Today has been another packed day. We started at 7 with breakfast with the national director for the Assembly of God in Ecuador. Afterwards we went to the BLI office for reports from the staff there. I will give you some detail after I get home but it was fabulous. Oh before getting to the BLI office we stopped at a petroleum company. They serve all segments including agriculture, consumers, shipping and more. Its a very successful company that is owned by a woman which is very unusual. She was saved several years ago and is in love with Jesus. She has a Bible study in her home every week and another in the office every Monday morning. The pastor who is a BLI employee goes and leads our Project Phillip Bible study. Its voluntary but many come. The company virtually shuts down during that time. On May 1st they went to the river and baptized about ten of her employees. There was one that couldn't be there so the next week they brought in one of those big blue swimming pools, filled it with water and baptized him during work.

The employee Bible study is in the part where they are taught to go out and engage others in the first level Bible Study which is evangelistic. The employees reported with written reports of the persons name and testimony of 46 people they had led through the study. The Assembly of God National Director told us that they had trained 400 people to lead the Bible study last year and those people has already engaged 160,000 people in the Bible Study. That is nothing if its not powerful.

After BLI office we drove to Ancomcito for lunch. The women had prepared some kind of fish, rice and vegetables. It was very good. They had a picante' sauce that was the hottest I have ever eaten. But, it was among the most flavor packed no matter the heat factor.

After lunch the pastor took us on a tour of the church he started. He moved from Guayaquil in 2004 and started the church the near year with about 20 people. They now have over 100. This may the among the poorest I have ever seen. It is a fishing village. The shrimp fish. But the ocean is cool and the shrimp have moved to warmer water. As a result their income has been hunt badly. But inspite of that they have started 5 new churches. These churches are meeting in the Church Planters' homes. One of them had 15 adults and 20 kids. Another has about 20 people. All together they have about 100 in the new churches and over 100 in the mother church. One of the churches is in the Chief of Police's home and another of the churches is upstairs over a store.

The mother church has purchased 5000 square meters to build a new building. They are meeting outside right now.

We are now on our way back to Guayaquil. It will be another late night but only one more before I head home.
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I have been put of touch for a couple of days and I'm doing this from the road and my phone. The people we have met and the things we have experienced are nothing short of phenomenal. The meeting with the board, the pastors, getting to know Jorge in Tena, the ride down the river, its all been extraordinary. The thing that stands out the most are the lives being changed by the gospel and how God is working through Bible League to do it. I am thoroughly impressed with the BLI leadership in Ecuador. The commitment, the hardships and the results are amazing. I am honored and blessed to be a little part of it.

Right now we are on a dirt road that is the .ain road from Ambato to Guayaquil. It shouldn't even be called a road. The trip is averaging about 20 mph because of conditions. Add to the condition of the road fog and you have an idea why it takes 5 to 6 hours to get to Guayaquil from Ambato.

More to come. Thanks for praying for our trip.
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One of the interesting customs

I thought about something during the night that I think is interesting and more than a little gross. It's that they don't flush toilet paper here. Of course it could be worse. At least they use toilet paper. But, it's kinda strange to say the least, to me anyway.

Tomorrow, Saturday, as we travel down the Rios Napo in carved out canoes it should be interesting. I'm talking about every conceivable way but perhaps especially in bathroom facilities. Oh, they told us not to pee in the water. There are little small fish that follow the urine stream and live inside you as a parasite. I don't plan to even be in the water. Riding on top is fine but not in it.

Oh well, that's enough of the interesting tidbits at this point.

End of Thursday

Well, it's Thursday night and I'm exhausted. I don't remember being this tired in a long time. I'm sitting on my bunk wishing I were in it but I wanted to take this time to add this note.

Today has been really good. There have been many activities and many benefits to the day. First, the activities; we had a meeting all morning with the staff of Bible League Ecuador. It was amazing and I have written some about it previously. Then we went to an active volcano that has 16 families living in the crater. I have pictures. It's a beautiful place. It was very nice to see. We had lunch at a restaurant on the top and enjoyed the view. Afterward we went to the middle of the world. We actually stood on the line where the longitude is 00.00. The lady there demonstrated some very interesting things about the equator and about Ecuador. I will post pictures and video when I get home. Finally we went downtown Quito to see the Presidential Palace and other things in that area along with a statue of Mary that is more than 100 feet high on a very high hill overlooking the palace. It was a very interesting afternoon.

We got back to the house here at 9:30 and are getting ready to eat. It's 10 now.

I will try to add tomorrow but since we are headed for the jungle I am not sure I will have internet access. I did finally get my sim card for my phone so I at least can stay in touch with Angela by phone. My cell phone was supposed to have data access but I can not make it work so I may not have email or internet for 24 hours or so starting tomorrow about noon. I guess I will live.

Ecuador Staff

We are in the middle of a staff meeting. Right now introducing ourselves to each other. These people have such a wonderful, gracious and generous spirit. They have a servant's heart. They are:
Menia-in charge of finances-employed 7 years
Nancy-servant to the people-calling to missions and not married so she can do the missions God has called her to. Employed 1 year
Pastor-been here 5 years.
Marvin-serving with the League for 7 years.
Milton-Ecuador director-with League for 8 years.
One other person who works with Indians. Jorge.
The place we are staying is where they do the Church Planting training.

Our staff is a very interesting mix of people, personalities and gift. Ours range from 6 of us that are involved in raising funds, our development assistant, the webmaster, the ministry assistant for Latin America, the manager for the writers and the lady that manages the bookstore.

We are going to hear reports next of what they are being able to accomplish.

The Team

We all met in Miami but didn't really get a chance to visit until we arrived in Quito. They are all very nice and fun. I enjoyed all the banter and fun we had traveling here for the airport and while we were here last night.

I am going to enjoy getting to know them all.

We Arrived

We sat on the tarmac in Miami for about an hour and a half while they worked on the plane. They finally got it fixed and we left. We arrived in Quito about 8 p.m.

The airport is small and very third world in it's feel. Right outside there are buildings, businesses and so forth that have the feel of Tijuana. There are bars on all the windows and gates.

We got the house where we are staying. It's very nice. It's a large house with a big room used for a church on the back side. We, the men, are on the very top floor. There are six sets of bunk beds in the room.

I slept pretty well. One of the guys brought ear plugs which allowed me to sleep pretty well. It seems that everyone snored but I never heard it. It must have been pretty to hear.

This morning we are meeting with the Quito board and staff. This afternoon we are going to the center of the world. It's the exact spot of the equator.

So, that's about it for now. I will fill you in on more later.

Made it to Miami

Well, it was a very early morning. I was up at 3:30 a.m. and out the door by 4:15. Made it to the airport at 5:05, got checked in, said bye to Em and was through security and made it to the gate just in time to board. Flight was pretty uneventful. I had a really talkative couple behind me and they didn't know the meaning of a private conversation but I had my trusty Bose headphones and was able to block it all out and listen to music while I slept.

We arrived Miami about 5 minutes early even though we actually left St. Louis about 15 minutes late.

I'm sitting in a departure lounge people watching. I love to people watch and Miami is a great place to do it. You see some of the most interesting people.

Well, more later.

24 Hours and Counting

Tomorrow morning this time I will be on the 757 taxing towards the runway ready to fly to Miami. I guess that's contingent upon the plane being on time. Of course, I have no problem if it's late since my connection doesn't leave Miami until 3:25.

Several people have asked about fear. No, I'm not afraid. I am anticipating some new and very different things to experience. Among them is the time we will spend (approximately a day) on the Rio Napo (River). This is the river that feeds the headwater of the Amazon. We are going to visit about five or six villages on the River and will be traveling by boat. It appears that we will be traveling by canoe that has been carved from a tree. I can not find that there is another form of transportation and the villages are not accessible by the bus.

Today will be spent trying to make appointments for the time when I return and getting final details ready for the trip. Everything I have ordered has come except for the pants. Hopefully they will come today. The tracking info says to allow 2 to 3 more days for delivery. So, I may have to go buy some more.

Thank you for following along and for your prayers. I will do my best to update this daily if at all possible. As you can see from the itinerary it may be a challenge on days but will do my best.

Getting Ready to Go!

I am getting ready to head out to Ecuador. To that end, I am putting up a blog that will allow me to journal about my trip and to share it with others. I hope you find it to be a blessing.

In preparation I have purchased a pith helmet with a fan in it (I don't really enjoy heat.) It will help to keep my head cool and to help prevent sunburn. Ecuador is on the equator and with the son so close it is much easier to burn. And, several of the places we will be are very high altitude so I will be even closer to the sun.

I have also bought some all cotton, khaki pants for the time we are in the jungle. I will be wearing my jeans other times. We are not going to have to dress up. I am going to take a shirt that will be a little more dressy than the long sleeve t-shirts I have to take.

I have all kinds of stuff to help prevent sickness such as antiseptic spray for bug bites, anti itch spray for bug bites, pepto bismol for prevention and so forth. The food we will be eating is unusual so you have to prepare your stomach. Of course you don't drink the water, eat uncooked food and so forth.

I still have some minor things to do and packing. I leave Wednesday morning at 6:20 a.m. and plan to be at the airport at 5. This means leaving home at 4:15. I arrive in Miami 9:55 and we don't leave for Ecuador until 3:25 so it will be a long day. It's a four hour flight from Miami to Quito and we land at 6:25 p.m. They are in central time so it's the same as home. Here is the detailed itinerary:

October 14 -
6:20 AM – American Airlines Flight 1667
9:55 AM – Flight arrives in Miami
3:25 PM – American Airlines 931 Flight departs Miami – meet up w/other team members
6:25 PM – Arrives in Quito, Ecuador
8:30 -9:00 PM – Team Meeting (Quito)
October 15 - Thursday
8:00 – 11:00 AM - Meet w/ the Sierra Board Members we will have breakfast at the church house where BL team will be staying (Quito) 1 Testimony
12:00 – 6:00 PM – Lunch and middle of the world tour Pululahua (Quito)
7:00 – 8:30 PM – Dinner we will ride the “teleferico” depends on climate or historic center and museum (Panecillo)
October 16 - Friday
7:30 – 10:00 AM – Breakfast with the board ALBE (Quito)
10:00 – 1:00 PM – Visit Pastors, PP, PFP, CPI (Quito office) 1 Testimony
1:00 – 3:00 PM – Lunch back to the church house(Quito)
3:00 – 7:00 PM – Travel to Tena
7:00 – 8:30 PM – Dinner/Testimonies Pastor Jorgito Rodriguez (Tena) 1 Testimony
October 17- Saturday
6:30 – 7:00 AM Breakfast (Tena)
7:00 – 1:00 PM – Visit Napo River Community (see map) 1 Testimony
1:00 – 2:00 PM – Lunch (Tena)
2:00 – 6:00 PM – Visit the Guachiyacu community (Tena) 1 Testimony
6:00 – 9:00 PM – Travel to Ambato (staying the night in Chacauco)
October 18 - Sunday
7:00 AM – Breakfast (Chacauco)
8:00 – 9:30 AM – Travel to Baños (Baños)
10:00 – 11:30 AM – Hot Springs (Baños)
11:30 – 12:30 PM – Lunch (Baños)
12:30 – 2:00 PM – Travel to Ambato (visit Jean company)
2:00 – 4:00 PM – Attend service at a PP Church (Indigenous Church) (Ambato)
5:00 – 10:00 PM – Travel to Guayaquil (in route to Guaranda)
10:00 – 10:30 PM – Dinner (Guayaquil)
October 19 - Monday
7:00 – 8:00 AM - Breakfast w/ District director of the coast (Assemblies of God) Largest Church in Ecuador (Guayaquil)
8:00 – 10:00 AM - visit PP church Jacinta (Guayaquil)
10:00 – 11:00 AM – Visit BL office (Guayaquil)
11:00 – 1:00 PM – Travel to Anconcito w/ Pastor Abdon Comboza (Santa Elena)
1:00 – 2:00 PM – Lunch (Santa Elena, Jujan)
2:00 – 6:00 PM – Visit New Churches Generation CPI (Santa Elena, Jujan)
6:00 – 8:00 PM – Return to Guayaquil (Gran Hotel Guayaquil)
8:00 – 9:00 PM – Dinner (Guayaquil)
October 20 - Tuesday
7:00 – 8:00 AM – Breakfast (Guayaquil) Gran Hotel Guayaquil
8:00 – 12:00 PM – Visit Jujan Pastor Victor Chong (Jujan)
12:00 – 1:00 PM – Lunch (Jujan)
1:00 – 2:30 PM – Return to Guayaquil
3:00 – 5:00 PM – Market Place
5:00 – 7:00 PM – visit PP Church in the Foothills of del Carmen (Guayaquil)
7:00 – 9:00 PM – A walk thru Malecon and dinner (Guayaquil)
9:00 PM – REST
October 21 Wednesday
10:00 AM – American Airlines Flight 952 leaves from Guayaquil
3:15 PM – Arrive in Miami
8:05 PM – American Airlines flight 1927 leaves Miami
9:50 PM – Arrive in St. Louis

I will attempt to write every day at least once. If I have internet access it wont be a problem but otherwise it will be when I get connected. Please keep the entire team in your prayers. There are three of us that work in development and about 7 others that are going.