Here we go...

More Pics!


These were the people working on the trail (Pululuah)...I can't imagine hiking uphill with that equipment!


Thought this looked cool...this is still in the crater of Pululuah.


Thought it would look even cooler if I was standing there...


These were the dogs that came running towards us... They definitely looked scarier in person..


This is from the bottom of the crater looking up... the trail meanders up towards the left of the volcano.


This one is for my dad... I was shocked to see this guy ride down on a mountain bike.. looked like so much fun.. at least going down!


This store is in San Antonio..i bought my first Ecuadorian soccer jersey here for only $5.50! (i'll take you here luke when you come down!)


Who said we don't have Wendy's in Ecuador?! (Actually I've heard to never, ever eat there..)


This is my new favorite food here in Ecuador. It's called 'Planchitas'...it is very delicious. Its like a pastry, desert type thing...just bought some more tonight!


This was on sunday at Santa Isabella.. We were playing a game where you have to pass the soccer ball around, and yell out a color and explain what it means (its a salvation soccer ball for those who haven't seen them!)


Another pic of me, my dad, and phil (my sc)

Corazon de Jesus

Hey again... Yesterday Ronnie and I had planned on being with the team, but plans changed and we had to take care of some things in Quito. The team went and did street evangelism in a neighborhood called Corazon de Jesus. God moved in mighty ways yesterday... 16 salvations! And whats also incredible is that 12 homes said they would be willing to have a bible study! My sc said thats almost unheard of to find that many in one day! God is good, amen? Thats 12 potential new works in one area! We are going to a different neighborhood this afternoon, so i'll keep you all posted.... i know i promised some pics, and they are coming...soon hopefully. The connection here is so slow, it takes forever to upload. A friend told me i can probably downsize the image, and that would make it go faster...so maybe i'll try and figure out how to do that!

Salami Shortage....

Just wanted to give a few updates...and some more pictures... just for your enjoyment!

Ronnie and I hiked down Pululahua again last saturday. We had bibles with us, and we had the intentions of giving them to Rolando, the man who accepted Christ while hiking last week. On the way down there were about 20 ecuadorians hiking up the volcano all with shovels, picks, and other various tools.. i guess today was their day to maintain the trails. It was nuts, there were even ladies (older looking) that were out there working away...

As we approached his gate, we started walking uphill to his house/restaurant. All of a sudden we see four dogs jetting right for us! We were trapped, with no where to go... no tree to climb, no fence to hop, no stick to beat them with... All I was thinking was, "God, ok here we are just trying to give some bibles out, and your gonna let us be attacked and mutilated by some dogs?!" luckily Ronnie is good with dogs and he calmed them down..all was good... Just kidding God, I knew it would be ok! heh..Rolando wasn't there, so we left the bibles with a couple workers who were there.

After we came out we were both starving! Oh yeah, i found out since i got there that I really like salami! Weird huh? Mom, im trying new things...anyways... we were both craving some salami so we could make sandwiches.. i think we went to about 6 or 7 stores and no one had any salami! How could there be a salami shortage in Ecuador?? Defeated, we trekked back to the house, and we decided to check one last store... and praise the Lord...Salami! heh... it truly was a great sandwich.

This week I will be working with a team from Charlotte, NC, who will primarily be doing street evangelism here in North Quito. Yesterday we had 3 salvations and 1 re-dedication! It rained a lot yesterday in the afternoon...man did it come down hard. So instead of letting mother nature ruin our plans, we had an impromptu worship time. There was about 20 of us who all got together in one room, with no power, singing and praising God, all the while it was raining and thundering outside... it was an amazing time. Afterwards, Phil (my SC) had a very timely message/devotion for us...

Another amazing thing happend last night. Our Evening worship service was about to start at 6:00, but right before, the neighboring Quechaua church, inviting the whole team to come over and hear them sing. I was excited bc i heard from Phil how amazing and powerful it is to hear them sing praises in their heart language. So the whole team files into this church, the room is dark bc the power is still out, and there are a couple hundred Quechua sitting down. What was weird is that they made us all go up to the front of the church, and stand in front of some high risers, as if we were the ones who were gonna be singing! We were all looking around like," I thought they were gonna sing for us!" So with the help of a dinky little cd player, about 15 of us sang ( i forget the title but it goes, 'faithfuness, faithfulness is what i long for..') for the congregation. Afterwards they sang for us two songs, that were absolutely beautiful. Even though I could not understand anything they were saying, i knew they were praising our Lord. It truly was a rich time of worship...in the dark.. with ppl we all just met...singing in another language... i will never forget that feeling... the feeling that God was right there soaking it all up.

Well, the pictures are taking forever again to upload... they will be up soon...stay tuned!

Pictures...

Hey guys. Here are those pictures I promised....


Here is looking inside the volcano Pululahua, it´s the world´s only inhabited volcano crater


Me and Ronnie at the bottom (my roommie and fellow M)


Me in front of Pichincha... The volcano I would later conquer!


Top of Pichincha. Quito is in the distant background...


Me and my dad at the top of Pichincha...Did I mention this at 15,000 feet?!


Monument at Mitad Del Mundo...otherwise known as the center of the world. (This is right down the street from where I live!)



North Quito in the background. If you look really close you can make out the Catholic Bascilica (just above my right shoulder)


South Quito...



The gutless wonder I learned to drive stick in. (Its no hello kitty!) I had a pretty good teacher...(thanks dad!) Since most cars here are manual, i needed to learn to drive one... It was frustrating at times, but I think i got the hang of it...


My first bus ride... Headed to Quito! (For those that don´t know, for the next month I´m actually living in San Antonio. It´s about an hour or so bus ride into Quito)


This is at La Merced, during the leadership conference. It´s really weird having to use a translator!


This is Centro Historico (It´s in South Quito)

Well I hope you guys enjoy the pictures! You better they took forever to upload...I hope I don´t get mugged on the way home... pray for me! (Im joking...kinda)

...

"If you could see me now
I’m walking in the streets of gold
If you could see me now
I’m standing tall and whole
If you could see me now
You’d know I’ve seen His face
If you could see me now
You’d know the pain is erased"....

Happy Birthday Gpa! I love you and miss you mucho...

Greetings....From Quito

Hola mis amigos! I know it's been awhile since I've updated...my apologies. But I arrived safely in Quito last Friday May 4th. It worked out for me to arrive on the field the same week a team from my home church in az was doing a mission trip here in Quito. Among the 6 ppl that came down was my dad. So needless to say it was very cool to have familiar faces the first week here... kinda eased the transition a bit.
This past week was so crazy... constantly on the go from one place to another. Bc I dont want this entry to be super long (im so considerate!) i'll just touch on the highlights from week:

I met a few of the m's in the city last saturday... there are some really pasionate and genuine m's here.

On tuesday i hiked down Pululahua into the world's only inhabitated volcano (inside the crater). But conquering that puppy at 9,000 ft of elevation wasnt the most exciting part... I witnessed my first salvation experience! His name was Rolando, and he happend to be hiking down the same time as us. We found out he used to be a world class marathoner. Anyways, I had the privilige of seeing my dad lead him to Christ!

Friday morning I hiked up Pichincha (another volcano, but this one is 15,000 feet!) The view from the top was amazing... It took us 4 hours to get up and down. I've never been at that high of an altitude. I didn't think I could do it, but it's all about pace! (right dad?)

Friday night through Saturday night was the leaders conference in la merced. This was a huge success. The message that was brought was adapted from one Erwin Mcmanus did. I highly recomend it. I believe its titled break, shake, and illuminate. Truly Powerful. I hope to have some pictures up soon... hasta leugo!