Scholl's Serving at Hacienda El Refugio

Dayenu!

2012-01-18T13:53:00.001-05:00

Recently, we heard a speaker talk about the Jewish term Dayenu, which basically means, "...it would have been enough..." As the weeks have gone by and we have thought about this, the impact on our lives has been profound. For example, recently when Danielle's car was stolen, instead of saying, "Why did this have to happen to us, we can't afford another car." We said, "Lord, you gave us that car and she was able to drive it for almost two years, that would have been enough or Dayenu!" With our current circumstances our time with our family is very limited. When we are with them we could complain that the time is to short, instead we rejoice and say, "Lord thank you for the time you have given us and it is enough or Dayenu!."

As believers this term, Dayenu, is significant because we can say quite literally, "Lord, if you had only provided Calvary, salvation would have been enough." And simply put, it is. Dayenu!

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Nuevo

2012-01-03T17:21:00.000-05:00

The El Refugio 2011 Christmas party celebrated at Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World)

The next generation of El Refugio
Caleb, Vladimir, Carleigh, Jack, Rebecca, Kenard, Marli and Lili

Don Pedro y Howie

"Celebrate with us as 2011 closes and we start 2012"

After many conversations, Pedro committed his life to Jesus Christ. We ask that you pray for Pedro as he starts his walk with God and that this may be the start of salvation for his entire family.

Extreme Response Christmas Parties 2011

2011-12-06T13:57:00.001-05:00


Howard and I helped out with Extreme Response for their week of Christmas parties around the Quito area.


Howard helped out each day with setting up and tearing down the games at each site


My main job was hospitality but the last day I got to paint fingernails :)

Extreme Response actually grew out of a small kids’ club in the garbage dump of Quito, Ecuador (also known as the Zambiza Dump). In June of 1997 the Extreme Response founders began working with the 300+ people that lived and worked right there in the trash. These people gleaned their living by digging through the garbage that flows out of the back of garbage trucks, living in small shacks made from pallets and other building materials they found in the trash. They survived on what they found to use, eat and sell.

The very first Christmas Party in the Quito Dump was held in December of 1997 with more than 300 people in attendance.

In March of 2006, ER opened the Zambiza Daycare Center & Preschool - over 50 children ages newborn through 5 years now attend. In December of 2006 a medical clinic opened in conjunction with Hospital VozAndes Quito.


ER also provide family counseling, hygiene classes, education assistance, a weekly kids club and moms club, weekly feeding for night workers and much more.

The dump has changed drastically over the past 12 years, but the people have not. The Zambiza location was permanently closed as a dumping site in 2005 because the landfill was full. The site then became a transfer station. Garbage is now trucked in, dumped in a roofed area, sorted through and then reloaded back into trucks to be taken to a location outside of the city.


So what? So why does Extreme Response return year after year? Because in the midst of all the games, crafts and craziness, there is a team of people presenting the good news about Jesus Christ as the young man on the right in picture is and that is why we do what we do, so that even just one may come to salvation.

Did I mention we hosted 41 for Thanksgiving Dinner???!!!

2011-11-30T16:58:00.001-05:00

Holidays can be some of the hardest days to be serving and living so far away from family. So when our team asked if we would host Thanksgiving dinner, Howard and I decided maybe with the craziness of hosting people in our home, the day wouldn't be so difficult. We ended up having 31 expats and 10 Ecuadorians, everyone shared in the cost of the turkey (super expensive here) and they also brought a side dish. We actually ended up really enjoying ourselves and hanging out with the very people we work with!


Waiting for the turkey's to bake, (did I mention we had 3?!)

Tables set and ready to go

Thanksgiving Dinner, once everyone sat down it was a little hard to move but well worth it

Good, good times :) Check out Jake and Christy bottom left

Sarah, Christy and Cameron, women I count an honor to call friends

Cover for the Climbing Wall

2011-11-11T16:48:00.001-05:00

Right smack in the middle of this photo you can see the new cover (green) on the climbing wall

Just a reminder of why I blog so much about the climbing wall and why each step is progress toward the completion of a new tool for ministry. This was written last spring.

A climbing wall in itself is not much of a big deal, but we are so excited about how God will hopefully use this wall in the future ministry of El Refugio. For one thing, it will be one of the best climbing walls in all of Ecuador, which will serve as a draw to this place for both Christians and non-Christians. In addition, the Facilitator program utilizes a lot of outdoor challenges for their Facilitator discipleship process. The climbing wall will play a large part in that process, as they use it to develop teamwork, instill confidence, and also humble those who already have too much confidence! Some may look at it and see only a wall, but we look at it and see a huge tool for discipleship. We look forward to hearing reports for years to come of what amazing things God can do with a couple pieces of plywood and some old scrap radio towers. Tim Owens, Camp of the Woods


Prior to raising the roof, Howard, Holgar (in the photo) and Enrique had to weld the umbrella supports off of each of the three towers

Tarp on the ground and ready to be lifted, Howard is on the right holding one of the supports

Up...

...up...

...up it goes!

Howard on his way up the tower to help out Holgar

Holgar, Howard and Lydia stretching the tarp over the third tower

Enrique and Ryan working on tower #2

Daniel on tower #1 stretching to make the tarp fit

Holgar happy to have the job done!


A view from below

You may be asking, "So why did they go to all the trouble of covering the wall?" Let me give you and answer. Really the main reason is to protect the wall from our constant rainfall every day. Now, it can be worked on and used 365 days of the year :)

El dia de los disfuntos

2011-11-02T13:01:00.001-04:00

Howard and I were invited, along with Ryan and Erica fellow team members, to the home of the Santos brothers (I blogged about Esteban's baptism) to celebrate El dia de los disfuntos. We were so blessed when Esteban said they wanted to share this time with us to thank us for our friendship and being their family in Christ.

Left to right: Mariana, Gloria, (the boys mom), their Grandma, Uncle, Danny ( he works with the programming with El Refugio), Santiago, Esteban, Jonaton, Ryan, Erica and Wilmar

Danny feeding his baby gua gua, ( we said he had to practice because he is getting married next July :)

To quote my friend Cameron Vivanco, "'El Dia de los Disfuntos' is a national holiday here in Ecuador. October 31, no one bats an eyelash. November 1, All Saint's Day, isn't mentioned. But Nov.2, known as All Soul's Day, is an obligatory national holiday."

For those of you interested here is a little history about this national holiday, which was also provided by Cameron.

The Ecuadorian Day of the Ancestors isn't quite like the Mexican Day of the Dead, nor is it like American Halloween. El día de los difuntos is a time to celebrate one's dead ancestors. In the small country villages, families dress in their finest clothes and carry a meal to the cemetery, where they dine on top of the grave of their ancestors. One plate is always left for the dead ancestor. This traditional meal includes guaguas de pan and the colada morada.

Guaguas de pan are bread babies. (The word guagua, pronounced wa-wa, is Quechuan.) Some families make their own guaguas de pan at home, but most buy them from the panaderías, or bakeries, which only make them during this time of the year. These bread babies can be up to 12 inches long and are shaped with a ball of dough for the head and a long, tapering ball of dough for the body. They are decorated with icing and may have jam or some other sweet inside.

The colada morada (translated as the purple colada, or oatmeal drink) is a drink made from cooking blackberries, blueberries, cinnamon, cloves, and other fruits and spices with a little oatmeal in the water until thick. The drink is then blended until smooth. From the middle of October until the second of November, cafés and restaurants try to outdo each other in offering the best guaguas de pan andcoladas moradas.

In the larger towns and cities, families no longer eat with their ancestors. They spend the day visiting the cemetery and laying flowers on the graves. They may make guaguas de pan and colada morada, but only for eating with their family at home. Nevertheless, the spirit of the día de los difuntos carries on as one of the important traditions of Ecuador.

(http://www.rocketlanguages.com/spanish/resources/culture_ec_holidays.php )

on the road to emmaus

2011-10-17T16:25:00.002-04:00

The phone ringing startled me out of the task I was working on. My sister said, "Mom's organs are all shutting down, you need to get here as soon as possible, they will try and keep her alive until then." Like that. In an instant. In spanish "rapidito". My world went off kilter. The next 36 hours were a whirlwind, a flight was arranged for the next day, however on the flight from Houston to LAX, my mom passed from this life to the next, safely in the arms of her Savior. When I look back, that phone call is what started my journey through grief. The process is as different and personal for each person going through it. We tend to draw on what has been demonstrated to us. For me, that was to move on as quickly as possible, regain an equilibrium if you will with this new reality of me, minus my mom.

Danielle is the one who was the most proactive in her grief. She discovered several girls in her mod at the university who had suffered loss, she found a book, started a grief share bible study/ support group. I thought I was getting along just fine, then I took a look at the book she was using and realized, man I really could use some help. I was having difficulty concentrating, sleeping, my emotions were completely shut down, I had yet to really cry, to grieve.

The book is called "on the road to emmaus" by Myrlene Hamilton Hess. Luke 24:13-35 is the scripture reference for the journey. I would encourage anyone going through the process of grief, whether new or old, to dare to take this journey. God is gracious, He sent someone to walk the road with me over the summer months, an intern serving here at El Refugio. Her mother lost her battle with breast cancer around the first of the year. So together we embarked on the road to Emmaus. With each section of the book, chapter, and prompt, God walked with me through this multi-faceted journey. I learned many lessons along the way to Emmaus, most of those are simply for me. There is one lesson I would like to share with you though, which has led me to live a more authentic life as a Christ follower.

http-//animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/gray-whale/.jpg

You are probably wondering why there is a picture of a grey whale, actually I am more interested in the barnacles on the whale. This is what occurred to me as I worked through the many issues that surfaced as a result of my grief. When a baby whale is born it is nice and "barnacle free", as it grows and swims through the ocean it starts to collect barnacles and from what I have learned is, unless you remove them right away, barnacles prove to be very hard to remove, some say impossible.

I accepted Christ as my Savior during my teen years and with that received His forgiveness and the issue of my salvation was settled. Then life happened, wrongs happened whether intended or not, whether perceived or real. With each insult or injury a "barnacle" attached to my soul and with each passing year and further "issues" those barnacles just grew and grew, weighing me down more than I ever knew. As I journeyed to Emmaus, the Lord would bring different things to light, through His Holy Spirit and through the scriptures. Hebrews chapter 4 says this, ..."the word of God is living and active...Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account." vs. 12-13. I had a choice to either deal with them or ignore them. From personal testimony I can tell you that as I allowed the Lord to remove these barnacles off my soul I felt lighter and lighter.

How has this enabled me to live a more authentic life? Without the weight of those matters on my soul and I find I am able to experience a new fresh relationship with my Savior. As the baby whale glides through the ocean simply enjoying the water and the many things to discover in the ocean, I read my Bible with joy unhindered, waiting expectantly for the things God would care to reveal to me through His written word.

Written to commemorate the first anniversary of my mom's journey safely to the arms of Jesus
Kay Hitchcock Scherer
September 8, 1933 - October 26, 2010

Scholl Family Photo 2011

2011-10-03T13:29:00.002-04:00

Danielle, Mary, Howard, Jonathan and Kevin Scholl. Viviano, Anchor, Bridget and Mackenna Aguilar.
Addison Mae, Nicole and Jay Kimbler

God in His faithfulness, provided two free plane tickets for Howard and I to visit our family and to attend an 80th birthday party for my dad. During that time our kids arranged for a family photo to be taken while we were here as a 50th birthday present to me. Thought you would enjoy seeing how our family has grown.

El Refugio Team Summer 2011

2011-09-12T10:10:00.000-04:00

Paul (holding Carleigh), Beth (holding Jack), Danielle (Caleb in front of her), Danny, Anna (Marli in front of her), Bryce, Courtney (holding Lili), Juan Carlos, Jeff, Daniela, Ashley, Mary, Howard, Laura and Israel
The above picture is of all the people who made up our team during the summer of 2011. This includes permanent staff and interns. God was very faithful to send people our way who really contributed to the ministry at El Refugio and made it a rich environment to serve and complete his purpose.

Friendships

2011-08-28T12:15:00.001-04:00

One of the things I love about what we do, is all the amazing people we meet. Occasionally, deeper friendships are formed which is the case with the McCarts. Because Geneva First Baptist comes every year we have developed a close friendship with Robin and Kim. Each year we look forward to them coming and catching up on "life". We are blessed by them in so many ways, but mainly it is their generosity of spirit.

"So many people come into our lives and then leave the way they came. But there are those precious few who touch our hearts so deeply we will never be the same."
— Mary Engelbreit

Howard, Mary, Kim and Robin

Mary, Kim and Shelley, who has also become a good friend over the years

Mary, Angelica and Rebecca
Co-worker and great friend

Danielle, Anna (here for one year) and Ally one of the counselors from Geneva.
These girls formed a bond quickly while Geneva was here.

Jonathan also made some great friends from the Geneva kids.

Father's Day with Geneva First Baptist

2011-08-24T13:09:00.003-04:00

I have shared with you in the past about First Baptist Church from Geneva Ill., they come and serve every year, bringing with them their high school Juniors and Seniors. The schedule for them this year worked out that we had a work day on Father's Day (I know, I know it was a terrible example of "not" observing the Sabbath, lesson learned we won't do that again :) Anyway, Danielle decided we needed to figure out a way to honor the father's that were working that day, so she made them "ties" and they were required to wear them all day. The fun thing was, they actually did wear the ties and seemed to enjoy the extra attention they got as a result.

Danielle presenting the "ties" to each of the Dads before the work day began

Dad's proudly posing for a picture with their ties

Howard setting a good example by keeping his tie on

Enrique and Holgar following "suit"

Robin McCart and Howard at our final banquet, Robin didn't have a tie so Howard wore his to be "twins" with Robin

The day wasn't all work and no play :)

Jonathan Beier Scholl

2011-08-15T17:38:00.002-04:00

Many of you have been asking what is the plan with Jonathan. Toward the end of our visit last fall, Howard's sister Trudy and her husband Alan offered for Jonathan to live with them for his Senior year and attend Yosemite High School. They did not realize we had been praying about different possible options for Jonathan. Since September 11, 2001 Jonathan has desired to go into the military and with the influence of David Jackson had decided he wanted to go into the Coast Guard. We came to the realization, Jonathan needed a year to transition from living and home schooling in Ecuador to joining the Coast Guard. As we have witnessed with our older kids, when God is part of the process then doors seem to open, with each obstacle that would come our way, God would provide a solution that at times was "out of the box". Trudy has been a huge advocate for Jonathan, as well as one of the counselors at the school. So, today Jonathan started his first day of school for his final year of high school. Howard and I are excited for him and feel confident this is all part of God's plan for our boy. Please pray for Jonathan during this time of transition and for the coming school year.

Senior portrait

Class of 2012

Jonathan on one of our jungle trips when we first arrived in Ecuador

This summer Jonathan worked with the various work teams that came to El Refugio.

La historia de Estaban (Stephen's story)

2011-08-10T11:21:00.003-04:00

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. so neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, Who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building." 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

I would like to introduce you to a young man named Estaban Santos. His family is from Calacali and he is one of our active facilitators. In fact, so are his two brothers Santi and Wilmar. We call them the "Santos Brothers" and I can't say enough about their contribution to our ministry at El Refugio.

Estaban's story started years ago when he was 8 or 9 years old and he attended one of the VBS held here on property by one of the work teams from the states. This was the beginning for him, the seed was planted, where he first heard "La Historia de Jesucristo" or the story of Jesus Christ.

Years went by and Estaban became a facilitator and then attended our first session of "Aire Libre" (far right). Over time the saving message about what Christ did for him went deeper and deeper into his heart until it all made sense and he decided to accept Christ as his personal Lord and Savior.

Estaban decided to make his testimony public and follow the Lord in baptism. His story comes full circle, because he was baptized in the jungle with one of our work teams from the States. Rick Borman (right) and Juan Carlos Cevellos (left) were the ones to baptize Estaban because Rick was there in the beginning and Juan Carlos is the person who, over the years communicated and clarified the gospel to Estaban.

"having been buried with him in baptism..." Colossians 2:12a

"...and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead." Colossians 2:12b

This is the testimony of one life touched by the ministry of El Refugio. Last year alone, our ministry hosted over 2000 people who passed through our ministry gates. They came on work teams from the states, attended retreats held by churches or participated in one of our events hosted by the programming team. They are students, leaders, youth pastors, people of all ages, and in each of their lives, it is our call to be obedient to the task God has called us to do, and leave the results to God.

"...but only God..." 1 Corinthians 3:7

Grace Chapel Lancaster

2011-07-13T18:50:00.000-04:00

We had the privilege of hosting our sending church, Grace Chapel of Lancaster, California. They were here for a whirlwind vision trip, so that meant we did a little bit of everything. The idea was to show them a variety of the things a group could possibly do, so they could then plan for future groups to come visit, work and minister here at El Refugio. We were so encouraged by their time here and felt completely blessed by each of them individually and by Grace Chapel.

We travelled out to Otavalo, an indian market where you can buy amazing Ecuadorian things. We stopped for lunch and the price to pay to eat our picnic lunch at this amazing spot, was to pay to have our picture taken with this young boy and his llama. Deal :)

The whole group, plus our interns at Mitad del Mundo or "The Middle of the World"

Fun day of programming. This was the first time I had ever done the programming, I was challenged and saw first hand what a great job our programming director, Juan Carlos Cevellos does, we are really blessed to work along side him here at El Refugio

Dean Spoelstra, one of our Pastor's at Grace Chapel, trying out first hand our programming wall

Touring downtown Quito, taking a break in the Presidential Square. While we were there we had some excitement as the military moved in with their full riot gear on. We found out later that the president was there and getting ready to address the crowd. Howard was in the van waiting to pick us up as I tried to round everyone up and get us out of there. I kept thinking to myself, "How did I become the one in charge and in some alternate universe, this is probably hilarious!"

The men installed additional water tanks for us, and I am pleased to announce we haven't run out of water since then. "Gracious a Dios" Thanks be to God!

Billy Cox, (he and his wife Bernice are very close to my parents) and I enjoying a cup of coffee at the Basillica. It meant so much to me to have Billy come visit, on the final day during worship, he and I couldn't even look at each other without starting to cry.

Brad, Suzanne and Shelbey. God made sure this side of heaven would be bearable by providing friends like them :)

Outdoor Chapel Dedication

2011-07-11T12:20:00.002-04:00

The Amphitheater was completed shortly after the New Year. El Refugio hosted one of our weekly Youth World meetings and we had the dedication ceremony. The Amphitheater was officially re-named "The Outdoor Chapel"

Walking toward the Outdoor Chapel

Closer to the entrance

Brad Miller (right) praying a prayer of dedication over the Outdoor Chapel

The Youth World team praying during the dedication

The prayer and dedication was for thankfulness for the generosity for the individual who donated the funds for the Outdoor Chapel and for the future ministry opportunities it will provide.

A Birthday, A Celebration and A Wedding

2011-05-30T18:26:00.001-04:00

Before our summer really gets going I just wanted to share some pictures from events "non work" related during the month of April and May. While we are so far from home, we feel very blessed to be able to share different occasions with our friends here. Although holiday's are sometimes the hardest days for us, it helps to have a team who shower us with support and love.

Celebrating Howie's Birthday with our team

All the workers came to celebrate Howie's Birthday, by the end of the day he had three cakes made for him.

Celebrating Easter with some of our favorite people

Sandi, Mary and Courtney at the cake table for the wedding

Celebrating the wedding of Miguel and Desire

Because I know Bob is interested...

2011-05-09T15:56:00.000-04:00

Juan Carlos and Howie on the front face of the wall.


Side of the wall clockwise from the front

Wilmar on the back of the wall, the most difficult one as I understand it.


Introducing Bryce Reimer (guy at the top of the wall) our operations summer intern. He is from the great state of Kansas and a graduate of John Brown University on his way to Physical Therapy School in the fall.

Saying goodbye to Andres'

2011-05-07T15:59:00.002-04:00

Four years ago, when we arrived at El Refugio, Andres and Marlena had just gotten married. If memory serves me well, we arrived on February 26th and they had gotten married February 14th. Andres served as our guard and the family lived in the guard house on property. Over the 4 years they had two baby girls, Katerine and Jaris. Marlena is originally from Peru and with their growing family they felt like it was best for them to live closer to her family. We will miss them very much and pray for God's blessing on their lives.

Marlena y Andres as newlyweds

Katerine, Andres', Jaris and Marlena

The whole family went to Peru this last Christmas. Marlena and the girls stayed and Andres came back to get all the paper work in order. On his last day in the country we threw him a "Despedida" (farewell party) with a full lunch and time of encouragement and praying for he and his family.

As I said in an earlier blog, people come and go through our lives. This is the first, full time worker to leave and it was hard on everyone on property. For me, saying goodbye has become something that I would prefer to avoid, like the plague. This is my hope for heaven and what I cling too, "No more good-byes!"

Andres' and family

Enrique, his wife Alicia and Andres'


Lunch of Arroz con Pollo with staff

El Refugio hosted the Leader Mundial Summit

2011-04-26T16:03:00.004-04:00


Leader Mundial has emerged and grown since 2006, working with leaders from 16 different countries and targeting organizations to assist them in their development.


The primary goal is to help these leaders become more effective in leading and developing their organizations visions, objectives and impact.

The purpose of Leader Mundial is to bring together leaders from around the world and build community, where the leaders receive training, resources and mentoring.
For more information you can visit their website at www.leadermundial.com

LIFT and Facilitator training

2011-04-14T09:13:00.001-04:00

Mid March we had a group here from Camp of the Woods in New York, I thought it would be fun for you to hear from their Associate Directors perspective, Tim Owens, as he wrote on their blog about their time with us:

We spent this weekend here at El Refugio, which is quickly becoming our home away from home. To summarize, LIFT partnered with a discipleship program that is run out of El Refugio. About 30 Ecuadorian young adults were here going through what essentially amounted to an international discipleship conference. The experiences of the past couple of days will stand out in my memory for quite some time to come.


Team from LIFT with our Facilitators

First, some background. El Refugio (The Refuge), is a Christian ministry center that utilizes outdoor adventure to facilitate spiritual growth (sound familiar?). They host a wide variety of groups throughout the year, including teams from the US, but primarily groups from here in Ecuador. Their vision is to especially reach the people of Quito, a major city about 45 minutes from here. They have spent the past 3 years reaching out and building a network of about 80 young adults who volunteer on weekends, whom they call 'facilitators'. The goal from the beginning was to develop those volunteers into a discipleship program. This weekend was a HUGE weekend for them, as they intentionally shifted their focus from bringing in more volunteers to going deep with the volunteers they have. Of the 80 or so in their network, about 30 wanted to commit to coming this weekend; these will be the 30 that will form the foundation of their discipleship. The basic idea is to create an intentional system of discipleship as these Facilitators (volunteers) spend about 2 weekends at El Refugio a month. The vision is that they will not only mature as they are here at El Refugio, but that their discipleship here will also help them to serve God more in their normal contexts. Many of them are in school or already have jobs, and are eager for Christian community.

Early morning hike at El Refugio

I can barely express how beautiful it was to see the language and cultural boundaries between LIFT and the Facilitators break down throughout the weekend. I think that we were all deeply encouraged by the bond, by the connection of Christian brotherhood/sisterhood, even though we are so different in many ways. We would go to sessions together, eat together, play games together, talk about life together, and worship through singing together, all the while discovering that we all have the same passion for Christ. For lack of a better word, it was incredibly special to discover the unity that existed between two groups of strangers who are further separated by some significant language barriers.

If you are thinking Dejavu, you are correct, this is the third group putting the third tower in place.

Getting ready to "LIFT" the tower in to place

This was perhaps no more evident than what happened in a work project we did together. We needed to move a 50 foot radio tower to the outdoor climbing wall and then raise it from a horizontal position to a vertical position, and then install it into its concrete base (we will be doing further work with the climbing wall the next two days, so I will include more details next time i write likely tues. For now, it is enough to know that the retired radio tower is being used as the support for the climbing wall). Nearly everyone had a place along the radio tower as we carried it up a hill to where it would go. Then we all worked together to raise it to a vertical position. The process was actually a bit of an engineering wonder, employing several guide cables, stabilizing ropes, a tractor, and around 30 people's brute strength. At the end of the process, everyone could look back and survey the standing radio tower, firmly bolted into place, towering above us at 50 feet. And there it stood, a living testimony to our corporate unity and combined abilities.

Third tower in place for the climbing wall on the far right

That afternoon we broke into groups along gender lines and discussed the importance of Christian accountability. We were amazed that there is no Spanish word for 'accountability'. And yet, while the word may not exist, it's a concept that many here have already begun looking for. The afternoon was spent playing a variety of games as we continued to get to know each other. Not that it's important, but the Americans beat the Ecuadorians in futbol (soccer). Then we rounded out the evening with a meal and a time of praise and worship by the fire. We would sing a song in English, they would do one in Spanish, and so on for an hour or so.

Some final thoughts from Tim~

Aire Libre - Peru

2011-03-09T15:09:00.000-05:00

Peruvian students with their certificates of completion with Juan Carlos Cevallos, our Program Director (far left) and Rich Brown, Inca Link Director (third from right)


Claudia, Roberto, Juan, Carlos and Joca

Juan giving his part of "Aire Libre" Peru's presentaion

Teachers on the left, Carlos and Joca during presetation


Jonathan, Claudia and myself

The beginning of February we received a group of five Peruvians involved in a camp which belongs to a partner ministry of ours called Inca Link. Through our outdoor leadership program called "Aire Libre" we set out to train and teach them about all aspects involved in running a camp. During the four weeks they were here they received classes in everything from camp administration, group dynamics, property management, climbing, outdoor leadership and experiential education. When their time here at El Refugio was completed, each member on our staff could see how these five people grew together as a team. Now that they have returned to Peru they will be working together at camp in Trujillo, Peru. Howard and I are always amazed at how quickly people move in and out of our lives. Even though it was four short weeks, we came to enjoy and appreciate these five people. We shared meals, movie nights and even four on the couch, which you might be surprised to learn, there was cheating in both English and Spanish!

Introducing New Staff at El Refugio

2011-02-28T15:56:00.001-05:00


Ryan third from right with team from 2008


Ryan and Erica Coryell 2011

We have two new members to our El Refugio staff. The Coryell's arrived at that end of January to work with our Programming Director Juan Carlos Cevellos. Ryan actually came down with a team three years ago to build our swing set that many kids (and adults) have enjoyed since then. They come from North Carolina and have many gifts to offer to our team. Erica lived in Mexico for several months and is fluent in Spanish, Ryan is now in intensive Spanish classes to acquire the language as quickly as possible. They will primarily be working with and mentoring our facilitators.

It is a testimony to God and His work in the lives of His children. As with us, the Coryells first came down to serve with a team and during that time God got a hold of their hearts. Three years later, they are now living and working right along side us to further the kingdom of God.

"Waguar Sholl"

2011-02-01T18:03:00.001-05:00

When we first arrived to El Refugio I was having a hard time remembering all the names of the workers. At the time, we had a team here on property, and one of the women was trying to help me with our head workers name. His name is Holgar pronounced "olhair", but she told me just to think in my mind "Old Hair". It took me quite a bit of time to get that out of my brain every time I talked with him.

This last Christmas we had a similar thing happen in reverse. We received a letter from the local barrio "Santa Maria Magdalena". Basically, the letter was inviting us to a celebration and would we donate some fireworks. The letter was addressed to "Senor Waguar Sholl". We got quite a laugh at how they had translated Howard's name. We have known since our arrival here that "Howard" is a hard name for Ecuadorians to pronounce. The letter was just evidence. I told him I thought it was quite dignified and he might just want to seriously think about changing it permanently from Howard to Waguar.

Sincerely, Waguar or Senor Waguar or Abuelo Waguar yes quite fetching I'd say old chap :) The letter was signed "Cordialmente" Yes indeed.

Navidads! Navidads!! Navidads!!!

2011-01-15T14:42:00.002-05:00

Very serious little Ecuadorianita

There is an Ecuadorian tradition where children are given a "navidad" (small toy or candy) before or on Christmas. For the past three years, we have given navidads out with the Cline family on Christmas day. As Christmas approached this year we had two problems, first the Cline family had moved back to the states and second we were out of navidads. Along with this, Howard and I also felt God leading us to distribute food bags to the families who were in need.

We witnessed first hand God provide for both these needs in a huge way. First, Extreme Response donated 60 food bags left over from their Christmas parties. Then, Danielle was part of a group who won a contest and those college students decided to donate the money for toys "navidads" for the children in our local barrio, Ryocucho. She arrived home for Christmas with 2 duffel bags full of toys. Since we had witnessed God showing up in a big way, Jonathan and Danielle decided to go one step further with the navidads and they wrapped over a 100 gifts. On Christmas Eve with Howard driving the camp truck, Danielle, Jonathan, Enrique and I got the privilege to play "Papa Noel".


Duffel bag full of "navidads"

Jonathan and Danielle with all the wrapped gifts

"Papa Noel"

Danielle and our favorite local couple


Enrique and his Grandma (he said she is between 90-100 years old)

Jonny-boy

The navidads had ribbons to tell if it was for a girl or a boy

Children who were waiting for us along the road

Hacienda El Refugio Annual Christmas Party

2011-01-13T13:19:00.002-05:00


Juan Carlos, Courtney and Facilitators 2010

On December 18th, we hosted our annual Christmas party. There were over 60 in attendance between the workers, their families and the facilitators who help during the year with our Ecuadorian groups. The day started with a round of paint ball and "Ecua- volleyball". We then enjoyed a great meal of fritada an Ecuadorian meal which is fried pork, llapingachos (potato pancakes), and mote (won't even try and explain :) We set up an ice cream sundae bar for dessert and everyone loved it, especially picking their own flavors of toppings etc. In an effort to combine both sides of our ministry, operations and programming, this was a great time for everyone to connect and celebrate the past year of ministry. Thought you would enjoy looking at some of the pictures from the day.

Ecadorian Facilitators

Three Generations: Mecedes, Lorena and Pedro

Holgar, our head worker. Angelica, head cook and family

Andres our guard and family

Anita our new cook and family

Ice Cream Bar - Huge Success!!!

Paul Reichert our new Director enjoying "fritada"

Marli - besitos (kisses)

Vladimir and Kenard

"Ecua-Volleyball"

Lessons Along the Way

2010-12-31T14:53:00.006-05:00

We obviously answered "yes" to the question of trusting God in this new adventure. I started this blog as soon as we arrived in Ecuador and as I go back and read my entries, over and over I am reminded of how faithful God has been and continues to be on our behalf. The road at times has been very difficult, I can testify though, it is always better to surrender sooner than later. Perhaps these two stories can help you glimpse part of what God has been teaching us as a result of living in Calacali.

We had a family team that came and requested an Ecuadorian family join them and be a part of their team. Juan Carlos knew of a Pastor who was having a hard time and could use a time of encouragement. The pastor and his family of five, spent the time here at El Refugio working along side the team and with Howard. At the end of the time the pastor told Juan Carlos that he wanted to support "Howie" and his family, would it be OK if they gave us some milk. I can't even begin to explain the impact this had on Howard and I. We understood, in order for this family to support us with milk, meant when they did, their family went without. To say we were humbled is an understatement.

Recently Pedro showed up early one morning to give our family a chicken. I put it in the refrigerator but I told Howard I was a little nervous to eat it, not know when it was killed and if it had sat out all night. Just the day before it had been happily pecking away on the road outside his house. We decided to cook the bird and ended up having a wonderful dinner. The next time we saw Pedro we thanked him, he was so happy to be able to do this one thing for us. Again, please understand, the night we had chicken, Pedro's family did not.

This last summer I was in the states for my annual physical. The doctor was interested in my "story" and so in about five minutes tried to summarize why we had become missionaries. She listened very attentively and then asked what was next. Next? I am still trying to come to terms with the lessons from now, how can I think about next? And I told her, the single biggest challenge I face every time I am back with my family and friends is what to do with those lessons God has been teaching me. How do I integrate my life here in Ecuador with the one there. Or quite possibly, those lessons are just for me, to draw me ever closer to my Savior.

Fall Out

2010-12-21T15:31:00.005-05:00

Over the course of the next five years, our family dealt with the fall out from that December day. The surgeon had hoped by leaving my dad's eye in, as it healed my dad would have restored vision. Unfortunately this was not the case, and in fact over time the eye started to abscess and cause my dad tremendous pain. Finally the decision was made to remove my dad's eye because it became apparent his vision would never be restored. As a kid I remember traveling to San Fransisco for the surgery and being apart of the process where they literally painted a new eye for him. I remember my dad waking up and them asking him if he needed any pain medication and my dad saying, "Are you kidding, this is the first time in years I have been pain free!"

That surgery was really the turning point and the catalyst for some major changes. First my dad completed his doctorate and soon after that we sold the Almond Ranch. In between all this my sister, Suzie attended a Billy Graham crusade and committed her life to Christ. Through her testimony I also became a follower of Christ and my parents re-dedicated their faith. We found a good church home and got actively involved. In 1976 my dad accepted a new job, we moved to a new town, and began attending a new school. I was not happy. Most of all I was not happy with God.

Because I lacked any kind of "a life" I started swimming AAU. At one of the practices I met a girl who invited me to her youth group which met at 6:16 (dumb I thought). She persisted and finally one Wednesday I went and continued to go back. Through the young youth pastor I was able to come to terms with the predicament of my life and found freedom to serve Jesus with my mind, soul and strength. Over the next four years I met my future husband, who happened to be the brother of the girl who initially invited me to attend her youth group.

We married, had five brilliant kids, and owned a business. Life had its ups and down but for the most part God was very faithful and very real in both our lives. So why did this absolute dislike of change surface when we decided to head to the mission field? As I write this journey down I realize all the good things that happened, from the accident, the "positive fall out". Through my dad's accident our family became committed Christ followers, score one for the King. Over time though, the enemy marred my perception to only view the "negative fall out." The move, the pain, the times of feeling completely at odds with my family and God.

With this revelation I had some decisions to make. Would I be willing to step out in faith and follow God's leading for this major change for our family and trust the fall out would be to His glory or would I allow a false perception of a past event cause us to miss out on the greatest adventure yet?

Split Second

2010-11-17T21:29:00.009-05:00

Family picture taken the first Easter after the Accident
(notice the patch my dad wore)

The year was 1970, Simon and Garfunkel topped the charts with "Bridge Over Troubled Water", Nixon was still in the White House and the Vietnam war was nearing its final years. As a nine year old kid, I was enjoying my first day of Christmas vacation by riding around on my blue banana bike taking pictures for a photography project. While I was working on that, my parents had decided to get some work done on our almond ranch. As I rode up into the ranch compound my parents were in the process of jump starting our tractor with our El Camino. My dad sat on the tractor with my mom in the El Camino approximately 50 feet apart at a diagonal. I was sitting on my bike at a 30 degree angle from the diagonal created by the tow strap, approximately 30 feet from them. Little did I know that in a split second everything about my life was about to change.

As my mom revved the engine, and the elastic tow strap stretched and became taut, it actually broke free from the bumper of the El Camino and shot like an arrow across the compound, straight at my father and struck him in the face. I remember sitting on my bike, watching the whole thing, incredulous at what was happening before my eyes. I was frozen as I watched my mom run from the El Camino to my father and take off her mustard yellow jacket and tell him to hold it to his face. There was blood everywhere and that was all she had to give him to try and stop the flow. She helped him off the tractor and walked him to the El Camino. Once she sat him down she ran into the house and called the hospital to say we were coming. I am still frozen on my bike as she runs back out of the house and grabs my hand while we ran to get in the El Camino with my dad. Unfortunately during the preceding 5 minutes my mom had left the ignition on in the El Camino and the battery had died. She then had to get us all out of the El Camino and transfer us to our family station wagon. She put my dad in the back seat with me up front with her. Curiosity is strong in a nine year old child and I tried to look back at my dad and see what had happened to him. I remember my mom grabbing me and putting my head down in her lap and telling me it was best not to look. This was before cell phones and 911, so with only a phone call ahead to the hospital my mom drove the distance from our ranch to Modesto in only 15 minutes, a trip that normally would take us over 30 minutes. I seem to remember a police officer pulling us over and then leading us on but that was 40 years ago and that is the single memory I am not sure of. By the time we got to the hospital my dad had lost so much blood it was impossible for him to move from the car to the wheelchair without assistance. And then as fast as the accident had happened he was gone and my mom and I were left standing there alone.

Fortunately for my dad, a young surgeon was on duty who was just back from Vietnam. We learned later the tow strap had literally wiped the nose off my fathers face and damaged his right eye. The surgeon was able to sew his nose back on and left the eye to see is there would be any possibility for sight which as time proved would not happen. He was in the hospital for much of the Christmas vacation and recovery was slow and painful, due mainly to his eye which over time started to abscess. Funny what you remember even after all this time. The Peterson's coming to get me and staying at their house during which they gave me a "lifesaver book". I remember my Grandma coming in to tell us that more than likely my dad would loose the sight in his right eye.

More than anything I remember my mom's bravery and strength. Many of you know my mom recently went to be with the Lord, that is why this post has taken so long. This single shared experience defined my mother for me. In her later years I don't think many people saw this side of her as if this one single moment changed both of us in a split second.

Psychologically Fit

2010-11-09T11:55:00.004-05:00

Once the decision had been made for Howard and I to pursue ministry in Ecuador, we applied to International Teams or ITEAMS, the sending organizations for Youth World in Ecuador. There were a series of things we were required to do and one of them was to establish we were psychologically fit. This meant we had to take four different tests with over a thousand questions, proctored at our church by one of the pastors. After the tests were over I was absolutely sure I didn't want to sleep with my mothers/brothers/sisters/uncle, set things on fire or hear voices which told me to do things contrary to nature. What DID come to light was my deep seated fear of change. After some phone conversations and actually meeting with the psychologist from ITEAMS, I was armed with some homework to figure out why. Over a period of time, through prayer and intercession God brought to light a key event in my life which was the cause of this fear of change.

Journey

2010-11-07T17:13:00.002-05:00

For some time I have had it on my heart to share my journey leading up to the decision for us to serve as missionaries with International Teams in Calacali, Ecuador. I write this down because my children and grand children need to know.

Family Room Conversation

2010-11-07T16:34:00.006-05:00

In the Spring of 1994, we were hosting a dinner for good friends the Murphy's who serve as missionaries in the Middle East and the Cline's who were heading to serve on the mission field in Quito, Ecuador. I remember Orville (Murphy) asking the Clines this question. Were they ready for a time of sure testing ahead of them, that everything they thought they knew and believed was about to be challenged and turned upside down.

Home in Tehachapi

Ten years later, this was the question going through my mind when Russ (Cline) asked Howard and I if we would be interested in an opening at one of their ministry sites called El Refugio. Russ, Gina, Howard and I were sitting out in Howard's shop talking about the possibility of us becoming missionaries. The job sounded perfect for Howard and the idea of moving to South America sounded exciting yet terrifying. To be honest though, no thank you, I really was not in the mood for a time of testing and to have my whole world turned upside down. Those were my thoughts, what I said was, "Sure let's take the steps to see if this is where God wants us to be and we'll see what happens."

Howard's Update on Projects

2010-10-04T19:27:00.007-04:00

The patio in front of the work team house was finished about two weeks ago. Mary is the most excited about this because it will help keep the kitchen and dorm rooms free of dirt. You can barely see a hole in the middle of the patio which will be a fire pit for teams to use to keep warm.

This picture is of the first, of our two towers of the climbing wall. What you see here is one of the climbing routes that Juan Carlos, our Programming Director has designed. We are still in the process of putting up the plywood on the two towers. Once we complete the amphitheater, I will be able to shift all of our workers to concentrate on this project

At the moment the amphitheater is the project we have been working on to complete, so we can start using it by groups. The shot you are looking at here is standing in the canyon, looking back at the entrance. Our next project will be constructing the seating which will be to the right. This also will have a fire pit in the middle for groups to enjoy a fire.

This shot shows the center section of the roofing and the complexity of the supports. What you can't see is on the top we had to manufacture the covers for the corners out of steel, because the cost was to high to buy the pre-made ones. The rectangular light colored openings below the upper roof is where the smoke will be allowed to go out

This shot was taking from near the cuy shed looking into the canyon. As you can see where we placed the amphitheater, you should get a feeling of being secluded on the mountain. Again, it is important to thank the generous supporter who donated all the funds for this project.

As you can see we've been busy and I am happy how things are coming along, Howard

September

2010-09-27T11:46:00.004-04:00

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

2010-09-07T09:17:00.005-04:00

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.

Saying Good-bye

2010-08-29T10:35:00.005-04:00

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...

2010-08-25T16:19:00.005-04:00

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

2010-08-22T13:51:00.003-04:00

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

2010-08-03T22:23:00.007-04:00

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.

Mindo with the Interns

2010-07-16T11:00:00.003-04:00

We finally had a day off yesterday, so Howard took all the interns to Mindo for the day. Mindo is about one hour from El Refugio located in the Cloud Forrest. The interns were able to ride the zip lines, thirteen in all and then some of them chose to try the tubing on the river. While they did that, the rest visited the butterfly farm. Howard said it was good just to hear them laughing and having a good time, although the truck ride home was a little chilly:)

Jonathan, Dan, Nate, Kevin, Jonathan, Lisa-Lynn, Danielle and Kevin

2010 Summer Interns

Raising Tower #1 Geneva Style

2010-07-10T12:59:00.009-04:00

With the combined efforts of the Geneva Team 2010, summer interns and staff from El Refugio, we were able to raise the first of the three, 40 foot towers for the climbing wall. The most remarkable thing about this was we were able to do so without the use of a crane. Geneva earned the right to name the first tower, we are just waiting to hear the name they have chosen.

(For more information on the climbing wall refer to the past blog entitled "Reduce Reuse Recycle from the April 2010 archive)

Why we do What we do

2010-07-03T17:49:00.008-04:00

These were two of my favorite pictures from

VBS. On the left is Katherine, our guard's

daughter. She was so captivated by the bubbles, she was trying to catch them with her mouth. On the right is our "little David". The theme for the VBS was "David and Goliath." This last spring Howard had children from the jungle town of Durano collect over 500 rocks. Our interns then marked the rocks with the words faith, love, hope, courage and trust. The kids then decorated the rocks and made a small sling which they decorated as well. Finally, they made a waistband to hold the sling. You can see in David's left hand the pouch with the rocks. The only concern we had was that the kids would really get into the theme and trying taking down a Goliath or two.

Geneva First Baptist 2010

2010-07-01T17:48:00.007-04:00

Geneva First Baptist Church arrived twelve days ago with 51 people, mainly Juniors and Seniors in High School with about 9 adult counselors. This church has been largely responsible over the last 9 years for all of the building projects at El Refugio. What we appreciate about their leadership is they just "get" the idea of "reciprocal" ministry. They come every year and invest in our ministry and at the same time we provide opportunities and programming to invest in their kids lives and spiritual journeys. For twelve days El Refugio just "popped" like popcorn. The kids hauled, chopped, cleared and built many different projects. They also hosted a VBS for the kids in the bario and this year there was a first, they discovered the empanada lady in Calacali who delivers, even at 10:00 at night!

Thank You Geneva

Dios Te Bendiga!

Geneva 2010

Danielle helping with programming

Jonathan helping with VBS

Danielle VBS

Jonathan VBS

Danielle "snack girl"

"Gringos"

2010-06-15T19:00:00.003-04:00

For many of you who follow our blog, you will remember when we returned to Ecuador last fall we were under power rationing. This meant that each evening from 7:00pm until 10:00pm the power in our area was cut off. The reason for this was because Ecuador was suffering from a drought and Ecuador is powered by hydro-electricity. The newest thing the government has passed is "Pico y Placa". The sign above illustrates what this means. What does this mean you ask? Well, they decided there were too many cars on the road, so on certain days depending on your license plate, you can not drive in Quito. Our license plate ends in the number "3", so we are not allowed to drive on Tuesdays. That is basically what the sign is saying on the lower left. As with the power rationing, we have to ask ourselves would this ever work in the good 'ole USofA. Can you imagine, the lawsuits? "You can't tell me I can't drive, it's my right", some would say. All we can say is, it is interesting to live in this neck of the woods :)

Quito Quest Hosts 2010

2010-06-11T17:11:00.002-04:00

Recently, El Refugio hosted one of the days for training for the Quito Quest hosts. Danielle was able to be a part of the day and get to know the various hosts who will be bringing teams out to El Refugio. I think she would admit that this will be a great job for the summer and challenging as well. There are 15 teams scheduled and for each one she has to give the orientation and host a hot dog and cuye roast. What are cuye you ask? That is for another blog....

Do you have a Llama in your front yard?

2010-05-25T17:31:00.002-04:00

Our resident Llama and Alpaca are moved all over the property so they can graze. For the past two months or so they have been stationed in our front yard. Every once in a while, when I am walking home I have one of those surreal moments when I realize I have taken for granted something which is unusual, as usual.

The same can be said for my spiritual journey. I take for granted my salvation through Jesus Christ and completely minimize what He accomplished on the cross for me and those who would choose to believe. Recently, what God has been patiently trying to teach me is to focus on the benefits that are mine because of the cross.

My devotional from "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, said this, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. In Me you have everything you need, both for this life and for the life yet to come." I have been challenged to live in a way that this is something I understand with my head and also with my heart. The devotional, which is written as if Christ himself were talking, goes on to say, "Don't let the impact of the world shatter your thinking or draw you away from focusing on Me. The ultimate challenge is to keep fixing your eyes on Me, no matter what is going on around you. When I am central in your thinking, you are able to view circumstances from My perspective." I need to learn this so desperately to switch from my earthly perspective to a heavenly perspective.

52 Years Walking Around on the Planet

2010-05-03T10:27:00.002-04:00

Holgar and Howard working on Casa de Pedro

As Howard said this morning, "Hard to believe I am 52 years old, where does the time go?!" Of course we have now entered the time in our life that each birthday is a celebration because the alternative is...well you know. God has been and continues to be faithful each day of our lives.

In the last six weeks we have had three very different groups. The LiFTERS from New York who started the work on our climbing wall. Leader Mundial where we hosted 32 men from 12 different countries for their annual summit. Then this last weekend we hosted the La Red Convention where 60 youth pastors from Ecuador came for their annual convention. We witnessed first hand where God ministered too and encouraged each group as they met together and sought Him. We also were affirmed as a team that God is using each of us in our specific roles to provide the programming and facilities to accommodate each groups specific needs.

In the midst of all these groups we also hosted the spring Quito Quest Teams. One of those teams requested they do a work project which would benefit one of our workers. Immediately Howard thought of Pedro. A little background first. About three months ago Pedro told Howard he needed to replace his roof. So one weekend he and some of his family removed the old roof (basically sheets of tin). In the process one of the side walls of his house collapsed. Pedro saw this as an opportunity to "extend" his house out by three meters. The next Monday Howard asked him, "You do realize that now your roof is not going to fit because of the increased size?" No, Pedro says, "hadn't thought of that." Howard and the other workers decided to step in and help rebuild the wall and also help Pedro figure out a new roof. They got that accomplished, but the inside of the roof was still not complete. This is about the time the Quito Quest team arrived which was a huge blessing because Pedro was out of funds and I think getting a little weary. The team spent an afternoon working on the inside portion of Pedro's roof. With the inside of the roof finished Pedro and his family now have a roof that will withstand the onset of the rainy season and added insulation for warmth.

Reduce Reuse Recycle

2010-04-15T10:33:00.007-04:00

LiFTERS from Camp of the Woods

(PDF sent out to supporters of the ministry of Hacienda El Refugio)

Since Hacienda El Refugio was founded, it has been part of our vision to one day build a climbing wall. That day has come! It is incredible to see how God is bringing a story full circle as this dream begins to take shape.

For decades HCJB, the Voice of the Andes, has been transmitting radio to the world from its antenna farm in Pifo, 15 miles of east of Quito. In 1985 Dr. Ron Cline spearheaded the “World by 2000” challenge (later renamed “World by Radio”), an initiative to provide Christian radio for everyone in a language they could understand. Due to changes in strategy and the construction of a new International Airport nearby, HCJB began the process of dismantling 48 towers in 2006.

When Ron Cline brought his family to Ecuador in 1976, his son Russ was 12, going into 7th Grade. Nearly 20 years later, Russ brought his family to Ecuador to launch Youth World, and in 1999 Youth World began the ministry of Hacienda El Refugio.

In early March we got news that HCJB was selling sections of Radio Antenna at an incredibly low price, $10 a meter!...so we threw our climbing wall engineer for a loop and asked him to completely redesign the structure in time to pour the foundation just a few weeks later! (Thanks for coming through Kim Ramsey!)

Rick Borman, the North American Rep for El Refugio, had been working closely with a group from Camp of the Woods in upstate New York for several months. 14 students came down with the LiFT program to do mission work in some remote areas of Ecuador and to help get the Climbing Wall Project off the ground. LiFT donated $1000 in climbing holds, as well as some funds for construction, and helped pour the foundation for the main section of the wall.

We are especially excited about how the climbing wall will enhance programming at El Refugio. There are very few opportunities to provide this kind of experience in Ecuador, mostly because the condition of the rock in natural settings hasn’t made climbing a big sport in Ecuador, while the few sitesthat do exist are very hard to access and are geared towards more advanced climbers. The Climbing Wall will enable us to provide a rock climbing experience to people who would otherwise never be able to try something like this, and our heart is to use this experience to draw people into deeper intimacy with Christ.

The Project is estimated to cost $15,000, out of $5000 has been raised so far. Our goal is to raise a significant amount of the remaining $10,000 in the coming months so that we can keep this project rolling when our summer work teams hit the ground.

If you are interested in giving to this project you can send donations to:

International Teams 411 West River Rd. Elgin, IL 60123

*please designate the gift to “El Refugio: Climbing Wall”

It never fails to amaze us that we get to be part of what God is doing. Thank you for your prayers and consideration and for joining us in pursuing this vision,

The El Refugio Team

Este y Ese ~ This and That

2010-04-10T16:57:00.008-04:00

Nicole has been asking for finished pictures of the house. Once it was determined the house had settled and the lift was successful, Howard decided to add a porch to finish the look of the house . We have really enjoyed a place to sit protected from the rain while Howard barbecues in the evenings.

We are now on the count down to Danielle arriving for the summer. She arrives the 12th of May and will be here through August 4th. She will be our official Quito Quest intern for the summer. Along with our work teams, during the summer we host Quito Quest groups from Youth World. Each group comes to El Refugio for a day to spend some solo time and then a hot dog roast in the evening with s'mores and of course a sample of cuye. Danielle will give the orientation for El Refugio and basically "host" each group for the day.

Since we arrived back last November, Howard, Jonathan and I have been busy completing Spanish classes. Sometimes though, it seems our Spanish actually has gotten worse. The reason for this is with our expanding vocabulary, the chance for error has risen. For example, while working with Angelica I was explaining how everyone who stays in the cabin complains about a bird that pecks on the window every morning at 7:00 am. However, instead of saying "pajaro" which is the word for bird I said "parrilla" which is the word for barbecue. I always know when I have said something crazy, because she looks at me and kinda tilts her head and narrows her eyes, like huh? Finally after some time, we figured out what I had said and what I meant to say, we laughed at the idea of a barbecue actually pecking on the window. Since we were talking about barbecues she says she noticed we barbecue a lot. Angelica asks me what is my favorite food to barbecue. And I say "pecado" and she says do you mean "pescado"? (which means fish). So this time I get out my handy dandy translator which Ralph and Helen gave us years ago and realize I had said my favorite food to barbecue was "sin". Oh yeah, serve me up a good portion of sin can't have enough of that :) Yet again confirming that God has a sense of humor because He called us of all people to be the "missionaries"!

Day to Day

2010-03-12T10:18:00.004-05:00

While Howard has been finishing up leveling our house and I have been busy with retreats on the weekends, Jonathan has been developing a bird habitat. Recently, I picked up a book called "Kidunique" by Dan Webster. With our older children it was pretty easy to discern their areas of interest and motivation, Jonathan has been a little bit of a puzzle. The book suggests you think and pray about what has "sparked" with your kid. This took me back to Tehachapi and a friend of ours named Dan Wilkinson, who raised chickens and got Jonathan interested. So Howard asked Jonathan if he would be interested in cleaning up the chicken coup and getting some birds. The next day Jonathan was down at the coup cleaning, hauling and burning in order to get it ready for his project. Last Saturday Howard, Jonathan and Holgar went to a local market called Cotocallo and bought 10 guineas and 2 ducks. Jonathan would like to release the ducks onto our pond and keep building his little habitat. We also remembered how much Jonathan liked to garden and Howard asked him would you like a 10 x 12 plot to grow some vegetables, again his answer was very enthusiastic. Very fun for Howard and I to see Jonathan "sparked". Of course the workers are thrilled. Last Monday they were all down at the coup inspecting the birds, giving their advice. Another thing that has been revealed by this, is how good Jonathan's Spanish is, talking with Holgar about food, water, vaccinations etc. Just a glimpse into day to day life in Calacali, Ecuador.

2010-02-20T12:48:00.005-05:00

Howard and I walk to Ryocucho (one of the local barios) each evening after work. Recently, we noticed one of the local farmers had improved his farm by painting his fence. We both thought it humorous that the decision was made to also paint the tree along the way. So then we wondered is it a tree or a fence post? What is its function or purpose?

Also recently, I have heard several people in different contexts say, "...well you know, God's word it never comes back void." And while I think I understand what the speaker is referring too, I am thinking to myself, what does that mean? So I looked up in the Bible what the text really says, it comes out of Isaiah 55:11 "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Which in a weird way that makes perfect sense to me, brought me back to the tree/fencepost. I mean really it's a tree and men have tried to make it a fencepost. No matter how you paint the tree, it is a tree, its purpose is to be a tree. So that gave me clarity about the verse from Isaiah. God's word is God's word. God's truth is God's truth. Simply put, men have distorted, manipulated and brought the validity of the bible under attack. The final result however, will be that His word will accomplish what God desires, and His word will achieve the purpose for which it was sent.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

Jesus Teaches about Those Who Build Houses on Rock and Sand Matthew 6:21

2010-02-06T12:21:00.004-05:00

When we moved into the house here at El Refugio, we knew immediately there was a problem with the house literally sinking. At first we could open our front door to about a 45 degree angle, then 30, then before long it simply would not open. We learned later that they had problems through the construction of the house with the compaction of the soil. So three years later, after Howard had consulted with an engineer from the states he started the process of literally "jacking our house up!" The process worked, and Howard's favorite thing to do now is show people how our front door opens :) Enjoy the pictures...

Treehouse Dedication

2010-01-25T10:08:00.007-05:00

The Youth World team came out to El Refugio for our weekly meeting last Thursday. During that time, we held a dedication for our newly completed treehouse. For those of you who follow our blog, the treehouse was the first project Howard worked on when we arrived in Ecuador three years ago. What an amazing vision and project to see completed, unfortunately the picture's really do not do it justice. As a ministry, this will provide yet another vehicle for teams, retreats and students to use while they are on property. There are a total of four pods where people can climb up and sit and have a quiet time, then underneath there is a net you can crawl down into, which you can see with the picture on the right. There were approximately 35 people from our team who were able to be at the dedication. And for every person there, they came away with a different application. And isn't that fitting because we are all on a spiritual journey and at different points, yet God is able to meet us exactly where we are. The treehouse will provide many opportunities in the future for individuals to express their individual worship in a creative environment.

Paul Reichert, the visionary behind the project wrote these words for the dedication:

I am here

I’m in this place, waiting for you.
I’m waiting like those wise men, following a star like a fool.
I’m waiting like Jonah, covered in the slime and scale of the sea, deep in the belly of darkness hoping for a rescue.
I’m waiting like your mother, pregnant with fear and love.
I’m waiting like our first parents in the stillness of the garden, listening for your footsteps.
I’m waiting like you did on the day I was born and you spoke my name into the world and said that I was good.
What a surprise to find you already here...so quiet...waiting for me.

Happy 16th Birthday Jonathan

2010-01-13T12:42:00.003-05:00

I have written three different blogs and decided really all that is important today is that we celebrate Jonathan's life and how he is in the process of becoming a great man. Howard measured him this morning and Jonny-boy finally hit the 6 foot mark!

To be honest the day is difficult because above all else Jonathan loves his family. One time he had a friend over and he was asking this boy if he had brothers and sisters. When Jonathan found out he only had one sister, Jonathan said, "Oh, I'm sorry that's to bad. I have one brother and three sisters and when they are here it is the best". Now, our family has grown to include two son-in-laws, a grandson and step-granddaughter.

Just because everything is different doesn't mean anything has changed. ~Irene Peter

How true this quote is, even though everything is different for Jonathan, really nothing has changed. He still has a family which has grown who love him and even though we're not together physically, you can bet by the end of the day he will have talked with all of them on the phone or heard from them on facebook.

Happy Happy Birthday Jonny-boy!!!

Dios existe!!!

2010-01-02T13:15:00.005-05:00

We were able to travel down to the Jungle a few days after Christmas. Kevin and I had not been back to Shell since our visit nine years ago. This was our first family "road trip" and we enjoyed seeing some of the sights along the way. One of our stops was at Rio Verde , which ended up to be a pretty good hike. The waterfall though was worth every step. This sign was hanging along the path we had to take. In response to what we had just witnessed the signs says, "Are you prepared for a surprise? God exists!!!"

"But God made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses." Jeremiah 10:12,13

North/South American Four Generations

2009-12-08T08:59:00.003-05:00

Extreme Response hosted their annual Christmas parties here in Ecuador this last week. They ministered to approximately 10,000 people over the course of five days. El Refugio hosted one of the parties which had over 400 people in one afternoon. As always, it is an afternoon of fun and enjoyment. The difference in Ecuador though is everyone, young and old, play the games and participates. I love to watch the people at the Santa booth, everyone wants to get their picture taken. What a treasure for this Ecuadorian family to take home a picture of all four generations.

Really, people are the same in all cultures. Just before we left the states to return to Ecuador we made sure we also had a picture taken of the four generations in our family. Now that I am so far away, what a treasure this picture is to me as well.

This last week I witnessed how easy it is to meet people's needs. Think about the significance that over 10,000 peoples basic needs were met with food and their whimsical needs as well as each child was given a "navidad" (small gift). Of course if you asked the team who came from North America and Canada they would say it took a lot of hard work and sacrifice on their part to make it happen. They were willing to be God's instrument for a time here in Ecuador.

Would you be willing to do the same in your neck of the woods this holiday season? Fill a need whether basic or whimsical and allow God to use you as a blessing to those in need.

Return from Furlough

2009-11-30T09:11:00.007-05:00

Howard Jonathan and I have been home now for about ten days. As always, we jumped right back into ministry, work and life. Ecuador is powered by hydroelectricity, we arrived home in the middle of their worse drought in forty years. What this means is everyone is put on a rotating schedule for power outages. Quito city dwellers have their power down from 11-2 each day, while ours has been out every other day from 7-10 in the evening.

As I was walking around the property I was struck by the tree you see in the photo above. As you can tell from the berm, the drought has taken its toll, things are really brown and dry. Yet, in the midst of it, this tree has actually "bloomed". How is it, in the midst of rough circumstances there always seems to be something which, in spite of the times thrive? I have observed this in people we talked too as well. We had an intern here last winter that was probably the most positive person I've met. Her story, however is one of trial, abandoned as an orphan, adopted and moved to an entirely new country and culture and lost a parent to cancer. However, that is not her focus. Her focus is completely on the provision by the hand of God. In spite of circumstances she has actually thrived. While she was here she applied too and was accepted to Seminary. Always pursuing ever thriving.

The first and last lines of my devotion this morning were, "Problems are part of life. They are inescapable woven into the very fabric of this fallen world.....Remember that you are en route to heaven, and let your problems fade in the Light of eternity."(Young, Sarah "Jesus Calling") Can I do that? Can I be a person who thrives "in spite of..."

Grace Chapel Project Girl's Intern House

2009-08-20T13:16:00.005-04:00

You may be wondering what has taken me so long to post pictures of the finished project. The answer is, on the day it was completed we had girl interns here, who moved right in before I could get pictures. So I had to wait until the end of summer. Thank you Grace Chapel Men's team for taking this project on, I know you'll enjoy seeing pictures of the completed house.

Intern house continued

2009-08-20T13:09:00.003-04:00

Because it is somewhat tricky to upload pictures I will have to do this in a series of posts. This is showing the front door and the girl's living room area. Before and after.

Compliments of Grace Chapel Men

2009-08-20T12:56:00.003-04:00

For those who follow our blog, you'll remember last April, Grace Chapel of Lancaster brought down a men's work team. The men not only started the re-model of our girls intern house, they also had raised all $11,000 needed to complete the project. Kitchen before and after.

Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! Dr. Seuss

2009-08-18T09:17:00.003-04:00

Today is the day Danielle starts her college career at Fresno Pacific University. While we were there in May, we did most of the ground work for her to begin today. With that in mind we felt comfortable letting her fly up alone. Today, however my feelings are mixed. My desire is to be with her and walk with her through the process of setting up her dorm room. Yet, I know she is in the capable hands of Nicole and Jay. They will represent us as her parents at a dinner tonight for the Presidential Scholars. Pray for her. Howard and I were watching "Planet Earth" last night where mother birds were teaching their young to fly. In one case, owls simple started by flying from branch to branch and as they gained confidence they increased their distance until they were finally flying. Our girl is in that process right now, please pray for her as she increases confidence to launch into life as God has prepared it exactly for her.

From El Refugio to Quito

2009-08-10T10:53:00.007-04:00

Howard joined the programming team along with some of our interns and two guests on a 25 mile hike from El Refugio to Quito. One of the guests is a pastor here in Ecuador and was at Refugio for some needed R&R. He was also to have a period of time where he completely "unplugged". The first two nights he stayed in the cabin and he told Howard he knew God was telling him to slow down and simplify his life. He said he was listening but then came the hike. While on the hike, he felt like God was saying, "No, really I mean it, slow down, simplify and get back to the basics." I wonder how many of us need to heed the same message?

Culture to Culture

2009-07-25T12:37:00.002-04:00

When one of our work teams was here we took them to visit Otavalo, an Indian market place. We also visited Cotachachi or "leather town" as we call it. While we were there a parade of the towns people passed by. We tried to find out what they were celebrating, and finally Israel said, "I think because it is a small town, they just have lots of festivals to keep everyone happy and busy." The thought occurred to me how similar our cultures are, because in the town we raised our own kids in, I think they had a festival for every season of the year. And yet, there is the same tension of the colliding cultures, for example the young boy about three rows back in his t-shirt from a North American store. We have our festivals to preserve our cultural traditions and without even realizing it, we have absorbed an entirely different culture into our midst.

Seems like only yesterday...

2009-07-12T20:58:00.009-04:00

A new group arrived last evening and while we were at church with them today in Calacali, the Ecuadorians who are here training to be facilitators decided to help us celebrate our Anniversary by toilet papering our house. As always, if you click on each picture you can get a better look at the image. Many of us probably consider this a "North American" tradition but I have to tell you they did a very thorough job of covering the front of our house. When we arrived home they were on the other side of the mountain cheering for us. We feel very loved!

The Culprits!

"Hit the Ground Running"

2009-07-03T11:30:00.007-04:00

We returned to El Refugio on June 15th and literally hit the ground running. We arrived at the same time as our largest group of the summer (49 people). Geneva Youth, from Illinois has been coming every summer for the last seven years and we have had the privilege of spending time with them the last three summers. Sterling, the Youth Pastor, does an amazing job with the students and every time their bus drives out we are sad to see them go.

As part of their VBS the group put together a craft project where the kids made beaded necklaces that told the redemption story. Danielle is the one who translated the story and instructions to the children from Calacali.

Howard helped out with the craft project as well.

VBS also included field day activities. Jonathan is kneeling down next to one of the children.

Kim and Robin McCart come each year and serve so faithfully with the group. They are known as counselors to the kids and fellow leaders to the church. For Howard and I they have simply become our friends who we love dearly.

Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are??? Dr. Seuss

2009-06-28T18:13:00.006-04:00

Our final event before we headed back to Ecuador was Danielle's graduation from High School on June 13th. We were blessed to be a part of the Desert Christian Home School graduation. Fun time for our whole family. Seems hard to believe our youngest daughter is one step away from college. Danielle has been accepted and plans to attend Fresno Pacific University, majoring in Liberal Arts so she can teach elementary education. She received the President's Scholarship for her GPA and her score on the SAT. We are so proud of her!

"Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!" Dr. Seuss

2009-06-05T16:14:00.002-04:00

Biola University's graduation was our next event. Kevin graduated with a BA in Fines Arts
Magna cum laude.
And yes that is a chartreuse tie he is wearing :)

"Oh, The Places You'll Go!" Dr. Seuss

2009-06-03T15:52:00.008-04:00

May has been a month of events and celebrations. Due to the generosity of a friend who donated his fly miles to us, we were able to attend them all.

Kevin put together a photography exhibit as his Senior project. For Howard and I it was fun to see Kevin in his element. We talked with his professors at Biola, who unanimously voiced their support of Kevin and his talent and vision. He will quite possibly use his work from this exhibit as his application for grad school. The family with Kevin and yes, that is baby Anchor. Bridget was able to join us the next day.

A show favorite

Grace Chapel Lancaster, California

2009-05-05T16:10:00.003-04:00

Grace Chapel Men's Work Team

Grace Chapel Quito Quest Team

Recently our sending church sent two teams to Ecuador. The first to arrive was a work team of men, who specifically raised over $11,000 to build housing for our girl interns. The second group came as a Quito Quest Team. They spent their time in Quito, Tena and then spent their final days here at El Refugio.
Both teams were a blessing and an encouragement. Very fun for us to host them and show them a little bit of our world.

Easter Sunrise Service

2009-04-14T10:18:00.003-04:00

Early Easter morning El Refugio hosted a sunrise service. What a glorious way to celebrate Christ, our risen savior. We ended the service with the hymn, "And Can it Be?"

And can it be that I should gain,
an interest in my Savior's blood?
Died he for me, who caused his pain
For me, who him to death pursue.
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my God shouldst die for me?
Amazing love, how can it be
That thou my Lord shouldst die for me.

Christ is Risen!
He is risen indeed!
Alleluia! Alleluia!

Do you ever feel like this?

2009-03-21T16:10:00.009-04:00

Baby Anchor

Literally, there are many days I feel much like the picture above. You would think after living at 10,000 ft. for over two years, there would be a certain degree of acclimatization. Yet my heart still races after walking up our driveway. This is also one of the leading "excuses" for any ailment or tiredness here in Quito, we just say "Oh it 's the altitude". Sometimes it is, sometimes it is not. All I know is it is Saturday afternoon. I have reports to file, schedules to figure out and a newsletter to write and you guessed it all I want to do is take a long afternoon nap.

2009-02-17T16:09:00.012-05:00

El Refugio was closed over the holidays to give all our workers their vacation time off. This allowed time for our family to travel around Quito with Kevin, Jay and Nicole. As many of you know, Kevin is a photography major at BIOLA University. While he was here, in under 3 weeks he shot over 1000 pictures. Here is a picture of what Kevin was taking pictures of...

The Basilica del Voto Nacional, is an imposing church, neo-Gothic in style, with gargoyles representing the national fauna. It is built on a high spot in the city center. It was started at the end of the 19th century and is yet to be finished. Typically, we take visitors to tour the Basilica simply because it is such a beautiful cathedral.

Contrasting the old with the new. Bridget was not able to visit for the holidays. On December 24th she delivered our first grandchild, a boy named Anchor Viviano. Over Valentine's Day weekend, Anchor's dad, Viviano Aguilar asked Bridget to marry him and we are pleased to announce she said yes! They are planning a fall wedding.

As you can imagine, we are really looking forward to meeting this little guy :)

Extreme Response

2009-01-24T14:45:00.004-05:00

Hacienda El Refugio hosted a Christmas Party for Extreme Response for the first time this year. Extreme Response has been involved in celebrating Christmas with over 13,000 in Ecuador, South Africa and Philippines. Our party consisted of 450 of those 13,000, people who came from all the surrounding barrios near the training center. For over three hours, young and old alike were able to simply have fun. They played games, had a picture taken with Santa Claus and just enjoyed themselves. Each of the children were given a navidad, which consisted of a small toy and candy. All were fed lunch and after the event, our team was able to hand out food bags to 50 of the families in the most need. For our team the highlight was to shake hands and greet those from the barrio, who at most times we see only from a distance.

Feliz Navidad y Feliz Ano Nuevo

2008-12-30T10:51:00.011-05:00

We hosted a Christmas party celebration for the workers here at El Refugio. One thing we learned was that not many Ecuadorians have their pictures taken. Danielle took each of the workers and their families pictures when they arrived, and then while they were eating she printed copies of the pictures and put them in frames; the workers were thrilled.
As with many of you our workers have seen both blessing and tragedy this past year. From left to right of the panorama: Don Victor is our eldest worker at 78 and is really such a steady presence. Next is Enrique and his wife Alicia with two of their nieces. Alicia is waiting for a kidney transplant and travels in each week for kidney dialysis. The money has been donated for the transplant procedure, and they now are waiting for a kidney donor. The next family picture is Holgar, our head worker, and his wife Angelica, our head cook, with their twin boys Vladimir and Kenard. They are expecting a baby girl around the first week of February. Holgar and Angelica both have been very instrumental in working with Howard and I on our Spanish. Pedro is next in the picture lineup. This last year saw tragedy for him as one of his granddaughters died of cancer at the age of 5. We bought a tree as a memorial to her and planted it on the property; we see him there each day paying his respects. Finally, there is Andres and Marlena with their new baby girl Katerine, who was born mid November, along with Marlena's mom Panchita, who is visiting from Peru. This baby girl will be exposed to four languages through her family: Spanish, Kofan, Quinchua and English. I have written frequently about this dear family; you remember Andres is our guard and Marlena is a cook with Angelica.
All the men work with Howard on the operations side of El Refugio and I work with Angelica and Marlena. My proudest moment this last year was seeing both the women receive contracts that allowed for them to be blessed with three months off, with pay, after their babies are born.
These are the people Howard and I work with on a day to day basis. We thought you would enjoy seeing pictures of them and their families and learn a little bit about their lives.
We pray you had a blessed Christmas and our prayers are for a New Year filled with hope.

Time Out of our Regularly Scheduled Post

2008-11-25T09:02:00.004-05:00

With Thanksgiving approaching, I wanted to take time to say how much we appreciate each one of you who make it possible for us to serve here at El Refugio. Each day we are reminded we could not be here with out your faithful support.
I wanted to share with you about God's faithfulness to us. I know the economy is bad and we pray for you as you weather the storm surrounding all the financial issues. I want to encourage you to remember God knows each and every one of our needs and is ready and willing to meet those needs. I share this testimony to encourage you.
Last spring we received a substantial amount from one of our supporters. Then a couple of months later, from the same supporter we received another large donation. To be honest, at first we entertained the idea of purchasing a piano. We went and looked at pianos, in Ecuador they are very expensive. Pretty much like a car, they not only hold their value, they increase in value. Anyway, we did not purchase a piano and the money has just sat in our account at International Teams. This month, we had to have our car worked on so we could get it "Matriculated" (equivalent to DMV tags). Much to our dismay, the bill grew larger and larger. Something about the head and valve guides. When all was said and done, do you know the amount it cost for us to get our car repaired was exactly the amount of the two donations we received "last spring". God knew and had prepared in advance for our needs.
I hope this encourages you. We feel privileged to see God work through each one of you.
Happy Thanksgiving

Summer Tour 2008 "El Reto"

2008-11-18T14:02:00.010-05:00

Just when you thought you could basically figure out what ministry looks like at El Refugio, we'll throw a twist into the mix. Right in the middle of summer we hosted one of the Ecuadorian adventure races called "El Reto". The race consisted of three parts, the first was literally running up and around our mountain (quite an achievement when you remember we are at 10,000 ft.) bicycle riding and then orienteering. We hosted the event to develop some good community relationships. Even with all the craziness with the racers, every once in a while it's fun to have a change in pace. Below racers take off from the starting line.

Loved the contrast in this picture

Racers poised against the horse backdrop

Summer Tour 2008 "Father Son Team"

2008-11-10T15:10:00.004-05:00

Program Director Juan Carlos Cevellos

Each year the emphasis for the Father/Son Team shifts from climbing to jungle adventure. The cool thing this year was the group included three generations, Grandfather, father and son. The time was spent reconnecting with each other, but more importantly with God. Juan Carlos is shown above chatting with the Grandfather from the three generation group. Plans are already underway for the Father Son Climb for the summer of 2009. Any Father and Son combos interested can contact us and we will get you signed up.

Summer Tour 2008 "Southern Baptist Kids"

2008-10-22T10:33:00.006-04:00

"Southern Baptist Retreat"

The next group to arrive for the summer was the Southern Baptist kids from all over Latin America. Once a year the Southern Baptist Convention treats the adult missionaries to a time of rest and refreshing in Quito, while the kids spend their time here at El Refugio. Since this was a retreat group, we basically provided housing, food and most importantly programing. The leaders of this group always go way over the top to really make the kids feel love and cared for during their time here.
This would be a good time to mention Israel, an Ecuadorian who worked as an intern under my position for the summer. Wow, what a blessing he was to me and the ministry over and over again. He exhibited a true servants heart as he served in any capacity required. Israel was completing his internship for the University here at El Refugio, and we hope in the near future to find a position for him here full time. Pray for God's leading and provision in his life for this to happen.
The reason I mention him now, is he attended one of the sessions provided by the Southern Baptist leaders. The speaker spoke on how each of us has a different love language, and the next day Israel was so animated about the session, he had never heard of such a thing. What a privilege to be a part of his life as he testified how this message really impacted his life. Later in the summer I also witnessed him patiently talking with one of our bus drivers and delivering the Gospel message with wisdom beyond his years.

Summer Tour 2008 "Geneva Youth"

2008-10-11T14:48:00.009-04:00

"VBS with kids from local barrios"

The next work team for the summer arrived 3 days later. This was our largest group of the summer. Geneva Youth arrived with 48 Juniors and staff. Combined with our staff we fed approximately 70 for every meal. Housing was fun. El Refugio has 3 dorms that can sleep 10 each. We then put 4 girls in what we call Casita Juanita, 4 guys in the boy's intern house and the remainder in Casa Grande, where we set up bunk beds. One of the challenges with a group who comes each year is to offer something new. This year we held our first annual pig roast. When all was said and done we fed over 100 people. Fun.

"The first annual Pig Roast"

Geneva Youth has been coming every summer for the past six years. One of the amazing things about this group is how we could see their time investment and the benefit of coming every year. The Youth Pastor had prepared the kids before they arrived and while they were here participated in a devotional each day from James. Each night ended with time by the camp fire debriefing the day, what each of the students had learned and what God was teaching them.
While Geneva Youth was here they completed several work projects, held a VBS on property, and for some of the kids the trip culminated in the jungle, where a baptism was held.

"Baptism in the Jungle"

One thing we learned is you can not out give, serve, or love the Geneva Youth Team!

Summer Tour 2008 "Family Team"

2008-10-06T21:16:00.008-04:00

Geneva Family Team

Zip Line in the Jungle

Waiting for a turn on the Ropes Courses

Here at El Refugio, we basically have two types of groups, those who come for a retreat La Red would be an example of a retreat group, and then those churches who come specifically as a work team. Now under the definition of a work team they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.

Our second group of the summer was a “Family Work Team” from Geneva Church outside of Chicago. How our dorms are set up we can “host 5 maybe 6 family units. The family team is always fun and always a little more lively as we learn to accommodate the different ages to fit the work project. The team scoured and cleaned our pond and worked at pouring the foundation for our future shop. During their stay here, they hosted a VBS, held babies at the orphanage, enjoyed campfires each night with a devotional, hiked and of course worked. What I remember most about the family team is their complete generosity.

Summer Tour 2008

2008-09-29T12:21:00.004-04:00

Receiving instructions for the Ropes Courses

Ivet Castro, Director of La Red

For some reason, we have found since serving in Ecuador it feels as if time has simply sped up. Really, it seems like a heartbeat since we started the summer of 2008. For those active readers of our blog, you’ll remember we closed the kitchen down for the month of May to clean and organize.

Our first “official” group of the summer was a retreat held at the end of May, for one of the ministries connected with Youth World called La Red Juvenil (The Youth Network). To learn more about this ministry you can go to: http://www.youthworld.org.ec/lared.htm

Mr. and Mrs. Jay Morgan Kimbler

2008-08-26T17:16:00.000-04:00

Before I start recapping our summer here in Ecuador, some of you have been asking about the wedding and to see some pictures. On the day of the wedding I told the kids to not worry about taking any pictures with their cameras. The photographer said she would take plenty of pictures and then we could just relax and enjoy the day. She did an incredible job, however we arrived back here in Ecuador without a single picture. So I had to wait until the photographer released the CD to Nicole, and then wait for someone to carry them down to us, so I could share them with you. Enjoy!

All photographs by Natasha Burnett of Human Nature Photography

Summer Wrap Up

2008-08-18T16:36:00.000-04:00

To be honest...I was absolutely floored when I checked our blog and realized it had been a full two months since I last posted. When I look back, as I wrote the blog for June, I had no idea how the craziness of summer would hit. From that point until now, El Refugio hosted 7 groups who were as varied in size as they were in ministry. The good news is just last week we were able to purchase a modem which increased our internet speed to about 236 k bps from 44. I have no idea what that means, only that in just making the few minor changes I posted today took me a fraction of the time it would have in the past.

So over the next few weeks, lets sit down and catch up.
As God is our Refuge (and surely has been the last eight weeks)
Mary for the Scholl family

DESEMPRE

2008-06-17T17:24:00.001-04:00

Thought you might like to read a letter we received from a man named Oscar who heads up DESEMPRE, a group which frequently uses our property for corporations who desire team building. This particular group was one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in Ecuador. They were here for two days, and camped up on the mountain for the night. One of their activities was as a group figure out how to catch a live chicken and then as a group decide what to do with the chicken, eat it, make it a pet or simply let it go (which meant they did not have dinner that night).

Quito, 13th of June, 2008

This letter is to express a special thanks to all the team from Hacienda El Refugio who helped us during our event on June 5th and 6th.

Your help was very important for the success of the training. We wish to recognize thank everyone of the Hacienda facilitators and staff for being extremely helpful and collaborative with us. Thank you for being such a good example of Christian brothers. In a special way we want to thank the extra effort and time given by Lorena, Juan Carlos, Abby, Howard and Mathew.

Every one of clients was impressed by the organization of the training, and amazed by the beauty of the place. You really are doing a great job at keeping the place in its best shape.

Additionally, I want to let you know that during those days three people of the Sanduchitos Pura Vida Team received Jesus Christ as Savior, and 112 people were exposed to at least some Christian thoughts.

It was great to see our both teams working together as one team, and we look forward to continue to organize events that would glorify God and enhance our professionalism.

Best regards,

Oscar M. Aguirre

GERENTE INTERNACIONAL

DESEMPRE S.A.

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

2008-06-15T13:00:00.000-04:00

Have you ever uttered the words, “There is no way I am going to do such and such?” This is exactly how I know God has a sense of humor, because any time I have the audacity to say that phrase, He always finds a way to draw me to do exactly the “such and such”.

Last year, the suggestion was made that I should take over the kitchen here at HER, of which I promptly replied, “Are you kidding me, I can barely take care of my own kitchen!” And then the conviction and prompting of the Holy Spirit started to settle in.

The first of May, I took over the position of Guest House Manager for an interim period. With this position, I oversee the Kitchen and the cooks, the care and cleaning of Casa Grande and the dorms and finally, the coordinating of the interns here at El Refugio. Proving God does have a sense of humor and He can manage to get a job done, using even the most unlikely people.

For starters, thirty days in May we closed the work team kitchen and thanks to our hard working interns we completely emptied, inventoried, cleaned and painted the kitchen. Our goal was to open for our first group the last weekend in May for La Red, a ministry affiliated with Youth World. From that point on there has been no looking back. Since the first of June, we have hosted the Youth World team for lunch, a training day for the Quito Quest interns, and most recently our first work team of the summer. We have only just begun, by the end of summer, we will have welcomed five more work teams and fourteen Quito Quest Groups. Fun, no really, Fun.

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

2008-04-25T11:39:00.000-04:00

Many exciting things have been happening at El Refugio. We have known our Director Bob Spoolstra and his family will be returning to the states June of 2009. Recognizing the team is in transition, a leadership team has been put into place to navigate the next 14 months. As Director of Operations, Howard will be one of the members on the team. Pray for them as they articulate the vision for El Refugio. Our mission is clear:

A training and retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship
with Jesus Christ, through nature and outdoor adventure

The team has spent the last several weeks expressing how we as individuals and corporately carry out this mission. Now, the challenge is to articulate what our vision will be for the next year, five years etc. and how we proceed from there.

For a little background, the team here at El Refugio either serves on the Operations or the Programming side. In an effort to integrate these two areas, some training has and will continue to take place. Programming started the training with the whole team this week, illustrating how they train the facilitators who serve with us. Juan Carlos Cevallos, our new Program Director has developed a program for young Ecuadorians to come and serve as facilitators at El Refugio for our many retreats and programs. For those of us on the Operations side this was a very beneficial time.

Juan Carlos and Paul Reichert, who is now our Program Developer, explained how they teach the facilitators how to use Experiential Education with the different groups. This starts with Experience, then reflection, generalization and finally application. Basically it is: What – So What – Now What. The idea is the experience should change you. If you step out into the front of a bus and it almost hits you and the next day you do the same, you have not learned anything. However, if the next day you look both ways, the experience has left you a better and wiser person. Which is exactly what our high and low rope elements are designed to achieve when a person participates in each activity, teach the individual something about themselves and hopefully they will grow.

Biblically, this is illustrated how Christ spent time with the disciples. If you will peruse through any of the gospels, and notice when Jesus sat the disciples down and “debriefed” with them after an encounter. He did this, so that by the time He ascended into heaven, each disciple was prepared for their individual ministries, to the extent each one died professing their belief in Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. I challenge you to look through the scriptures and see examples of this concept, What – So What – Now What. As always, we understand and appreciate we could not be serving here without the love and support of so many of you.

As God is our Refuge, Mary, for the Scholl family

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

2008-02-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

While technically, we are in our “slow” season, many things have been happening here at El Refugio, both on the operations and programming side of things.

First, at the end of January we experienced our first Youth World Annual Meetings. The speaker spoke each day from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. I would encourage you to find a copy of “The Message”; this translation provides an interesting perspective on a timeless message.

Each day we heard reports from the different areas of ministry, which was both encouraging and sobering to hear the events of the last year. I would encourage you to look up www.youthworld.org.ec and browse around the website to learn about the various ministries we serve with here in Quito. One interesting note, our team now has 54 members with a projection of 60 by the end of this year. This number includes full time missionaries, term missionaries and interns. As you can imagine, with that many people, this provides countless opportunities for ministry to happen in diverse ways.

The month of January and first of February were a blur for our operations team. They worked fast and furiously to finish up the PTC (Professional Training Center). As you know they have been working on this project for the last seven months. The goal was to finish it by the Leader Mundial Global Summit. They came really close. In fact many from the team came out and pitched in with sanding, varnishing and painting. By the time the meetings took place, the great room was pretty much done, with only some minor things still needed to be done. The result was that 26 men from 9 different countries came end enjoyed a week of instruction in their very own training center.

Programming has been equally as busy. They started the month of January with a team of young women from Gordon College who came to train in emergency procedures both for themselves and our team here. They also worked on cutting some new trails, down in the cloud forest near our property which will be used by future teams. Last week a group of Ecuadorian leaders from a church in Guayaquil came and trained with our team. Then this week they returned with 30 youth from their church to participate in the full camp activities. Several Saturdays we have had groups out here and today, in fact, we have a Quito Quest group from Northern California doing a work project.

Next week we will celebrate our one year anniversary. Hard to believe a year has passed and yet, at times it feels like we have been here a life time. God is good and eternally faithful. Please realize how much we appreciate each of you and understand we could not be here without your support, spiritually, emotionally and financially. Remember, we love to hear from you and about your lives as well.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family

Traditions ~ Culture ~ Family

2008-01-25T08:44:00.000-05:00

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador January 2007

The three older kids were able to join us for Christmas. Although the time went far too quickly, I can say we enjoyed every minute. We continued many of our regular family traditions and added some new ones. There is an Ecuadorian tradition to hand out “Navidads” to the children. On Christmas day, while the Cline family (fellow missionaries and friends) were driving out to have Christmas dinner with us, they noticed a ton of kids lined on the road for their Navidads. We knew we had a bunch of beanie babies up in storage, left from groups this last summer. So we loaded up both our cars and just started driving. When we saw kids on the road we would stop and give them a beanie baby. One little boy told Howard, “Now Christmas has finally come!” We all agreed this is a tradition we want to continue.

We also had a good time “viewing” things through our kid’s eyes. One humorous Ecuadorian habit is to turn the flashers on their car whenever they need to do something out of the ordinary. Doesn’t matter if what they are doing is illegal, if they have their flashers on, it’s OK. We saw cars on the wrong side of the road backing up, to a car triple park. No worries, though, because they had their flashers on.

On New Years Eve day Howard and the kids were able to climb Guagua Pichincha (15,692 ft). Feeling confident a week later Howard, Nicole and Kevin climbed Iliniza Norte (16,815 ft). The altitude really affected Kevin, when they descended he said that would be enough climbing for him, no thanks he didn’t need to try Cotopaxi (19,388 ft), one of the world’s highest active volcanoes. Maybe next year.

Finally, thought you might enjoy a picture of Nicole and the young man she is going to marry. His name is Jay Kimbler and they will be married on March 28, 2008. Jay is a great guy and we are hopeful for these two and the future God has in store for them. Currently, Jay is employed in Visalia, CA. as a Herd health manager for a club calf operation. They raise cattle for 4H and FFA show animals. Pray for them as they make decisions about their future together.

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

Dios le Paga

2007-12-30T17:07:00.000-05:00

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador December 2007

Usually the first weekend of December we get all the Christmas decorations out and put the tree up. This year proved to be very different for our family here in Ecuador. We volunteered to help out with the annual dump Christmas party at Zambiza. The party is hosted by Extreme Response and I was struck by how well organized the day went. They we expecting around 3000 people and more like 3400 showed up.

To give you an idea of how the day went the people arrived and were given a wrist band with a color and a large zip lock bag with a string attached to hang around their neck.

They entered the dump site and they first got in line to have their picture taken with Santa. They then could play games, do a craft, or have their face painted. The zip lock bags were to put all their prizes in, like candy or small toys.

Then as the party concluded there were four buses and the people would get in line for the bus with the color of their wristband. They were then given a full bag of food which included staples for the Ecuadorian diet, the smaller kids were given a gift bag and everyone left with a sack lunch.

I can not tell you what a privilege it was to participate in handing out gift bags. The people were given the choice of a food bag or a toy bag. Children as young as 8 or 9 would choose the food. The significance of this choice affected my entire Christmas season, and helped keep perspective in my life.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family

Extreme Response South Africa

2007-12-27T21:33:00.000-05:00

Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador November 2007

I’ve been thinking about the prayer of Jabez, one part in particular. “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!’” I Chronicles 4:10. The common North American application of this prayer is one of a material outcome. I would challenge you to see this in a different light. Perhaps it was never meant to be financial, but rather a perspective, a world view if you will.

Let me give an example from our own lives. Howard and I were content with life in North America until God enlarged our territory to now include living in South America. We came to Ecuador seven years ago and fell in love with the people and the country. Because of God’s blessing us, we now have a heart for the needs of the people on this continent.

The second week of November, God “enlarged our territory” again when Howard was able to go on a charitable motorcycle ride with Extreme Response through South Africa. Our hearts now hurt for a people on yet another continent. The money raised from the ride was used to purchase three Yamaha AG200 motorcycles and replacement parts. The motorcycles will be used by two social workers and a pastor to travel a twenty mile radius in central Malawi to meet with various AIDS orphan groups for accountability, discipleship and evangelism. Because of the dirt roads and lack of pavement motorcycles are the best way for travel.

Howard was challenged and heartbroken after the trip. Story after story of innocence lost from the lives of children because of the AIDS epidemic. The little boy in the picture with Howard was found in a plastic bag in a garbage can, probably placed by his mother because he had AIDS. He is now one of the AIDS orphans in South Africa.

For whatever reason God continually chooses to “enlarge our territory” by always challenging Howard’s and my world view and increasing the capacity of our hearts for people with needs impossible to meet on our own. He has done this for us by never allowing us to fall into a comfort zone.

I encourage you to allow God to enlarge your territory as well. However that may look, if it is getting involved in your local neighborhood impact, using resources God has provided for you to alleviate the suffering of those less fortunate or something as radical as moving to another continent. I am so thankful God has chosen to bless us and our family and indeed enlarge our territory.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T12:40:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and we want you to know how much we are thinking of you as you celebrate with your family and friends. This is probably one of the harder holidays for us to be so far away. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, because each year we are reminded to take time and remember each of the things we are thankful for.

Last week at our team meeting we had a time of proclaiming God’s faithfulness in each of our individual lives and corporately as well. Many people know the biblical account of Moses and the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea and how God parted the waters. What may not be as well known is God parted the waters a second time when they crossed the River Jordan. You can read up on this in Joshua chapters 3 and 4. One act of significance is they were encouraged to pick up a stone of remembrance from the lake bed, so they and their children would remember exactly what God had done for them. So I started thinking about how good it would be to pick up a stone of remembrance for our family to commemorate the year God has just brought our family through.

Just a short year ago, we had arrived back in Lancaster from training with ITEAMS. To be honest we were a little discouraged, we truly felt God’s call on our lives and yet we were waiting for our full support to come in, so we could leave for Ecuador. Now, looking back I can see God’s faithfulness over and over again. From finding a rental for only three months to a job for Howard that also only lasted three months. Just enough time for us to raise the additional support we needed and fly out on the 26^th of February. We arrived in Calacali at a far better time than we could have arranged. There was a team at the camp however the “busy season” had not yet come so we had time to get settled into our home. We saw God’s faithfulness, as He provided for our home to be furnished, completely. Two families were heading home from the field and we were the lucky beneficiaries. On and on I could tell you of how we saw God’s amazing faithfulness to our family.

We also witnessed God’s faithfulness as He put together our support team. We are so thankful for each of you who financially support our family each month. You may or may not realize that each month we receive a statement from ITEAMS which itemizes contributions for that month. Every month without fail, God uses that list with your individual names to encourage and bolster our confidence in the ministry we are a part of here at El Refugio. We have come to think of you, our supporters, as “our great cloud of witnesses”.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we proclaim God’s faithfulness and continue to be thankful for each of you and pray God’s blessing to return to you in abundance.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family

Weekly Wrap Up From CalaCali, Ecuador

2007-10-28T15:29:00.000-04:00

Time has truly gotten away from us this month. Although our blog has been silent there has been a lot happening at Hacienda El Refugio. The first of the month found Howard and the workers expanding our guards living quarters. In the past the Cofan Indians have rotated the guard duty, one month on and one off. Starting September first, the camp hired Andres’ full time, which means he and Marlena will live here on the property full time. While the guards quarters were fine for a single man, changes were needed to accommodate a married couple. By the time the project was completed their living space was increased by double. This ended up being a really fun project, Howard let Marlena pick out the paint colors (Cofan orange) and found various pieces of furniture from around the camp to really make it a home for them.

Here is the fun part. Soon after they moved in, we were returning to the camp on a Tuesday evening. Both Andres’ and Marlena came out to greet us at the gate. They were beaming. A group of about six Cofan Indians had just left. They had hosted their first Bible Study. Not only were they thrilled with their new home, they wanted to practice hospitality as a natural response.

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” Philemon 4-7

Toward the end of the month, the camp hosted a small group from the Mid West who worked on all the electrical needs for the PTC (Professional Training Center). Up until that point the camp had been pretty quiet, so to have the group arrive was a welcomed blessing.

I was able to travel home for a bullet trip to put all the plans into place for Nicole’s wedding. I arrived and we spent the time running. We did in ten days, what I am sure most people do over the course of months. Kevin and Bridget were able to join me for a good part of it, and I soaked up the time with them. God is so good. Although I know we are exactly where we are supposed to be, the tension of living so far away from our older kids is always there. I am really proud of all three of them as they find exactly where God wants them to be.

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

2007-09-21T09:01:00.000-04:00

“God sees us as we are and at the same time sees us for who we will become.” Our pastor spoke these words last Sunday; the words resonated with me, because this exact point has been manifested in my life. Many of you know I recently completed my degree in education, what you don’t know is how many times I wanted to lay it down, due to physical, emotional or financial stressors. However, each time, Howard and I were convinced this was what God wanted me to do, even if it was to just teach my own kids. Many asserted it was simply a task in chasing the wind, an exercise in vanity if you will. Bearing in mind the opening quote, this week, after six years I now know why the Lord had me finish my degree in teaching. As a result I also know exactly why I am here in Calacali, Ecuador, to teach English.

I have five students and I can not describe to you how I am completely affirmed during those class sessions. This is who God has intended for me to be, a teacher to these Ecuadorians. I write this as an encouragement to the person who is struggling. Your view is limited, God’s is eternal, remember in an eternal perspective, years are just a blip. In the thing God has called you to be obedient, be obedient in that thing and trust Him for the outcome.

Home schooling is going so well this year, we are trying a new curriculum and absolutely love the change. We’ve settled into a fairly rigorous routine with school each day and then traveling into Quito for Spanish on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Plus, on Wednesdays, the kids are participating in a Christian Service Organization connected with the Alliance Academy. Danielle will be leading an AWANA group and Jonathan will attend a group of middle schoolers called Guardians. This is a good way for them to be with kids their own age.

Speaking of Jonathan, many of you know he has had some vision issues in the past. I am not kidding about two weeks after we arrived here, he lost his glasses. What to do, what to do. Again, we saw God’s hand in our lives as we found an Ecuadorian Ophthalmologist, who happened to study the issues related to his vision. We now have a current prescription for his eyes and I am happy to share, as he has matured, so have his eyes and for the first time he doesn’t have to wear bifocals. J

Also, on a very happy note, we are so pleased to announce the engagement of our daughter, Nicole to a young man named Jay Kimbler. They met at Cal Poly, where she managed the horse unit and Jay the beef unit. God, in His graciousness has supplied me with a plane ticket to go home in October to help with the plans, so as we know more information, we will be sure to pass that along. They are shooting for either a May or October 2008 wedding.

As always, we know we couldn’t be here without the faithful support and encouragement of you. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms” I Peter 4:10

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family

Weekly Wrap Up CalaCali, Ecuador

2007-09-04T22:00:00.000-04:00

The Power of Time

When we arrived six months ago, many of you may remember there was a team here from Hume Lake Christian Camps in California, who started construction of a tree house here at HER. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the power of a team, this update is about the power of time. When the team left, they had put into place the basic structure for the two platforms of the tree house. Since that time our program team, the interns, workers and Howard have worked on the overall design. While there is still quite a bit to do, the tree house is now functional for individuals to use. Although, it is hard to tell from the pictures, the tree house sits about 40 feet off the ground. Really, it is amazing as to what can be accomplished in just six months time.

The camp vision statement is to function as a training and retreat center which facilitates a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, through nature and outdoor adventure. The tree house is yet another example of how this can be achieved. Ultimately, there will be two to three “pods” where people can go and spend quite time. There will be a “library” where a person can open a book and inside there will be the tools to accomplish a task they have been assigned. All designed to encourage the believer to go deeper in their walk with their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

We come now to the final days of summer. Our kids will start school on the 4^th of September. We all will start Spanish the same day. Pray for us as we move from talking in only the present, to the future and past tenses. Time to stop speaking as two year olds!

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family.

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador, August 15, 2007

2007-08-15T23:08:00.000-04:00

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador August 15, 2007

THE POWER OF A TEAM

We just finished with our last group of the summer. They came from the Detroit Michigan area and were our smallest group. (The minimum usually is ten people). There were eight people and their medium age was 39. To illustrate the impact even a group this size can have, I have included two photos. The first is Howard standing on the pad of the PTC (Professional Training Center) when the group arrived and what they accomplished in just eight days. We are thankful for this incredible group of people and their investment into our lives.

As we click off our six month anniversary, we are aware all the groups to visit Hacienda El Refugio, have been from the Mid-West. As we plan for next summer, we would love to have a group from any of the churches in California to plan a work trip. We would invite and encourage our west coast supporters to explore the possibility of coming for the summer of 2008. Basically what it looks like for a group to come is to have a minimum of ten people and eleven days. The group spends several days working here at the camp. They take a trip to the jungle where they either complete a work project or VBS. Then there are 2-3 days to experience Ecuador, mixed in. For example, groups usually visit Mitad del Mundo (The Middle of the World) and Otavalo, an Ecuadorian market place. For every group it looks a little different, however we won’t know what it will look like for your church until you plan a trip

We are spending our final days with Nicole. She flies home next Thursday, so you can pray for us as we adjust to her leaving. She has accomplished so much with the horses and in just six weeks made such an impact. One of the men in the group just here had some physical limitations. Nicole arranged a horse ride. Afterwards, this man was glowing. He said, “I never dreamed I’d be able to go to the top of the mountain and see the view, Thank You!” That made it all worth it.

We think of you all so often and wonder how you are. I wrote a friend and said, “Just send me details of you life, that is what I love to hear about.” She did and I loved it! Which reminds me again, we could not be here without your faithful love and support.

As God is Our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

2007-08-01T17:01:00.000-04:00

Weekly Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

August 1, 2007

On Friday of last week HER hosted vet students from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The group consisted of around twenty, third and fourth year students and four Veterinary Doctors. They all belong to an organization of Christian Vets who make a bi annual trip to Ecuador to offer services for animals. The HER horses were some of their beneficiaries this year. Each horse received physical examines, rabies vaccines, and some had their teeth floated. To have their teeth floated is a dentistry term which means, they had their teeth filed down. For instance, one of our horses Espanola, had lost a top tooth and the bottom tooth was literally growing up into her jaw, which helps explain why she was having a problem gaining weight and just a little crabby. (Nicole is pictured with Espanola below). They also performed a worm count (you don’t even want to know how this is obtained) and found that every horse literally had numerous worms and the treatment is much more aggressive here because it never freezes, so the worms never die on the ground. One of the horses sadly received a grim diagnosis as the owners thought he just had warts, when in actuality it is an aggressive form of skin cancer and lymphoma. The cool part is before the vet students got here, Nicole had done her homework online and had already accurately diagnosed his condition. Now with the help of the Vet team, a reliable health care plan will be implemented for each of the horses here on the property.

For those of you who have kept up on our Blogspot, you will know that since Nicole has been here, she turned down a spot at Vet school for numerous reasons. While here she has been a whirlwind, preparing the horses and stables for the Vet group to visit. Then to watch her interact with the group and her obvious passion for the care and treatment of horses, we became convinced she should apply again next year. This belief was confirmed by the Veterinary Doctors who encouraged her to apply at their school and use them for a reference. Also, they felt she should list the time spent here as an equine intern, so that is another addition to her already lengthy resume. Who knows maybe she’ll return as our equine program intern!

Just a little update on what is going on near the middle of the world. Please let us know what is happening on your side of the equator.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family

Horse Stables Vet Group Jonathan & our baby Nicole & Espanola