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

Scholl Family Newsletter

Scholl Family Newsletter
June 2007
Serving God in Calacali, Ecuador
“God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1


Honeymoon

May 26th marked our three month anniversary here in Ecuador. Many of you have traveled with us each week as we acclimated to life in another country. This is a good time for us to evaluate how we are doing and what changes should be made. When I started writing the weekly update some of you cautioned, as we became busier in ministry it might prove to be a challenge to maintain a weekly update and you were right. I (Mary) also became conflicted at “dropping in” on your emails each week. The solution we have found is to develop a blog site where I can still journal and you can access the entries at your own convenience. You can access our blog at http://www.howardschollfamily.blogspot.com/

Language Acquisition

Howard y Daniel Narvaez D

Danielle y Doris Balseca

Mary y Doris

We finished three months of Spanish with our two instructors Daniel and Doris. The decision was made to take a break for the summer. There were two reasons for this, the necessity to put the groups first that would be here this summer. And the second, Howard and I needed some time to assimilate what we had learned before we could move ahead in our learning. So, we take a break, speaking only in the present tense (Danielle not included), however feeling a bit more confident we are going to learn to speak Spanish.

Spanish is really an orderly language. However, there are some frustrations. For example, you learn verbs such as memorizer, dividir, and practicar which are easily understood to memorize, divide and practice. So you think to yourself, “Spanish is easy!” Then you run into a verb like manejar, huh? Yes, manejar it means “to drive”. To drive are you kidding me? Why not drivider? Or my favorite verb to forget, olvidar which means, “to forget”. The basic thing I have had to learn is when the verbs are easy, bonus, however more times than not they will have to be learned with some word association. For example, “to share” is compartir. In my mind I visualize compartments and those have to be “shared”. Please understand though this requires a lot more hard drive than remains on my brain! Pray for us as we practice over the summer and become more fluent.

Newlyweds

Marlene y Andres

Andres is one of the Cofan guard here on the property. Marlene is his new bride from Peru. They are the ones Danielle made the photo album for. Andres is studying to be a pastor and Marlene has a degree in linguistics from a university in Peru. Pray for them as they settle Marlene’s VISA issues. When they are not working here at El Refugio, they are busy working on translating the Psalms for the Cofan Indians.

The Cevallos Family

Courtney, Lillie, Marlie, Juan Carlos

An update on the Cevallos family, Juan Carlos gave a report at a recent team meeting and only expressed gratitude for how everything has worked out. Juan Carlos is one of our program director here at the camp. He has been very influential in bringing our two Ecuadorian facilitators to live here at the camp. He also works very closely with the Ecuadorian facilitators who come and help out with the various day camps.

Hacienda El Refugio

The camp continues to be very busy. In one week we had four different day groups. As always the variety of the groups is what, I believe allows the camp to be most effective. For example, we had a group of businessman, kids from a Korean school, a scouting group and finally a group processing through grief.

To top that off we head into our busy season with work groups coming from the states that will be staying here on the property, plus eleven different Quito Quest groups who each spend a day at HER. This translates to Howard being very busy making sure everything is up and running and supplies are ready for each of the work projects planned. As always we completely recognize we are serving at HER, because of you our friends and family who support us in various ways.
I will close with Paul’s words from Ephesians, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel” 6:19 NIV.

As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl Family
Contact info–schollseven@gmail.com (we need your email address)
Support info – http://iteams.org/ Click on the Give link
Designate for the ministry of Howard and Mary Scholl
Blogspot – http://www.howardschollfamily.blogspot.com/

Website – http://www.youthworld.org.ec/ Click on the El Refugio link

The Scholl Family - Fall/Winter 2006

The Scholl Family
Serving in Cala Cali, Ecuador

Fall/Winter 2006

Howard, Jonathan, Danielle, Mary

Elgin, Illinois for five weeks of “MIT” training.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalms 46:1

Missionary 101

OK, so you want to be a missionary. We gathered with seven families and several singles for a five week training course. One of the things we appreciated about the training was the uniqueness of each of the people who are called by God. The one unifying factor was a heart for the lost people all over the world. The trainings intent was to help us reach those people in each of our countries to our fullest potential.

Really it was like trying to take a drink from a fire hydrant. At a dizzying pace we met each of the people at International Teams or ITEAMS. There was practical stuff, how to handle health insurance, transfer funds to a foreign country and yes, and file income tax. We learned how to be our best through a process called life mapping, which included our spiritual gifts, strengths and personality traits and how this would then relate to our “field experience”. There were intensive classes on spiritual warfare, culture shock, and fund raising. And we haven’t even arrived at the end of week three! The final two weeks were on language acquisition and teaching us to formulate a learning language module.

You May be Wondering NOW WHAT?
In order for us to buy our plane tickets and head for the field, we have to be at 100% of our support. Currently, we are at 60%. One of the things our Pastor has taught us is to be thankful for the 60% and trust for the 40% needed. Obviously, there are people we still need to meet with and we will continue to do so until we reach our goal. God will provide the necessary people in His perfect time.

For the interim, Howard will work for our church, Grace Chapel overseeing some remodeling. And we will find a house to rent and pull a few things out of storage.

Honestly, we have been so blessed by all of you who have sent support already. You will never know how affirming your partnership is to us and the ministry God has called us to in Cala Cali, Ecuador.

Just to let you know we will not start living on support until we buy our plane tickets to leave for the field. Until that time, the money donated will accrue in our account and go toward the various start up costs upon arrival in Ecuador. This includes our plane tickets, household goods and a vehicle.


Partnership Update and Information
Home Address until we leave for Ecuador:
Howard and Mary Scholl
6220 Shadow Hill Drive
Lancaster, CA. 93536
661.333.7945
schollseven@gmail.com

Prayer Request
Until we arrive at El Refugio there is a gap.
The family we are replacing came stateside the end of August. Pray for the team remaining at El Refugio.

Pray specifically for Abby and Lorena the two single women who live on the property. They are ready for us to arrive.

Will you support us with your prayers?
Your partnership is necessary in order for us to serve God at
El Refugio in
Cala Cali, Ecuador.



Fall 2006 Missionaries in Training, Elgin, Illinois

The picture above probably is of no interest to each of you. So why did we include it? Because when we look at this picture, we do not see people, we see Uganda, Spain, France, Yemen, Mexico, Bolivia, Austria, Chicago and Ecuador. The time we spent with these sisters and brothers in Christ was invaluable. We were encouraged, supported and amazed at each of their obedience to God’s call in their individual lives.

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9

Howard and Mary Scholl in Ecuador

Howard and Mary Scholl in Ecuador
3210 Westfield Drive
Lancaster, Calif. 93536
661.722.8820
scholl7@adelphia.net



Summer 2006


We have spent a lifetime getting ready. While always active participants in our church family, we were also busy building a business and raising our five children. Now, with three children in college and Mary finishing college, we are responding to an opportunity that matches our life’s preparation. Howard has been asked to assume the responsibilities of Director of Operations at El Refugio Retreat Center near Quito, Ecuador.

Through numerous short term mission trips to Mexico and Ecuador, we have felt God’s leading to the mission field full time. During an Easter service in 2003 we publicly confessed our desire to be used by God in this way. Patiently we waited for the timing and the opportunity. God has been faithful.

The El Refugio Retreat Center is unique in Latin America. Located at 11,000 feet above sea level and ten miles east of Quito, its 350 acres sweep up from a country road, by the pasture and housing to the main lodge and horse corrals and then up to a high ridge. There are trails for the horses and a road for vehicles, but most of the camp is accessed by foot trails which lead to multiple sites featuring activities that are challenging mentally, physically and spiritually.

Begun in 2000 by Youth World Ministries on an abandoned ranch it has now grown into its own ministry. El Refugio (The Refuge) welcomes groups from Ecuadorian public and private schools, churches, businesses and North American ministry groups, hosting nearly 1,500 participants in 2005. Every year there are also hundreds of participants in short term missions and work teams. All guests are part of programs directed by the skilled and dedicated staff.

As other facilities are completed and staffing is increased, Ed Refugio will be able to double, and then triple, its capacity. In this beautiful mountain setting young people and adults from all walks of life and economic levels will hear about the God of Creation, who loves them personally.

Howard’s responsibilities as Director of Operations at El Refugio will be to oversee the construction of additional buildings, to complete the master plan, and to utilize the talents of visiting work teams to help El Refugio grow to its potential capacity. He will also direct the staff in the maintenance and preparation of the facilities. Keeping this large facility ready for ministry and preparing it to accommodate even more visitors will fully utilize his life’s preparation.

Located on the El Refugio grounds is a home where we are planning to live. Mary will home school Danielle, a sophomore in high school, and Jonathan who will be in the seventh grade. Our oldest three children, Nicole, Bridget and Kevin will stay stateside to complete their college educations.

If you would like to see more pictures of El Refugio, they can be found on the Youth World website at http://www.youthworld.org.ec/refugio.htm. There, you will be able to see more of the facilities, as well as some of the recent work projects which have been completed.

First, and foremost we would covet your prayers as we embark on this new direction in our lives. In Mark Chapter 14, a woman anointed Jesus with a very expensive perfume. There was discussion as to how the money could have been put to better use, and Jesus replied in vs. 8, “She did what she could.” NIV that is precisely what we are doing, we are saying, “Lord everything in our lives has prepared us to do this job for you at El Refugio.” We hope to hear from Him, “You did what you could, you were obedient.”

Secondly, if the Holy Spirit has put it within your heart to support us financially in this ministry the following information should help you expedite your gift. You can use the envelope and response card provided and mail to:
International Teams
411 W. River Road
Elgin, IL 60123-1570
c/o Howard and Mary Scholl

Our target date to move down to Quito, Ecuador is the fall of 2006. Once there Howard would immediately assume his responsibilities as Director of Operations. We will start language school concurrently. The whole family is excited about the different aspects of ministry available to us and cannot wait to get started.

As God is our Refuge,
Howard and Mary