Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

April 27, 2007

Our family has been known to slip and slide on a large black tarp with dish soap and even show up to the snow with plastic bags tied around the kids feet then slipped in their shoes. So when Howard asked for a white pillowcase to wrap around his neck so he could go collect honey from the beehives, I was not one bit surprised. Along with three other workers, they collected about 5 gallons of raw honey. Howard’s job was to be the “smoker”, which meant he stood the best chance of not getting stung by the bees. The whole thing just made me laugh and again illustrates how we ended up here in Ecuador. My husband with his “can do” attitude make him a perfect fit for this job, and really the workers already respond to him with the same sense of purpose.

The funny thing is I knew moving here was a fit for Howard; I wasn’t so sure about myself. And yet, I find myself absolutely loving the people and the country. Only God could put that love in my heart for the people here in Ecuador. I can’t wait until my Spanish is ample to go meet the people in the Barrio near us. As of now, we have a very vigorous waving relationship. There is one older woman who is always sitting on the same tree stump when we head to Quito. At first she wouldn’t wave, but now I’m pretty sure I am her new best friend. We knew coming in, the language would be our toughest obstacle, yet now our motivation is so high, because “we want” to communicate, more specifically, to communicate the life saving message of Jesus Christ.

Bridget headed home this week. Please pray for her as she transitions back to life in L.A. Pray specifically for a place to live, what school to attend next year and that her job will continue to be so accommodating. Finally, could you pray for her health, while she was here she really struggled with both the altitude and whatever “bug” was going around. Tuesday night, Don Victor, the senior member of the workers came to the house to pronounce a blessing on Bridget. Doris was here for my Spanish lesson and Howard asked her to interpret for us, and the really cool thing was, we didn’t need her to interpret, we understood! Then later as we drove back in from dinner, while Andres was opening the gate for us, Marlene’ came out and pronounced a similar blessing. Bridget was only here for less than two months, and yet so many already had welcomed her as part of their extended family.

One thing I forgot to mention last week is we have added another Spanish teacher. Daniel (pronounced Danielle which makes it a little confusing); Doris’ boyfriend is also an English teacher so he started last week for two hours with Howard. This has been good for Howard to “hear” a male voice and also Daniel is “muy tranquilo.” Howard is also a verbal learner, and Daniel spends a lot of time dialoguing with him. This also means Daniella (Danielle pronounced in Spanish) and I spend two hours each with Doris, so our acquisition has already increased.

This morning we got up early to go and get our Censos, which is the equivalent to a green card. We arrived before the office opened to get our numbers. We were one of the first to be called, only to be sent out to get pictures next door. When we arrived back we had to get new numbers and what should have been a quick process ended up taking the whole morning. I told the kids their school today was about government and “red tape!”

We appreciate each of you and are constantly reminded how much we rely on you,

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

April 20, 2007

As we come to the end of our second month here in Calacali, our family has settled into a nice routine. Howard is up and out of the house by 7:00 each morning to meet with the workers to get their day started. The kids and I work on school and Spanish homework. Once Jonathan completes his school work, he heads out to see if he can help his dad or the interns who are here. Danielle has a nice scrap booking area set up and works on that a little each day.

Andres, the guard at the camp here is a Cofan Indian and recently got married to a young woman from Peru named Marlene. One evening a couple of weeks ago, they brought their wedding pictures to the house and we had a fun evening of learning more about them and their cultural traditions. One of Danielle’s projects is to now make them a scrap book for some of their wedding pictures. Again, they knew just enough English and with our combined family, we knew enough Spanish to interact. Although, by the end of the evening my brain was completely fatigued!

At the end of the camp last week, Howard noticed the water tanks were almost out. Even though it is the rainy season the camp is still running low on water. So, Howard and Jonathan hiked up the mountain to check the water source. The news was not good; it is only putting out 4 liters/minute, where it was putting out 4 gallons/minute. In an attempt to figure out why, Howard and Jonathan went up the valley and discovered the water is coming out sixty feet below the collection point. So now the process starts to try and remedy the problem before future work teams arrive. Howard has also been spending time doing some tractor work. He has been mowing the new soccer field and the future paint ball field. As you can imagine with the rainy season the weeds are out of control. He also has been working on the road into and out of El Refugio.

This last Sunday was an election day in Ecuador. 80% of the population voted to allow the constitution of Ecuador to be rewritten. This is viewed as an overwhelming affirmation of President Correa. Pray for the leaders here in Ecuador and for protection, through what could be, at least a ten month process.

As always we covet your prayers and appreciate your partnership with us as we minister. We also love hearing from each of you and news from your lives.
As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

April 10, 2007

Howard and Jonathan woke up early on Easter morning to get a campfire started on the Mirador, a bald knob on the property of HER (Hacienda El Refugio). From this vantage point a person can see a couple of miles through the valley from where HER is located. We were joined by about 40 people from both the Youth World staff and friends for a time of prayer, praise and then Russ Cline preached an Easter message for us. Following the sunrise service, we gathered at the work team house for breakfast. The kids then had a time of games; well I have to qualify that, because actually the adults were playing the games right along side the kids. What struck me is how “normal” the day seemed with egg hunts and tosses, a completely carbed out meal and kids eating way to much candy. These traditions, I believe are what have made the transition for our family so smooth.

Monday rolled around and with it the start of a Middle School Camp with kids from the local English Fellowship Church. There were about 70 people (counselors and kids included). Our staff provided several hours of interaction with the kids each day. Jonathan wasn’t to sure he would join in, but as soon as the campers started to arrive he was up in his room packing a bag and I haven’t seen him since. It will be fun to get a first hand account of what it is like to be a camper at HER with his thoughts and perspectives.

This week also signaled the start of our kids “store” at the camp. Danielle and Jonathan have the opportunity to run a store for the campers here and earn a little spending money. We want to publicly thank Nathan and Francis Ross’ adult fellowship class for the amazing amount of “stuff” they sent down with Pat for the kids to sell. We sent a list and then they doubled it! Everything was a huge hit, in fact the first night they sold out of all the sour stuff. Now, we just have to figure out how to replenish their supplies for the next camp. They are also selling stuff provided by the Cofan Indians. This is a fun opportunity for the kids to interact with the campers and teach them some very fundamental lessons about money.

The week off from school was really welcomed. We have still continued with our Spanish and each week we change the schedule to meet our learning styles and paces. This is a nice way to say, Danielle needed to progress ahead of her parents!

Pray for us as we learn the distinction of the many words. For example I confuse jovenes, huevos, and jueves, so someday I’m sure I’ll need eggs but ask for either something young or Thursday. My personal goal this week was to actually give the clerk at the Supermaxi my phone number when she asked for it, rather than hand her my phone. I practiced all the way there, and then at the last minute had Bridget say it. So I guess sometimes we succeed and sometimes we don’t. I do know my phone number now….although I have no idea about my address!

Thank you again for you constant love and encouragement,

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl’s

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

April 6, 2007

As Howard and I prepared to move to Ecuador, I would frequently hear him invite people to please come and visit. Pat Tanner and Danny Gardner are the first two people to take us up on that offer. While Danny stayed with the Jensen’s, Pat stayed in our home. We had such a good time, but he forgot to bring two things, his camera and his wife (Jill)! Pat is our Associate Pastor at Grace Chapel and really spent the entire time affirming our family. The first day we drove about two hours south of Quito, to pick up some furniture. The plan was to stop and eat some ceviche and then head home. Pat in his wisdom, looked at the sky and said, “I think we should probably head for home”. Sure enough, the rain started about ten minutes away from home, we drove up the driveway and he and Howard literally threw everything in our garage. Here he had traveled twelve hours, only to help us move furniture again. We appreciated his help and friendship.

We were able to have Danielle and Jonathan complete the end of the year testing along with the Alliance Academy School kids. This meant Monday through Thursday we had to commute to town. This gave us a good idea of what the drive would be if we were to decide to have the kids attend school there. For the time, I believe we have made the decision to home school for one more year, which would allow us additional time to acclimate and learn the language.

In Ecuador and Latin America this is Semana Santa or the Holy Week which is observed by all in the Catholic Church. However, their focus is almost entirely on the events of Good Friday. There are pageantry type services held and parades in the streets throughout the day on Friday. Quite often, Easter passes with much less significance. Good Friday was a necessary part of the plan of salvation, but the point is Easter.

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!”
Luke 24:1-6a NIV.

HE HAS RISEN INDEED! Pray for our ministry, that we can effectively communicate the hope of serving a risen Savior.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family