Wrap Up from Calacali, Ecuador

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

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

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

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

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