‘child-like’ spirit and enjoy freedom from a child-like faith.
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| SOBA 2011 Ecuador Outreach Team Bethany, Sarah, Haley, Zach, Eric and Michelle (Not Picture: Melissa) |
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