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

our big girl

It's hard to believe that Tabitha is already 18 months old!  The months are flying by and she's so big; I don't feel like I have a baby anymore!  I do ask her every day if she's still my baby, and she always answers with a smile and a sweet "yeah". 

Tabitha is saying new words every day and is very communicative.  Even with all of her new words, my favorite is still to hear her call "Mommy" or "Daddy."   It's also very cute when she says "lala" (hola) or "chao!" 

Women's retreat!

This year, our church, el Templo Bautista de Atenas, had its very first women's retreat.  A women's retreat may sound like something that is normal for church ministry...  However, this was such a very special event for us because not only because it was a first, but also because it would seem like something our church people would not be able to afford.  God orchestrated things in such a way that 15 women gathered at a local hotel for all of Friday, Friday night, and part of Saturday.  For most of the women attending, it was their first time to ever attend a retreat or to have a night away from their families!  (Ladies in the USA, can you imagine that... to have never, not even as a teenager or young adult, attended a ladies' retreat?)

sharing a meal together

The women of our church worked hard to make this happen.  Many of them sold watermelons door to door to have the one night at a rustic hotel.  Others worked extra jobs cleaning houses.  And, their motivation wasn't to "get away" or to have "me time" or even to "hang out with the girls" (not that those things are wrong, but these ladies' motivation was greater).  They were truly excited about the spiritual lessons anticipated through this retreat.   The theme was "Señor, sana mis heridas" (Lord, heal my wounds).  We studied the name "Jehovah Rapha" (the Lord heals) and how our spiritual and emotional wounds are healed by God.  We looked at God's soveriegnty and the role of suffering in our walk with Him.  We also discussed letting go of holding on to bitterness and hurt caused by old wounds.  The teaching was very impactful for many of the women.  I was really encouraged to hear from various women about what they learned both from the large group talks and from their personal times in prayer during this retreat.  Although it wasn't a passage used in the talks, I feel like Hebrews 12:1-3 well encompass the focus and theme of this time:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.  Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

with my lovely roommates: Felicia, Kathya, and Adriana

It was so fun to room with some sweet Tica friends!  I was in a room with two hermanas that I know fairly well, Felicia and Kathya, and then one of our speakers, Adriana, who is a missionary from Argentina.  As we were getting ready for bed, we were surprised by a serenata by some of the youth and husbands of the church.  It was really sweet!  It was fun to stay up very late talking and getting to know each other better, snug in our pjs and sitting in our four twin beds.  I found out that even when they stay up talking late into the night, Ticas still rise before dawn to shower and get ready for the day!  I took the opportunity to slip out and have some alone time with God while watching the sun rise. 

the women of Templo Bautista de Atenas

I am so thankful that the women of our church were able to have this special time together.  I am really excited about some upcoming studies and events we have planned for our women's ministry in the next several months.  Ladies reading this blog, the next time you have a time away, whether it's a morning Bible study at church or a women's getaway, please think of your sisters here in Costa Rica and pray for us!

Did you see THIS today?

I'm thinking that most likely anyone reading this blog from the States did NOT see what I saw today... 

Let's check.

Any of you see a man carrying a butchered pig, completely uncovered and slung over his shoulder, across the street and into a grocery store???

No?

Well, this is what I saw as Tabitha and I were walking through the main shopping street of our little town today.  I was just a little grossed out. 

front porch frolic

Not much makes me happier than seeing our two little ones love being together. Timmy and Tabitha are thrilled to be together after he gets home from school and they always have a good time running back and forth on our front porch. It's so cute!

running from one end...

... to the other...

... again...

... and again.

She absolutely adores her big brother!

How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!  Psalm 133:1

That verse often comes to mind during these times of happy frolicking.  I'm thankful for these moments; they truly are the balm I need when there disputes over toys or a clamoring for mommy's attention.  I'm excited to see their friendship grow as they get older!

first day of school

Before we left for our furlough last year, we decided that when we came back, we'd have Timmy go to a local bilingual preschool.  Even though he's lived in Costa Rica his whole life, his Spanish is still very limited and we were realizing that the older he gets, the harder it will be for him to develop friendships here and really be able to participate in the life of our church if he doesn't know Spanish better.  So, we're sending him to school this year!  We chose this particular school since it was bilingual (Spanish and English), so Timmy will be able to learn Spanish but not be totally overwhelmed by it.  The school year starts in February here so we got back just in time for him to be there on the first day.

He was pretty nervous at first, but now he loves it!  I'm so proud of him being so brave.  He's the only foreigner in the class and so the only kid who doesn't speak Spanish well.  He's doing great and I'm so thankful!


Some photos of his first day:

Tabitha posing with her big brother before school

Timmy's classroom

the "hallway" - I love that so much school time is spent outside here!

happy after his first day of pre-kinder



Isn't it cute to see all of those preschoolers in their little uniforms?  So far, we've been impressed by the school.  It is very well-organized and they do a good job of keeping the parents informed.  Please pray for him to learn Spanish through this time at school.  And, pray for his mama who misses him while he's there!