September

The first of September marked the close of our "work team season", and the beginning of our regularly scheduled programming events. Throughout the year El Refugio hosts various churches from all over Ecuador for retreats and different high schools from Quito, September was no exception. We were booked every weekend and during the week as well. With the addition of Israel (pictured above on the far left) our Retreat Coordinator, El Refugio has witnessed an explosion in our reservations.

The programming side of our ministry also welcomed a fall intern by the name of Zach from Massachusetts (pictured above on the far right) who will be helping Juan Carlos for the next three months.

"Aire Libre" our outdoor leadership school was also launched in September. This has been a dream and part of our ministries vision. Our desire is to see the multiplication of Adventure Based Ministry throughout Latin America and "Aire Libre" is a huge component in carrying that vision through. We have three students, (who are pictured above with some of the workers from El Refugio), Saul is from Peru, Vladimir is from Quito and Estaban is from our very own Calacali. Juan Carlos, our Program Director has been their primary teacher, instructing these young men on all the aspects of directing their own ministry one day. This week they will participate in "Wilderness Advanced First Aid Certification". In the following weeks they will learn from Howard how things work on the Operations side of a camp, and participate in two expeditions. Through Aire Libre, El Refugio hopes to place in the hands of each of these young men the tools to start their own Outdoor Adventure Ministry, and through that see lives transformed by the life changing power of Jesus Christ.

Team Newaygo

One week ago today, we said good-bye to our final work team for the summer. We kicked the summer off with Geneva, a high school team, they were followed by two family teams and we finished the summer with a team called "Newaygo". Newaygo was a team made up of various small groups who came from a common area in the Mid-West. They were a great team to end the summer with, simply because they came prepared to do whatever, and that is indeed what they did. I didn't get pictures of the group who cleared trails at the top of the property, but everyday a group of 10-12 headed out to clear trails and repair fence.

Team Newaygo started the work on the patio outside the dorm rooms

They painted as long as the paint held out....

and then when more paint came they painted some more :)

God really was gracious to us through this wonderful group of people. To be honest, by the end of the summer, our energy was running on the low side. Right before the group came, even Howard said he wasn't sure he could go one more round. Then Newaygo arrived and just blessed us over and over again. They were an encouragement to us as we heard how God was using their time here to serve, as a challenge to go back home and in various ways make a difference.