Blow the trumpets! Sound the bells! Put out the flags! Sing “O Canada!” The reinforcements are beginning to arrive! It was fantastic to see an eager, enthusiastic 6 pack of young Canadians arrive at the camp on Saturday afternoon! Jeff, Curtis, Bez, Kem, James, and Beck come strolling through the camp doors no worse for their unanticipated two day journey. We had expected them to arrive earlier but a number of flights have been delayed over the past few days due to blizzards in Canada and ash-spewing volcanoes in Ecuador- theirs included! Yes! Tungurahua is active again and throwing so much ash in the air that planes cannot risk flying over the area at night! Our gang were held up in Houston overnight – but we think that enjoyed the adventure and the chance to experience a Houston hotel courtesy of the airline.
We have put them to work on a number of tasks including cleaning all the cabins; installing curtain rods; fumigating for fleas (yes, we have had a flea infestation at the camp reminiscent of the 10 plagues– please pray about this!); unclogging clogged drains, cleaning washrooms; weed removal; and a variety of other fun-filled tasks. It would be very difficult for us to get camp ready for the big kid invasion next week if it wasn’t for their huge contribution. Further reinforcements will arrive on the weekend and they will be splitting their time between working at camp, working in Bastion Popular and a trip to the jungle. The contribution of all these Canadians is greatly appreciated and it would be hard to picture how the work down here would have developed without their efforts for the Lord.
We have put them to work on a number of tasks including cleaning all the cabins; installing curtain rods; fumigating for fleas (yes, we have had a flea infestation at the camp reminiscent of the 10 plagues– please pray about this!); unclogging clogged drains, cleaning washrooms; weed removal; and a variety of other fun-filled tasks. It would be very difficult for us to get camp ready for the big kid invasion next week if it wasn’t for their huge contribution. Further reinforcements will arrive on the weekend and they will be splitting their time between working at camp, working in Bastion Popular and a trip to the jungle. The contribution of all these Canadians is greatly appreciated and it would be hard to picture how the work down here would have developed without their efforts for the Lord.
In addition to these teams we also saw Heather Moore arrive in Guayaquil from Ontario at the end of last week. Heather has been visiting Ecuador for a number of years and is renowned for her work as the camp nurse. She has decided to take a different approach this time and has committed to Ecuador for a year. Heather will be working quite closely with the school in Bastion Popular as well as her usual contribution to the camp ministry. Pray for Heather that she will be able to adapt to living in “El Caracol” the little subdivision across from the school.
Holly is coming too! She has a week off from university next week due to reading week and has decided to come and help out any way she can. Yay Holly! So we are up for a very busy few weeks and I am not sure how often I am going to be able to post but we will do our best to keep you up to date. It should be easier to post than it has been as we have just managed to get internet access at the camp using cell phone signal. It is a little slower than we are used to and a little more expensive than we would like but it does mean that we have 24 hour internet access at El Faro.
Verse for the Day:
“Set your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are on earth.”
“Set your mind on the things that are above and not on the things that are on earth.”
Colossians 3:2
With the team here for the week we are studying what it means to have a Christ like mind. According to T.W. Hunt and Claude King there are 6 characteristics of a Christlike mind. The Christlike mind is Alive (Romans 8:6); Single Minded (II Cor 11:3); Lowly (Phil 2;3); Pure (Titus 1;5); Responsive (Luke 24:45); and Peaceful ( Romans 8:6) I hope that you are blessed by checking out the references!
James and Jeff clean the woman´s washrooms!
Kuma takes it easy - he was very disappointed that he didn´t make it on the last blogpost with all the other pets!
Curtis and Beck installing curtain rods
The closest I could get to a smile from them as they were too focused on the task at hand
Kem and Bez cleaning bunks!
Kelly and Janet with one of their spectacular lunch creations
3 comments:
In response to: "It would be very difficult for us to get camp ready for the big kid invasion next week if it wasn’t for their huge contribution."
All seem like jobs an Ecuadorian could very very well, at a significant fraction of the cost of paying for six rounds trips from Canada. In fact, the waste seems extravagant... sinful. Is that good stewardship?
In response to: "It would be very difficult for us to get camp ready for the big kid invasion next week if it wasn’t for their huge contribution."
All seem like jobs an Ecuadorian could DO very well, at a significant fraction of the cost of paying for six rounds trips from Canada. In fact, the waste seems extravagant... sinful, even. Is that good stewardship?
It’s good to be down here again and finally be able to see camp in action! (well almost). I am looking forward to seeing the children- well, the youth arrive tomorrow.
RYC, “anonymous”- I am wondering if perhaps you misunderstood that the work team is actually composed of volunteers, not paid workers. And yes, there are Ecuadorian volunteers as well! Plus, the “skilled” and paid labour that goes on here is done by local tradesmen- for instance the electrician that was here yesterday. I am uncertain as to whether or not you have visited this particular camp since you have decided to remain anonymous for whatever reason, but I hope that this cleared things up a little. I would also like to remind you that everyone who works at the camp, both Ecuadorian AND Canadian, have put so much of themselves into the work here and I personally believe that it is up to no one else to judge their hearts and motives. Perhaps it would be more beneficial to offer words laced with wisdom and encouragement instead of comments that can be detrimental to one’s faith. Debates are always welcome in my opinion but I think sometimes it is wise to do so in a way where criticism is character building, not breaking.
Best wishes, Holly.
Post a Comment