Ecuador
Community Service Projects -
2006
The summer was full of opportunity to see what God was doing in Ecuador
and where we were needed to continue to support the projects we'd
started there.
Working with the Opcion
de Vida program sponsored by El Batan Christian Church allowed for a
lot of variety. Each day, Tuesday through Friday, the center is open in
a central park where the kids that live in the streets can come to
shower, get a meal, receive computer and other education programs, and
are given the materials and information to hopefully help them change
their lives. Meeting the physical needs of an individual are essential
to building that relationship to share the message of Christ.
About 100
different kids ages 3-15 show up throughout the week, averaging about
45 a night.
This year has been a great year for them in his opinion
as they
have seen growth in the membership, huge interest in the music worship
with the additional instruments CMC has helped them purchase, and an
energetic man interested in taking up the role of minister to the youth.
Working with the students on
computer and various projects helps them to feel successful and see
that there are other options.
Four times a year,
children who suffer from brittle bones and related problems come to the
center for three day stints to receive medicines and treatments that
have helped their conditions tremendously. This is only one of a
variety of programs that has been started and become available only
recently because of the development of the center.
Volunteers
work in the kitchen and with the childen on programs each night. They
even make jelly and other products to sell to help raise money for the
center. Many youth groups coming through Quito on other mission trips
stop and help out at the center for a day when they realize the need is
there.
Ecuador continues to be a place
that can benefit from our help and prayers.
- A new school is opening up in the Valle de los Chilles with the
Just for Kids Orphanage that will provide an opportunity for an
education to many children in the valley that currently receive none.
- A house church has grown out of Caleb Connection program that has
been meeting the needs of many that were looking for answers outside
the Catholic Church and a small group setting to help them grow
- Two seminary students from the Guayllabamba church are studying in
Ecuador and Peru and need our support and prayers
- The Opcion de Vida program is working with the city of Quito to build
a dormitory next to the center to provide more support and safety for
the children and needs support in that area
- A car or van for the church in Guayllabamba to increase their
effectiveness and for safety issue as well
Our prayer for Ecuador is for
others to catch the vision and want to be a part of the blessing
through mission work there.
The children's Sunday School class in
Guayllabamba
return to Summer
Newsletter