Saying Good-bye

Just as the interns arrive at the beginning of summer, it always follows they have to leave at the end. We had a great group of interns this summer. Good balance between programming and operations, as well as extroverts and introverts. It was our privilege to walk along side them as they each sought individually exactly what God was teaching them and areas He was stretching them in. Dan Coulter, pictured above happened to be from our sending church Grace Chapel. He was such an asset to have on the team we actually tried to get him to prolong his stay. Over and over he demonstrated a servants heart.

Good byes are tough. The first year we were here, I cried after each intern left. Then the next couple of years, put up a protective wall to guard myself from the hurt I knew was coming. I would just pat them on the back, and say in essence "thanks for coming, have a great life". I knew the two extremes were not good, so this year sought a balance. The good byes have been tough but we have been more intentional about each of their despedidas (farewell prayer time). As I hear about what God has been doing in their lives and where they are hoping to go, instead of sadness I actually just feel very excited and happy for them as they start the next phase of their lives. Dios Te Bendiga!

Meanwhile back at El Refugio...

There were two factors which contributed to my trip for two weeks to the states. First, Ken O'Brien very generously donated his fly miles to me and second I had an amazing intern named Lisa-Lynn Kern who was able to run the kitchen for me while I was gone. We actually had a small family team here while I was gone and along with Lisa-Lynn, Howard not only did his job but mine as well.

Howard and Holgar working on the patio in front of the dorm rooms

Howard is at the very top left of the climbing wall checking out the welding which had been done. You can see the two towers and how they plan to connect them at this point. (Click on any picture for a larger image)

Howard on the roof of the amphitheatre, the family team actually cleaned all the wood and got it ready for the roof to be installed

Our intern Dan Coulter and Howard had to sing "I'm a little tea pot" before lunch because they were late. For those of you who know Howard you know this virtually never happens and exactly why I had to capture it in a picture.

Family Update

Thought it would be a good idea to give an update on what is happening in the lives of our children. I now realize I don't have any pictures of Jay or Viviano, Nicole and Bridget's husbands so I will have to work on that next time I visit.

Jonathan loves being an uncle. Fly miles were donated to him so he was able to spend a month spoiling and getting to know his nephew, Anchor. On the 30th of August he will start his Junior year of high school. Hard to believe I know.

Danielle spent the summer working as our Quito Quest intern here at El Refugio. She is getting ready to start her second year at Fresno Pacific where she is a Liberal Arts major with a Spanish minor. My favorite thing to do is watch Danielle interact with Ecuadorians and see how baffled they are at this very "gringa chica" with mad spanish speaking skills.

Kevin is working as a Gallery Assistant for Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and living in Korea Town near Culver City. How fun for us to see Kevin persevere and get the job perfectly suited for him. I was able to visit the Gallery and meet his boss and the people he works with. I was very impressed and completely out of my element.

Bridget and Viviano and their kids have moved to Sacramento and live near Sacramento City College. This last June she started classes to earn her degree in nursing. Viviano is working for Sara Lee. Of course she is Anchor's mom and "mommy Bridget" to MacKenna, Viviano's daughter. They have a cute duplex where you can see her artistic touches.

Nicole and Jay have moved back to Tollhouse on the family ranch. She is pregnant and due in mid January. Little baby Kimbler gave us a little scare a couple of weeks back and the decision was made for Nicole to quit her job. I told her she now has a little "stress barometer" that will tell her when she is over doing it.

Raising Tower #2 and the Amphitheater

Thanks to our family team from West Over Church in North Carolina we were able to raise our second tower (when the project is complete there will be a total of six towers). You can see also the progress being made on the first tower.
Simply just love this shot. I hope in the future as young people come to El Refugio and experience Ecuador's first outdoor climbing wall, among the Eucalyptus trees they will be mindful of God and all His creation. Many solid, future life lessons just waiting to be learned.
A Second project that Howard and his crew have been working on, is our new Amphitheater. One person very generously donated all the funds for the project. As churches and teams come to El Refugio they will be able to have a place to meet which will be completely private and lend toward a time of spiritual reflection and to debrief before they head back to the states.