The proof of God is in the wonder that we see all around us.
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2) Guayllabamba, Ecuador - Tulcanza Family - Local Missionary Church with two outreach locations
3) El Batan Missionary Alliance Church - Ninos en Riesgo program for the street kids
4) Just For Kids Orphanage - Valle de los Chillos, Ecuador
5) Home of Hope - Malawi, Africa, Canadian Missionaries
6) Missionaries and mission trips that God plants in our hearts
7) Lima, Peru - The Pace Family, Victor in seminary school
The following are projects that we will be participating in while we are in Quito and would to include anyone that would like to participate.
OPCIÓN DE VIDA - the program that works with the children living in the streets that we have been working with the last six years
They have gotten a loan to build a dormitory style building on the site of their project in the park that would allow the children a place to sleep off the streets at night if they qualify for the program. They are asking for help of $500 to purchase tools, supplies, and materials for this project.
COBIJADOS CON EL AMOR Y LA TERNURA DE CRISTO - the same community group has the availability of purchasing 100 blankets for 100 children at $1 a piece. They also have the opportunity to take these blankets and using the children from the street project as "teachers" to bless other children in other parts of the city that don't have this option. The children the church has been working with would share bible lesson and the gospel with unchurched children. They need assistance with paying for transportation, gas, and food for the day. They have asked for the help of $300 to fund this project.
Photo Gallery
On the train ride to Buga, we were able to see a lot of variety in the countryside.
Unlike Georgia, this is the rainy season here and it rains buckets!
(We have a leaky roof to prove it that we are praying gets fixed soon.)
We were impressed at the number of stores where you could by any religious
article that you could have possibly wanted or thought of.
The Park of the Iguanas
Our big excursion this month was to go on the tourist train from Tebida to Buga. It was about 3 hours on the train that went all through the countryside through many small towns and communities. We had a pile of leaves and branches at our feet from everything we scraped on our way by! It was fun to see all the kids and people waving at the train and cheering like we were something special.
The Barranquero is the most unique bird we have encountered so far here in Colombia
It's a good thing bananas aren't too expensive because not only are the birds eating them by day, but the bats come by night!
You had to be cautious sticking your head out the window as there were many bushes and trees right on the track.
The school has been a good experience for us and we continue to learn as we go, be flexible, and be open to new ideas and experiences. Our big event this month was English Day on October 31st. It was a day we had to plan to try and promote the use of English at the school. Like most good plans, we had a lot of great ideas, but the application sometimes was a little tricky. The fact that we had to have a plan B in case the electricity was out and plan C in case of rain, made it a lot of work. We learned a lot about what to do differently the next time but I think it was overall a success. Our next event is Thanksgiving which may be interesting to recreate in a land without all the fixins'.
You can still see horses and carts working to transport goods from place to place. They don't look very comfortable, but seem to do the job.
The challenges we have faced here have been similar to those in previous locations though here we stick out more because there aren't as many foreigners or tourists in our area. I also don't have it in me to dress as a local because it goes beyond my personal level of modesty and comfort and we don't have as much opportunity to practice and work on our Spanish.
Many vendors were at the train stations to sell their wares
We are being patient to wait on God's plan but always on the look out for the people He places in our path to serve. Everything happens for a purpose, whether it be the long boring meeting we had today that kept us from being at home when the transformer blew and took out our upstairs neighbor's computer, or our students spending time with us at the bowling alley.
Our plans upcoming plans include the following:
December 15th - 26th - Quito, Ecuador - participate with the Ninos en Riesgo, Christmas Celebration at the three missions at Guayllabamba, and help with the single mothers emphasis at El Batan.
April - (dates to come) Quito, Ecuador - help with new church plants and outreach in Guayllbamba; construction of the one room building for services in Cheka. Anyone that is interested in participating in either trip is welcome and can contact us for more information. I wish I could say all mission trips were free, but unfortunately airfare is what it is and since we are working missionaries, we incur the same costs as well. We do the best we can at our end to minimize costs but maximize the experience. Contact us at steve_carpenter@hotmail.com or cathleen_carpenter@hotmail.com
The following are projects that we will be participating in while we are in Quito during Christmas and would to include anyone that would like to participate or assist financiallly.
OPCIÓN DE VIDA - the program that works with the children living in the streets that we have been working with the last six years
They have gotten a loan to build a dormitory style building on the site of their project in the park that would allow the children a place to sleep off the streets at night if they qualify for the program. They are asking for help of $500 to purchase tools, supplies, and materials for this project.
COBIJADOS CON EL AMOR Y LA TERNURA DE CRISTO - the same community group has the availability of purchasing 100 blankets for 100 children at $1 a piece. They also have the opportunity to take these blankets and using the children from the street project as "teachers" to bless other children in other parts of the city that don't have this option. The children the church has been working with would share bible lesson and the gospel with unchurched children. They need assistance with paying for transportation, gas, and food for the day. They have asked for the help of $300 to fund this project.
- church planting enthusiasm of new members in Chimburlo
- opportunity to purchase a used car that would meet our needs
- a visit to Ecuador and growing contacts with groups and projects in-country
- one quarter of the school year completed successfully
- we are surviving the winter rains
- good health and safe arrival of our newest nephew, Jason Patrick Clark
Prayer
- our roof to get fixed so it stops leaking into the buckets in our apartment
- Guidance on what we can do for God here
- For people to participate in Ecuador in future mission opportunities
- Pastor Marcelo and Thalia's son, Samuel, to continue to grow and develop without problems
- Continued support for Montebello and the school in Valle de los Chillos to reach their area with education and hope
- safety and salvation for the kids that participate with the Ninos en Riesgo
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