La Palabra de Vida Camp, Ecuador



Dan, high above the
city of Quito, Ecuador

I (Dan) returned from my most recent project trip way back at the beginning of March, but I am only just now getting the opportunity to write just a little about what the trip was like.
The project was located about an hour northwest of Quito, Ecuador.  The ministry we were serving was called Word of Life, or Palabra de Vida in Spanish.  They are an international organization based in New York State that specializes in reaching youth for Christ through camps and Bible institutes throughout the world.  This particular project consisted of two principal objectives.  First, we needed to develop a master plan for a recently acquired property.  Secondly, we needed to provide a detailed design for a multipurpose cafeteria building that would be the centerpiece of the camp.



Dan and the mountains of
the Ecuadorian rainforest

One of the challenges an EMI project leader faces is the fact that our designers are volunteers, combined with the fact that it is impossible for those volunteers to complete their designs during the project trip.  After they return from the trip, they have been away from their families and from their work for over a week so they have a lot to attend to.  This sometimes means that it takes the volunteers some time to catch up to the point that they can complete their design.
The reason I haven’t had time to write is because I have had the opposite problem!  I have received so much information from my volunteers so quickly and they have been so responsive that I’ve been swamped with work.  This devotion is also indicative of the project trip itself.


The project team in downtown Quito, Ecuador

Even before I left, I was worried about several challenges:

• We were going to the Ecuadorian rainforest during the rainy season!   Were we crazy? 
• We had only three days to survey a 60 acre site on the side of a mountain and surveyors can’t work in the rain.  How will we do it? 
• We had to design a multipurpose cafeteria and complete the design so that they can start construction and enclose the building before the beginning of the next rainy season.  Is that even possible?

Providentially, God assembled the perfect team to meet these challenges:

• The team was experienced.  Between the nine volunteers on the trip, only one had never done an EMI trip before; the total EMI trip experience of the team totaled over 40 project trips!
• There were two surveyors.  As the team was being recruited, no surveyors could commit to the trip, so we kept in contact with two in case one fell through.  In the end, they were both able to make the trip.
• The team was dedicated.  For example, one surveyor, along with Brad the intern as a rodman, consistently woke up at first light in order to take advantage of the morning when it was less likely to rain.

early morning surveying

However, despite all this, three days into the trip, I was even more worried.  Because of scheduling requirements, travel, and other delays, we were still working on programming on Monday afternoon.  Typically, I like to have programming complete by the end of the day Sunday!  (Programming is the time we meet with the client ministry to discover exactly what they need and want from our design, and we can’t even begin the design until this is complete.)  We were almost a day behind when we were already under a tight time crunch.  I was more and more worried about how this project would get completed.
But that would be the end of my worries.  Beginning on Tuesday morning, the talents and gifts that God had given the team that He assembled shone through like the sun piercing the thick mist of the Ecuadorian mountain rainforest.

The sun rises over the misty rainforest mountains

• Because of their experience, the volunteers knew exactly what data they needed and how to find them.
• The two surveyors were able to divide the site between them, and even though it did rain quite a bit, they were able to complete the survey of the most important, developable areas.  In fact, the rain gave them the much needed time to coordinate their work.
• Through the dedication of Fred, the architect, and Kevin, another intern who would spend the sunny hours as a rodman for a surveyor and the rainy hours assisting Fred, the basic architectural design was completed by the end of the day Wednesday!

Showing the ministry the design for the first time

Finalizing the design back in Quito

Moreover, this level of commitment has continued to today.  Just days after the team returned home, we started receiving design information from the volunteers, and it hasn't stopped yet.  Today, we are still sorting through the emails and comments that have continued to arrive from the volunteers.  As a result, we have already sent preliminary documents to the ministry for construction estimates.  This will likely end up as one of the most successful project trips I have been a part of.  Thank you for your passion and dedication, team, and thank You, Lord, for always providing exactly what we need.

 

Master Plan



Multipurpose Cafeteria, Exterior Rendering